A-List: Dallas Star Says He Was Assaulted
Courtesy of Logo
Taylor Garrett, the gay conservative and Christian voice of the new first season of A-List: Dallas, claims that for the second time he’s been attacked after being linked to conservative commentator Ann Coulter, who has drawn ire recently among liberals for her statements about black Americans. Garret told The Daily Caller that his car has been vandalized and he’s been punched in the face – and he has the photos and police report to prove it.
“The Democrats want me to live on their plantation as their slave because I’m a gay person,” he told the paper. “And I refuse to do that.”
Since the new season debuted this fall, Garrett has been very outspoken about his affection for George W. and plenty of conservative Christian causes, often angering a few of his left-leaning reality show cast mates. He’s even helped raise money for folks like Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann who seem to believe in, among other anti-gay initiatives, “praying the gay away.”
But this begs an important question about the fight for LGBT rights. If the community expects to fight bullying and values free speech, shouldn’t that really include a spectrum of opinions – even the ones that may really hit a sour note when it comes to marriage, reparative therapy and equal rights?
Garrett, while he can admittedly wallow in a certain unabashed snobbery that’s hardly uncommon among plenty of these A-Listers (not to mention reality show caricatures in general – both gay and straight), surely he’s entitled to his unique set of beliefs, right? Right?
If anything, it’s interesting that Logo has opted to showcase “real” gay people who may sometimes veer from the usual path that many LGBT advocates take. And while it’s understandable that many within the gay community could take offense to a fellow gay who is arguably regurgitating politics spewed by those who have notoriously legislated against the LGBT community (us included), we defend his right to do so. And if these allegations of violence are true, it only shows how damaging bullying and violence can be for anyone – even people with whom we don’t always share a common opinion.
“I think a lot of people in the community don’t want me to have a part of it because a lot of them don’t agree with my political position,” he admitted the paper. But if this same incident was reported by someone who was liberal, wouldn’t the LGBT community be outraged?
