The Lifestyle Left's Impossible Standards (King Shamus)

The television show "Glee" gets the gas-face from the moral prudes over at GLAAD.

Gay rights campaigners have lashed out at the producers and writers of TV musical Glee for including a controversial line about transvestites in the show's pre-Halloween tribute to The Rocky Horror Show.

The cast took on characters from the spooky and camp 1970s musical in a themed episode, which scored huge ratings last week (ends29Oct10).

But Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) officials have taken issue with the use of the word 'tranny' to describe Rocky Horror's chief character Frank-n-Furter, who dresses in stockings, lingerie and high heels.

In the Glee tribute, actor Harry Shum Jr.'s character Mike is forced to pull out of his role as Frank-n-Furter because his conservative parents don't want him to look like a "tranny".

If you're at all familiar with the show, than you already know that this particular program is very gay-friendly.  Homosexual themes run throughout several episodes.  The show's creators have actively sought out the support of gay advocacy groups. Yet even with all that goodwill, the show still finds itself in hot water with a wing of the liefstyle Left.

Check out GLAAD's statement.

A statement from GLAAD reads, "The casual manner in which the word was used is jarring, even if he (Shum, Jr's character) may have been repeating what his parents said.

"This inclusion of this slur is particularly alarming given last season's powerful episode in which Kurt's father chastised Finn for using the word 'f*g'. That episode sent a powerful message to the show's young fanbase that words have power and they can hurt.

"Unfortunately the larger problem here is that the word 'tranny' has become an easy punchline in popular culture, and many still don't realise that using the term is hurtful, dehumanising and associated with violence, hatred and derision against transgender people - a community that is nearly invisible in media today."

Lesson:  You can never win with these idiots.

Hell, you can't even break even with the gatekeepers of liberal morality.  At some point, even if you've got a sterling record of leftist happy-talk and progressive do-goodery, you will run afoul of some obscure politically correct edict.  When that occurs, expect a snippy finger-wagging retort, often from the very same groups you're trying to ingratiate yourself with.

There will come a time very soon when everybody to the right of the Noam Chomsky/Eric Holder/Andrew Sullivan Axis of Fail will be considered either a racist, a sexist or a homophobe.  That seems to be the endgame for groups like GLAAD or the NAACP.  Even better, look where GLAAD stands in the ideological universe.  They've turned into the very same type of judgemental sour-faced Puritans they say they hate.

The left loves to pat itself on the back for being tolerant and open-minded.  They even have studies proving just how great they are and how much conservatives supposedly suck.  There's just one problem: the actions of the progressives negate their glorious self-image.

Look at the environmental movement.  Global warming proponents urge people to forgo a plethora of pleasures, from gas-guzzling SUV's to beef to energy derived from coal-fired power plants.  Why?  Because these things are allegedly dirty and will cause anthropogenic climate change.

The science that backs up the Warmists has been forever soiled by ClimateGate, but it really doesn't matter.  What is important is that the believers follow the 'correct' doctrines.  More importantly than that, the faithful must stamp out heretics and sinners.  Conversion to the religion is nice, but what the Climate Changers really enjoy is being morally indignant. 

It's the same thing for the GLAAD crowd.  They must strike out against what they perceive as sin.  So the use of the word 'tranny' on a TV show; well, that simply cannot be tolerated.  That sort of immorality must be punished.  Loudly, publicly and with as much sneering haughty contempt as possible.  Far from being open-minded, many facets of the American left are virulently dogmatic.

There are definitely closed-minded conservatives.  There are certainly right-wingers that have a puritanical nature.  What conservatives should always remember is that the other side is at least as judgmental as they are, and perhaps even more so.

Comments

[EW1(SG)]

I tend to think of the left side of the spectrum as much more judgmental~primarily because they are concerned with having the "correct" thoughts, rather than having people friendly outcomes, which is where I think the right tends to go.

After all, if your behavior is truly people friendly, do I really care what thought process led you to that?

[fleeceme]

I love learning something new, for example, "many still don't realise that using the term is hurtful, dehumanising and associated with violence, hatred and derision against transgender people".

I never knew the word TRANNY meant such hurtful things. Who would have thunk saying TRANNY meant you associated with violence, hatred and derision against TRANNIES?

Albeit transgender does lend itself to more humorous phrases such as gender-bender, I still prefer the word TRANNY. While shaving off only one syllable, it does save us that annoying phoneme of "sg" which can be difficult to pronounce, especially if someone has a lisp. Oops, I went there.

