Concerning Maggie Gallagher's Bloody Hands

Dear Maggie,

Do you have blood on your hands? Well, I wasn't going to say anything, but since you brought it up... Yes. Yes, you do. And while you may have some interesting ideas that also deserve examining, that in no way absolves the pain you've inflicted on America.

You see, the vile that spills from your lungs and onto newspapers or into sound bites is exactly what we (LGBT-folk) mean when we refer to hate mongers. Your whole shtick is to blast gay people as evil. While I am often vulgar on this blog, the things you say about my people are far too vulgar to reprint here.

So you say these things and put together commercials that depict LGBT folk as some sort of menacing terror out to go all bed intruder on easily scare-able people. Those things are heard by young, queer teens. Those teens can internalize that hate. And the countless teen suicides over the years that are a result of this internalized hate is a direct result of the kind hate speech you and your ilk offer the world.

Does drug abuse play a role in teen suicide? Maybe… but what could possibly stress a gay teen out so much that they feel they need to escape reality for a few moments? I'm gonna go with being told that they don't deserve basic human civility, much less human rights. The same could be said for the other risky behaviors you mention. When you treat a group as if they are outsiders beneath your level of contempt, that fucks with those people's psyche.

So, in conclusion: Yes, Maggie, you do have blood on your hands. You can either chose to rectify that or pull a Pontius Pilate. While I have hope that you will someday understand the pain you've caused, I'm just not very optimistic that you're tainted world view will ever change.

Sincerely,

Me