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Watch for hate speech against Oscar

I had to read this one twice.

A Daily telegraph (London, U.K.—subscription req’d) editorial has this odd take on mouthy Academy Awards host Chris Rock’s alleged statement that the Oscars are just for gay men (or whatever idiotic thing he allegedly said among other such elegant gems as “abortions are beautiful” and that he loves to cruise abortion clinics because he knows the women are “f***ing”—see my blog entries here and here).

Oscar outed
(Filed: 15/02/2005)

The comedian Chris Rock, due to host this year’s Oscar ceremony, has angered many in the vulnerable motion-picture community by claiming that gay men watch the Oscars. He added, pandering to a prejudice widely held but seldom voiced: “Awards for art are f—-ing idiotic.”

Mr Rock’s comments touch a very raw nerve. The days when well-respected gay men who were “outed” as having watched the Oscars faced open hatred and private shame are gone. But despite the considerable advances that have been made in public understanding, for many people the decision to watch the Oscars remains an intensely private one.

The ugly blight of Oscarphobia has yet to be entirely eradicated, and it is difficult for many otherwise ordinary homosexuals – when in their teens they first find themselves struggling with frightening and unnatural urges to stay up late and watch a bunch of phony old actors congratulating themselves on being rich – to share, except with the closest intimates, their feelings about who looked best on the red carpet. Their eyes may swell with answering tears as they watch Gwyneth Paltrow blub; but these are tears they choose not to shed in public. These people deserve our sympathy, not our condemnation.

Joel Johannesen
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