The Daily Background

I read an interview today with Ryan Davis (the guy behind the Gays for Giuliani ad) at the South Carolina blog Not Very Bright, and I found it kind of interesting. The author, who supports Obama in the Democratic primary, is of the opinion that Davis is detracting from the overall cause of equal rights for gay people, by creating ads that use stereotypes about gays in a humorous way (see the above link for more info).

Here’s an excerpt from the interview:

Not Very Bright: How do you think that perpetuating that stereotype and making them flaming would advance your ultimate cause?

Davis: My ultimate cause of having a Democrat win in 08?

Not Very Bright: I assume your ultimate cause is acceptance, respect, and legal rights for homosexuals.

Davis: Ah. It’s on my list totally. But, I don’t think it’s our most pressing concern. When we’re on the brink of war with Iran.

Not Very Bright: No.

Davis: Do you?

Not Very Bright: Again, that’s disengenuous. [sic] Your ad is not prompted by your Iran concerns.

jdavisnyc: I don’t think that I’m perpetuating stereotypes more than an episode of Will & Grace does

Not Very Bright also says to Davis that “everything you’re doing is ultimately harmful to gays.”

I understand what Not Very Bright is saying, but I don’t think that the ad is going to do any real damage to the cause of equal rights for gays, even if it does get on the air, as I wrote in a comment:

I think Not Very Bright was trying to make it look as though Davis was hurting his cause more than he was helping it, but I disagree.

I think that assumption- that what Davis is doing causes more harm than good at least for equal rights for gay people (which Davis says is not his highest priority– rather the election of a Democratic president is) is based on the assumption that a relatively small South Carolina ad buy which plays on stereotypes in a humorous way is going to somehow effect the cause of advancing equal rights for gay people, more than an episode of Will & Grace does.

The truth is, if it has any effect (and nobody can predict whether it will or not), it will be to cause people who are already bigoted to question whether Giuliani is worth their support based on this issue, or is the person who he portrays himself to be when he’s campaigning there.

It won’t change any opinions about whether gay people should have equal rights or not.

In addition, even if Davis’ ad really was harmful to the cause of equal rights for gays (and I wholly reject the notion that it is), I doubt that it would be more harm than the help that a Democratic president could lend to the cause of equal rights, after a four year term in office. What’s more, Not Very Bright seems to be operating under the assumption that Giuliani would ever actually do anything supportive of equal rights for gays as president (Davis is “going out of his way to punish politicians who support gay rights,” he says in another post), which I think most reasonable people, no matter their politics, can agree is not likely in the least.

Filed under: Z-TDB Blog