Thursday, July 9, 2009

America The Awkward

I’m so glad we have an African-American president and gay marriage in five (or is it six?) states and all of the other things that prove America has moved past its historic squeamishness of all things non-white, non-straight and non-male.

That means we can ignore people like the Family Action Council of Tennessee’s David Fowler, who objects to a proposed ordinance that would protect Metro Nashville GLBT employees from discrimination on the grounds that it would be “awkward”:
Asked about the unintended consequences, he said passage of a bill would lead to lawsuits and confusion and awkward situations, citing a recent publicized case in Maine in which a transgender student who was biologically a boy was allowed to use the girls restroom.

For the perfect takedown of this idiocy, read Aunt B. I just loved the whole “awkward situations” thing, though. Heavens, we can’t have that. Let’s make sure gays, lesbians and transgendered folks continue to face job discrimination because to do otherwise would be, ahem, “awkward.”

Meanwhile, in Philadelphia we have inner city kids barred from a private swimming pool because of “complexion” issues:

Creative Steps Day Camp paid The Valley Swim Club more than $1900 for one day of swimming a week, but after the first day, the money was quickly refunded and the campers were told not to return.

At first there was no explanation, but some of the campers recalled overhearing comments about the color of their skin while at the club.

Then the swim club president John Duesler issued this statement: "There was concern that a lot of kids would change the complexion … and the atmosphere of the club."

Yes, well, if you take a look at the club’s website, the patrons are all of a certain, shall we say, complexion. I imagine having all of those brown inner city kids in the pool would be very awkward, indeed.

Finally, on Fox & Friends we have host Brian Kilmeade going into full meltdown mode as he claims whites marrying non-whites has weakened our gene pool, leading to things like Alzheimer’s. You just can’t make this shit up:

Brian Kilmeade: We keep marrying other species and other ethnics--

Gretchen Carlson: Are you sure you are not suffering from some of the causes of dementia right now?

Brian Kilmeade: The problem is the Swedes have pure genes. They marry other Swedes, that's the rule. Finns marry other Finns; they have a pure society. In America we marry everybody. We will marry Italians and Irish.

Dave Briggs: This study does not apply?

Brian Kilmeade: Does not apply to us.

Italians and Irish as another species? A rule that Swedes can only marry other Swedes? Intermarriage leading to Alzheimer’s?

Is Kilmeade on crack?

Gosh I’m glad we live in a post-racial America, an America where we don’t need things like anti-discrimination laws. To admit otherwise would just be too darned awkward.