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By JAMES KIRCHICK
Friday, March 23, 2007
IN THE WAKE of Ann Coulter’s use of the word “faggot” to describe presidential candidate John Edwards, the basis of her original joke—however poorly received—was easily forgotten.
She had claimed that those who use the slur have to go into rehab, a reference to the exploits of ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” star Isaiah Washington, who called one of his gay cast members the f-word last October on the set of the show.
Washington, immediately castigated by organizations like the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, apologized. But not long after, at the Golden Globe awards, Washington told reporters that the incident, “Never happened, never happened.” Washington apologized again, and at the behest of his corporate overlords at ABC, said he would seek counseling to cure him of his homophobia.
Yet on March 2, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People gave Washington a coveted Image Award, annually doled out to people of color working in the entertainment industry.
On its own, Coulter’s remark was not in poor taste. Imagine how much gays would be laughing if a drag queen had said it. But what was so damaging about Coulter’s use of the word was that it validated, for conservative activists who make up the Republican Party base, the unapologetic ridicule and dehumanization of gay people. Coulter is a bestselling author and a popular speaker in Republican circles, no matter how much respectable conservatives may wish to disassociate themselves and the movement from her.
Similarly, the NAACP’s decision to award a bigot such as Washington with an honor that has in the past been given to the likes of Sammy Davis Jr., Sidney Poitier and Oprah Winfrey sends the wrong message to a largely black audience, as it essentially validates the use of bigoted language.
BUT DON’T EXPECT the national gay organizations—always loyal to the codes of political correctness—to issue some sort of disapproval of the NAACP. Unswerving loyalty to fellow progressive organizations is the sine qua non of gay rights activism today. On its web site, the NAACP describes the Image Awards as the “nation’s premier event celebrating the outstanding achievements and performances of people of color in the arts as well as those individuals or groups who promote social justice.” Awarding someone who calls a co-worker a “faggot,” lies about it and then lamely checks himself into rehab is hardly the paragon of “social justice.”
It should be noted that GLAAD issued a press release on Paris Hilton’s use of the word “nigger,” revealed in an amateur video (where all of the debutante’s exploits seem to arise) shot several years ago. While the brainless, racist musings of the poor man’s Anna Nicole Smith invoke the outrage of GLAAD, the homophobic (and thus, more pertinent for a gay organization) bigotry of a star on a highly rated network television show merits less outrage.
It is no secret that homophobia is especially prevalent among African-Americans. A 2003 study of 31 national surveys over an almost 30-year period found that, “Blacks appear to be more likely than Whites to both see homosexuality as wrong and to favor gay rights laws,” which at first may appear paradoxical, but makes sense in light of the centuries-long legal discrimination that blacks faced in this country.
But support for gay civil rights does not negate the detrimental effect that attitudinal homophobia has on African-American society. Michael Paul Williams, a black columnist for the Richmond Times-Dispatch noted last week that “if the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell military remains a bastion of homophobia, the black community is no slouch in that department.”
IMAGINE THE OUTRAGE from black Americans if a white television star (irrespective of sexual orientation) called a black co-star a “nigger.” The white actor’s career would be ruined no matter how earnestly he processed himself through the public shaming ritual that our country has perfected, presided over by the likes of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.
The NAACP’s decision to recognize Washington with an award led the Hollywood gossip blog TMZ to speculate, “perhaps there’s hope that Michael Richards will get a GLAAD Award” for infamously using the word “nigger” during his act of self-destruction at a comedy club last year.
The NAACP has a long and venerable history of fighting for equal rights under the law, exemplifying the historic change that can result from moral suasion. Honoring a bigot thus goes against everything for which the organization stands.
James Kirchick is a writer based in Cambridge, Mass. He can be reached at james.kirchick@gmail.com.
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