Ends and Odds, Mostly Odds

In the spirit of pubescent smarminess we’ve come to associate with righties — a rightie blogger has decided it would be oh, so clever to open a gay bar next to the Cordoba House Islamic center in lower Manhattan. I did some googling and discovered there is already a gay bar around the corner (Remix Fridays, 24 Murray Street between Church & Broadway.) But that bar appears to be a popular lesbian bar, so maybe it doesn’t count.

The person who came up with this idea says “I am planning to build and open the first gay bar that caters not only to the west, but also Islamic gay men.” Somehow, I suspect the many gay bars already in Manhattan cater to Muslim men already. Further the entire bleeping Village is only about a five- to ten-minute cab ride from the Cordoba House site. So I doubt a gay bar for men would do much business in that particular location. But, hey, if the guy wants to waste his money, who am I to disagree?

[Update: Andy Sullivan loves this idea and thinks here should be an initiative to open gay bars next to all churches, temples, mosques and synagogues that preach discrimination against homosexuals. Works for me, although in most communities you couldn’t do it because of zoning laws.]

In the who you callin’ an elitist department — William McGurn of the Wall Street Journal complains that the recent court ruling that overturned Prop 8 in California questioned the motives of Prop 8 supporters. Specifically, McGurn disputes the idea that Prop 8 supporters were motivated by bigotry.

According to McGurn, the judge said, “The evidence shows conclusively that moral and religious views form the only basis for a belief that same-sex couples are different from opposite-sex couples.” Well, yes. And McGurn provides no evidence or argument whatsoever to show there is a reason outside moral and religious views to oppose same-sex marriage. He just doesn’t like being called a bigot.

Well, dude, if the shoe fits … but what really got me tickled was the subhead on the article, which is “Attacking the motives of those who disagree with elite opinion has become all too common.” So, get this, the federal judge is part of an “elite”, but McGurn — a guy who was once a White House speech writer, a guy who has a master’s degree from Boston University, a guy who writes opinions for the bleeping Wall Street Journal — is not part of an “elite”? on what planet?

If you read the entire column — and you certainly don’t have to — you see what McGurn is doing — people who disagree with conservative opinions are, by definition, an “elite,” whereas people who hold conservative opinions are good ol’ salt-of-the-earth regular guys. Even if they are privileged, upper-income white guys who write for the Wall Street Journal.

He thereby questions the motives of people who disagree with conservative opinions — they only disagree because they are stuck-up snots. And a strong inference is that what a majority of people believe cannot be motivated by bigotry.

Um, yes it can, and often has been. Why does McGurn think it was so hard to get rid of Jim Crow?

Update: More buttinskys

Ads opposing a planned mosque near Ground Zero should soon be seen on city buses after the MTA signed off on their controversial design today.

A lawyer for the the New Hampshire group behind the campaign called the decision “a victory not just for free speech but against political correctness and Mayor Bloomberg’s bullying.”

Mayor Bloomberg ain’t the bully in this fight. And I think if the out-of-towners don’t butt out of New York City business, New Yorkers are going to get very, very pissed.

Another update: Steve M. also points out that there’s a gay bar almost next door to the Islamic center site already. He adds,

… if you build anything culturally conservative in New York, you’re going to be surrounded by stuff that’s not at all culturally conservative. (And you can’t live here for any length of time without knowing that, so I strongly suspect that the Cordoba House people wouldn’t react to a next-door gay bar in a way that would fulfill Greg Gutfeld’s most sophomoric hopes.)

Exactly, over the past few days I’ve seen a number of suggestions of things people might place near the Islamic center in retaliation, without realizing that whatever it is, it’s probably already there. So, everyone planning to build gay bars or open a doggie day care center or sell pork sandwiches from a cart will need to compete with gay bars, doggie day care centers and pork sandwich carts already in the neighborhood. Plus straight bars, at least one strip club, and lots of churches. All already there.

Hey, it’s New York.

One more update: It’s not a gay bar, but there’s a regular bar called the Dakota Roadhouse at 43 Park Place. From a map on the roadhouse site it appears to be on the same block as the proposed Islamic center, but closer to Church Street.

15 thoughts on “Ends and Odds, Mostly Odds

  1. So, what this idiot is saying is that Muslims hate gays as much as do our Chrisianists.
    I hope that the hateful imbecile who wants to open up gay bar, doesn’t talk to the people who brought dogs to the anti-Muslim rally, or he may try to prove Rick Santorum was right. I wouldn’t put anything past people like this.

    McGurn, you ARE part of the elite. Not the intellectual elite. But the ‘Wingnut Welfare Platoon of Idiot Pundits’ elite – ‘WaPo and WSJ Division.’
    This reminds me of past Senate races in the ‘Heartland” when incumbant’s run against the East Coast elite.
    Dude, DC is on the east coast, and you’re a member of a club of 100 out of a population of 350+ million. That ain’t exactly run-of-the-mill now, is it? But, people buy it. If P. T. Barnum had decided to run for politics instead of running a circus (do I repeat myself?), he might still be President 120 years after he died. “There’s a sucker born,” but you know the rest of the story…

  2. I want to understand this. (No, not really – I *do* understand this. But I want to emphasize how this is not reasonable.)

