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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Sullivan bait

Sullivan bait

by Tim F|  April 9, 20129:56 am| 55 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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In today’s edition of shocking research that confirms what we already know, some people use rabid homophobia to hide or camouflage feelings that make them feel confused and ashamed due to a misguided upbringing.

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Reader Interactions

55Comments

  1. 1.

    FedSec

    April 9, 2012 at 10:00 am

    Wow. Dog bites man in medical research.

  2. 2.

    schrodinger's cat

    April 9, 2012 at 10:05 am

    Sorry this OT, I just posted it in one of the dead open threads. I am reposting this.

    I need the wisdom of the hive mind. Is anyone in the esteemed BJ commenteriat a cardiologist. I have a few questions.
    Some background, my father-in-law had a massive heart attack a week and a half ago, in India. As luck would have it my husband was in India for a visit. Any way long story short the FIL is now stable but still not out of the ICU, since his lungs still have fluid in them. Another angioplasty seems to be needed but apparently it is high risk, so they are going for a second opinion. My husband is thinking of extending his stay and I have no idea what the hell is going on. I know a cardiac nurse had answered my comment when I had written about this before.

    Also too, I am anxious because this is my mother-in-law .

  3. 3.

    danielx

    April 9, 2012 at 10:11 am

    Gosh, there’s a shock. In other breaking news, the Mojave Desert receives very little precipitation.

  4. 4.

    Culture of Truth

    April 9, 2012 at 10:13 am

    “Individuals who identify as straight but in psychological tests show a strong attraction to the same sex”

    Q: so you’re straight?

    Guy: oh yeah totally

    Q: look at these inkblots

    Guy: why do you keep showing me pictures of a naked Brad Pitt

  5. 5.

    daveNYC

    April 9, 2012 at 10:14 am

    A second experiment, in which subjects were free to browse same-sex or opposite-sex photos, provided an additional measure of implicit sexual attraction.

    That’s got to be a wierd section of the test. Like they just put the subjects in front of a computer and tell them to surf up some porn.

    Otherwise I’m totally shocked that there is gambling in this establishment.

  6. 6.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    April 9, 2012 at 10:17 am

    Quelle surprise, non?

  7. 7.

    Luthe

    April 9, 2012 at 10:22 am

    That article was just restating the obvious. The article on the Donald claiming he has a “very very impressive” penis on the other hand was hilarious (and probably hilariously inaccurate).

  8. 8.

    MattF

    April 9, 2012 at 10:22 am

    Yeah, well. Think of the human subconscious as a whorehouse, and the conscious mind as the piano player who doesn’t know what’s going on upstairs.

  9. 9.

    amk

    April 9, 2012 at 10:26 am

    @schrodinger’s cat: what was the question ? I am in Chennai and can help, if you/your husband needs it.

  10. 10.

    crazy c

    April 9, 2012 at 10:28 am

    @MattF: I might have to steal that analogy

  11. 11.

    Villago Delenda Est

    April 9, 2012 at 10:28 am

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q):

    Mais oui!

  12. 12.

    schrodinger's cat

    April 9, 2012 at 10:29 am

    @amk: Thanks, He is in Bombay, he has all the help he needs. Most of the extended family lives in Bombay. It is me who needs some more information of what is going on, medically speaking I mean.

    ETA: I am in Massachusetts and have only a sketchy idea of what is going on.

  13. 13.

    JustMe

    April 9, 2012 at 10:29 am

    I think it’s more general than that– people who are homophobic have generally been raised with a whole host of things they’re trying to suppress in themselves: personal ambitions, preferences, interests that they were restricted from pursuing in an authoritarian upbringing or put aside out of “obligation,” and they resent everyone who most obviously isn’t doing that.

  14. 14.

    Villago Delenda Est

    April 9, 2012 at 10:30 am

    Scratch a homophobe, find a closeted wanker.

  15. 15.

    amk

    April 9, 2012 at 10:31 am

    @schrodinger’s cat: Well, my daughter just graduated out of med school just 3 days back. No, not a joke. If you want, I can ask her.

  16. 16.

    schrodinger's cat

    April 9, 2012 at 10:32 am

    @amk: Are you Tamil btw? That’s what my husband’s family is.

