Any vestige of respect I had for Ron Paul was just slaughtered by the movie Bruno.
This is a guy who, less than a year ago, was begging America to let him represent all Americans. And he can't handle one gay proposition with anything resembling grace. He completely lost his cool. Would he have freaked if a beautiful young woman took off her pants? Doubt it. It would have been, "No thank you, dear. I think this meeting is over." And then he would have gone along on his paranoid, racist way.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
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15 comments:
Ron Paul said of the incident:
"When this all gets out, I'm probably going to have to apologize to my supporters because I think most of them are going to figure out why in the world didn't I sock this guy in the nose?"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/15/bruno-fools-ron-paul-by-t_n_187187.html
'Cause, y'know, violence is the right response of a straight dude to any gay man who makes a pass at him.
Well, at least he didn't stab Bruno 61 times and have it called manslaughter:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/1662524,CST-NWS-stab12.article
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-rowe/man-acquitted-of-murder-a_b_231748.html
Cause, y'know, straight dudes have to defend themselves from "an unwanted sexual advance".
(There's more on the gay panic defense
here)
And how's your respect for the vulgar Mr. Cohen? Just fine, I suppose. And his mocking of Muslims and conservatives (and entire countries)? It's ok cause it's all in the name of comedy, right? Wholesome laughs.
His potrayal of a flaming gaylord who can't control himself sexually, is in itself disrepectful.
You talk about "grace" in the same breath as Cohen?
Oh, I forgot: Cohen is righteous in his crusade to uncover and expose prejudice. It's not about cheap laughs at the expense of others. How silly of me. Perhaps he should be fair then - and honest - and take his entrapment routine to an Orthodox Jewish/Zionist neighborhood.
http://tinyurl.com/lldzg3
http://tinyurl.com/l65kp4
I'm sure Ron Paul will lose sleep over this.
@Terry Melanson,
Cohen is an entertainer, not a former presidential candidate. Ron Paul was 'begging America to let him represent all Americans.' That's the point.
I haven't seen the film, but...
"take his entrapment routine to an Orthodox Jewish/Zionist neighborhood."
um...
There's the Mossad agent thing
and
"In the Middle East, Bruno does get chased by angry Hasidic Jews. "
Linky
TK - Well, I have to give the guy a small amount of credit for knowing who his supporters are. A few of them are probably upset that he didn't haul Baron Cohen behind the studio and beat him half to death.
Again, I don't think this is how he would have responded to a beautiful woman trying to seduce him. Never once have I heard a straight man say something like, "Look, I had to break her nose. She made a pass at me!" There is no straight panic defense.
Terry - I actually had a lot of problems with Borat. I wrote at the time, "The Stupid Foreign Guy is a staple of comedy, but most comedians give their Stupid Foreign Guys a fictional country of origin, not only to avoid lawsuits, but out of basic human kindness." Borat didn't work on the same level that Bruno does, because American audiences love the Stupid Foreign Guy bit. They think it's adorable and act accordingly; look how nice everyone was to Borat. Even Ron Paul would've been nice to Borat. But a gay man from Austria? That dog won't hunt, not in Alabama.
So I'm not going to defend Borat. But I will defend Bruno, even the Orthodox Jewish scene (yes, Terry, he did take his schtick to a Hasidic neighborhood). Baron Cohen is Jewish, yet a character he creates is unwelcome in a Jewish neighborhood. Does that tell us anything about ourselves? I think it does.
As for the Jewish street interviews that are making the rounds, I've already seen them. And I have to agree with the Huffington Post admin who told Blumenthal the video has no real value. Drunk college kids will say anything, and a good number of them are appallingly ignorant and bigoted. One poli sci major didn't recognize the name Netanyahu. *Big shock*.
@Terry - I don't see what your issue is here, of course we have different standards for people in entertainment and people in government and its only right that we do! No one cares if the court jester acts like a jackass, we only start worrying when the king does. When a comedian misbehaves then at worst it can ruin your mood (for as long as you stay offended) and cost you the price of a movie ticket. When a politician misbehaves it can affect you in far more drastic ways and cost everyone a lot more.
There's no "issue" as it pertains to Paul (whether you agree with his politics, or whatever it is you think he stands for). And there's nothing wrong with the way Paul reacted. The guy had exposed himself to him and was blocking his only exit. Bruno got off easy. Ya, that's right. He should have been bitch-slapped for it, or knocked the F-out! Bruno wouldn't have dared do the same thing to a younger man, or even one of comparable size to himself.
There's societal norms and ways to behave in public, and consequences. Cohen offends everyone on purpose. He'll do it to the wrong person eventually, violence will occur, and he'll be crying to mommy, and the media will take his part.
There's certain people who are constantly out of line. Everyone knows people like that. And sometimes a punch in the head is the only way for them to get the hint.
He's probably already been socked a few times. He knows the risks of shock comedy. And that's about all I have to say on the subject - it's really not worth any more time than I've already spent on it.
Had Ron Paul left the room, even if angry at the thought that someone wasted his time with such a ridiculous joke, I wouldn't mind. But after leaving, he stated that Bruno was "a queer to the blazes" and that "he's queer, he's crazy", thus exposing his homophobia.
The incident can be viewed at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H2hVEvAShI
I'm sure Ron Paul will read this and be hurt, lol, I respect him more now. So, free speech and thought for everybody unless they're conservative? Aii Meu Deus so much hypocrisy so little time... You libs... all the negative perception of you is proving to be true.
"So, free speech and thought for everybody unless they're conservative?"
There's a difference between infringing on free speech and forming negative opinions...
And the issue at hand is not Ron Paul's conservatism; it's his homophobia. Or are you equating the two?
I don't think he's any more homophobic than anyone of his generation...
So reacting angrily to aggressive sexual advances is now homophobic?
.
If a straight man had acted in the same manner toward a gay woman (i.e. lied to her, cornered her, made unwanted advances, started removing his clothes, and prevented her from leaving) and she had reacted in the same manner would you condemn her as well?
You would lose respect for the gay woman for being heterophobic because she didn't react positively to the aggressive advances of a heterosexual male?
Absolutely absurd. Your condemnation of Ron Paul in this situation shows that you think it is completely normal and proper for gay men to act like sexual predators. And that my friend, is homophobia in its most pure form.
This is completely subjective, of course, but I was disturbed by the tone of Dr. Paul's response. He seemed more upset about the apparent homosexuality of this person than by being set up or propositioned. Rather than saying, "We should leave because this man is being deceptive about his motives", or "We should leave because this man came on to me in a completely inappropriate manner", he said "We should leave because this man is queer."
I don't blame him entirely. This may have been in large part a conditioned response in a society where we are trained to respond to homosexuality with distaste (if not outright revulsion), lest anyone suspect we're "a little that way" ourselves. BUT, I demand a better command of conditioned response from someone who believes himself capable of representing all Americans. You have to have a solid grip on your emotions - and perhaps more importantly - your mouth, if you want to helm a country as diverse as the U.S.
Needless to say, taking off your pants in the middle of an interview is unacceptable in pretty much every conceivable circumstance. I wouldn't expect any sane and sober person - gay or straight - to do that, and I certainly wouldn't be offended by anyone's strong negative response to that. However, like I said, I sensed that this was not Dr. Paul's primary concern.
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