Every once in a while, I feel optimistic about America. Today, the House passed a bill enacting, along with some terrible riders, healthcare reform on a level this country hasn’t seen before. It’s things like that, and things like the fact that Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is approaching the end of its miserable existence that make me proud to hold an American passport.
Other times, though, I’m less proud.
In 2006, I posted about some novice debaters I was coaching who got on my nerves. One crossed a bit of line by calling me a faggot, which got his entire conversation published on my LiveJournal. A few days ago, I checked Google Analytics and saw that that particular post was receiving an inordinate amount of traffic for something I wrote in 2006. I played it off to total coincidence, until I was sent the following screenshot of a Facebook status:
Ordinarily, I censor out names when I publish screenshots from Facebook on my blog. But in this instance, the people involved, two of whom I’ve never met or heard of before in my life — John Manov, Ben Taplin, Luis Suarez, and Zachary Zlatev (the younger brother of a friend of mine from high school) — deserve to be shamed. They deserve to know that while they aren’t worthy of me addressing them directly, they singlehandedly are enough to make me fear for the future of my country. It’s horrifying to think that people who attend Atlantic, who go through the same International Baccalaureate program I graduated from, and who, presumably, are the best and brightest South Florida has to offer, can be so thoroughly ignorant.
John Manov found his way to my blog again today and commented. I don’t know what, exactly, motivates his kind of virulent hatred other than latent homosexuality (especially because I haven’t seen the kid in something like five years, and have no recollection of anything about him, other than that he’s homophobic), nor do I want to. But what I do want to put out there is: while homophobes like him make me worry about the direction Western liberal society is moving in, it’s not anything that particularly fazes me. There comes a point, I think, when after you graduate from high school, being called a “fag” is no longer an insult. He’s a pimply, hormonal high schooler, and I’m an Oxford student. All I can really think to respond to his comment with is: yes, and?
I’m gay. You’re an ignorant motherfucker. Let’s all move the fuck on. And that’s all I have to say about that.
But, for all my lack of caring, these people do deserve to have this post and their intolerance be forever associated with their names in a Google search. At the very least, the internet affords me the right to that.
Great post! Who cares if you’re gay or not?! Really – what cunts!!
cunt? you think its ok to use that word you misogynistic shithead?
Good for you, Yoel! Your biting wit in place of fighting hatred with hatred makes me smile. I commend you. You’re an amazing person, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. (Obviously.)
bro, gotta say , youre pretty gay man
You miserable self-righteous, faggot. I don’t care that you’re an Oxford student (it’s no concern of mine where exactly you’re getting sodomized, you shit-eating, cocksucking catamite shit) I care that you’re a pretentious faggot. Stop referring to yourself in the third person you faggot fuck.
for someone who hates on people so much you’re awfully fucking stupid because you double posted. what are you, new?
see?
anyone can flame someone over the internet.
bitch.
i hear your mom calling you, i think your bagel bites are done.
hey you fucking cocksucking shiteating faggot, anyone who clicks submit twice can doublepost, nice try though you fuckhead.
You miserable, self-righteous, faggot. I don’t care that you’re an Oxford student (it’s no concern of mine where exactly you’re getting sodomized, you shit-eating, cocksucking catamite shit) I care that you’re a pretentious faggot. Stop referring to yourself in the third person you faggot fuck.
Hey Yoel, Know what would be a great idea? Make sure you save all of Mr. Manov’s conversation’s and comments to use later, like oh say, when he is applying for jobs or college. Petty? yeah. Vindictive? Absolutely. But I figure, he took the time try and cobble together some very nicely worded hate, they least you could do is give him something to be hateful of.
THANK YOU FOR COMPLIMENTING MY WORDS
HIS WIT ISNT BITING HE HAS NOT WIT EMILY!!! HE HAS SAID NOTHING WITTIFUL!!!!
This is the part of all this that really strikes me:
We read and comment here cause we’re all friends with Yoel. Ya know, we talk to him, hang out (when he’s on the same continent) make comments on his blog; nothing that really isn’t going out of our way for a friend.
What I really want to know is WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS KID WASTING HIS TIME MAKING HOMOPHOBIC AND DEROGATORY REMARKS TO SOMEONE HE’S NEVER MET?!!
I mean granted this kid is a high school senior and may have senioritis, but this is the best thing he can think of to do while he is sitting in his room by himself sniffing glue??!! Doesn’t he have a life beyond Yoel, or is he just obsessing over him cause he can’t be with him? I reiterate, we’re friends with Yoel, I know why, we’re here, why is John J Manov from Boca, who goes to Atlantic High school here? It’s really quite, confusing.
Instead of obsessing over what Yoel chooses to do in the privacy of his own Oxford dorm room, you might wish to become intimate with something I like to call the dictionary. The word you’re looking for is witty. And you, sir, are an idiot.