  17. 17.

    300baud

    April 9, 2012 at 10:35 am

    I’m entirely in favor of them proving stuff like this. Because not all of us know it. Consider this comment from the article: “I’m sure you could also argue that opposition to Nazism hides a latent tendency toward Nazism. This is nothing more than Freudian BS.”

    As far as I’m concerned, it’s all part of the Secret Liberal Plan:. 1) Keep using science to discover actual facts. 2) Make them public, forcing Republican loons to make denying yet another part of reality an article of faith. 3) Politely welcome in the sane people, like John, who can’t take the madness any more. 4) Let the rest of them retreat to walled reservations in Arizona.

    Also related, an actual Christian notices the contradiction between what Jesus said and hating everybody all the time: http://www.danoah.com/2012/04/a-teens-brave-response-to-im-christian-unless-youre-gay.html

  18. 18.

    amk

    April 9, 2012 at 10:36 am

    @schrodinger’s cat: Yes, I am.

    Your husband’s family is in Tamilnadu, where Tamil is spoken ?

  19. 19.

    schrodinger's cat

    April 9, 2012 at 10:41 am

    @amk: No they are in Bombay, and yes they do speak Tamil. They are Palghat Aiyars (sp?)

  20. 20.

    SectarianSofa

    April 9, 2012 at 10:48 am

    @Culture of Truth:

    I totally read that as “look at these knobs”. Comments are inkblots.

  21. 21.

    amk

    April 9, 2012 at 10:48 am

    @schrodinger’s cat: Palghat Aiyars it is.

  22. 22.

    Beenthere

    April 9, 2012 at 10:49 am

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    Being a heart patient myself, several things come to mind:

    If he just had a heart attack, it takes awhile for the scar tissue to develop. Before that, its possible for the heart wall to give way. They might be thinking of waiting.

    Also, an angioplasty does block the artery for a little bit, when they inflate the little balloon. What happens is the little balloon presses the plaque against the side of the artery wall and then a stent keeps it in place. So if some of his arteries are already permamently out of commission, he doesn’t have a lot of arteries to spare and the lack of oxygen to the heart for those few moments might cause some more damage.

    It’s conceivable that they might go to open heart surgery instead, as they wouldn’t have the problem of having to block an artery while the heart is beating. Of course, that has it’s own problems though.

    Mind you, I’m not a medical person, this is just what I understand from my own experience. If it’s any comfort to you, I had a “massive” (or so I was told) heart attack about 15 years ago and I’m still toddling along.

    (Long-time lurker – just unlurked for this.)

  23. 23.

    SectarianSofa

    April 9, 2012 at 10:54 am

    Re: Feel the gay, I mean flee the gay!
    I was under the impression that some sort of research has indicated this for at least the last 20 years. Is this better than that was, or was I misinformed, or is this just fun research to replicate? Heh, heh. I mean, it would amuse the hell out of me.

  24. 24.

    schrodinger's cat

    April 9, 2012 at 11:00 am

    @amk: I want to know what the pros and cons are against getting the second angioplasty. When I call India, everyone talks in euphemisms, it is difficult to figure out WTH is really going on. If they are going to do it, anyways then what are the ramifications of waiting.
    One day they tell me he is OK, then they say he is not improving, could improve if he has the second angioplasty but it is risky and now they want a second opinion.

  25. 25.

    El Cid

    April 9, 2012 at 11:02 am

    I think the syndrome can be extended: anyone loudly, repeatedly, publicly declaiming others for their lack of prurient sexual mores is engaged in some deviant sexual pursuit of their own.

    This is confirmed with nearly every public leader imaginable, and, of course, a frighteningly high percentage of Catholic priests.

  26. 26.

    schrodinger's cat

    April 9, 2012 at 11:03 am

    @El Cid: David Vitter and every other Republican caught in a sex scandal.

  27. 27.

    Karl

    April 9, 2012 at 11:04 am

    Nice showcase of the worst in experimental psychology. Seriously, subliminal image personality tests? And then asserting without proof that it’s a test for the gay? investigator bias much?

    And sure they find 3 – 4 tests that give similar results. When your tests are anything you can imagine, finding 3 that give you the answer you want isn’t hard.

