Political Hoaxes and Jokes

by adminwp in Ryan Shattuck | 0 comments

I love a good joke. I love jokes about relationships, I love jokes about politics, I love jokes about sexual identity, I love jokes about social behavior, and I love jokes about shipping homosexuals out of a state in a manner reminiscent of the Holocaust.
Speaking of really funny jokes, stop me if you’ve heard this one:

“BREAKING: Download a proposed ballot initiative that seeks forced relocation — “final solution” — of homosexual Utahns”

Actually, this is not a joke. It’s a tweet from Jesse Fruhwirth, a reporter with City Weekly. I stumbled across this tweet while surfing the intertubes recently, and began following the drama that would unfold over the next 24 hours. On March 8, a group calling itself Patriots for a Moral Utah held a press conference about a petition it had sent to Lieutenant Governor Greg Bell, requesting that he pass a law titled the “Fair Solution Initiative,” which stated:

“This bill enacts provisions in the Legislative Code pertaining to the involuntary redistribution and relocation of homosexuals to municipalities outside state boundaries or, to their rehabilitation in state sanctioned facilities.”

According to Patriots for a Moral Utah, this law was necessary because:

“In the past 5 years it has become increasingly difficult and troublesome for the stead-fast [sic] and moral citizens of Utah to live their lives and their faith in peace, while the homosexuals continually force their choices and behaviors on us.”

Permanently ship the gays out of the state?! If they refuse, they will be forced into rehabilitation?! OMGWTFHOLOCAUST?!

Naturally, everyone lost their minds. The queer blogosphere, in the words of local activist (and fellow QSaltLake columnist) Troy Williams, “went bonkers.” A swarm of Utah media showed up at Patriots for a Moral Utah’s press conference at the Utah State Capitol. Emotions flared, insults were hurled, and action was demanded.

And it was all a big fat joke. Ha. Ha ha ha. Ha ha.

The press release, the proposed bill, the press conference, the protesters, and even the group itself were all part of an elaborate hoax. As it turns out, Patriots for a Moral Utah was actually an activist group consisting of members of the Utah gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, who staged the political satire to highlight “the many groups, legislators, organizations and religions who speak against the LGBT community.” According to the group’s Web site:

“We love our community, and hope that our political farce has helped in highlighting what we feel is the ridiculousness and cruelty of some in our legislature and groups like The Eagle Forum, the Patrick Henry Caucus and America Forever. Thank you to all those who caught the big picture of our attempt and who have supported the efforts of all those who made this a reality.”

There’s no question that this hoax was effective in getting people to ask questions about the ridiculousness and cruelty of some politicians and ‘religious’ groups. Although the idea of shipping gay men and women out of the state may seem ludicrous, it’s quite possible that some extreme conservative political groups rubbed their hands together and thought, “Why didn’t we think of this first?”

Nevertheless, many have started to question whether this political satire helps or hurts the overall fight for equality. Do such political stunts bring us closer to our enemies for reconciliation, or do these stunts offend our enemies and drive them further away? If our ultimate goal is to build bridges with those who oppose gay rights, does it make any sense to participate in political hoaxes that mock the bridge builders?

Personally, I have very mixed feelings about this hoax. One the one hand, I believe that extreme political action — such as the one that took place on March 8 — is necessary to wake people up to the fact that hateful extremists really do exist. On the other hand, I also believe that the way to equality is not through tricks and deceiving people, but through genuine negotiation and open communication.

Am I wrong? Is the joke being played on me as well?

No one single person knows the pure and direct path to equality. Violence or non-violence, honesty or manipulation, bridge building or bridge burning. There are those who believe that putting an arm around our political enemies and explaining to them kindly why equality in marriage, the workforce, the military, and other aspects of life is fundamental to who America is; there are others who believe that such tactics are naive and ineffective. If we are to make any kind of progress in the battle for equality, we must ensure that our fight is not hijacked by extremists on either side.

I recognize that my opinion of Patriots for a Moral Utah political satire is lukewarm at best. We still do not know what kind of consequences will come from this. But if we are to make any progress as a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, it may do us good to remember that such political stunts, hoaxes and jokes come with both positive and negative side effects that cannot be predicted.

And that’s nothing to laugh at.