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From park cruising to puppy love to … politics? No, tell us it’s not the United States of Tara season finale!
And here we are, at the end, with the world crumbling down around Tara (but, mostly, her sister, who is getting married that day) — why not have a debate about gay marriage? If you’re unfamiliar, in the second part of this clip it’s Marshall and his bf Lionel facing off against his sister Kate and her bf Zach, the Ron Paul supporter.
“I just think that Obama led the gay and lesbian community astray, that’s all,” says Lionel, the know-it-all young activist who doesn’t want to support anyone’s marriage if the gays can’t do it. It was an appropriate comment for his character to make, but it felt a little forced — though it was a necessary plot device to get Lionel to leave (later on, Zach also exits before the wedding ceremony) so the siblings can join their father and multiple personalitied mother in some backyard dancing.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
And there we leave our favorite gay television teen until next season where, just maybe, we’ll get into the touchy territory of gay teens having sex.
SSCHIEFRSHA
What is that damn boy doing worrying about marriage at HIS age? Does being gay cause our speedy transition into adulthood? I ask.
Ian
Marshall is the best gay (teen) character on tv right now as he’s a fleshed out character. Kurt on Glee doesn’t count as half of each show all the characters act like walking cardboard stereotypes rather than real people. The guys on Modern Family are OK, but again act a little in the stereotype zone too often for my tastes.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
@Ian: We never got to see how Justin’s charachter would have developed as an out Gay teen on Ugly Betty…………His comming out during Hilda’s wedding was one of the most touching moments eva on the TVs………….
Shaun Azzopardi
Queerty, thanks for mentioning this show so much. Thanks to you I’ve begun watching it, and loving it!
7
@SSCHIEFRSHA: Maybe Lionel just has very strong morals and opinions. He doesn’t necessarily want to be married right away, but he’s got an activist heart.
condenasty
@SSCHIEFRSHA: I don’t know about you but young people tend to be more passionate about issues because it is all so new and fresh. They tempered Lionel’s character by being into old school park sex, but also being concerned about politics and gay marriage….
Chris
Ron Paul think evolution is a hoax. Why has he become culturally “relevant”?
Qjersey
I’m wondering how cute Lionel would be without the fried bleached hair. But he summed up my feelings. A friend of mine got married and made it a point to say as part of the ceremony that she and her husband promise to fight for everyone’s right to marry.
bskibs
This episode really irritated me. Politics has no place in a show like this and as a libertarian gay teen I am having difficulty relating to Marshall who I otherwise have always felt very similar to. The writers of USoT need to educate themselves. Ron Paul does not oppose gay marriage, he simply believes that recognizing or legislating marriages should be left to the states, and not subjected to “judicial activism”. He is “…supportive of all voluntary associations and people can call it whatever they want.” There is nothing wrong with that.
Wade MacMorrighan
It’s a shame that Lionel won’t be coming back next season! Why do the writers keep dropping Marcshal’s relationships like this? First the hot guy from school, and now Lionel? Poor Marshal!
Pip
@bskibs: No, most Ron Paul supporters are bigots or closet bigots, who don’t want the government protecting minorities. They don’t oppose gay marriage perse, but that doesn’t mean they’re not homophobic.
bskibs
@Pip: Who cares if somebody’s a bigot? I could give a shit as long as they don’t impose their beliefs on me in any way.
Ian
@Wade MacMorrighan: What are you talking about? Nowhere in this episode and also nowhere online has it been said that the actor Michael J. Willett who portrays Lionel will not be back for the next season.
Bobert
“can I hug you?”
Awww
Pip
@bskibs: Bigotry is by definition “imposing ones beliefs on you in some way.” Just because a law exists doesn’t mean bigotry doesn’t.
JohnnyTrue
Wait – Ron Paul supports and or supported ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ and the defense of marriage act; two very loathsome positions.
There is so much effort, especially by tea baggers, to make Ron Paul some sort of folk hero – that people are forgetting that he has taken real positions that hurt real people.
I can’t wait till his fifteen minutes are over.
Zzzz...
@JohnnyTrue & Pip;
You two are the bigots; both of you need to get your facts straight __BEFORE___ you talk about Ron Paul’s supporters and Ron Paul’s positions.
CaliberGuy
@bskibs:
“judicial activism” oh the lovely fancy phrase made up by political pundits/ talking heads to indicate judges interpreting the constitution in ways that they don’t agree with. It is not judicial activism for a judge to determine that same sex couples have every legal constitutional right to marry as a heterosexual couple and that any laws banning them from doing so are unconstitutional. That is precisely what the Judicial branch is set up to do, to check the power of the legislative and executive branches of both the federal and state governments.
Short of congress undoing the DOMA, the only way that it is going to be done is threw the courts or as your precious Ronny puts it “judicial activism” and if the federal one if every (as it inherently has to be) found to be unconstitutional then by extension so would every state DOMA as well.
