the awesome/terrifying freedom

back to clay for a moment.

kim writes in with a link and says:

Hey Joe. any comments on Simon Cowell's most recent nastiness and homophobic statements?

hmm.. i read the article carefully kim, and actually can't find any homophobic statements made by cowell. i think he can only be acused of being anti-clay. he's pretty nasty, and refuses to take clay's denial of being gay at face value, but then so do i. really simon is only echoing the thoughts of gay and straight people around the country. the article makes a few mistakes - simon doesn't actually sign the winner of american idol, and doesn't really have stake in whether or not clay or ruben's albums sell - only clive davis and simon fuller have to worry about that, and you won't hear them ever saying a bad word about their boys. simon's made his name and his millions by calling like he sees it, whether he sees it right or not, and really just not giving a shit about how he comes off and who he's pissing off. it's pretty admirable really.

so is he homophobic? this is a really really shady shady area we're starting to get into as gay culture becomes more and more ingrained. what is homophobic about assuming someone is gay because they look and act gay? gay people do it all the time.. how do you think we get dates? (although that is all beginning to change with the advent of the metrosexual)

what if simon was also gay, but simply (as many gay men do) finds effeminate behavior repulsive? would this make him homophobic?

this same question is asked about hate crimes all the time - how can you determine intent? and how does the identity of the perpetrator influence the perception of the crime? sometimes it seems clear cut - skinheads beating up men outside a gay bar. other times it's totally unclear - rebellious jewish kids breaking the synagogue windows and spray painting swastickas as a prank because they know no one will suspect them.

ah, this is amazing.. it's the exact same question i asked earlier about comedy- how does the source of a joke affect its perceived humor? ooh, what a cool correlation between comedy and violence! anyway, back to the point..

there are no more clear cut lines. can you imagine a high school environment where the openly gay jocks beat up the openly gay theatre kids? of course, beatings are never pretty, but it's a wonderful thought for a few reasons - 1) that with total gay acceptance, social lines would be completely redrawn into new, strange prejudices, 2) that there would be openly gay jocks in high school, and 3) that they might beat me up.. over and over again. mmm. okay, i'm back.

simon isn't saying anything that i haven't said on this website for the past four months. he, like me, is an equal opportunity man-bitch.

stay tuned for a lesbian perspective to wednesday's blog!