A Disingenuous Christofascists Trope: I Don't Hate Gay People, But..."

Have you noticed how the professional Christian set and some of the worse homophobes in the Republican Party will state that they don't hate gays yet then qualify their statement with the word "but" and then proceed to say all kinds of vile, hate filled things about gays (e.g., we are diseased, perverts, child molesters, etc.), seeking to denigrate and stigmatize us in the process.  Simply saying that you don't hate someone does not mean that you do not, in fact, hate them.  Using the "but" qualifier merely demonstrates the hypocrisy of these people or their belief that their audience is either comprised of simpletons or other haters who will pick up on the "dog whistle" phraseology.  A piece in The New Civil Rights Movement looks at this disingenuous phenomenon.  Here are excerpts:

Something remarkable took place [last] this week. Richard Posner, . . .  a conservative federal appeals court judge, a man appointed by Ronald Reagan, (genuflect here) who looks and sounds like he came from central casting in response to a request for a cantankerous jurist, asked the attorney defending Wisconsin's same-sex marriage ban if hatred of gay people isn't the real genesis of the law. Even better, he didn't ask it like a man looking for an answer. He asked it like a man making an accusation. It isn't everyday you get to hear a federal judge demand a gay rights adversary recognize for the record what the gay community has always known. Irrational, unreasonable hatred of gay citizens has allowed them to be assaulted, arrested, disrespected, deprived of their human and civil  rights, and treated like second class citizens. That's the destructive energy that fuels the states' marriage equality prohibitions.

There seems to be a new strategy afoot by the anti-gay forces, who for years have been successful at depriving gay Americans of equal treatment by vilifying them. For the last half century, since the time when Harvey Milk urged gays to "come out, come out wherever you are," every passing year makes that character attack less productive. It was one thing when gays could be cast as deviants and criminals and mentally ill, but people don't like their sons and brothers and friends called names and disrespected. As a result, the traditional "God hates fags" rhetoric has been softening. Gay rights opponents are transitioning to a new, more devious posture. The words may sound kinder, but the message is not. 

The same politicians, pundits and priests who once stood proudly and proclaimed their opposition to gays with words like "abomination", now preface their anti-gay remarks with a phrase like: "I don't hate gay people, but..." or "I have nothing against gay people but..." I named this tactic the "gay but" a few years ago after Rick Santorum was ballsy enough to speak those very words on camera.

What you need to remember about the "gay but" phenomenon is that what comes after "I don't hate gays but..." is usually an example of the hatred the speaker has just denied.

The Penguin Dictionary of Psychology defines hate as a:

"deep, enduring, intense emotion expressing animosity, anger, and hostility towards a person, group, or object." Because hatred is believed to be long-lasting, many psychologists consider it to be more of an attitude or disposition than a temporary emotional state.

So do we know anyone who fits that "deep enduring hostility" description? How about the two anti-gay presidential contenders pictured at the top of this page: Rick Santorum, who compared gay sex with bestiality and Mike Huckabee, who blamed gays for the Sandy Hook massacre? Not so long ago, both of those gentlemen were proud to be leading the homophobe circus parade.

Surprise! Rick Santorum still thinks gay marriage must be fought like the terrorism that gave us 9/11, but Rick Santorum 2.0 does not hate gays. Here's what he said:

"I have nothing, absolutely nothing against anyone who’s homosexual. If that’s their orientation, then I accept that..."

And do you know who else doesn't hate gays? Mike Huckabee. Yes, he still doesn't think gay people should be able to marry or adopt, but here's what the new and improved Mike Huckabee said at the Iowa Faith and Freedom convention:

“I’m not against anybody. I’m really not. I’m not a hater. I’m not homophobic. I honestly don’t care what people do personally in their individual lives..."

These new "I have nothing against gays" demurrals seems to be catching on among conservatives. Of course, the truth is the hatred is still there, and it's not hard to find. It's usually on display on the other side of that "gay but".

Every one of those "I don't hate gays" statements is an oxymoron. A contradiction in terms: I don't hate gays but... here's how I hate gays.

Judge Posner asked an audacious question about the genesis of the same-sex marriage ban:

"It’s based on hate, isn’t it?"

I look forward to the day when the vast majority of Americans will see these folks for what they are: hate filled demagogues who need to be shunned by decent people.