Elena, NY Justice, Are You Straight or Are You Gay?

I think there is a very interesting crossroad between the stories about George “Rentboy” Rekers and Elena “I’m Straight, I swear” Kagan. The bigger picture is that both intersecting roads are essentially a reflection of just how insecure, and in many cases un/misinformed, this country is regarding sexuality.

The classical argument goes: well, this is a country founded by puritan pilgrims, so of course there will always be traces of such regressivism. Clearly, this is a cop out and a refusal to do any of the heavy lifting required to address a matter that continues to rear its ugly head throughout the newspapers and society in general.

Admittedly, we are not at all far removed from an era (quite a long one, at that) where most were considerably less tolerant of homosexuality and thus considerably more homosexuals were unwilling to come out of the closet (yes, I know it’s hard to believe that there aren’t just more gays now than before). This is where people like Rekers come in to play.

Given the stigma surrounding being gay (then and now), it is certainly understandable that closeted individuals would seek out a so-called, a) professional or b) holy person [or c) both] that could either, a) cure the gay, or b) pray said gay away. After all, would a gay man or woman be afforded a fair shake at a highly prestigious position like say, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court? Obviously we’re seeing how all that would play out now.

Therefore upon further consideration, the question at hand should not be is Elena Kagan gay or straight, the quandary is why does it remain so very important for some to cast so-called aspersions (given there is nothing inherently wrong with being gay) about those in question, or more accurately-people the slanderers are threatened by. This brings us back to Rekers.

Certainly not every single anti-gay zealot is gay himself (although it’s a lot more fun to watch when they’re outed!), but they certainly do feel threatened in some way or another by the affront that is homosexuality. These are likely the same brand of people that are so indignant over the prospect of a lesbian Supreme Court justice, or at least mildly uncomfortable. Change and progress is almost always uncomfortable, but it is likewise almost always necessary and as usual those who are comfortable and accustomed to the status quo are not likely to go quietly into the night, or out of the closet.

P.S. Much respect if you got the Belle & Sebastian reference in the title.

Second Thoughts

After reading all the hoopla in today’s New York papers regarding Elena Kagan’s nomination (and how great she, Hunter High School, etc. are), I’m afraid I feel the need to tear her down a little bit. My general feeling regarding Kagan is that she will be a dutiful Democratic appointee, as she is nothing if not a party girl. Yet she hails from the Clinton breed of Democrat of the go-go ‘90s, which discouragingly decided that they needed to be more like Republicans and rake in almost equally massive amounts of corporate booty. I get the sense that probably like a lot of cradle, idealistic Democrats, the more successful they become, the more they move away from their so-called core principles and inevitably accept the reality that to be an establishment Dem is to embrace the corporate slime that comes with it (I’m looking at you Rahm, Barack). So in essence, I believe she will invariably tow the party line, but in all likelihood she will be lacking in the progressive credentials that so many progressives have been having pipe dreams about. Certainly it is ironic and telling that two of the more liberal members of the court over the last forty years (Souter and Stevens) were nominated by Republican presidents, as Democrats would never dare nominate their ideological equivalents.

Holder on a Minute

5/10/10
Eric Holder is a monumental disappointment as Attorney General, which is what I would expect from a Stuyvesant H.S. alum (only half joking). Elena Kagan, on the other hand, is a Hunter H.S. alum and will likely soon be confirmed to the nation’s highest court. I obviously have issues with Kagan as well, namely based upon what I have read by Glenn Greenwald, whose opinion I value quite highly, but Holder’s statement over the weekend regarding accused terrorists (their Miranda Rights should be more limited), is just so subservient to the crazy, shred-the-constitution assholes on the right (who I might add are so allegedly fervent about the strict adherence to), it is simply enraging. I am clearly not a Washington insider so I obviously don’t know why it must be so very important to overcompensate for one’s personal lack of fortitude by using his power to bully those that have none, but I suppose I can take a stab at it. It’s simply a helluva lot easier to pound your chest, rattle your sabers and shout your war cry from afar than it is to actually get to the heart of the matter at hand and mete out prudent decisions and policies.