Monday, June 7, 2010

Oh, Jesus

RATS IN THE STREETS AND THE LUNATICS YELLING AT THE MOON IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD! And the crowd goes wild over Alice Ripley's perceived homophobia. Honestly, everyone, chill the hell out. She is not perfect. I am not perfect. You are not perfect.



Here's my take on it - she was angry, she was humiliated and she made an angry, inappropriate, and unthinking remark that a hypersensitized community took as a personal attack. That said, I do think she's taking it a little far now. Honestly, if she would just apologize everyone would let it go. But no, she's going on, head held high and defiant to the very end. Some zealots are planning on staging a demonstration in the alley. "ALICE HATES FAGS." Except for she really doesn't.

The problem is that she's completely herself, and nobody else really ever is. If I went around saying what I really thought, what would happen to me? If we're being perfectly honest, I don't think she's crazy. I don't think she does drugs. But sometimes I wonder if she realizes how she comes off to other people. I'm reminded of Dotty's part from the Moon Trio, which is beautiful.

"Now it seems you come to some confusion/You're losin' courage/You're losing light/lost your old shine/lost Caroliiiiiiine."

5 comments:

Marisa said...

The problem with today's society: no one wants to say the truth or hear the truth...alice could have accepted the opinion as an opinion and thought "am I going to trust this ordinary person or the Tony Award committee?"
but she did make it bigger than it actually is, although she too had every right to her opinion back at the person.
God bless the people that don't lie.
And too bad for those who can't take it.

Matthew said...

It's not about people not being perfect, it's about her specific imperfection being that she clearly sees homosexuality as something to deride, deep down. If someone gets really mad and the nastiest word they come up with is "fag," how can you not take it personally if you're gay?

If she'd steamed that he was a "wetback," wouldn't it be obvious she has issues with Latinos?

I don't think the gay community is hypersensitive or even sensitive at this point. We take slurs all the time and don't react. But it's more enraging coming from someone we'd thought of as simpatico, someone we've supported.

Plus she's not even apologizing or acting like she did anything wrong, so I'm not sure what the message is to apologize on behalf of the unapologetic, but I would call that undersensitive.

Just my opinion. I understand she's supertalented and I loved her in this role, so it is frustrating when someone one likes behaves badly.

DÁ said...

Okay, great. She was angry. But would we be so forgiving had she used the n-word? What if the critic was physically or mentally challenged and she called him a retard? Why is it that we still don't consider slurs against gays to be just as bad as racial slurs?

Unknown said...

You are a straight woman. How dare you tell offended gay people to chill the hell out, after hearing a lifetime of this bullshit. Go fuck yourself.

dbmcvey said...

I accept Alice's apology--but now you owe us one. To say that the gay community is "hypersensitive" shows just how insensitive you are. Do you know what we have to put up with from assholes--even some who claim to be our "friends" every day? Walk a mile in our shoes and then tell us to chill.