Voldemort versus Bill O'Reilly. Which is worse?

One of the things I wonder about Bill O'Reilly (other than whether or not, like Tim Burton's Oogie Boogie, there is nothing but a mass of writhing maggots and worms under his skin) is if he understands the ramifications of what he says. His latest blatherings about the supposed controversy over J.K. Rowling confirming Harry Potter's Albus Dumbledore is gay is just the latest example.

To start with, he accuses Rowling of being a provocateur — a person who provokes trouble, causes dissension, or the like; agitator. How is that for hilarious? Methinks O'Reilly doesn't have the self-awareness of a sea slug. Then he says that Rowling is engaging in indoctrination by having Dumbledore come out now. And, of course, she's doing it all for the publicity because we all know how those Potter books have struggled to get noticed.

O'Reilly has said before he doesn't have a problem with gay people, that we should be tolerated and not gay-bashed. Well, at least those of us who aren't asking for it by being — shudder — activists. But if in O'Reilly's world it's "provocative" and "indoctrination" to have a gay character in a book like Harry Potter (hell, not even "in" since the books make no mention of Dumbledore's being gay) then when does he think it's all right for kids to know about gay people?

Should we be kept secret until a kid turns eighteen and then say, "Oh, by the way, there's this thing called homosexuality that you've never heard of. But don't be afraid of it or anything even though you've probably heard all kinds of anti-gay jokes and heard words like 'fag'. Gay people are fine really as long as they don't talk about it or want any rights."

Gee, Bill, if only we could go back in time to a place where that was how gay people were treated! If only we could see how such an approach would shape the attitudes of straight people toward gay people. Do you think straight men would be hostile toward and afraid of gay men? And do you think keeping gay kids in the dark about their own homosexuality would have an effect on their self-esteem and mental health? Might those kids grow up self-hating and prone to addictions?

Gosh, I guess we'll never know.

BTW, Dennis Miller totally cracked me up when he commented, "I'm bored with people's sexuality. I don't care if Dumbledore is gay." Spoken like a straight man who can go to a movie any day and see straight people, can turn on the TV any night and see straight people, and can kiss his wife anywhere in the world without a second thought. Idiot.