To Isagani Cruz, Bigotted Old Fart

There has already been a lot of reactions to the Isagani Cruz article insulting members of the gay community. As a result of the numerous reactions demanding an apology, Cruz responded in his Sunday column; but the response was far from satisfactory. It was nothing more than a cop-out answer, a big fart just like he is. He said that had he known that Manolo Quezon was gay, he would not have written such an incidiary attack on the gay community. He claimed that he did not wish to include people like Quezon--- respectable homosexuals who are not as flaming and as effeminate as hair-dresssers--- among those whom he expressed his disgust for. But this is a serious case of skirting the issue. This statement does not do anything to undo the hurt he has caused the gay community at large.

Why can he not face the issue head-on? Simply because he can't. In no ethical and moral order of the contemporary times is what he said justifiable. He knows that what he said was wrong and that there is really no way of saving his old geezer ass. The current mode of thought simply frowns upon gender intolerance, and hate-mongering statements such as this. Last I heard, it was already the year 2006 and not the Middle Ages.

I feel that the danger in Cruz's statements is that it nostalgic for a time when people were forced by society to deny who they really were. Apparently Cruz wants every gay man and woman back inside the closet. But what he does not understand is that the closet is a terrible place to be in, because it is a serious hindrance to the advancement of the self. Even the Catholic Church says that all human beings have an inherent right to self-fulfillment. Gays and lesbians need to be able to express who they are in order to live a full human life. Thus, discriminatory social practices and hateful sentiments such as those displayed in Cruz's article, are crimes which go against, not only members of the gay community, but against all human beings who seek to live the human life they deserve. Cruz's article is therefore an attack on all those who were ever bullied in the school playground, all those those were ever teased because of being different, all those whose childish insecurities have been played upon by other people, and all those who have ever soaked their pillows and blankets in tears, wishing that they had been born into a society which was less cruel.

The increased respect for the gays, bi's, lesbians, and transgenders evident today is the product of years of struggle. It took the silent oppression of centuries upon centuries, for the gay community to gain the respect it now enjoys. What people like Cruz do is stomp upon the fruits of this hard-won victory. Naturally, this will attract the ire of an entire portion of the population who have suffered long enough. So I join the numerous others in expressing my contempt for Isagani Cruz. After all, a wrinkled old geezer is no match for an army of fabulous queens. I will not even dignify him by trampling his sorry ass with my Prada shoes.