Im joking, btw i know more words than you do
Well if lonfirno’s comments scream anything at me it’s:
LATENT HOMOSEXUAL !!
It’s disgusting that he’s using his homophobia as a display of bravado. What a loser.
im not a closet case
some of my closest friends are homosexuals (jacob goldstein), im not a homophobe, yoel roth is just a fag for printing out an aim transcript and showing it to our debate coach 3 years ago. also calling everyone who uses the word faggot a latent homosexual sounds like something a stupid person would do, cya
Lonfirno – you call my ‘test’ stupid, I call it sensitive. I might pick up some false positives but it usually picks up most latent homos along the way.
Why the word fag? Do you really think in 2009 it’s acceptable to use such homophobic language, even if your intention wasn’t to criticize him?
You’ve really shot yourself in the foot because a search of your name in google brings this blog post quite near the top and you might be interested to know that a STAGGERING proportion of employers search google and facebook before deciding who to give their jobs to.
My suggestion would be to email Yoel (maturely – try not to use the word fag or faggot in your email) and explain to him why you’re upset at his blog post which replicated your IM conversation. He really is a very decent, insanely intelligent and very generous guy. Try it – it might work!
very generous gay
Not that intentionality really matters, but John isn’t remotely homophobic. He’s just extremely self-destructive.
Yeah, he’s immature. There still isn’t sense in reciprocating immoral actions. You sank to his level, though the futility of revenge should be apparent. The fact that an aggressor’s revenge-driven actions are immoral is enough to outweigh any benefit given by committing the act. Your response can only escalate problems. The best deterrence is to show mature judgment.
I don’t really care if you think I’m not worthy of addressing you directly. I’m going to anyway. You were a lousy coach to me as a novice debater and I am spiteful for that. I’m trying to be a lot more useful with the novices this year than you were for me (and it bothers me even more considering you were a more talented debater than I am and had more to offer than I do). You just selfishly didn’t, even though I looked up to you a lot in debate.
Regarding the comment, however, I meant no disrespect to you, Yoel, and I’m pretty sure if you have any common sense you know that. I won’t even validate any form of perceived bigotry towards you by apologizing for it. My facetiousness was evident in my comment, and I will apologize if you misinterpreted that.
The easiest way to not have to fear the future of your country is to mold the future. Maybe if you were more involved in molding the chunk of the future you had control of, they wouldn’t instill so much fear in you.
Enjoy Oxford and again, know I really couldn’t care less about your sexuality. Instead, I care about your failures in helping me when you should have.
One of the most useful concepts I learned about in my freshman year of college was the Fundamental Attribution Error. It’s this psychological tendency for people to ascribe the actions of others to their complete free will, and their own actions to being buffeted around by forces outside of their control. It makes it really easy to fault other people while finding yourself blameless.
Zack, I appreciate your reply (which is why it’s the only part of this thread I’m even getting involved in), but:
(1) You have NO idea what was going on with me when I was in high school, and I have no obligation to explain myself to you. Suffice it to say that while I wasn’t the best debate coach my senior year, I had other shit going on.
(2) High school debate is over, at least for me. I have no idea why you still harbor such strong feelings if you’ve gone and made a decent debater out of yourself (which, incidentally, is what I had to do; quit playing the martyr), but seriously, find some people your own age to associate with.
If you were being as facetious as you claim — and I almost got an AP exam invalidated in high school (since we’re reliving those glory days) for being “facetious” — then the record reflects it and I’m an idiot. But I don’t see it that way, and I certainly don’t see some self-righteous complaint about my debate coaching as a reasonable justification.
I appreciate the response on its own. I was about to go through and disagree with a lot of your points. But, as you said, high school debate is over: We don’t need to agree on that and you don’t need to like me.
What is important, to me at least, is that you don’t think I somehow feel one way or another about you due to your sexuality. I can’t make you “see it that way”, but I can assure you, simply put, that I don’t and that “good times, johnny” was making fun of him because he nearly got kicked out debate for his comments (which would be bad times, not good times–duh).
Back on the glory days though, I do remember your impressions of the AP: “Boy are you being facetious?” It was horrible for an overweight black woman, but it was wholly amusing.
one thing i learned in my first year of college is that white slim fit t-shirts dont work for fags with rosy cheeks and tiny arms
“When you’re done bubbling in your name, look up.”
“BOY WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! YOU BEING FACETIOUS WITH ME??”
Hahaha, I remember that exam…
My comment was legitimately echoing what I felt towards the post. Along with Zack, I was guilty of being facetious, merely commenting on one of John’s crazy scandals. Though I have heard much about your legendary debate skills, it stops there. Whether or not you care, I am not opposed to your sexuality in the slightest, and marring the situation with threats from how colleges use Google is unnecessary in the cases of Zack and I.
ATL FTH