Wow. I mean....Wow.

Oh, gawd, I can't believe I'm still talking politics. This isn't like me. I'll probably be sorry. I don't know what's come over me.

It's just that it's not all that often that I come across something that really makes my head spin. I mean, by this point in life, having been out for going on thirty years now, there's just not that much that is very surprising. The arguments against equal rights are the same, basically boiling down to "if we give gay and lesbian people civil rights, then everyone's going to want them!", a sentence that makes me laugh every time. Oh, to be sure, they're still there...the "next thing you know people are going to want to marry their pets" or "children are going to be taught the mechanics of homosexual sex in public schools". I bask in their extreme absurdity, which only weakens the stance of those who oppose equality.

The one thing that may have changed, though, is the public rhetoric. You see, the other side is aware of the irony as well, and they have shifted the discourse over the year, or, more to the point, they have dressed it in a more universally acceptable vocabulary (of course, the vitriol lies beneath a thin surface, but it's awfulnice of them to coat it with frosting so it takes a wee bit longer to burn one's ears off, gosh thanks.). You know the ones. Love the sinner, hate the sin. Some of my best friends.... What people do in their own homes is their own business, I just don't think the government should sanction it.

So, every once in a while, when someone really lets loose and speaks the words that blatantly and transparently expose that this is truly about fear, and about wholly irrational fear at that, it's really quite refreshing. I'm really all for honesty, so it's all good.

In this case, I am speaking of the defendant in the Prop 8 case that hid his tails between his legs, turned, and ran today, one Hak-Shing William Tam. He's withdrawing, well, because people are being mean to him. He says that he's starting to be recognized, and that's a problem because he gets harassed--it was so much better (yeah, this is actually what he's saying) when he was basically anonymous. Poor guy. Coming out of the closet can be rough. Don't we know it. So, he's going back in. Hey, it's happened before.

But get a load of this. This is it. The big tomato.

When speaking of the reason he felt it was important that California not legalize gay marriage, he said: ""Every child, when growing up, would fantasize marrying someone of the same sex." EVERY CHILD? Wow. (I know, I just can't stop saying it). You mean there are NO children who have a natural heterosexual orientation? Wow.

I have to say, I did not know this. I did not know that underneath, everyone, everywhere, secretly wants to be gay or lesbian, and that all they need is a little permission from somewhere--anywhere--and it's a done deal. I didn't know, really! I didn't know that heterosexuality was so inherently unappealing that the slightest temptation or opening (no pun intended) would turn the tables so that the 10% (or so) would be shifted to the other foot, so to speak, with the enormous majority being queer. Wow. And again, I saw Wow. That is interesting, no?

Next time I see my mom, my sisters, my in-laws, nearly all the folks I have worked with, my neighbors, I'm gonna ask them. I mean, I'd like to put all their (and their children's!) eventual coming out dates on my calendar. Wouldn't want to miss it or anything.

Tell ya what. Some of those very same purportedly heterosexual people are reading this, right here, right now. Just so you know, my door is open. There will be a prolonged amnesty period, don't worry about it. You know what they say, admitting it is the first step. Feel free to use the comments section. I'm here for you.

Oh, and 100 points (and valuable prizes) to the man who comes out as Mr. Tam's longtime or childhood crush. I'm so excited, I can hardly contain myself. Stay tuned, more wows to come.