Q is for Queer? Don't Blame Me!

Color me thick; or just plain stupid; but I don’t understand why the Gay Lesbian Bi-Sexual Transgender group has added the letter “Q”; as in “Queer”; to their organization’s name.  I am going to stick my neck out on this in the hopes that someone can explain to me why this is a good idea. Or, even simply how did this come to pass? And, of course, what the aim is.

“Queer”, we have been taught by the GLBT group, is the most vulgar term that can be used to describe another person’s alternate sexual identity. The word “queer” became the equivalent of the word “nigger”, which we have all learned to avoid; that is if we ever used it to begin with. Then we went from that to Negro; to African-American; to “black” and now, in some circles; particularly the field of entertainment; nigger is back. And that confuses me as well.

Note: I use the words “Queer” and “Nigger” in this post because I am writing about the words nigger and queer. I will not do as Alan Dershowitz did in his book; he used all the ethnic slurs imaginable for every race except African-Americans; for which he used the euphemism “the N- word” to de-note it; all while lauding his belief as an “absolutist” on the subject of free speech. I agree with Clarence Darrow who said that “there are too few words as it is. I think we should use them all.”  (He really did say that. Check the court transcript if you don’t believe me.)

As to the LGBT use of the word Queer, I have the following questions;

If Queer was so offensive to Gays and Lesbians, then for whom is the term now appropriate; and why?

If the people who consider themselves to be “Queer” can call refer to themselves as such, and even join an existing political lobbying group using that term, then is it okay for others to use that term again when describing people who live a lifestyle which may seem queer to them?

Further, if the people in this category seem queer to themselves; as well as the LGBT group; are they bigots in the same way as the people who used to call gay people queer because they found homosexual behavior to be, well, queer?

This is the same conundrum many of us have faced with the African-American use of the term nigger, nigah, nigga, etc. If such a vile word is now simply tossed off as being a part of entertainment, then the whole struggle to rid society of the racial prejudice which spawned the term to begin with has all been in vain. All those people who stood up to Bull Connors and the police dogs in Selma and Birmingham were wasting their time. Their own grandchildren would bring back the word with pride.

Now we have the GLBT movement telling us that they have a group of people whom they consider to be Queer. I’m wondering if this means that they’re straight. If so then I am offended. I don’t like being referred to as queer just because I have a different sexual identity than they do. I am proud to be a heterosexual. Where’s my parade?

The people who were beaten at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village in 1969; considered to be the birth of the Gay and Lesbian movement; must be appalled by the re-emergence of this term.

Women are another group who have presented a conundrum of sorts over the years. They had a big “revolution” in order to detach themselves from the rampant sexual exploitation of the media, and now they market shirts for women with the word “Bitch” on them. And women snap them up!

Just as I do not understand the GLBT community being willing to go back to the term Queer; in any form; and am equally appalled by the use of the term nigger in any of its incarnations (literature excepting); I am also dismayed that women have been reduced more than ever to “sex objects”; enough so that they would buy millions of these shirts. You can buy one at;

https://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4ADFA_enUS410US411&q=bitch+tee+shirts#q=bitch+tee+shirts&tbm=shop

So, not only am I confused about all these things, but I still haven’t got a clue as to why the LGBT group considers queer an acceptable term for any group under their banner. I must be getting very old.  And, finally, why do all reform movements seem to end in some sort of insanity? Now, I just have to find a picture “queer” enough to illustrate this post…

Addenda: 7-31-14 11:30 AM A few individuals have expressed their beliefs; in a rather crude fashion; that I am either a racist, or homophobic. I assure you that neither is the case. I feel that everyone should have the right to be called what they please. That is why we have names. But when you adopt a derogatory term which is applicable to a whole group of people who may be offended by that choice, I have to opt in favor of the most aggrieved party. That message is the intent of this post. You can put the pitchforks and torches away now, thanks!

Demonizing Twain - When PC Goes Too Far.

They're at it again. Those self appointed pesky Politically Correct Speech Monitors are working in overdrive to alter some of the best literature ever written. Allan Gribben, a man who professes to be a Professor of Literature at Auburn University, in Alabama, approached Suzanne La Rosa at New South Books last July with the idea of releasing "Huckleberry Finn" and "Tom Sawyer" in a combined edition, sans the word "nigger." Oops! I mean the "N" word. You know what it stands for, you say it to yourself when you read it.

Mark Twain has often been misunderstood, mostly by people in the publishing industry, who are, after all, just businessmen seeking to make money from the words that others labor to write. I can understand that. Those who can't write sell the writings of others. Thus has it ever been.

Editing has always been an honorable task, helping a writer to better hone the message that he is seeking to impart. But when you take the words of a book which has been recognized for well over 160 years as a Classic, and then change those words, you have surpassed the realm of editing and entered the murky world of censorship. And to what end? Mr. Gribben states that he is not attempting to "sanitize Mark Twain. I just had the idea to get us away from obsessing about this one word and just let the stories stand alone." This is bunk.

When reading "Huckleberry Finn" and "Tom Sawyer" in grade school (yes, they actually allowed us to read these books) we were told about the use of the word nigger and what it meant in the context of the times in which it was written. This was in 1965, which for those too young to remember, was a very racially charged year. And the lesson learned in class was that the word was confined to literature. We were made to understand the superiority of Jim, in both his morals and actions, to the white men, I mean the evil "W" men who were chasing him. That lesson will now be lost.

To be fair about it, Mark Twain did state, in his autobiography, that although these books were children's stories, he preferred that they be read by an older audience. That is all very well, and perhaps there is merit there. I only know that I loved these two books from the very first time I read them, never construing the use of the word nigger to be offensive in it's intent.

This is not the first time in which Mark Twain has been misunderstood in regards to race, or religion. When he returned from his trip around the world in the 1880's, he wrote about the Jewish community in Austria. The piece was entitled "Concerning the Jews." It was hailed as "Philo-Semetic." That means that it was favorable to the Jewish people. Within weeks the word had been misunderstood and the more well known phrase "Anti-Semetic" was substituted in it's place. It would be more than a century before the cloud of Anti-Semetism hanging over Mr. Twain's head would start to clear away.

As the Publishing industry continues to salivate over the profits to be made selling Mr. Twain's books intensifies in the wake of the newly released Autobiography, you can expect more of these misrepresentations of the author's work. Imagine how much money Suzanne La Rosa, co-founder of New South Books, and Mr. Gribben, thought they were going to reap from the publication of a bastardized version of two of the greatest American novels ever written.

You can reach New South at 334-834-3556. Let them know how you feel about this politically correct version of the book before it is released in February. And if you see it on the shelves at your local book store, be sure and bypass it in favor of the authors original work, which is readily available in paperback for just a few dollars. And if you'd like, you can borrow the older version free from your local library.

I wonder what book Mr. Gribben will find offensive next?