10
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com March 15-21, 2019
EDITORIAL PGN EDITORIAL
Creep of the Week
D’Anne Witkowski
Marc Short
Editorial
Maybe this time, there were bad people on both sides? Rider University recently banned Chick-fil-A from its Lawrenceville, N.J., campus over what the school said was the restaurant’s “opposition to the LGBTQ+ community.” Bravo, Rider! More schools should follow Rider’s lead. The university’s action sends a message to companies that, at the very least, are apathetic about the perception they give toward the LGBTQ+ community and, at worst, actively attack and condemn it. Hitting these companies in the profit margin just might raise their attention. In a week when Congress actually took legislative action to declare that discriminatory rhetoric is not OK for lawmakers and people in power, and that spewing hateful statements is wrong, it’s refreshing to see such a strong stand. And it seems the university doubled-down when it got pushback for its decision. But for all the university’s good intentions, there are almost always at least two sides to every story. Students at Rider had overwhelmingly voted to bring Chick-fil-A to the school, making the move by officials unpopular. Also, many faculty, staff members and members of the school community viewed Rider’s stand as a rejection of Christians and the restaurant chain’s conservative values. A dean at the university took her own bold stance by resigning in opposition to the school’s decision. In her resignation, she cited her own Christian values and devotion to Jesus Christ. The dean praised Chick-fil-A for its commitment to glorifying God and beng a faithful steward. The dean received significant support, with the wide sentiment being that no one side’s beliefs should outweigh the other side’s beliefs. Maybe both sides are being discriminatory — one against Christian values, one against non-Christian values. And depending on what side you’re on, you see a justification for the rejection of the other. The reality is, there is at least a little hate on both sides. Perhaps there are some bad people on both sides as well. And the winner is … No one. n
since it helped them This week’s column comes to you further the myth from both the “But People Can Change” that straight people Department and the “Yeah, But No” can get it too. He Department. also railed against Think back to whom you were as an “sodomites” getting undergrad in college. I’m going to make an “preferential treateducated guess and say that you were insufment,” and by “treatferable. Granted, you were probably the sexment” he meant any iest you’ve ever been, even though you ate government funding pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner most days. But, you likely thought you knew every- for the disease. But it’s not as if thing. And that’s annoying. senior in college Marc Short was unfeeling. If you’re reading this thinking, But I was a “Naturally we feel sympathy for ... all genius 18-to-21-year-old with no flaws and incredibly humble to boot, my response is: Do AIDS victims,” he wrote, “but that does not mean we glorify homosexuals’ repugnant some introspection. Maybe yoga will help. Anyway, I have no doubt that I wrote things practices of frequent anal intercourse nor when I was an undergrad that would make me should we consider them brave for coming out of the closet.” cringe today. Thankfully, my undergrad years Got it. Homosexuals grossed out Short and took place at the infancy of the digital renaisthe penalty for grossing out Short should be sance, and so most of that work is lost to hisdeath. tory, and likely for the best. But what does Grown-Up Marc Short have That said, a short story I wrote in high to say about all of this? school did just recently end up on the “I regret using language as an undergradInternet, so I guess no one is ever safe. The thing is, when I was in college, I uate college student that was not reflective wasn’t making grand pronouncements about of the respect I try to show others today,” he how disgusting and awful gay people were. told The Daily Beast. “We have all learned a Granted, I was a gay people, so maybe that lot about AIDS over the past 30 years and my doesn’t count. Still. There’s a difference heart goes out to all the victims of this terrible between writing bad poetry or an impasdisease.” The subhead of The Daily Beast’s piece sioned diatribe against rape culture via a comread that Short “expressed regret for words pare-and-contrast paper about the “Porky’s” he says are no lonand “American Pie” movies (one stellar ger reflective of his He also railed against observation that I can worldview.” Perhaps remember: ’80s movie there was more to the “sodomites” getting nudity contained celstatement Short gave “preferential treatment,” them, but when I read lulite). But if those the part they quoted, writings surfaced, I and by “treatment” he which I have included wouldn’t be like, “Oh, meant any government above, that is not what wow. I hurt people.” means. He said The same canfunding for the disease. Short he regrets being disrenot be said for Marc spectful. He doesn’t say Short, Vice President that his worldview no longer sees homosexuMike Pence’s new chief of staff, who wrote super-homophobic garbage when he was in als as sodomites deserving of death. college and published it in the March 1992 And here’s the thing: It’s hard to believe issue of The Spectator, the conservative colthat Short is such a new-and-improved man considering for whom he is working. Pence lege paper he helped found. The front cover is anti-LGBTQ through and through. He has of that issue contains a “teaser” that reads: been Creep of the Week many times, for good “AIDS: Who Gets It?” reason. The essay inside is called “AIDS and the Pence’s leadership and lack of empaHeterosexual” and it is vile. The gist of the essay is that heterosexuals can’t get AIDS, thy when dealing with AIDS as governor only gay people can. And trying to get hetero- of Indiana is well documented. The Trump administration’s approach to AIDS nationally sexuals to care about AIDS is all a part of a big gay plot to both get money from Congress and globally seems more interested in shamand “de-stigmatize the perverted lifestyles ing people than in saving lives. homosexuals pursue.” So, yeah. No. If Short wants anyone to That is, um, one hell of a plan. I mean, so believe that he no longer believes the garbage many gay men died horrible deaths while the he wrote about AIDS, then he should maybe Reagan administration basically laughed it off consider working for people who aren’t curand the first Bush administration was hardly rently operating under those same garbage better. Call me crazy, but if there really was ideas. n an organized and coordinated homosexual agenda, I kind of doubt everybody agreed on D’Anne Witkowski is a poet, writer and comedian living in Michigan with her wife and son. She has been “let’s die off” as an effective strategy. writing about LGBT politics for over a decade. Follow Short also claims that homosexuals were her on Twitter @MamaDWitkowski. super-excited that Magic Johnson got AIDS,