Your Old Road is Rapidly Aging

So get out of the new one if you can't lend your hand:

In comments to the ombudsman’s call-in line (202.334.7582), one reader said, “the picture of two guys kissing makes me cringe.” Another called it “ridiculous,” adding: “Put it on page 10 or page four, put it in the paper, but I do not like it right there where I can’t avoid looking at it.”

Many threatened to cancel their Post subscriptions, and more than two dozen did. Post circulation vice president Gregg Fernandes said that late last week 27 subscribers canceled, specifically citing the photo. In contrast, The Post reported only two cancellations immediately after last July’s ethics uproar over its ill-advised plan to sell sponsorships to off-the-record “salon” dinners at the publisher’s residence.

Did the Post go too far? Of course not.

Damn right. Fuck 'em. Fuck 'em with very gay penises, right in their faces where they don't want things shoved. And double-fuck all of 'em who wrote in saying things like, "I have kids, you know."

One called me to complain about “promoting a faggot lifestyle.” Another complained about the photo in an e-mail to the two Post reporters who wrote Thursday’s story about the licenses: “That kind of stuff makes normal people want to throw up. People have kids who are being exposed to this crap. I will be glad when your rag goes out of business. Real men marry women.”

Emphasis mine. I swear, there are a lot of things that drive me wild about the politics of modern parenting but one major thing is this: Your kids are not your excuse to be a total blowhole assface of a human being.

Your kids are not to blame for your politics. Your kids are not to blame for your decisions. Your kids are not to blame for any way in which you choose to live your life. Your kids are your kids, and they're people, and I know this is me saying this, childless whore, etc. And I'm not saying having children can't inform your worldview. I'm saying own your worldview as YOURS, instead of hiding behind your children's blankies and pretending you can't help yourself.

Jesus H. Gentle Cycle Christ, I hate this. Like, how are we to suppose this works, that you used to be a fair and decent person but then you had a kid and decided, "You know, white sheets look fucking good on me now!" You had a kid and then went, "Hmm, suddenly ladies kissing each other is just not on!" Bullshit. You always felt this way, and now you can justify it with somebody who is more into playing with blocks or reading comic books than realizing his parents are total assholes. 

Problem is, he won't always be too into his own stuff to notice yours. So won't it be fun for junior to read someday that you used to be a good person and now you suck, and he was the line between before and after? And not only do you suck, but you're such a stupendous pussy that you can't even give yourself credit for the decision to suck, you've got to shove it off on him? Isn't that charming? Do these people listen to themselves?

You wanna be a bigot? You wanna hate gay people? You wanna wax redneck in the pages of the Post about faggot lifestyles and shoving things down people's throats? YOU DO THAT THEN. You just go do it. You go and do that all on your own, slick. You go and do that because YOU want to do it, you stupid motherfucker. You go and do that because you've taken a good long hard look in the mirror and decided that writing pissy letters to the paper about how you don't like reality anymore is the best way to spend your time. You do that because being a bigot is what you want to be.

Leave your children out of it. 

Via Balloon Juice.

A.

Comments

[outrage broken]

Band name? Album name? One way or another, I will find a use for "Gentle Cycle Christ".

[virgotex]

Agreed. Because it's not about their children being exposed to it.

It's about the parents having to explain to their kids this schism. "Yeah,the world out there doesn't seem to have a problem with this but mommy and I hate these people and want them to die. And you should too."

You want to teach your kids your "values," it's your sad privilege to do so. But don't expect the world to agree with you in order to make your job of teaching them to hate easier.

[Fiddlin' Bill]

Doghouse Riley should actually repost this. You are absolutely 100% right on. Thank you!

[FeralLiberal]

So go ahead and cancel your newspaper subscription, block most of the TV channels, homeschool your kids, hang out on wingnut websites. Spend your life indulging in mental masturbation avoiding anything that would challenge your lizard-brained worldview. Your masters are relying on you to stay stupid and continue to vote against your own best interests.

[Elspeth Ravenwind]

Now available w/a 9 month lead time: Customized human(e) shields for your own personal hate/distaste! Don't like something but feel awkward taking a stand on your own? Get a stroller-full of Human(e) Shield and pawn your idiotic bias away on them!

[Michael]

Another great rant. This one immediately reminded me of Iowa Senator Mike Gronstal's story about his daughter listening to some "conservative, older men" on this topic: "You've already lost."

Sometimes our children teach us, and, if we're fortunate, we're ready to learn.

[leinie]

So dead on - own it and quit hiding behind your kids. Like the world going to give you some kind of medal for parenting because you teach hate. We all know you were wearing that white sheet long before the lucky sperm hit that egg.

[Davis]

Thanks. "What about the children?!" is the all-purpose excuse for stupid drug laws, bullshit about the deficit, censorship (Catcher in the Rye!), etc. I hate it, too.

P.S. Tbogg sent me.

[hoppy]

Come on now. I thought it was settled that Bill Clinton had ruined all of the children years ago, and forever. I mean, just knowing that your parents know that the pundits know that Clinton enjoyed sex was enough to do permanent damage to all of our American children forever, should give us a clue. Alas, the damage was done long before the Post published that photo.

[MapleStreet]

Any chance that we can do away with the PDAs of heterosexual couples who are holding up the check-out line in the mistaken belief that we don't mind waiting / that we care about their love life ?

[histrogeek]

I am a parent and I can't imagine what a paranoid little world that fucker has to live. The one and only thing I am so unsure about how to explain to my son that I shield him from it is death. Even with that I mostly just say that someone on TV is "hurt" and distract. He is only 3. If this idiot doesn't know how to do that, he's the worst parent in the fucking world. It's just bullshit, bullshit, bullshit.
via Tbogg

[Dan]

I have kids too, and let me tell you there is some egregious bullshit in the Washington Post that I would never want them exposed to.

[Linda]

You said it just the way I would, if I were smart enough. Bravo!

[missy]

I'm thrilled when I can show pictures like that to my son: "Look, L. the world is finally changing for the better!"

[pluky]

The only things one gets from trying to 'shield' ones kids from reality is an early realization on their part that:

1) You don't know everything.
2) Some things you do know about, you lie about.

[David in NYC]

TBogg sent me.

That was marvelous. I'd suggest you send it to WaPo as an antidote, or at least counterweight, to the bullshit being spewed over there, but I think we all know that the odds of it being published there are slim and none. And Slim just left town.

If this is typical, I will be back here a lot.

[tata]

I love this rant and want to gay-marry it.