I am sorry to all TRANNIES for ever using the word TRANNY, I never knew the pain and suffering to TRANNY kind it denoted. Please accept my totally TRANNY friendly apology.

[John Johnson]

The rock this essay is built on has a huge crack in it. You make huge leaps of logic: One gay group takes issue with a gay friendly television show ipso facto all gay groups->all liberal groups->all liberals are morally intolerant. That would be equivalent to asserting that because Fred Phelps ignorantly expresses his homophobia by protesting at the funeral of dead soldiers all conservatives are ignorant. The simple and less spectacular reality is that the terms liberal and conservative each apply to many different types of groups some of which are at odds with each other.

[Linda]

The rock your comment is built on has a huge crack in it. You have gotten your facts wrong. Fred Phelps is no conservative and his political background consists of him running on the Democrat ticket and supporting Al Gore.

The simple and less spectacular reality is that neither political group, the right or left, should have to own responsibility for the things that lunatics like Fred Phelps do.

P.S. If you don't think GLAAD's reaction to the "tranny" thing is representative of the left's thought-policing tendencies, you could actually, you know, bring proof of that instead just spouting off.

[John Johnson]

Linda, Despite Phelps supporting Al Gore over two decades ago or whatever party name he once claimed his views on the "homosexual life style", on religion and gender is pretty conservative. While there may be a difference in tactics many if not all of his view are consistent with several other present day popular conservatives such as Anne Coulter, Gary Bauer, Rush Limbaugh, Carl Paladino, etc, etc. Yes I am able to see Phelps has nothing in common with David Frum, David Brooks, Ramesh Ponnuru, George Will, Tim Pawlenty etc. If your point is that the views of conservatives like Phelps or whoever should not be ascribed to all conservatives then congratulations! You just repeated what I essentially wrote in my initial comment! Strangely you only think such latitude should only be applied when looking at the array of conservative voices. So when you make the assertion "left's thought-policing tendencies" it comes off a little "contradictory" to put it politely. On top of that you ask me to bring proof that these tendencies do not exist. This again is another logic 101 flaw. I can not prove a negative. How it works is you make an assertions about a group of people then you must provide multiple examples of the group supporting your assertion. Then we discuss if the examples are appropriate and support your claims. Use the following as your template: A large segment of American conservatism has a significant authoritarian element which includes thought policing tendencies. e.g.
1)"You are either with us or against us" -Bush
2)"What I would say is that the news media should do a penetrating expose and take a look. I wish they would. I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out if they are pro-America or anti-America," -Bachman
3)Anne Coulter's defense of Joe McCarthy and HUAC.http://rightwingnews.com/interviews/anncoulter.php
There are many more examples of Anne's love for Joe.
Have at it.

[Linda]

Oh, fine fine fine. I invited you to prove a negative, which was logically lazy of me. I admit it.

Okay, Shamus posted about one instance from a left group wanting to be thought-police on homosexuality, rather than making this a comprehensive dissertation. You have listed three quotes from the right which you take to mean that conservatives want to be thought-police on patriotism.

So as far as the numbers game goes, you win, because I will not play it. Thanks anyway for the invite. We could go back and forth ad infinitum with chilling political correctness quotes from all over the place. I don't think we'd change each other's minds.

But I will disagree with you on this: "Strangely you only think such latitude should only be applied when looking at the array of conservative voices."

Uh, no. Remember, I said, "The simple and less spectacular reality is that neither political group, the right or left, should have to own responsibility for the things that lunatics like Fred Phelps do."

See, I applied it to both sides. On that point we actually appear to agree.

Cheers, and feel free to have the last word if you wish.

[Kwongdzu]

I think this was very well said, Linda: "The simple and less spectacular reality is that neither political group, the right or left, should have to own responsibility for the things that lunatics like Fred Phelps do." It was an impartial and honest observation. If you don't mind, I'm going to borrow it!

[Kwongdzu]

Uh, oh ... I have to get the tranny repaired in the Jetta. There's something queer about the way it's shifting ...

Don't you just hate it when you can't use words any more because some sensitive soul will object?

[Linda]

Bwa ha ha ha! Nice one. And you borrow whatever you like.

[Sherri]

While the show is not 100% real life, there are some very real life moments and the Tranny one is real. We may not like it but it is real. HS sucks and we need to teach this is how not to handle it...or handle it.