June 16, 2016
Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Leger in Brokeback Mountain
In fact, it wasn”t even that Shalit disliked the film as a whole. Rather, he had a problem with Jake Gyllenhaal’s character, Jack, whom he referred to as a “sexual predator” who “tracks Ennis [Heath Ledger] down and coaxes him into sporadic trysts.” For that one sentence, Shalit was viciously attacked lynch-mob-style by practically every mainstream gay organization in North America. It was merciless. He was called “homophobic,” a “hater,” and “anti-gay,” and his review was condemned as “defamatory” (apparently, according to gay community leaders, you can “defame” a fictional character).
At the same time”the exact same week, in fact”In These Times, the revered progressive monthly, published a piece titled “Iran’s Anti-Gay Pogrom.” The subheading read, “American gay rights groups are ignoring systematic persecution in the Islamic Republic.” The first paragraph of the piece succinctly detailed the crisis:
The Islamic Republic of Iran”under the new government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad”is engaged in a major anti-homosexual pogrom targeting gays and gay sex. This campaign includes Internet entrapment, blackmail to force arrested gays to inform on others, torture and executions of those found guilty of engaging in “homosexual acts.”
You”d think this would be of interest to LGBT leaders, especially considering the fact that their inaction was being called out by one of the most respected leftist publications in North America. But no. The Iran pogrom continued to be ignored, while the “get a rope” crowd continued to pursue Shalit for one sentence in a movie review.
Because priorities, people!
Shalit’s Brokeback Mountain review and the In These Times piece came out the same week, and the gay community ignored the latter while declaring the former an international gay emergency. As irrational as that sounds, it makes its own kind of unfortunate sense. You see, as gay publications like The Advocate and organizations like GLAAD well knew, Gene Shalit is no homophobe. He’s the proud, kvelling father of an openly gay son. Nine years prior to becoming gay public enemy #1, Shalit had penned an essay“for The Advocate, no less”expressing his unqualified love for his son and his unflagging support for the man’s lifestyle choices. His son, a successful physician, had also written about how a gay man could not ask for a more loving and supportive father.
It’s not that the LGBT lynchers really thought that Shalit was anti-gay; they knew he wasn”t. But they also knew he”d cave. They knew how quickly he”d apologize, especially once The Advocate sank low enough to argue that the Brokeback review calls into question the claim that Shalit truly loves his son. How could Shalit not be hurt and broken by that accusation?
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the turbaned vermin who run Iran, on the other hand, don”t give a gay rat’s stretched-out anus about the complaints of LGBT activists. The Muslim murderers would never cave, and gay leaders knew it. So why go after them if you know it’s a losing proposition? The first rule of being a bully is, always go after the weak and easily broken.
You”d kinda think gays would know that, as so many of them claim to have been persecuted by bullies in their youth.
Of course, as if I even have to say it, Shalit apologized (to his credit, Shalit’s son went after the bullies with a vengeance). And the Iranian mullahs continued to oppress gays. But what really matters is, LGBT organizations went after low-hanging fruit, and damned if they didn”t come away with a nice shiny apple.
Hooray for them.
And now that Islamic gay hatred is directly responsible for the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, gay “leaders” like Adam Goldenberg are following the Shalit Syndrome script word for word. Go after easy villains like David Duke, go after those who are unlikely to fight back like Christians and lawful gun owners, and ignore the murderous Muslim elephant in the room.
Gay people do this at their own risk. Deny it all you like, but Muslim anti-gay violence isn”t going anywhere, and it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets any better.
