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The Lack of Outrage About the Documentary "Outrage" is Outrageous

Submitted by mark karlin on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 5:09am.

THE BUZZFLASH EDITOR'S BLOG

By Mark Karlin

The lack of outrage about the Documentary "Outrage" is outrageous.

The movie just opened in a few major cities, but the reviews we have read mostly miss the point in the sensationalistic discussion of who was allegedly "outed" in the film, including: Charlie Crist, Larry Craig (wasn't he already "outed" in a Minneapolis airport washroom stall?), Ed Koch, and GOP Rep. David Dreier, among others.  (NPR censored the names of the alleged closeted gay politicians from a radio story and the You Tube trailer featured above has the faces of the politicos exposed pixillated, which is obviously not the case in the film.)

The outrage about "Outrage" should be that untold numbers of primarily Republicans daily denounce homosexuality and vote against basic civil rights for gays, protection from hate crimes, AIDS funding, etc., while living active homosexual lifestyles that the mainstream media largely ignores.

If the allegations of hypocritical lifestyles among politicians who swing gay but pass laws that are punitive and -- in the case of AIDS -- deadly for homosexuals are off base in "Outrage," let the "maligned" elected officials sue for libel.

But with the documentary now released (don't expect a drumbeat of media publicity for "Outrage" on the morning television talk shows), we haven't read of one libel suit or even a threat of a libel suit against the filmmakers.  And don't expect any actual litigation if some blustery lawyer threatens to sue on behalf of one of the politicians "outed," because to prove libel you have to prove that the allegations are without merit, which would be rather difficult, BuzzFlash believes, for the politicians featured in "Outrage."

"Outrage" is motivated by something near and dear to the core of the BuzzFlash mission over the last nine years: hypocrisy.  That is why BuzzFlash has awarded a GOP Hypocrite of the Week Award for the last several years.

The rather minimal media discussion of the film has focused on the issue of "fairness" in "outing" hypocritical gay politicians (and the outing in "Outrage" only focuses on elected officials who are stridently anti-gay while allegedly being gay).  But let's put it this way: let's say you were to say that Catholics should not have the same religious rights as believers of other religions; that they should not be protected from hate crimes; and that they should not receive funding for certain medical needs.  If you were to advocate such a deplorable position, but privately practice Catholicism and receive the sacrament, wouldn't that be a relevant issue in terms of your politics?

It sure seems that way to BuzzFlash.

The media and critics of the outings in "Outrage" should focus on the real victims: homosexuals without full rights, the tens of thousands who have died of AIDS, the victims of hate crimes, the lack of full Constitutional rights for gays, etc.

On behalf of these victims we should be outraged by the duplicitious, hypocritical and morally indefensible behavior of those reprehensible men who particularly inhabit the closets of the Republican Party.

It's time to open the doors on those closets and reveal the scoundrels who are causing such serious harm to so many because of their compromised political ambition.

That is indeed worthy of our outrage.

THE BUZZFLASH EDITOR'S BLOG

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"Outing" Only Reinforces Homophobia of Those Who Are Outed

Submitted by SkeeterVT on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 1:23pm.
There's another reason why the mainstream media -- and even a growing number of gay-media outlets -- have played down the "Outrage" film. Simply put, the practice of "outing" closeted gay politicians for anti-gay actions in office is counterproductive. It only reinforces a negative stereotype that there's something so horrible about being gay that it has to be kept a secret. It also reinforces the homophobia of those who are "outed" -- but not in the way you'd might think. As a blogger who's been out of the closet for more than 30 years -- the last 16 years as bisexual -- I've reached this conclusion reluctantly after the "outing" of disgraced former Rep. Mark Foley (R-Florida) in a sex scandal. Foley claimed to be a gay man -- but I revealed in my blog that there was no evidence that Foley ever had sexual relationships with adult gay or bisexual men and that his attraction to teenaged boys was indicative of a pedophilic, rather than homosexual, orientation. More than 2 1/2 years later, no one has challenged my conclusion: That Foley is a pedophile, NOT a gay man. Pedophilia and homosexuality are NOT the same thing. Gay men have sex with MEN, not with boys. Pedophiles have sex with MINORS -- irrespective of the of the kid's gender -- not adults. I've also written numerous times that, contrary to popular belief, homophobia is an irrational fear of one's OWN sexual attraction to members of the same gender as oneself, not an irrational fear of gay people. "Outing" only reinforces the irrational fears of the person being outed -- and thus is counterproductive. Hence the lack of outrage over "Outrage." The practice of "outing" simply doesn't work. Just ask Tad Haggard and others who have been "outed."
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The Corporate Media

Submitted by SpikeHeels on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 11:40am.
The ranks of the corporate media and the political class are filled with closet cases that will protect their own. I look at them as the Jews for Hitler that are running the concentration camps. They will do what it takes to protect their power, income and social status. If that means suppressing and denying rights to gays and lesbians to curry favor with the Fascist theocratic wing of their party, they will do it. I think they are disgusting and shameful but that applies to most of the few remaining Republicans.
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outrage

Submitted by mattincinci on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 10:31am.
and thanks to the allegedly progressive radio talk shows out there, there hasnt been one word said about the movie
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Another case of IOKIYAR

Submitted by JosephEBacon on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 7:13am.
Once again, you see the Corporate Controlled Conservative Press (CCCP) at work. They will always give Republicans pass after pass no matter what they do. That is why we need Buzzflash. Please give what you can to keep Buzz going!
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