Fraters Libertas

Give Me A G...Give Me An A...Give Me A Y...What Does It Spell? Really Well Adjusted Smart Hip People YAY!

The Star Tribune loves a good Aren't Those Gays Great story. The one from yesterday's paper tells us that Golden Valley is home to a high percentage of homosexuals. How high? Over 1.5% of households according to the census. Couple that with some anecdotal evidence that there are "a lot of rainbow bumper stickers at Byerlys" and you've got yourself a real news story.

You get the feeling that the writer wanted to show that gays are "segregated" into certain areas of the city and how this was evidence of some type of discrimination, but soon realized the data didn't support that. In fact, the data doesn't support anything in the story--gays live where others of similar education and income live--and no one cares.

But there has to be SOME kind of discrimination the gays are facing in Golden Valley, right? I mean this IS the suburbs. The story informs us:

Life in Golden Valley has not lacked moments of tension and awkward humor. Day and Bemis said they have heard a neighbor use a derogatory term for gays. Another neighbor always avoids the "L word," choosing to refer to them as "the girls."

The bastard neighbor avoids the "L" word (I thought the L word stood for liberal) and calls them the girls? That indeed is tense and awkward.

The article would not be complete without at least one unsubstantiated claim of harassment and an attempt to lay it at the feat of a local Republican--in this case Stillwater's Michelle Bachmann:

Maybe, but state Sen. Michele Bachmann, who represents part of Kimble's Stillwater, is sponsoring a bill to define marriage as a male-female union -- a stand that has inspired calls for a boycott of Stillwater businesses in protest and that Kimble said will play much better in the more rural parts of her large district, where the census found very few gay couples.

Randy Olsen, 45, of Askov, a member of the East Central Men's Circle, a gay and bisexual support group that draws members from those more rural parts of Bachmann's district, said the climate is much chillier there.
His group's Web page takes care to promise that its meetings are held in a secure private conference room. Yet some people still won't turn up at meetings "because they're afraid someone will see them," he said. And there can be unpleasant consequences when people do find out. Olson said that he lost a job and that kids have vandalized his property.

BS Randy Olson. I love the vague nature of the job loss: he lost a job. Where? When? How? Why? How about a little reporting, a few questions? And kids vandalized his property? Are gays somehow immune from any bad stuff happening to them ever? How was it related to his being a gay? It reminds me of that Seinfeld bit where his uncle is convinced everyone is an anti semite "The rabbi? Anti semite!"

Cheerleading for alternative lifestyles is one of the Star Tribune's favorite games and when you can hint that a Republican is subtly responsible for job losses and vandalism against gays all the better.