I just can’t understand the Libertarian appeal it’s just a bunch of no government self centeredness, just like the tea partiers. It really dose seem to be a “political party” built on a platform of on one else matters the social protections and responsibilities of the government don’t matter. It’s every man for him self screw any one that falls gets stamped on or in any way is left at societies mercy, that is the most shallow party I have ever run across. I did not get it in my teens I don’t get it in my early 20’s I don’t see how any one in the 50’s and 60’s living on medicare and social security can get it!!
Zzzz...
@CaliberGuy
You’re a dumb ignoramus, another stupid fucking bigot with no grasp on reality.
An Activist/Democrat coined the term “Judicial Activism”; you can go to the following link and educate yourself on that matter: http://www.answers.com/topic/judicial-activism#Origins_of_the_term
Ron Paul is not a Libertarian or an Anarchist, but he supports the protection of INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS and LIBERTY, but only from his standpoint as a __Constitutional Conservative__ and a __REPUBLICAN__.
This isn’t the first time this topic has been discussed on this website, http://www.queerty.com/ron-paul-on-gay-marriage-20071210/ — you can read the comments there for more information about Ron Paul’s actual positions.
JohnnyTrue
Isn’t it funny that ‘Zzzz’ keeps using the word ‘bigot’ to call anyone that disagrees with Ron Paul?? A bigot?? really?
What I stated are positions that he holds or did hold. I did not make up any of those positions.
Ron Paul may – in his heart of hearts be a non-homophobe. But so what? His ‘libertarian’ philosophy when taken to its root – is that government has no role in anything.
What about HIV/AIDS funding? What about legal protections against gay folks just trying to make a living by having a job? Is it ok to just fire them if the supervisor is simply opposed to the presense of a gay person at their register???
I find it personally offensive to be called a bigot because I don’t agree with his homophobic comments. That is a mindless appropriation of a word that has no business being used in a political debate to defend someones’ homophobic positions – no matter how painfully defended.
BTW – I don’t like Sacha Cohen’s movie ‘Bruno’ much – but Ron Paul did use the word ‘Faggot’ when he was angry at ‘gay’ character. Sure he was mad – but nothing justifies that.
Am I incorrect with my comments about Ron Paul’s positions? It’d be nice if the answer was a yes or no, but I’m sure it would be a screed – with a link to more nonsense.
Esteban
@bskibs: I’m with you! I cannot believe that my favorite television show has become a stage for smearing Ron Paul! Do the writers/producers of this show think we are stupid? RON PAUL IS NOT AGAINST GAY MARRIAGE! Educate yourselves!
GAY PEOPLE FOR RON PAUL!!
Let Freedom Ring!!
In love,
Esteban
bskibs
I leave the argument for two days and now there’s a entire swarm of liberals nutcases here. I don’t even know where to start haha. Why is every gay also a left-winger? This is why you can’t debate politics with the gay community.
THERE IS NO PERFECT POLITICIAN. While I support Ron Paul for his heavy libertarian leanings, he does have some more conservative positions (i.e. pro-life, supports DADT) that I do not agree with. In the big picture though, he is the single most consistent, honest, and Constitution-abiding politician in Congress.
bskibs
@Esteban: Amen.
bskibs
@Pip:
big·ot·ry
[big-uh-tree]
–noun, plural -ries.
1.
stubborn and complete intolerance of any creed, belief, or opinion that differs from one’s own.
2.
the actions, beliefs, prejudices, etc., of a bigot.
Maybe I should clarify that I was mainly referring to their beliefs affecting my life from a legal perspective. I don’t mind if somebody’s a confederate flag-toting, holocaust-denying, faggot-hating bigot as long as they can’t take away my rights. If we simply followed the Constitution, the government wouldn’t have it’s hand in voluntary associations between consenting adults such as marriage and we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Libertarians strive for equality through FREEDOM, liberals do it through FORCE. What frustrated me about the episode was that the writers implied that Ron Paul supporters are homophobic bigots. The truth, however, is that regardless of an RP-supporter’s personal views on homosexuality, they still support equality for all under the law.
bskibs
@CaliberGuy:
No. The federal government is in no position to define or legislate marriage. Referring to this definition and legislation as judicial activism does not change that.
PEOPLE, LIBERTARIANISM IS NOT ANARCHISM.
And ohhh you mean those two bankrupt social programs? I won’t even go any further into the last paragraph of your post because you’ve clearly failed to do educate yourself before entering this debate.
And my “precious Ronny?” Really? Seriously? Sorry to break it to you but not everyone becomes as infatuated with the politician they support as you Obama-fanatics.
bskibs
@Zzzz…: Thank you.
bskibs
@JohnnyTrue: ALLOW ME TO RESTATE, LIBERTARIANISM IS NOT ANARCHISM. ITS ROOTS DO NOT LEAD TO ANARCHISM. LIBERTARIANS REALIZE THE NEED FOR GOVERNMENT, THEY JUST BELIEVE THAT THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE AS SMALL AS POSSIBLE.
Job protections for gays (and everyone else)? DUH.
– Affirmative Action? NEVER.
HIV/AIDS Funding? OF COURSE NOT.
