“… The idea that this iconic straight all-American military man was out at Club Q enjoying a drag show with his wife and daughter did more to shatter stereotypes than anything I could have dreamt up.”
THE RAMPAGE AT CLUB Q
I don’t know what to say about the rampage at Club Q in Colorado Springs. Yes, our community was singled out. But we are not the only targets in this country, are we? Blacks, Jews, women, immigrants; we’re just the latest targets of the pervasive hatred, insecurity and madness that drives violent young white men to kill.
Then there’s the debate over whether to call this a “hate crime,” which returns me to a familiar annoyance. The additional charge of “hate crime” is, in my view, useless when it comes to murder. The enormity of the original act transcends the added offense.
On the other hand, hate crime charges help when the underlying crime is small. If someone spray paints “Harry loves Beth” on your driveway, they might be charged with graffiti or vandalism. If they spray paint “Die Fags,” they can and should get slammed with a hate crime as well. That’s when such laws make a difference, yet they are only brought into play when someone dies and their impact is symbolic.
I confess I was sadly proud when I first heard that a patron subdued the gunman. It’s understandably rare for anyone to take action in these situations, hence the movie about the guys on the French train who tackled a terrorist. I know that I would have hid under a table with my eyes closed if I’d been at Club Q.
The idea also shattered the stereotype of wussy gay men, didn’t it? But when I heard that our hero—Richard Fierro—was actually a straight ex-special forces soldier with medals and combat training, it didn’t sound as extraordinary. Until I thought about it. First of all, regardless of his training, that guy was incredibly courageous. But more importantly, the idea that this iconic straight all-American military man was out at Club Q enjoying a drag show with his wife and daughter did more to shatter stereotypes than anything I could have dreamt up.
Our community may share the danger of mass shootings with many other groups, but we are more likely than most to suffer legislative attack and political venom. Gay men, transgender women, drag queens; all are on the firing line of rightwing lawmakers and fringe media. But if people stop to picture a macho vet and his family having a night out at a place like Club Q, at least some of them might start to question their own assumptions. Our community is signifiant, but if you count our allies, we are beyond vast.
ROLE MODEL
Before I drop this subject, did you read what the Club Q shooter’s father, Aaron Brink, said about his deranged offspring?
“They started telling me about the incident, a shooting involving multiple people,” Brink told the local news in San Diego on Tuesday. “And then I go on to find out it’s a gay bar. I said, ‘God, is he gay?’ I got scared, ‘Shit, is he gay?’ And he’s not gay, so I said, ‘Phhhewww…’”
Brink is described as a MMA-fighter-turned porn actor and a recovering meth addict. In the same interview, he said he encouraged violence in his son. “I told him it works. It is instant and you’ll get immediate results.” Oh, and he did say that there was “no excuse for going and killing people,” so there’s that.
BAD SPORTS
Did you see that Grindr hit the New York Stock Exchange the other day at just under $17 a share, rose to over $70 and closed at $36.50? The gay hookup app was recently merged with a Special Purpose Acquisition Company, aka SPAC, which is a shell company used to facilitate going public.
Let’s see what else is new. Russia just expanded its anti-GLBT law to prohibit any kind of positive representation of the gay community, putting Putin’s government just a tad to the upside of those Arab countries that call homosexuality a capital crime. It’s been against the law to advocate homosexuality to minors for quite some time. Now it’s against the law to say anything nice about our community, period. Or at least that’s my minimally researched interpretation.
According to globalequality.org, the new law sets administrative fines for GLBT “propaganda” at up to $150 for individuals and up to $30K for organizations. Non Russians can also be deported or sent to jail for two weeks.
Meanwhile, the gang over in Qatar refused to allow anyone to wear a GLBT armband or promote gay rights in any manner during the World Cup. I’m sorry. I have as much patience for these bozos as I have for soccer in general, which I perceive as a tedious process of kicking the ball up and down the field for a long long time—it feels like hours— during which the monotony is punctuated once or twice by a lucky strike into the goal.
And no, it’s not “football.”
“Football” is Patrick MaHomes scrambling free to throw a dart to a streaking Travis Kelce. It’s Justin Tucker nailing a 59-yard field goal as time runs out, or Tom Brady running a two-minute drill down five points. “Football” is strategy, guile and athleticism pulled together in a game of power and drama. Football is why, after wasting three full days procrastinating, I will finish this column exactly one hour from now, just in time to watch the Rams play the Chiefs. Sorry dear FIGHT Readers. I’m a Chiefs fan, so I will abandon you this afternoon.
COURT WATCHING
But before we go, you should know that the High Court will hear arguments on the web designer in Colorado who is asking permission to reject same-sex wedding clients in violation of the state civil rights law. Oral arguments on Lorie Smith’s case are scheduled December 5.
And the lame duck Senate is expected to pass the Respect for Marriage Act, an effort to protect gay and lesbian couples against the (remote) possibility that the High Court could revisit their 2015 decision to legalize same-sex marriage. They won’t, but the RMA is still a gesture of solidarity from a Congress that does not usually pass bills on our behalf.
The RMA would guarantee that legal marriages are respected everywhere in the country, but would not keep people like Lorie Smith from complaining about us and trying to avoid doing business with same-sex couples. We still rely on the courts for that protection and we’ll see where that reliance will get us in about six months or so.
