"Let Us Strive to Find a Way to Make All Hatred Cease"

In the wake of the Kobe Bryant incident earlier this week where the basketball player yelled a gay slur at an NBA referee, I wrote a brief post here on the blog that said something along the lines of 

“Kobe, I’m not directing any of these comments toward you; I really wasn’t offended.  But this is how you could have done it.  In retrospect, I think you’ll agree that your insult was a bit weak.”

I then included a 10-minute clip from YouTube of a 100 Great Movie Insults (not one of these including any type of gay slur).  I put in a disclaimer above the video, because you can imagine that the language was a bit rough.

I published the post.

I tweeted the link to the post on Twitter as I always do.

Then I stopped…

I deleted the tweet.

I deleted the post.

The video that I had included in the post did not fit the style of my site.  I’m not a prude, but some of the language made even me cringe a bit.  But the real reason that I deleted the post was that I had lied:  I was offended by Kobe’s action.

In the heat of the moment, Kobe Bryant had used the worst word in his measure to sling at the ref.  This tells me a lot about Kobe and about society in general.  Not to whine or take a victim stance, but just when I think that we gays and lesbians are making strides in equality …

Kobe apologized for his words, albeit in an offhanded manner.  But this morning, I read a piece about how Kobe is appealing the fine that was imposed for the outburst.    

Which is it, Kobe?  “I’m sorry” or “It was no big deal”?

I know that I refer to myself as “The Queer” on this site.  After having that word thrown at me so much in my youth, I decided to grab it and make it mine.  I would guess that this self-reference can make some people uncomfortable.  I know that I intend no malice toward myself or any lesbian or gay man.  What's more, I would never call a straight friend “breeder,” refer to a child as a “rugrat” or ridicule a mom for driving a “sproggenwagon.”  At least not without love in my voice.