Is Alec Baldwin a Homophobe?

Absolutely not. After the UK's not so legitimate "news" outlet, The Daily Mail, published George Stark's accusation that Baldwin's wife Hilaria was Tweeting during James Gandolfini's funeral, Baldwin took to Twitter himself to launch a series of "attacks" at Stark, one point calling him a "toxic little queen."

Well, the media didn't miss a step a hopped right on the butter behind Paula Deen branding Baldwin a raging homophobe.

There's a bit of irony in the fact that so many gay men have supported Deen in her alleged struggle despite the fact that she has chosen to make excuses and paint herself the victim rather than empathize, a woman who's done nothing for the gay community, yet quickly jumped on the attack wagon against someone who's vocally supported us for decades, even before it was popular.

Fame in the Age of the Internet

The new media is quickly proving that the double edged sword of fame might not always be worth the cash. As apologies from celebrities become more and more forced they seem less sincere even when they are.

As Twitter and Facebook make our icons more accessible, that access becomes less genuine. It's through no fault of our actors and singers who would probably prefer to do their jobs, but the internet is turning those with careers into inadvertent Kardashians. Most aren't fame whores; they're professionals, parents, children, and employees. 

Baldwin and Deen aren't politicians professionally versed in public relations and probably just want to go back to work. While celebrities have publicists that handle the nightmares that follow their missteps, occasional outburst are nothing compared to how most civilians would handle the unjust expectations of the public eye.

I challenge anyone questioning Baldwin's actions to react to the accusation that your pregnant wife was misbehaving during the funeral of a good friend, an accusation broadcast to the entire world. Baldwin's comments weren't only just, they were understated.

Words are Words

In what the media undoubtedly wishes was the f-bomb, Baldwin called Stark a "toxic little queen." As a card carrying homo, I'm not only unoffended by it, I agree.

It's not a broad label that unfairly applies to a broad range of people, and the word "queen" itself has never necessarily been offensive. Let's get down to semantics here. The insult in that phrase is "toxic little." Stark is a queen, and his comments were toxic and little. We all agree that the paparazzi are the scum of the journalism industry, and most in the paparazzi likely agree.

When it comes to equality, we're just now seeing light at the end of tunnel. Perhaps we should take this time to consider how our community views the words that hurt us in the past. Let's say Baldwin did drop the f-bomb. Given his support for all of our causes, only the smallest of us would be so shortsighted as to ignore decades of public action and label him a homophobe for one slip of the Twit.

In light of Paula Deen's past comments there has been nonstop debate about how we view words, how some can use them and some can't. Although most agree the f-bomb isn't appropriate for anyone, the gay community has yet to publish an official language guide for political correctness.

Maybe we shouldn't.

Instead of segregating our vocabulary, maybe we should shrug it off. Let's face it, there will always be ass holes out there who utter obscenities. I just did. Maybe we should kill the power behind the word by shrugging it off with a, "yeah, I'm a fag, so what?" All of a sudden the word becomes as benign as "black" or "gay" and bigots are forced to struggle with the fact that their insults have no power.

The Double Standard

We often grant a free pass to friends, family, and those closest to us, but expect those we'll never know to stand motionless against public scrutiny. The next time you're at a family reunion and Uncle Eddie says "I like The Big Bang Theory, even though Parson's a little fruit," treat him like a celebrity. Call CNN. Post a blog about it. Send an angry mob to his house.

Celebrities are burdened with an unfair responsibility to act in a certain manner, to stifle opinions and comments we're free to make. In return - we tell ourselves - they're millionaires. Most of us will never know what it's like to face the court of public opinion, yet we claim to know how one should react. When a man's family is publically attacked, the public attacks the victim.

Any reasonable person knows that Baldwin's comments were directed at one person and only one person, but reason doesn't exist behind the cloak of the internet. Comments fueled by jealousy are masked behind the anonymity of the comments section. Anyone shocked that such an outspoken advocate for gay rights hasn't actually considered the fact that Baldwin is such an outspoken advocate for gay rights.

It's offensive to our own fight that we forced an apology from this great man. George Stark is a public figure himself and has done more damage representing our community as a toxic little queen, allowing us to tear apart a man who continues to fight for our cause, against some of his own family members, despite the fact that he doesn't have to.

Paula Deen Fired: Hype or a Just Discision

Will the reigning queen of the Food Network fired just one hour after her publically posted apologies, the blogosphere has exploded with an outpouring of support for the 66 year old self trained chef, harshly criticizing the cable network's swift decision.

