Mike Huckabee recently went to The College of New Jersey and was interviewed by the school's newspaper. A transcript of the interview provides the following quote from Huckabee, about legalizing same-sex marriage:
"That would be like saying, well there's there are a lot of people who like to use drugs so let's go ahead and accommodate those who want to use drugs. There are some people who believe in incest, so we should accommodate them. There are people who believe in polygamy, should we accommodate them?" he said, according to a transcript of the interview.
One of my friends wrote a status about this quote saying that he did not think the comparison was hateful at all. I responded to his status, but I will keep my analysis out of the comments for the time being.
So go ahead, discuss.
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9 comments:
I can see why Huckabee might try to make the comparison, but it seems incredibly out of touch to me. First of all, taking drugs is a crime; being gay is not. Incest is also a crime, though only certain kinds, since there are twenty states which allow marriage between first cousins unconditionally and six more that allow it under certain circumstances (including my own lovely IL). Marrying one's cousin is even legal in our nation's capital. Incest is even more taboo than homosexuality, yet there are legally condoned versions of it; so for Huckabee to make such a comparison is rather ridiculous.
I'm not even sure what my original point was, but it is safe to say that I think Huckabee is silly (but not in a fun way).
It doesn't matter what I type in the comments section because if it disagrees with your leftist agenda, you won't post it. have a nice day!
Typically, comments like Mike's won't get through my moderation. But I laughed because he said I have a "leftist agenda." hehe.
Ok, back on topic! Is Mike Huckabee's equating of incest/polygamy/drug use to same-sex marriage hateful or not?
Honestly, I DON'T see what's wrong with using drugs responsibly, incest between consenting adults, and polygamy between a party of consenting adults, with options of divorce and the same child/spousal abuse oversights that two-partner relationships have (or should have). The hyperbole here is that drug users, polygamous people, and those who practice incest are CRIMINALS AND RAPISTS AND FREAKS, so gay/bi people are CRIMINALS AND RAPISTS AND FREAKS, and don't you know FREAKY, RAPING CRIMINAL GAYS are out there, EXISTING and stuff...
so while the literal words aren't offensive, the implied meaning really, really is. So fuck you and your sly insults, Huckabee, and fuck you even more for insulting decent people by suggesting that other decent-but-outside-the-norm people are evil.
Honestly, to pretty much anyone with a reasonable secular non-fascist moral compass, none of those things are particularly horrid at all. Polygamy/andry/whatever? Go for it, heteronormative monogamy is by no means the only meaningful pattern of sexual relationship. Incest? Whatever. Might make family reunions a bit weird, and too much of it can cause some extra toes and whatnot, but within certain confines, who gives a damn (provided there is full consent on both [all] sides)? And drugs? I'm under the impression that most intelligent people understand that "DRUG ADDICTS ARE EVIL PEOPLE" is an entirely meaningless, incorrect, and counterproductive way of looking at modern american drug culture.
So I look at it this way: If that statement (adjusted for more reasonable terminology) had not been made by a theocrat like Huckabee, it might not be particularly offensive, viewed in a certain light. In the context of Huckabee's political record, though, it's just another disgusting pile of hate.
i think it is what it implied that is hateful. he obviously doesn't think highly of drug users, polygamy or incest, so seeks to equate same sex relationships with them.
Except, those 3 things are illegal. Drug use can be harmful to the individual (dependent on the drug) and certainly funds/is linked with all sorts of other crimes.
Polygamy is very much frowned upon, not very common, and difficult for a lot of people to even consider.
Incest can lead to genetic abnormalities and in the majority of cases probably isn't consenusal. (If it is consensual, fine, but most of the time it probably isn't).
Whereas same sex marriage harms no one: not those involved in it, their children, or their families. So, not really on a par with those other 3 things he mentioned.
so yeah, hateful.
btw, it's legal to marry your cousin in the UK.
It's a solid point, whether or not you like it.
Free speech gives people the right to have opinions that you don't agree with. It doesn't make their opinions wrong, or yours right.
The principle behind it is sound. "Just because someone wants to do something doesn't mean they should be allowed to."
Remember, if an opinion is not the same as yours, it doesn't make it hateful.
One could easily say that you are hateful to Christians like Huckabee, because you speak against what his belief system teaches.
One thing I think feminism lacks, and this isn't an insult, so much as an honest observation, is the ability to step out of your own comfortable moral high ground, as it were, and go stand on the other person's so-called moral high ground.
You'll find you both look at each other the same way.
Which is pretty detrimental to progress. You can't force opinions on people.
Anonymous,
I find it interesting how people like yourself so quickly condemn feminists for being anti-free speech merely because they disagree with what other people say.
I also find it interesting that you, and other like-minded individuals, seem so willing to assume that if a feminist condemns someone's words or actions that they have no real reason for doing so besides the fact that the words/actions don't line up with their feminist belief.
Both of these assumptions are generalizations and are mostly false.
I don't care if Mike Huckabee agrees with me personally. I wish he did, but if he doesn't, that is his right. But that doesn't make his comments any less hateful.
Context is important - Huckabee is anti-same-sex marriage, and his choice of comparing same-sex marriage to things that are very highly frowned upon (incest and polygamy) was meant to elicit a negative reaction from those who read his comments. He was meant to be hateful, to associate same-sex marriage with things that most people would enver be ok with, even if their reason for being against incest/polygamy have little to do with gay marriage. In my eyes, he was not merely making it a personal belief of Mike Huckabee. His comparisons were meant to get reactions out of readers. Specifically, negative reactions.
He could have sufficed to say, "I don't believe same-sex marriage should be legalized because my religious beliefs teach that it should not be allowed," and that would not have been hateful.
The comparisons he chose to make do make it hateful. He should be aware of the consequences of his words, and should be held accountable.
I find it interesting that people are so quick to stand behind the bible when it comes to gay relationships/marriage, but the bible also tells us not to do many other things that we do anyway with no controversy at all. For example, one of the 10 commandments states "thou shalt not make any graven images," but if this is translated more literally it means we aren't allowed to make any images of anything, religious or secular. The bible also says that if a new wife is found not to be a virgin, she is to be stoned to death. And let's not forget how Jesus said that if you think of hurting someone physically or emotionally, it's as bad as breaking the commandment "thou shalt not kill." I can go on and on. What makes that footnote in Leviticus so much more important than many other things we are told to do and not to do?
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