MSNBC Yuks it up at Gays' Expense

Last night, as I staggered to bed in a wine-induced stupor, I reached for the TV controller and tried to turn on Fox News. Instead, what I got was MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann!! In an instant, I was cold stone sober.



Well, not exactly. Last night, MSNBC's .215-hitting pinch-hitter, Lawrence O'Donnell, was sitting in for Keith. Anyway, when I turned it on, O'Donnell was ranting about the Democrats' latest pinata, Eric Massa, that goofball ex-congressman from Bullsnuts County, New York, who is now enjoying his 15 minutes of fame. Even though Massa is a Democrat, he is lashing out at the White House and his party about being forced to resign because he was against the health care bill. Thus, he must be destroyed-even though he is doing a pretty good job of doing it himself.



O'Donnell dragged on Playboy Mansion house guest Bill Maher, and the two proceeded to engage in a frat boy exchange about Massa's suspected homosexuality. They showed him dodging the G-question during his appearance on "Larry King on Life Support". They showed him on Glenn Beck. Then the jokes poured out about tea-bagging, snorkeling, upper bunk-lower bunk, Massa massages, and the Village People's song, "In the Navy" as they proceeded to tell us how the Navy must be full of guys having sex together on those long boat rides.

At one point, O'Donnell asked Maher what it was like in the Navy since he (Maher) had been in the Navy. Maher corrected him, of course because he has never been in the Navy-or any other military service, for that matter. In addition, there were all kinds of playful references to "Tickle me Elmo", the groping and congressmen rolling around on the floor. In other words, Maher and O'Donnell were really piling on-no pun intended.

Now, I am no gay-rights crusader, and I have even been accused of being a homophobe on this site, but here's my point: If we are going to be sensitive to gays and stop doing the things we did to them not so long ago, isn't this type of banter out of line? These two morons were publicly laughing about gay sexual behavior, and that is too much even for me-an opponent of gay marriage. What if Sean Hannity or someone else at Fox engaged in this type of silly sophomoric banter on air? Would there not be howls of outrage? Is there a double standard when liberal talk show hosts and their guests engage in this kind of chatter?

Of course there is.