« That's My France! Black Wackos Run Amok in Jewish Quarter, Flics Shrug, Jews Cower | Home | Latest in the Long War »
June 08, 2006
Attention, Angry Gay Confederate Militants: Have We Got a Flag For You!
One of my favorite blogs is Classical Values, where Eric Scheie takes a libertarian view on politics, culture and other matters, with delightful if infrequent forays into ancient civilizations and Latin grammar.
In a discussion of new findings on the supposed medical basis of road rage, "Understanding Rage is a Key Issue," Scheie created a theoretical bumper sticker designed to provoke rage from the left and the right: Ladies and gentlemen, please consider the Rainbow Stars and Bars:
Scheie writes,
I don't think hatred is mental illness -- any more than "intermittent explosive disorder." If someone's hatred makes him so unable to control himself that he attacks someone or commits vandalism, he should not be allowed to escape punishment.Whether some hatred is more permissible than others is a much more complicated question. Are road ragers less morally culpable than car keying bigots? What if someone displays road rage against the driver of a car with a bumpersticker that infuriates him and makes him lose control? Has a Kerry driver ever cut off a Bush driver or vice versa? Has an aggressively-jacked-up 4 wheeler pickup with an NRA sticker ever tailgated a gentle Subaru with a Rainbow Flag? (I'd be willing to bet these things have happened, but would that make them hate crimes?)
These things are traditionally left up to judges, not psychiatrists.
I certainly wouldn't leave any of this up to activists. They have a tendency to take sides, and judge people based on their political preferences.
What about my Confederate Rainbow Flag design? I meant it as satire, but if I printed one of these and put it on my car, might people take it the wrong way?
Yeah, they might. It might cause confusion -- especially if viewed by the inattentive, or the color blind. Or it might be construed as "hate speech" by angry gay activists, or angry Confederate activists. I guess there aren't too many angry gay Confederate activists. (But if there were, they'd have plenty to be angry about, wouldn't they?)
Sigh.
Can't we get along?
This all made me wonder: What are the odds that Scheie and a hardy band of Dixie-whistling gay Confederate militants would be embraced and welcomed to the New York Gay Pride march on June 25, in the spirit of tolerance for diverse viewpoints? Would their proud banner, the Rainbow Stars and Bars, bring cheers of "hurrah! hurrah!" from the assembled masses? Would the odds be a quadrillion-to-one, maybe? Hey, all they have to say is they're marching in the combined spirit of this Stonewall and that Stonewall.
Van | 06/08/06 at 03:10 PM | Categories: Liberal hawks and friends
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.keshertalk.com/cgi-bin/mtb.cgi/5069
Comments
Proving yet again that I really am as anal as my ex-wife claimed, I am compelled to point out that the correct name for your theoretical rainbow flag is the Confederate Battle Flag, not the Stars & Bars. The official flag of the confederacy was referred to as the Stars & Bars. Google it to see the difference. [VW comment: Thank you for your anal insights. You're right, but for aesthetic reasons I liked the Stars and Bars reference. My theoretical gay Confederate militants would rather make love than war, so a Battle Flag sounds so, so . . . martial. Rainbow Stars and Bars has more of a cocktail-hour sensibility.]
Jack Friedman | June 9, 2006 02:29 AM
Thanks for the link and the kind words! Interesting idea. . .
Eric Scheie ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.keshertalk.com/nav-commenters.gif)
| June 9, 2006 03:21 PM