    All the results say is people reacted differently to the tests given. Although I don’t have the original study to see if the statistics are fishy too.

  28. 28.

    Roger Moore

    April 9, 2012 at 11:07 am

    @300baud:

    I’m entirely in favor of them proving stuff like this.

    Yes, you really have to prove the (apparently) obvious stuff, and for two reasons:

    1) As you point out, it’s not obvious to everyone. Having some actual facts and studies and stuff on your side can be helpful in convincing people.

    2) Not everything that’s obviously true actually is true. What we call common sense is often just ingrained prejudice, and we have a tendency to present things as obviously true as a way of avoiding testing those prejudices. The most exciting discoveries in science are ones that overturn false and long-held assumptions about the world.

  29. 29.

    c u n d gulag

    April 9, 2012 at 11:08 am

    This is NEWS?

    What’s next – “Sun rises in East, sets in West?”

  30. 30.

    rikyrah

    April 9, 2012 at 11:12 am

    ALWAYS give the side eye to rabid homophobes….always waiting for their closet to be revealed

  31. 31.

    Cromagnon

    April 9, 2012 at 11:12 am

    I see that Sully is going to have racist pseudo-scientist Charles Murray this week on his blog… Continuing I suppose Sully’s weirdly creepy obsession with racial IQ ‘science’

  32. 32.

    beergoggles

    April 9, 2012 at 11:14 am

    @SectarianSofa: The most frequently quoted study is from about 1996. Katie Goodman sang about the previous study.

  33. 33.

    schrodinger's cat

    April 9, 2012 at 11:14 am

    @Cromagnon: I saw him on Colbert, he is quite loathsome. Murray, I mean.

  34. 34.

    jibeaux

    April 9, 2012 at 11:16 am

    Marcus Bachmann wants you to know that this is totally not true, and purchasing sunglasses for a dog is something that many of his very straight male friends also do.

  35. 35.

    Beenthere

    April 9, 2012 at 11:17 am

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    Sorry if this is unneeded, but I just posted a reply to your heart question up-thread. It was in moderation for a bit so I wasn’t sure if you would notice it.

    (Back to lurking)

  36. 36.

    amk

    April 9, 2012 at 11:17 am

    @schrodinger’s cat: Daughter says second angioplasty is generally not a good prognosis for the patient, especially old ones. Sorry.

  37. 37.

    schrodinger's cat

    April 9, 2012 at 11:18 am

    @Beenthere: Thanks so much for sharing your experience. He had the first angioplasty about ten days ago. His blood pressure is still low and they are pumping adrenalin into him. His kidneys were not functioning initially and he had to be on dialysis and was on the ventilator. Since the last 5 days or so he is off the ventilator and dialysis but still in the ICU and they are considering a second angioplasty but waiting for a second opinion.

  38. 38.

    schrodinger's cat

    April 9, 2012 at 11:19 am

    @amk: He is 70 and has been healthy otherwise, no diabetes either. Well I asked for the unvarnished truth and you gave it to me. Thanks.

  39. 39.

    Beenthere

    April 9, 2012 at 11:20 am

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    Another factor then is the fact that the dye they use for angiograms/angioplasty can be hard on the kidneys.

  40. 40.

    Mnemosyne

    April 9, 2012 at 11:21 am

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    Ugh. I know nothing about heart patients, but I feel your pain with the being thousands of miles away with a relative in the hospital thing. My father-in-law was admitted to the hospital in Chicago yesterday with a mystery infection and high fever and we’re trying to figure out what the hell is going on from Los Angeles.

    At least it’s only a distance of 1800 miles and two time zones for us. I’ve had a little experience trying to communicate with India from the West Coast and it’s incredibly awkward since we’re exactly 12 hours apart and someone on either end is always exhausted.

    It also helps that my MIL actually likes me. I think she was starting to worry that her son was going to die alone, so anyone without a prison record was going to be welcomed with open arms. :-)

  41. 41.

    El Cid

    April 9, 2012 at 11:24 am

    @Cromagnon: It just proves how bold and daring Andrew Sullivan is for still being willing to be white and English.