If you haven't heard what happened, one of Deen's Savannah restaurants has been slapped with a discrimination suit by a former employee. During a deposition and under oath, Deen admitted to having used racial slurs in the past, although a long time in the past.

Unfortunately for everyone, the media storm, and perhaps even the deposition itself, focused too sharply on one word, and you can guess which word.

Once the internet caught wind of the admission, the quest to uncover the alleged discrimination at Deen's restaurant took a back seat to hype, as did the notion that racism is much more than one word.

It isn't just unfair to Deen whose case has been moved from the courthouse to the court of public opinion, but by reducing racism to one word, it's unfair to those charging her restaurant with discrimination.

One would think any legal representative involved in a racial discrimination case would understand that the intricacies of racism are far more dynamic than words. This undermines the entire claim and those who may have very truly been victimized by Deen's employees.

And what about Deen herself? Did she use this word in the past because it was acceptable, and in an irrelevant context? Did she use it as a racial slur? Did she hold racist beliefs in the past? And if so, can a former racist be forgiven?

Many have recently come out in favor of gay marriage, including politicians as prominent as our own President, claiming their opinion on the topic has "evolved." Former f-bomb dropping classmates are now my Facebook friends donning red HRC marriage equality profile pics. Twenty years from now will we be vilifying them for something they said in 1992?

Now that Deen's case has gone down the rabbit hole of the internet no one but her and those closest to her will ever know how she really feels. Youtube apologies are the go-to response of all celebrities, the genuine and not so genuine. Whether we except it or not it's impossible to determine if an apology is genuine when it's been requested or forced.

Meanwhile Food Network is facing its own unjust scrutiny over a decision that likely had very little to do with the word Deen uttered many years ago. In the world of reality television, Food Network sets surprisingly high standards. You don't see Cake Boss or Hell's Kitchen on Food Network because the network makes strides to avoid hiring personalities that overshadow the content.

Deen was already a larger than life character that came close to pushing the network's limits, but her recipes always came first. Food Network likely chose not to renew Deen's contract because her personal life due to the trial has become more prominent than her show, which is why she'll undoubtedly be offered a spot on a less respectable network like TLC.

PB&J is Racist...

...wait, what? Wasn't peanut butter invented by George Washington Carver?

Well one principal from the Harvey Scott K-8 school in Portland, OR, Verenice Gutierrez, seems to think that the otherwise benign sandwich has subtle implications pointing towards white privilege, namely because of the concept of the sandwich itself. She points directly to Somali or Hispanic students who might eat torta or pita.

Branding the insidious sandwich came as part of Portland's "Courageous Conversations" program, encouraging school employees to read articles and discuss popular topics from the perspective of "white privilege."

In other words, it's a program designed to make a privileged demographic feel like they've done their part without actually making them talk to a real minority.

Of course, it's bad enough whenever you get enough privileged people in a room together. You can be sure something's going to get banned. If it's not abortion or gay marriage, they're banning shellfish and dodgeball.

But what about the kids? A bunch of officials, who admittedly know nothing about racial adversity by creating a program to analyze racial adversity - without consulting anyone adversely affected by racism - have charged themselves with tackling racial adversity.

That's what's taking place. And they're serious.

Meanwhile the minority students at Harvey Scott are saddled with a principal telling everyone that their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are racist towards them.

It is amazing the lengths to which the privileged will go to make the underprivileged miserable, just to quell their own guilt.

What's more racist than Falafel Friday? Having a  Falafel Friday just to make your Middle Eastern students feel comfortable, when a kid of any color doesn't care what's for lunch as long as it tastes good.

Brogurt

I've always loved yogurt. Sure, I'm gay, but when I was being picked on in school, the last thing anyone cared about was the cup of yogurt in my lunchbox.

In fact a quick Google search for "Why don't guys eat yogurt" comes up with countless articles and blogs questioning just that.

In fact, most include a list of comments from wives whose husbands put yogurt on their shopping lists, and even some husbands complaining that the portion size is too small for men.

It's true. It's delicious. It's an excellent and refreshing post-workout snack. And as far as I know there is absolutely nothing about it that makes it more or less beneficial for men or women. In fact, it's extremely healthy for everyone. Hell, a quick survey of men (in my general vicinity) states that all men buy yogurt, often two at a time.

