It has been said that ignorance is bliss, and local neo-con Alex Knepper certainly may be a living example of such an idea. In his latest article, Liberals keep the victimized down, Mr. Knepper uses out of context remarks made by myself and the president of Queers and Allies, an organization we were not representing at the time when the statements were made on a previous article, in order to further his quest to belittle and demean any person or organization that does not equate itself with his very narrow-minded version of reality.
Let me begin first by establishing who I am and why I have become a part of this debate on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights. I identify myself as a straight man from Texas - a state full of discrimination - who is involved in the gay rights movement in order to ensure the continuation of a democracy in which freedom and equal rights are the paramount virtues of society. In an online comment on Mr. Knepper's previous article on being gay and a Republican, I stated that he completely ignores the present situation in order to promote a normative situation that he knows will never be true, while defending a philosophy and party that he knows only acts as an albatross to the quest for equal rights, all while insulting and demeaning those who struggle for equality.
Lets begin with the cry of identity politics that Mr. Knepper so vehemently condemns. I do not go around saying that I am a straight white American mostly because as a straight white American, I am not oppressed for something that I did not choose. I enjoy my rights to the fullest extent of the law based on something that I did not accomplish but had the good fortune of being born in to.
The LGBT and minority community often does go around stating who they are because they are oppressed for the way that they were born. Simple enough for even Mr. Knepper to understand - or so you would think.
Was Martin Luther King playing a victim when he advocated for equal rights? He had "possessions" and other luxuries that were not available to Third World countries, as Mr. Knepper so sarcastically stated in his previous article. Maybe he should have stopped complaining and not let the "federal government define him" as Mr. Knepper stated, and returned home to a place where he did not have equal rights. I think we both know that Mr. Knepper's argument there is pathetic and unrealistic, yet he somehow finds it valid.
I move from here to the "proud of their sexuality" point Mr. Knepper has an immense problem with. I wonder to myself whether Mr. Knepper really is that ignorant that he could ignore history to such a degree. The people that have been oppressed throughout history often proclaim pride in the characteristic for which they have been oppressed. Minorities proclaim pride in their race, something on which they were oppressed, Jews proclaimed pride in their religion, on which they were oppressed - the list goes on and on. Does he honestly think gay people are proud that they have sex differently then straight people? No! They are proud because they are holding true to what they are, rather than adapting to what society tells them they have to be!
Mr. Knepper, you are a privileged child who has never experienced true discrimination. Stop hiding behind your computer and come back with me to my home in Texas, where the Texas Republicans will call you all sorts of nice things. Or, get deported to "curing camps" where you may be "healed" of your deviant sexuality. If that seems too boring, perhaps you might enjoy getting fired for being gay at your job or getting kicked out of restaurants for who you are. Experience what discrimination is before you insult those who have.
Matthew Bulger Freshman, School of Public Affairs
