Schrocked - Schrocked!!

I've been meaning to put my two cents in about Congressman Schrock, the right-winger from Virginia who announced his retirement last week after being outed as a frequent patron of gay sex hotlines.

I have mixed emotions about the news, not so much as a Democrat (Schrock's seat is about as Republican as you can get no matter who the nominee is) but as a strong supporter of gay rights. Schrock has a solidly anti-gay record in the House and, like a lot of politicians of his ideological stripe, he attracted support mostly by appealing to people's bigotries. That he is gay shows that he's not only a bigot, he's also a grade-A hypocrite. While I find homophobia unacceptable no matter the source, there's something especially disgusting about it coming from someone who knows what it's like to live with the effects of that sort of hatred*. We're talking about a guy who has lived with an uncomfortable secret for 63 years, even going so far as to marry and have a child, and for the past few years he's had a job which could enable him to raise awareness of what gay-bashing and legalized bigotry can do to a person whose only "crime" is to fall in love like we all do - but instead he has used that position to further the damage and the abuse. So I don't feel much sympathy for the guy no matter what he's been through.

On the other hand, "outing" doesn't sit well with me at all. Coming to terms with one's sexuality is an awfully personal, private process, and no matter how big a jerk the guy might be, I have a hard time condoning that sort of invasion of privacy. It just ain't right. Still, we are talking about an individual who supports legal discrimination against people who do things far more pure and innocuous than what he apparently did. So let's just say my outrage is tempered. One thing's for sure: if the Liberal Media really were liberal, we'd be hearing an awful lot right now on just how full of s**t the "family values" movement really is. Schrock, of course, isn't the first or biggest example of that.

The blogger who outed Schrock says there are more to come like him. I wish I could say that bothered me. But if you're going to win power and prestige by fueling the fires of hating people* based on whom they love, I think you pretty much deserve whatever you get.




*To anyone who is thinking of giving me the "it's the sin, not the sinner" speech, please spare me. I know only too well that that's just a way of justifying hatred of a person by pretending it's something other than that.