So why then do advertisers exclusively market the healthy treat to women. Jamie Lee Curtis plugs her Activia like it's the healthy gateway to menopause while countless other young hotties lick their lids exclaiming it's the reason for their tight abs. But where are the men? Aside from John Stamos whose surname landed him his own Greek yogurt ad campaign, I've never seen a man eat yogurt on television.

Of course the truth is probably that sweets generally aren't marketed towards men. In fact short of Hungry Man and barbeque sauce, food is rarely marketed to men at all.

While one brand of yogurt, Powerful Yogurt, uses the Axe Body spray approach to market a product they know we'll use anyway by branding the same yummy goo in a manly black cup, it hasn't really taken off.

Likely because most men will just eat what's already in the fridge. And if you're living with a chick, some young Hollywood celebutante has made sure it's already stocked with a pretty pink cup of yogurt.

Mobile's Prancing Elites

Mobile's Prancing Elites, an all male cheerleading squad in...Alabama...get Out's Internet Win of the day, and receive praise from Shaquille O’Neal.

Take a look.

Another Witch Hunt in Florida

Kaitlyn Hunt was just like many other high school seniors, looking forward to graduation, dating a younger classmate, likely wondering what might come of a budding romance once college began. You know, the typical burdens of our teenage years that are mountains of anxiety to the adolescent mind.

But Kaitlyn and her parents didn't know that the complexities of being a teenager, and raising one, were nothing compared to the stink of bigotry and hatred laying in wait, plotting a way to utterly destroy the life of an innocent and bright teenager.

Why?

You guessed it. Kaitlyn was dating a girl.

18 year old Kaitlyn was arrested for a romance that began in November with a 14 year old student, and now faces two felony counts of "lewd and lascivious battery on a child 12 to 16." Police took Kaitlyn away from the Hunt-Smith household in handcuffs back in February.

Kaitlyn's mother, Kelly Hunt-Smith has stood by her daughter, claiming that the other parents had never reached out to her or stated that they had any problem with the relationship.

The Sebastian River High School refused to expel Kaitlyn despite the parents' plea to have her removed from the school. The parents successfully managed to get the school board to remove Kaitlyn weeks before graduation, however she finished school elsewhere and will be able to walk from Sebastian River.

Kaitlyn Hunt with her father, Steve.

Indian River County Sheriff Deryl Loar claimed that the prosecution was entirely based on the age difference, and not sexual orientation. There's no reason to believe that's not true, after all this won't be the first time that Florida has prosecuted an 18 or 19 year old senior for a relationship with a younger student.

However, the larger question is whether Kaitlyn would have even been arrested in the first place had her girlfriend's parents not brought the situation to the authorities.

However things may have gotten a little stickier this week.

Circuit Judge Robert Pegg eagerly pushed back 200 pending criminal cases to get to Kaitlyn's trial, a move which Hunt's attorney, Julia Graves claims was driven by bias towards Hunt.

It's hard not to leap to conclusions about the Florida justice system shortly after the arrest of Kiera Wilmot, another Florida minority, for conducting an impromptu "science experiment" that could have landed her in prison as a domestic terrorist.

Fortunately for Kiera, the charges were dropped and she has been allowed to return to school to graduate, thanks in part to an outpouring of support for the science community. While the bigotry Kiera faced was very real and should not be forgotten, Kaitlyn faces a much more recently accepted level of bigotry, a type of hatred not just accepted in her part of the country, but applauded as just.

Although Kaitlyn has received an outpouring of support from around the world, much of that world and her's still view Kaitlyn's sexuality as deviant, regardless of her age or her girlfriend's.

State prosecutors offered Hunt a plea bargain that would allow her to avoid registering as a sex offender if she pleads guilty to child abuse. However that felony charge would remain on her record and affect her college and job prospects, and require her to be on house arrest for two years and probation for one.

State attorney Bruce Colton stated that the prosecuting family does not want Hunt to face jail time, but to be held "responsible." Its true that prosecutors, police, and school administrators are technically doing their jobs, and there really is no objective proof that any of the elected or appointed officials have acted out of prejudice, at least not yet.

But the most reprehensible party in the entire situation are the parents of Kaitlyn's girlfriend. Parents who are vested enough in their child's life to contact the police regarding her girlfriend, but unwilling to talk to anyone in their daughter's life.

What kind of relationship could they possibly have with their daughter? The sad fact is that despite the turning tides of public acceptance towards gays and lesbians, these parents likely believe they are acting in the best interest of their daughter by destroying the life of someone else's.