Why are you left-wingers so effing touchy? I don’t care if someone calls me a faggot. There will always be homophobes like that and Ron Paul may or may not be one of them but again, I don’t care. He supports my rights (with few exceptions such as with DADT) and he supports freedom in general and I am willing to stand behind that.
bskibs
Also, I am not a bigot. I am a very open-minded person and I went through several different philosophies and political ideologies (including liberalism) before deciding on libertarianism.
Bitchy Bitch
@bskibs: Choosing to support Ron Paul doesn’t make you a bigot. It makes you an ignoramus. Get the fuck over it honey.
Zzzz...
@ JohnnyTrue
I didn’t call “anyone who disagrees with Ron Paul” a bigot, but I had called three bigots ‘bigots’, bigot. Get it right.
1.) I’m a minority, I have straight family members and gay family members, I love them all, so what does that say about Pip and Pip’s comment? I know minorities that are gay, and I know gay minorities that support Ron Paul, so what does that say about Pip and Pip’s comment? You know what it says? It says that Pip is a fucking bigot, you fucking bigot. He is so prejudice and ignorant, that he is entirely irrational toward Ron Paul and Ron Paul’s supporters.
2.) Ron Paul has integrity. His positions and principles have been nothing but rock solid. On the other hand, you have been deceitful, a liar, and you’ve been against *anything* pro-Paul, so — OBVIOUSLY — you are a bigot (an incredibly lazy and stupid one at that).
3.) CaliberGuy, he’s a bigot and an ignoramus/dumbass — for *not* knowing the difference between a Libertarian, an Anarchist, and a Republican — all that *while* generalizing and attempting to launch smears against all of the peoples who may or may not proclaim themselves party to said philosophies/parties.
Zzzz...
What’s more…
The creators of United States of Tara deployed an attempt to distort and smear Ron Paul and his supporters. Obviously, their reason for doing so is the fact that they’re intolerant toward Ron Paul, Ron Paul’s positions, Ron Paul’s supporters, Conservatives, Libertarians, and/or Republicans, so I would call the those creators ignorant bigots, too.
In an incredibly unrealistic way, the show’s creators tried to display a lone Ron Paul supporter as a simpleminded/timid debater. I mean — when is the last time you’ve met a speechless Ron Paul supporter? Have you actually met any??? Do you really believe that some ignorant little kid would have the capacity to silence a Ron Paul supporter? We’re supposed to believe that a Ron Paul supporter — a guy who runs a multi-million dollar frozen yogurt company — is timid when faced against mindless children? And, do they really expect everyone to believe ONE RON PAUL SUPPORTER speaks for all of the supporters? One Ron Paul supporter is supposed to trump all of the other individuals KNOWN for standing-up against collectivism? REALLY??? How fucking retarded are the stupid morons who created that script?
To make matters worse — they tried to make the Ron Paul supporter look like a lonely creep, but do you really expect people to believe that the Ron Paul supporter is a creep for dating a consenting adult? He’s a creep for dating her or for attempting to rescue her from what is clearly depicted as a volatile/disturbed family?
Meanwhile, we’re supposed to believe underage kids blowing old creeps in the park’s bushes — in broad daylight — is an acceptable/nostalgic way of life? REALLY??? WTF is wrong with you fucking morons? Do you all live in some bizzaro universe?
All of the the creators’ insinuations are just shameful. The creators of that show should just get the fuck-off the television and take their bullshit propaganda with them.
Zzzz...
@JohnnyTrue:
Ron Paul didn’t call Cohen a faggot; he said “queer as the blazes”, appropriately so, especially for the likes of Bruno’s strange and over-the-top character.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7RnlPQCKBQ&feature=related
And, what rock have you been living under? Even the gay community uses the term QUEER. Haven’t you heard of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy? Queer as Folk? Queerty [the name of the website you’re currently surfing]?
You need to get a clue — bigot — and quit trying to smear Ron Paul with your lies and utterly ridiculous bullshit.
John LaBella
@bskibs: Your defense of Ron Paul is disingenuous. People actually suffer and die because of unequal rights. By Ron Paul’s positioning of the issue as “state’s rights” he is allowing this murder-by-turning-your-head-the-other-way to continue. Example: When HIV first came out, the Centers for Disease Control realized quickly enough that it was transmitted by sex and probably blood. Didn’t have scientific evidence, just the facts and common sense. Even after they did have the evidence, the route of transmission was NOT publicized well – becuase the news and tv sources knew their mainstream audience would be uncomfortable hearing about gay sex. So the truth was withheld and huge numbers of my generation got infected and died as a consequence. At the same time this neglect was going on, several other scary things were happening: Legionnaires’ Disease, etc – and those same new sources went wild speculating in public as to the cause. The lesson here is that eithr 1) we’re free and have same rights, or 2) we die. There is no justification for letting one group’s set of rights be determined on a state by state basis, while everyone else’s rights are a matter of the federal constitution. Ron Paul is an accomplice to murder for pretending otherwise, just like Reagan: more gay peopel died on his watch than in German Concentration camps in WWII. The character’s comments were totally appropriate to the scene because he is smart and knows history. You, on the other hand, have your head in the sand.