Why is the Voice treating gossip as news?
Let’s take a page from an eighth-grade government textbook: In the United States of America, our justice system operates on the principle of innocent until proven guilty. Roughly speaking, it means the burden of proof rests on the accuser. Sadly, it seems more and more these days, that everyone is automatically assumed guilty absent of any required proof. This leaves the accuser free to say anything he wants, true or not, while rarely held accountable for the gossip and inaccuracies he perpetuates. Enter the latest, but not so greatest, gossip monger/exploiter du jour, Glen Maxey (and indirectly, David Webb).
It seems, that after Mr. Maxey’s “thorough” investigation of our governor’s sexuality, the best result he, or anyone else, can produce is the same, old, tired, worthless: “My best friend knows a guy who dated a waiter who is the cousin of a pizza delivery guy who’s mom used to babysit for a guy whose brother in-law used to deliver the mail to this dude who lived next door to Rick Perry in 1992 and has it on good authority …” Bullshit.
Glen Maxey’s words and actions parallel those of another former politician by the name of Joseph McCarthy. Under McCarthy, hundreds of people were accused of being Communist with no proof. They were never given the right to confront their accusers, or see the so-called evidence compiled against them. Lives were ruined with no more than an accusation. Like McCarthy, all Mr. Maxey is doing is waging a smear campaign based on rumor and innuendo. And like McCarthy with his “list” of Communists who had infiltrated the deepest layers of U.S. government, Mr. Maxey claims his own “list” of witnesses and evidence, while he has an even longer list of excuses as to why he can never share it with anyone. Until Mr. Maxey puts his money where his mouth is and can prove what he claims is true, he’s nothing more than a slanderer and libeler. It’s the equivalent of yelling “Fire!” in a crowded theater.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m NO fan of Rick Perry by any means, and the sooner that bastard leaves public office, the better. However, there’s a much larger issue at play here than Rick Perry’s sex life. Think about it. Anyone with a grudge, or who simply doesn’t like you, can make up any story he wants about you without having to provide a shred of evidence. He can spread those stories around in public, post it online (or publish a book) and it’s all on YOU to prove he’s a liar! Even if successful in proving the accuser a fraud, the seeds of doubt and mistrust have been sowed among your friends, relatives, and associates. Am I the only one who recognizes how screwed up that is?
Anyone reading this knows damn good and well that if this were a situation where Ann Coulter, Bill O’Reilly, or Rush Limbaugh was making similar accusations against any of our revered LGBT civic leaders (accusing Ellen DeGenes of being a pedophile, for example), the LGBT community would be raising hell. Yet, when Glen Maxey does it, everyone’s cool with it? Because we perceive our cause to be noble, we can rationalize being as despicable as the other guys? It just goes to show; red or blue, gay or straight, the excrement smells the same.
Jon Cooper, Dallas
Mainly because I and Jason Cherkis interviewed these men and also confirmed with their friends about these interactions with Perry. Just because these men have not chosen to go public does not make their stories rumor, gossip or innuendo Perry’s hypocrisy on glbt issues makes private life fair game.
Glen Maxey
I agree with Mr. Cooper, generally. Comparing accusations of homosexuality to accusations of pedophilia, however, is apples and organges, serving only to perpetuate stereotypes.
“In the United States of America, our justice system operates on the principle of innocent until proven guilty.” Mr. Cooper, you are correct. But you overlook one small detail: bigotry isn’t a crime. Therefore the justice system and all of your rhetoric associated with it are completely irrelevant. “This leaves the accuser free to say anything he wants, true or not, while rarely held accountable for the gossip and inaccuracies he perpetuates.” This goes hand in hand with freedom of the press. If you don’t believe me, pick up a supermarket tabloid the next time you buy groceries. “I’m NO fan of Rick Perry by any means, and the sooner that bastard leaves public office, the better.” So let his foes trash him, and let’s both hope like hell that his past catches up with him, and that it costs him enough votes to get his ass booted from politics altogether–not only in Texas but anywhere else he might want to take his bigotry and his 2.22 grade point average.
Mr Cooper hit the nail on the head about our justice system and ‘innocent till proven guilty’. I have a question for Mr Cooper -‘by your explanation, you imply that you believe that OJ Simpson is innocent, as well as the mom who was found not guilty of killing her daughter?’ Can you honestly tell us that you have never said anything (in conversation) other than OJ and the mom are innocent of the crimes they were accused of? I can tell you 100% that i have defended that the mom and OJ are innocent simply because their guilt wasn’t proven in a court of law. I haven’t met anyone yet that agrees with me that ‘they were innocent because they weren’t proven guilty’. Now, about the ‘so called gossip’, as you call it – I lived in Austin from May 2006 through May 2007. While I lived there the news, the newspaper(s), etc… ALL covered the Mrs Perry wanted a divorce and the ‘gay’ issue was at the heart of it. if I remember correctly, she met with attorney(s) and filed for divorce. Quickly she took it back and changed her mind, which fueled the ‘gay rumors’. When I moved back to Dallas I was surprised that 99% of people I talked with didn’t know about the issue with Mrs. Perry, the divorce filing, and the rumor that she allegedly ‘caught him’. So there was an intense investigation by various news outlets in Austin at the time. Also, Rick Perry has had the ‘gay rumor’ shaddowing him for a LONG time. People that have had the ‘gay rumor’ following them eventually ‘come out’ or are forced to’come out’. Give it time, he won’t be the exception.
Now, back to your ‘gossip issue’. The two topics I wrote above are completely different. One states that our system of justice work by ‘innocent until proven guilty’ and saying one is guilty afterwards is gossip. The Rick Perry issue ‘seems to have a LOT of weight to it’. In the Rick Perry is Gay topic i don’t think it’s gossip as much as it is ‘an observation. That’s like me sayin ‘Quitter Sarah & Perry are idiots’. It’s not gossip, its my observation’ with a lot of weight to it (I.e. examples of both being idiotic’.
OK, here’s the thing: There are lots of men who do not identify themselves as Gay (which they see as a cultural label) who may have girlfriends or wives and even children … and still occasionally have sex with other men. In the Black community such men are perceived to be on the “Down Low.” For those of us involved in HIV awareness and prevention such men are referred to by the somewhat clinical term, “MSM”: Men who have sex with other men. These are the sorts of men who gravitate more toward furtive, anonymous sexual encounters in places like motels, roadside rest stops, and airport restrooms, rather than living their lives openly and honestly like respectable Gay men should. It may be that political figures such a Larry Craig and Andre Bauer and Rick Perry are these sorts of men. So when they vehemently deny that they are “Gay,” they may be speaking honestly. It’s just that they like boying around on the side.