  42. 42.

    shortstop

    April 9, 2012 at 11:28 am

    I always hesitate to go for the closet-case explanation because it’s a pretty blithe reaction to the unfortunately fairly widespread phenomenon of homophobia. That is to say, there are obviously plenty of folks who tamp down their own attractions with outward-focused hatred, but there are lots of others whose bigotry seems to come from a more complex mix of factors, including upbringing, lack of education, insular surroundings, oppressive religious teachings, authoritarian bent, blah blah blah.

    I refuse to admit Santorum’s screaming bias has complicated or nuanced roots, though. That man is just way too obsessed with other guys’ junk to be anything but a gay man in deep denial. He wants a man, and he wants one baaaaaad. Damn, I’m beyond sick of Republicans using the national political stage as a venue for working out their social and personal issues and stomping on other people’s freedom and dignity in the process.

  43. 43.

    SectarianSofa

    April 9, 2012 at 11:36 am

    @beergoggles:
    Thanks…. Heh.

    @shortstop:
    I don’t always hesitate to go for the easy explanation there, but I think it’s probably the most reasonable thing to do. On the other hand, as you’ve said, Santorum, etc., and the expanding list of moral do-gooders getting done/doing the objects of their hate fetish…. Oh well, there I go conflating things already.
    Easy targets are easy.

  44. 44.

    SectarianSofa

    April 9, 2012 at 11:37 am

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    Good luck. Sorry to hear about the difficult situation — I hope things get better.

  45. 45.

    Cermet

    April 9, 2012 at 11:39 am

    @300baud: Hey BJ’ers, our first gay nazi …

  46. 46.

    schrodinger's cat

    April 9, 2012 at 11:41 am

    @SectarianSofa: Thanks! Talking to BJ commenters certainly helped. I can deal with bad news but what is worse is the not knowing and the uncertainty.

  47. 47.

    schrodinger's cat

    April 9, 2012 at 11:43 am

    @Mnemosyne: Thanks Mnem! I see you saw the mother-in-law kitteh. I love that lol, the expression on the kitteh’s face is priceless.

  48. 48.

    Sloegin

    April 9, 2012 at 11:46 am

    Gosh, I wonder if water is still wet.

  49. 49.

    HT

    April 9, 2012 at 12:14 pm

    I recently discovered the blog post “I’m Christian, Unless You’re Gay“, and the responses to it. One of the negative reactions he posted had the following mind-blowing statement: “Being straight takes work and effort…” Wow, what?! Speaking for myself, being straight takes precisely zero effort. Being gay would be quite an effort, as men don’t turn me on.

    It just serves to reinforce my belief that many people who believe being gay is a choice are gay/bi people who are making the choice to be straight.

  50. 50.

    RSA

    April 9, 2012 at 12:42 pm

    @300baud:

    “I’m sure you could also argue that opposition to Nazism hides a latent tendency toward Nazism. This is nothing more than Freudian BS.”

    I saw that, too. Two things came to mind. First, the commenter could run a comparable experiment concerning views about Nazis, and I don’t think anyone would be surprised when the results came back negative–no connection. Second, Nazis? The commenter could have picked something like “dislike of chocolate ice cream hides a latent tendency toward chocoholism”, but no. Homosexual tendencies have to be compared to the canonical worst thing in the world.

  51. 51.

    El Cid

    April 9, 2012 at 1:12 pm

    @300baud: I don’t think that there’s a high percentage of humans who spontaneously manifest a biologically detectable attraction to Nazism as a part of adolescence. Now, an attraction to authoritarianism in the abstract, yeah, sure, but not something so culturally specific as Nazism or even fascism for that matter.

  52. 52.

    samara morgan

    April 9, 2012 at 1:17 pm

    science daily link for those who prefer their data feed unmasitcated.

  53. 53.

    gluon1

    April 9, 2012 at 1:30 pm

    @beergoggles: You beat me to the Katie Goodman link but I’ll echo it.

  54. 54.

    Maus

    April 9, 2012 at 3:02 pm

    What is Sully’s cryptoracism indicative of?

  55. 55.

    SoINeedAName48

    April 9, 2012 at 9:25 pm

    Good Lord, your relentless “Sully Bashing” is not only childish – it’s DAMN tiresome.

    GIVE IT A FUCKING REST!

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