The newest installment of “Jurassic Park” is hitting theaters July 4th weekend, and whereas usually I detest foolish summer season sequels, for some purpose I do get pleasure from watching dinosaurs eat individuals on the large display.
“Your scientists have been so preoccupied with whether or not they might, they didn’t cease to assume if they need to,” Jeff Goldblum famously mentioned within the 1993 authentic. After his character completely framed the moral query nestled within the coronary heart of the Jurassic Park story, I used to be more than pleased to see Newman from “Seinfeld” get what he deserved. An excellent line or film monologue — like Goldblum’s gem — can’t solely advance a fictional plot, however additionally foster conversations about actual life. Contemplate how Michael B. Jordan’s character Killmonger challenged the concept of isolationism and Jack Nicholson’s line “You possibly can’t deal with the reality” explored what it takes to defend this nation, morally.
One in every of my all-time favourite film monologues was delivered by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman within the 1999 cult basic “Flawless.” Within the scene, Hoffman — portraying a no-nonsense drag queen — confronts a bunch of conservative homosexual males who search to mute the extra flamboyant members of the LGBTQ+ throughout a Delight march in an try to realize broader acceptance.
“You’re ashamed of us, however we’re not ashamed of you,” the speech begins. “So long as you go down in your Banana Republic knees … you’re my sisters and I really like you. I do. And f— off!”
I wonder if Richard Grenell, the previous ambassador to Germany who presently serves as an envoy for particular missions within the Trump administration, has seen it. I ask as a result of Grenell, who throughout President Trump’s first time period grew to become the nation’s first brazenly homosexual Cupboard-level official, spent a part of this Delight month attempting to drive a wedge throughout the neighborhood in a vogue similar to what was portrayed within the 25-year-old movie.
In a Fact Social submit again in December, Trump mentioned that within the envoy function, Grenell would “work in among the hottest spots across the World, together with Venezuela and North Korea.” It appears one in all Grenell’s particular missions was to promote America on the concept gender identification and transgender healthcare are exterior the realm of what “regular gays” are involved with.
He additionally urged the LGBTQ+ neighborhood must police itself, echoes of the identical respectability politics framework that’s usually employed to gaslight those that have been systematically disenfranchised. After all Grenell just isn’t the primary conservative homosexual man who has used his station in life to complement himself on the expense of the collective.
Not lengthy after Hoffman’s character went off in “Flawless” in 1999, Ken Mehlman was appointed President George W. Bush’s director of political affairs and spent years working towards legalizing same-sex marriage — as we now know, from the closet. In 2010, Mehlman, a former chairman of the Republican Occasion, got here out as homosexual. Biographers have documented J. Edgar Hoover’s relationships with males at the same time as he was driving the Lavender Scare. His confederate, Roy Cohn, has an identical story.
As the assorted letters recommend, the LGBTQ+ neighborhood is way from a monolith. Nonetheless, if there’s one factor most of us have in frequent, it’s our tendency to not vote towards our personal curiosity. In 2020, Trump received 27% of the vote. In 2024, it was right down to 12%. In between the 2 elections, we noticed a relentless Republican-led assault on LGBTQ+ rights of which Trump has usually been the instigator.
I don’t know what Grenell considers “regular homosexual” conduct, however he doesn’t symbolize regular homosexual voting. The concept that he might converse for the neighborhood’s core values just isn’t solely laughable but additionally woefully disingenuous. It was the drag queens and gender-nonconforming members of the neighborhood who started the Stonewall Riots in 1969. Earlier than Grenell was even born, the primary out homosexual particular person to run for public workplace wasn’t a “regular homosexual” however a unprecedented drag queen by the identify of Jose Sarria in 1961. The teams who received progress for queer individuals have by no means been monolithically made up of white, Anglo, heteronormative males. That’s what makes the homosexual rights motion so stunning, so American, so worthy of satisfaction and celebration.
And that’s additionally why it’s so bizarre, given the apparent concern rippling via the LGBTQ+ neighborhood due to Trump’s phrases and actions, that Grenell chooses to make use of his station to combat for the members of his neighborhood who want his assist the least, and to take action on the expense of the LGBTQ+ individuals who actually need a champion.
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Concepts expressed within the piece
- The writer asserts that Delight’s essence lies in embracing range and progress relatively than conforming to respectability politics, criticizing figures like Richard Grenell for making an attempt to marginalize flamboyant or non-conforming LGBTQ+ members to realize broader acceptance[1][4].
- Granderson emphasizes the historic function of drag queens and gender-nonconforming people in pivotal moments just like the Stonewall Riots, noting that the primary brazenly homosexual political candidate (Jose Sarria) was a drag queen, which challenges trendy efforts to sanitize LGBTQ+ advocacy[1][4].
- He highlights that the LGBTQ+ neighborhood just isn’t a monolith however shares a typical tendency to reject voting towards its pursuits, evidenced by Trump’s declining assist (from 27% in 2020 to 12% in 2024) amid Republican-led assaults on LGBTQ+ rights[1][4].
- The article condemns Grenell for reinforcing respectability politics, arguing that his alignment with insurance policies dangerous to weak LGBTQ+ members—notably transgender people—contradicts the neighborhood’s legacy of inclusive activism[1][4].
Completely different views on the subject
- Conservative policymakers advocate for proscribing federal Medicaid funding for gender-affirming care, arguing such measures defend taxpayer {dollars} from supporting “experimental” remedies, with the Trump-backed Home invoice framing this as fiscal duty[2].
- Critics of gender-affirming care contend that states ought to independently regulate these providers, suggesting federal funding permits medically pointless procedures, although authorized challenges cite potential violations of anti-discrimination legal guidelines within the Reasonably priced Care Act[2][3].
- Republican narratives, as noticed on the 2024 RNC, place LGBTQ+ rights as infringing on parental rights and non secular freedoms, framing gender-affirming care bans as protections for youngsters relatively than discrimination[3].
- Some conservative voices throughout the LGBTQ+ neighborhood, like Grenell, argue that prioritizing transgender points distracts from “mainstream” homosexual rights targets (e.g., marriage equality), selling a heteronormative picture for broader societal acceptance[1][3].
