Shakespeare's Sister has a great post up on recent violence against the LGBTQ community and the ensuing lack of coverage in the mainstream media (h/t Pam's House Blend)
It seems that the MSM is more intent on manufacturing "epidemics" that affect the average yinzer than covering actual violence being intentionally perpetuated on a specific class of persons.
How little it takes to whip up the media into an exploitative frenzy, all in the name of ?protecting? us. How little it takes to move our Congress to pay attention to an issue and pass legislation to ?protect? us. (Which is, of course, ever an excuse to limit our rights, but they nonetheless claim it?s about ?protection.?) One or two incidents, or, sometimes, just an imaginary scenario of what might happen. That?s all it takes.
But in the course of two months, there have been at least six vicious attacks on the LGBT community, and the media is silent. And Congress, well, they were pushing for an amendment to deny equal rights to same-sex couples. Their focus was ?protecting the sanctity of marriage.? They?re more concerned with protecting an institution, an abstract concept, than protecting people.
When churches throughout the South were being burned, it was national news. When a hate crime at Seattle?s Jewish Federation claimed the life of someone the other day, it was national news. And it should have been, in both cases. But an epidemic of hatred against the LGBT community in this country is not garnering the same attention?even as Congress pursues discriminatory legislation and courts are ruling against challengers to marriage inequality.
Think there?s a correlation?
The anti-gay hysteria that?s leading to an epidemic of hate crimes against the LGBT community is constantly being inflamed by the GOP?s use of gay rights as a wedge issue, their use of anti-gay rhetoric, their exploitation of anti-gay sentiment. And even with people being attacked and their homes being burned, the Dems can?t be arsed to take a bloody principled stand. And the media doesn?t care. They?ve finally got a real epidemic on their hands and it?s utter silence.
Does our local media care? The PG gives us a reasonable amount of gay positive stories on a range of social, political, religious, cultural issues etc. Talk show hosts John McIntire on KDKA and Lynn Cullen on WPTT give ample coverage to LGBTQ community issues.
But the PG rarely covers national issues or pulls these items from the AP (if they make it there). It does seem like we get caught up in the gay marriage or gay ordination issues and lose track of the very real violence we face on a day to day level. And no one locally has taken a critical look at the impact of the GOP fueled anti-gay hysteria. I wonder if the media sat down and talked with Betty Hill at Persad or Jim Fischerkeller with the GLBT phone line or the Pittsburgh Transgender Support Group or the Thomas Merton Center or GLSEN, if there is a hint of consequences from the ongoing anti-LGBTQ assault vis a vis the rethuglicans?
I just returned from a weekend in Chicago which required a long drive through Ohio and Indiana. How sad that I have to censor myself in an Ohio rest stop because the homophobia emanating from that state makes me wary of a confrontation if someone discerns that Ledcat and I are a couple. Do you know what that feels like, to have to make sure I don't accidentally say "honey" or don't touch her in a way that betrays our relationship? While I doubt we'll get jumped in the restrooms, who wants to be called a fucking dyke or worse on their vacation? It makes Pittsburgh look positively progressive in comparison (before the Irish mafia takeover).
