[Vision2020] NYT: Our Prejudices, Ourselves

[Saundra Lund]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/13/opinion/13fierstein.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&or
ef=slogin

"Our Prejudices, Ourselves
By HARVEY FIERSTEIN
Published: April 13, 2007

AMERICA is watching Don Imus's self-immolation in a state of shock and awe.
And I'm watching America with wry amusement. 

Since I'm a second-class citizen - a gay man - my seats for the ballgame of
American discourse are way back in the bleachers. I don't have to wait long
for a shock jock or stand-up comedian to slip up with hateful epithets aimed
at me and mine. Hate speak against homosexuals is as commonplace as spam.
It's daily traffic for those who profess themselves to be regular Joes, men
of God, public servants who live off my tax dollars, as well as any number
of celebrities. 

In fact, I get a good chuckle whenever someone refers to "the media" as an
agent of "the gay agenda." There are entire channels, like Spike TV, that
couldn't fill an hour of programming if required to remove their sexist and
homophobic content. We've got a president and a large part of Congress
willing to change the Constitution so they can deprive of us our rights
because they feel we are not "normal." 

So I'm used to catching foul balls up here in the cheap seats. What I am
really enjoying is watching the rest of you act as if you had no idea that
prejudice was alive and well in your hearts and minds.

For the past two decades political correctness has been derided as a
surrender to thin-skinned, humorless, uptight oversensitive sissies. Well,
you anti-politically correct people have won the battle, and we're all now
feasting on the spoils of your victory. During the last few months alone
we've had a few comedians spout racism, a basketball coach put forth
anti-Semitism and several high-profile spoutings of anti-gay epithets. 

What surprises me, I guess, is how choosy the anti-P.C. crowd is about which
hate speech it will not tolerate. Sure, there were voices of protest when
the TV actor Isaiah Washington called a gay colleague a "faggot." But
corporate America didn't pull its advertising from "Grey's Anatomy," as it
did with Mr. Imus, did it? And when Ann Coulter likewise tagged a
presidential candidate last month, she paid no real price. 

In fact, when Bill Maher discussed Ms. Coulter's remarks on his HBO show, he
repeated the slur no fewer than four times himself; each mention, I must
note, solicited a laugh from his audience. No one called for any sort of
apology from him. (Well, actually, I did, so the following week he only used
it once.) 

Face it, if a Pentagon general, his salary paid with my tax dollars, can
label homosexual acts as "immoral" without a call for his dismissal, who are
the moral high and mighty kidding?

Our nation, historically bursting with generosity toward strangers, remains
remarkably unkind toward its own. Just under our gleaming patina of
inclusiveness, we harbor corroding guts. America, I tell you that it doesn't
matter how many times you brush your teeth. If your insides are rotting your
breath will stink. So, how do you people choose which hate to embrace, which
to forgive with a wink and a week in rehab, and which to protest? Where's my
copy of that rule book?

Let me cite a non-volatile example of how prejudice can cohabit unchecked
with good intentions. I am a huge fan of David Letterman's. I watch the
opening of his show a couple of times a week and have done so for decades.
Without fail, in his opening monologue or skit Mr. Letterman makes a joke
about someone being fat. I kid you not. Will that destroy our nation? Should
he be fired or lose his sponsors? Obviously not. 

But I think that there is something deeper going on at the Letterman studio
than coincidence. And, as I've said, I cite this example simply to
illustrate that all kinds of prejudice exist in the human heart. Some are
harmless. Some not so harmless. But we need to understand who we are if we
wish to change. (In the interest of full disclosure, I should confess to not
only being a gay American, but also a fat one. Yes, I'm a double winner.) 

I urge you to look around, or better yet, listen around and become aware of
the prejudice in everyday life. We are so surrounded by expressions of
intolerance that I am in shock and awe that anyone noticed all these recent
high-profile instances. Still, I'm gladdened because our no longer being
deaf to them may signal their eventual eradication.

The real point is that you cannot harbor malice toward others and then cry
foul when someone displays intolerance against you. Prejudice tolerated is
intolerance encouraged. Rise up in righteousness when you witness the words
and deeds of hate, but only if you are willing to rise up against them all,
including your own. Otherwise suffer the slings and arrows of disrespect
silently.

Harvey Fierstein is an actor and playwright."