When the quoted a prominent black preacher as saying he would ?ride with the KKK? as long as they opposed gay marriage, it caused a stir. It added to a lot of people?s feelings that the Republicans had succeeded in coopting African American religious and political leaders into standing on the front lines against same-sex marriage. (Of course, it sure didn?t help when the Advocate claimed that black people no longer face overt discrimination.)
But as usual in American politics, people are leaving class out of the discussion. Antagonism towards queers has a lot to do with the fact they?ve perceived as not just whites, but upper class whites. Though there are many working class queers (and queers of color) out there, the media routinely present gay men, in particular, as rich snobs. Shows like Queer Eye for the Straight Guy portray gays as snotty and materialistic, obsessed with haute couture and fashion. It?s a running joke on Frazier that everyone thinks Frazier and Niles are gay, because they act like wealthy aesthetes.
Confirming these stereotypes, the San Francisco Chronicle paints the same-sex newlyweds as mostly doctors and/or lawyers. It seems as though marriage is the one piece of middle class respectablitity that working class hets can still claim that queers can?t, and now that?s being taken away.
It all plays into the Republican strategy to divert class warfare from economic issues to cultural antipathy. George Bush seems to have learned one thing from his openly patrician dad: act like a working stiff, and people will forget your silver spoon and ties to the mega-rich. If queers succeeded in projecting an image that wasn?t so snobbish, they?d not only improve their own lot, they?d hand the GOP a major setback as well.
The other day I read a newsgroup post that said Mariposa County sheriff was indicted for something or other, and might have to spend time in his own concentration camp-style jail. Apparently, this was wishful thinking, since I couldn?t find any reliable reports to back it up. But by the time I?d gotten to the bottom of that rumor, I?d already wasted too much time reading up on the guy not to write something about him.
Although he hasn?t been arrested for anything ?America?s Toughest Sheriff? has been accused of assault and faced numerous lawsuits involving harassment and wrongful death.
But Arpaio is most famous for his horrendous jail conditions. He made inmates wear pink underwear and black-and-white striped uniforms, work seven hours a day with only two meal breaks, and boasted that he?d slashed meal costs to only 40 cents per prisoner per day. And he replaced jail cells with Korean war surplus tents. Inmates complained of rotten food and unsanitary conditions, but he responded, ?If they don?t like it, they shouldn?t come back.? He boasts of creating the first all-woman chain gang and says he plans to set up the first all-child chain gang.
He also created a cult of personality around himself, selling ?official? souvenir pink boxer shorts with his name on them. You can also buy Joe Arpaio bobble heads.
But maybe the person who said Arpaio had been indicted was thinking of Davidson County, NC sheriff Gerald Hege, who also calls himself the toughest sheriff in America. If toughness is measured in terms of amount of pinkness, Hege wins hands down. No pink undies for him: he made his name with bright pink jail cells and paramilitary uniforms for his staff. But Hege was indicted for embezzlement and obstruction of justice. His pay has been suspended and is facing removal from office. But he still has time to worry about a local parody newspaper.