    If a judge renders a legal decision that does not call anyone a bigot, that’s calling people bigots. But if you say that the judge is a horrible person, because the judge is, you know, different – he renders decisions that you don’t like – that’s okay. It’s not spreading hate of people who are different from you.

    Is that what’s being said?

    I want to emphasize this because this “poor pitiful us!” whines from the right wing are really starting to piss me off.

    The NAACP says “we all saw racist bullshit at the tea parties; we’d like to hear the tea parties say that this is not what they’re about” and that’s accusing the tea parties of bigotry. A judge says that all evidence presented shows that the only arguments raised against gay marriage are based on private morals or religious beliefs, and that’s accusing others of bigotry.

    It’s not enough to say “you’re wrong”. No, they have to accuse the other side of being horrible people, calling people bigots.

    What kind of person needs to pound on a lie to win an argument?

  3. LHW,
    “What kind of person needs to pound on a lie to win an argument?”
    SATSQ:
    A Conservative!

  4. I think the Rightie provocateur missed the boat on this one, unless he means to build yet another gay bar for the next Eric Rudolph to blow up.

    Instead, I think the provocateur should have suggested opening a bar with a big neon image of the Prophet Mohammed on the sign out front. He can put it next to the bar I’m planning to open on the same block… I’m calling it “Piss Christ.”

  5. I think our rightie blogger should consider a Rent a Boy franchise located in Colorado Springs. A kiosk catering to evangelicals in Colorado Springs is way cheaper than New York real estate and would guarantee a larger profit with the volume of business it would be sure to generate. Maybe he could even seek out some endorsements from Focus on the Family or Promise Keepers.

    Hypocrites Я Us…?

  6. Swami: Good comment; made me laugh. And yeah, the wingnut blogger probably has no idea what NYC real estate costs are.

  7. A la McGurn:
    Surely it is possible to respect religious liberty and nonetheless believe that with a bit of neighborly solicitude, we might reach a workable accommodation by moving the center a few blocks.

    Surely it is possible?…I don’t think so! Just more rightie tripe dressed up with an air of innocent understanding designed to taint the argument against the Muslims. Neighborly solicitude and respect of religious liberty are in direct conflict with one another in McGurns statement, and a workable accommodation has no relevance beside a disrespecting of religious liberty given the history of the conflict.

  8. a bit of neighborly solicitude

    …does not mean what McGurn thinks it means. The dictionary defines “solicitude” as concern to a degree that involves fear, anxiety and apprehension. (Think Gladys Kravitz.)

    McGurn and his fellow Islamophobes have too much “solicitude” already. That’s the whole problem.

  9. Thanks, Purple Girl.. Another factor over looked by the rightie blogger is the cost and availability of a New York State liquor license. More precious than gold. I remember reading a few years back where some Pakistani paid $300,000 for a NYC taxi medallion, so I can’t imagine what a liquor license is going for these days. 35 years ago they were rumored to cost $50,000.

  10. We know how this will end. In 25-50 years EVERY state will have gay marriage and nobody will give it a second thought. It’s basically the same as the early 20th century ban on interracial marriage. As for demonizing every judge who disagrees with you, well, I can do that to. I’m pretty underwhelmed by the current abysmal quality of the SCOTUS. To think that other countries can plainly see that we have heartless, petty people like Alito, Roberts, and Thomas interpreting our constitution is a black eye on the face of America.

  11. I for one welcome more gay bars everywhere….they do have the best music and dancing..That said what pisses me off about the situation is righties trying to use members of the gay community as pawns to get back at a religious group they also hate..without a care what risk they may be putting those folks in should they go to a club at that location….why would any company insure a club (or any state issue a license to a club) who’s intent was to insight violence?

    I hope I can generalize gay people here for a minute, just based on the few folks I know well from the community and say that as a whole gay folks are very socially responsible people..I don’t believe for a minute that the community would go to any club knowing it was there because some jack ass wanted to get back at a religious group…I think most gay folks go out for the same reasons most straight folks go out…to have fun..I don’t think the prospect of a place like this sounds like much fun.. but thats just me…

    Oh and my own personal message to righties: Your stupid…if things like gay bars mattered to Muslims New York city is the LAST place they would build…If that mattered Alabama would be a better site

  12. “Another factor over looked by the rightie blogger is the cost and availability of a New York State liquor license. More precious than gold”

    Swami you may be mistaken, Those Moslem’s don’t drink and I’d bet the gay ones don’t even drive?

    You know as an atheist I’m dumbfounded as to why I have to come to the Moslems defense, I find their story as offensive if not more than the others. Maybe I should move to Indonesia then I could change teams.

  13. You know as an atheist I’m dumbfounded as to why I have to come to the Moslems defense, I find their story as offensive if not more than the others.

    uncledad … Maybe for the same reason I do…The enemy of my enemy is my friend?

  14. Another rightie exposing his lack of knowledge. As a matter of fact, according to my Afghani friend, the Taliban is mainly composed of gay men – which is, again according to my friend who knows that ‘world’ inside and out, why the Taliban has an abiding dislike of women!!!

    When I questioned my friend about, what was to me a revelation, he sighed (does that a lot when we talk) and asked me if I hadn’t noticed that when pictures are flashed across our screens of Taliban bigwigs, there are always a ‘rent boys’ in attendance.

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