What do these two men have in common? Apparently, more than just their choice of neck-wear.
Pictured on the right, 19-year-old Philip Anderton Cooney, the son of former Bush aide and American Petroleum Institute oil lobbyist Phil Cooney, recently arrested for gay bashing in Washington DC.
In the top photo is 38-year-old Tucker Carlson, host of MSNBC's Tucker with Tucker Carlson show, son of Richard Warner Carlson, a former banker, Los Angeles local news anchor, U.S. ambassador to the Seychelles, director of the U.S. Information Agency, and president of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, admitted that while in high school, he and another friend bashed a gay man who “bothered” him in a men’s room in Washington DC.
Could this be a copy-cat hate crime?
Carlson is a public figure and very likely a cultural icon for impressionable young White, wealthy conservative males like Cooney. Perhaps Cooney saw the show where Carlson described committing violence toward a so-called "gay" man and realized he might like to try it too. After all, in the video, you can see that the other White, straight, wealthy men thought Carlson's story was funny. It stands to reason then that a young man who relates to a celebrity like Carlson would want to emulate him. Happens all the time.
Unfortunately for Cooney, times have changed -- at least in some areas -- and laws were passed to punish those who would single out a person for violence based on his or her sexual orientation.
No wonder Carlson and his ilk rail against hate crimes legislation -- calling them "special rights." In their minds, queers have no sense of humor and are generally whiny party poopers who are spoiling all the fun.
It seems they prefer to have the opportunity to lash out violently against LGBTQ people whenever the mood strikes.
Yesterday, we asked that readers of this blog to send an email to Carlson demanding that – on the air – he explain the discrepancy between his calls for non-violence from Black teens in Jena Louisiana and his own violent crime against a supposedly gay man!
This guy has had it made in the shade his entire life. It would be great to see him squirm and take some semblance of responsibility for using his bully pulpit to make outrageous and inaccurate statements about gay people and our "agenda."
We must stop Carlson and his gang of bow-tie wearing thugs before another privileged, wealthy, White-male, conservative/predator sets out on a hunt for fresh gay red meat.
The Internet offers a great way to GO VIRAL by calling Carlson out for the hypocrite that he is! After you send your email, post a comment below to let us know what you said.
Pass this on to all of your friends and supporters and ask them to do the same.
Maybe you'll be saving your own ass -- or possibly ours.
