Q: In her now infamous interview on Showbiz Tonight, Victoria Jackson mentioned at the very end that she wasn’t homophobic and that she had gay friends. The first part is ridiculous – if she’s not homophobic, who is? – but as for the second part, is this possible? Could she really have gay friends? Sarah Palin, the woman who recently enthusiastically endorsed and campaigned for some of the most horribly anti-gay candidates in modern history, also claims to have gay friends. I’m having a hard time believing this is true. – Kenneth, Chicago, IL
A: Well, keep in mind that, ever since the 1960s, “some of my best friends are Jewish (or black)” has become something of a “snowclone” – a cultural cliché that now means pretty much of the opposite of what it was originally intended to be. In the 1960s, racists and bigots used it so frequently – trying to explain why they couldn’t possibly be racist or bigoted – that it’s now mostly used ironically, to make fun of said racists and bigots.
The fact that Victoria Jackson and Sarah Palin apparently don’t know this – that they’d actually offer up this hackneyed defense to justify their own homophobic attitudes, well, I think it just reinforces the point that they’re clueless on GLBT issues.
But could it be true? Could they have gay friends?
What is a “friend” anyway? I have less than ten truly close friends – but I have dozens of more casual friends, and hundreds, if not thousands, more neighbors, co-workers, former students, and other miscellaneous acquaintances (even Facebook “friends”) who I could conceivably call my “friends.”
Among that group are Muslims, several polyamorists, some fundamentalist Christians, a survivalist, a number of people with Aspergers, a couple of little people, a few severely disabled folks, a group marriage, several transgender folks, and a few illegal immigrants — in short, basically anyone you could ever possibly imagine.
Does that mean I can’t possibly be bigoted against any of these groups? No, it just means I don’t live in a frickin’ bomb shelter.
Could Victoria Jackson and Sarah Palin have close gay friends? Palin told Katie Couric that “one of my best friends for the last thirty years happens to be [a lesbian]” Alas, no journalist was ever able to locate her.
As hard as this is for me to believe too, I guess it’s conceivable. I’m old enough to know that different minority members react to oppression differently – some even cozy up to the oppressors – so I’m long past being surprised by anything.
Bret Hartinger is a Young Adult novelist and a writer for entertainment site AfterElton.com.
