Hysterical Blindness

Okay, so this is a little weird, coming back here after so long.

But I recently fired off an angry letter, and it was printed, and I thought it was important, so I wanted to share it with you here.

It all started when I opened my Washington Blade (the gay paper of DC) last week, and saw this:



For those who may not know, that's Gov. Paterson of New York, a recent champion of marriage equality for same-gender couples. Gov. Paterson is straight, and African-American, and a man with a disability. And yeah, that's a gay paper repaying him for his stand, by making a stupid, unfunny blindness joke.

When I saw this, I was so mad, I couldn't see straight. And when I emerged from my haze of anger, I discovered that I'd already dashed off an angry letter, which was printed in this week's issue.

To Whom It May Concern:

If we, as a community, can justifiably take a stand against hateful cartoonists such as Sean Delonas of the New York Post, then we ought to speak out just as forcibly when we come across cartoons with similarly hateful messages that target other groups, such as people with disabilities.

I was angered and disappointed to see such a cartoon in the Washington Blade on April 24, which mocked New York Gov. David Paterson’s blindness. The LGBT community faces many challenges from a homophobic society, yet shows an appalling indifference to those who possess physical differences. The way we cling to a culture that often praises physical perfection above all else does nothing to advance our cause and only succeeds in alienating us from our allies and each other.

I would like to see the Blade issue an open apology to our staunch ally Gov. Paterson, and to the disability community at large. After such a gross display of disrespect, it’s the very least you could do.

RED SEVEN
Washington