WaPo: D.C. Gay Bars 'Stations of the Social Cross'

By Tim Graham | January 01, 2011 | 16:13

A A

The Washington Post celebrated the first gay bar in populous Fairfax County with a splashy front-page article headlined "Rainbow flag aloft, nightclub is Fairfax County's first gay bar." Next to the headline was a color picture of the drag queen "La Countess Farrington." Reporter J. Freedom du Lac may want to celebrate, but it's a poor choice of metaphors to compare the hot homosexual night spots to the crucifixion of Jesus. The inept religious metaphor came in comparing Virginia to DC:

Historically, of course, the center of gay nightlife in the region has been the District, where bars such as Apex, Town and Ziegfeld's are like stations of the social cross.

At least when Post reporters like Bob Woodward referred to Hillary Clinton's "own stations of the cross in the Whitewater investigation," he was at least referring to suffering, and not partying. The Stations of the Cross are a primarily Catholic devotion during Lent recounting 14 events on the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem, or Christ's carrying the cross to His death.

The Post article also included three more large color pictures inside on A-6. The Post also showed its favoritism by using what are surely overestimates of the gay population:

"I like the unique business opportunity," Yen said. If there are 7,000 gays in Herndon and Reston, and 25,000 in Fairfax County (both numbers were guesses because there's no reliable data, according to Gustafson), not to mention underserved gay people in Loudoun and Prince William counties, that seems to offer "great possibilities," Yen said.

That refers to activist Sarah Gustafson, whose e-mail list for Equality Fairfax has only 900 names on it, so she's somehow missed the other 24,100:

By flying a rainbow flag directly across from the old Herndon Town Hall on Elden Street, So Addictive already has become a key marker in the gay diaspora. Sarah Gustafson, president of the gay rights organization Equality Fairfax, recently e-mailed the 900 people on her list to announce the "fantastic news" that "yes, Virginia, there is a gay bar in Fairfax County."

"There's a tremendous amount of gay, lesbian and transsexual people who live in the county, so it's really great that a bar's coming to us," Gustafson said. "People might not realize there's a significant gay and lesbian population in the suburbs; everybody assumes we live downtown. But we are everywhere. We are your neighbors, and having a neighborhood bar finally puts a permanent face on that."

Were there any critics in this piece? Yes, but they were only commercial neighbors solicited for their feelings on the business climate:

At Horn Motors, an auto parts store one block down Elden, an employee who answered the phone Friday said of his neighbor: "I don't think you want to print what I got to say."

The general manager, Wayne P., declined to give his last name and wondered whether he should say anything at all, "because anymore you have to be politically correct." Then, he said: "I'm not going to degrade them in any way, shape or form. But I'll be honest with you, I don't believe in that type of lifestyle. But it's not affecting me or my business at all. As long as they keep it orderly, I don't have a problem with it. Hopefully, they work on it and take care of their business and good for them."

Jimmy Cirrito, the owner of Jimmy's Old Town Tavern, said he welcomed the gayification of So Addictive, which is across the street from his bar. "If somebody's against having a gay bar, then they're against America," he said. "It's freedom. We're all God's people. We do what we want."

About the Author

Tim Graham is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center. Click here to follow Tim Graham on Twitter.

Tim Graham's blog
Login to post comments

Comments

Without a vote

Submitted by KC Mulville on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 4:41pm.

Think about it. Ten years, gays couldn't serve in the military. They weren't shown on TV. No state would certify their relationships as "marriage." They were less than ten percent of the population. Now, they're no more numerous than they were before, but the whole picture has changed. Where did all of this come from? There has never been a public vote. The only time they took a vote, in ultra-liberal California, gay marriage was defeated.

How was this accomplished? Two ways: the Supreme Court and the media.

One SC decision, Lawrence v. Texas, was decided, and the justices assured us that by no means was this to be interpreted as support for gay marriage. Six months later, they did exactly that.
The media took up the cause. Now the media celebrates them as the next grievance group who've "broken through" prejudices.

The liberal's idea of progress is to push "advances" that the people don't want. The fact that the people don't want it doesn't concern liberals a bit. Liberals push an agenda that they consider to be more enlightened than the vulgar sensibilities of the people. And then, having imposed their agenda through the backdoors of democracy, they (amazingly) demand that the people respect their agenda and obey it.

My friends, the episode reported yesterday about Ezra Klein dismissing the Constitution says it all. Our entire society is based on the "consent of the governed," and the Constitution is where we wrote that agreement down. But Klein and his fellow liberals simply don't see the consent of the people as a relevant consideration. In his shallow world, Congress just exists with full power to govern. In their world, Congress exists to lead the people, never mind what the people want. It exists to offer progress. Congress doesn't need the warrant of the Constitution, it can just do whatever it wants, with no restraint. It's an utterly non-historic view of the world, as shallow as they can be -- but they think they're "advanced."

Don't kid yourself. If you break the social contract, the rest of us have no obligation to adhere to it.

serving

Submitted by pak152 on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 7:57pm.

"Ten years, gays couldn't serve in the military"

sure they could, they just couldn't do it openly. that was the purpose of DADT. a homosexual could serve in the armed forces, just not openly

They just can't resist

Submitted by Chris Norman on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 4:46pm.

They just can't resist trivializing and mocking Christian beliefs any chance they can get, can they? Especially when it comes to writing about the gay culture. This provocative metaphor wasn't necessary and the writer must have known that. It's like a compulsion with them. Is it a rule in their pattern books?

Let's make the 2012 campaign: "The War on Error"

Soon the local HOLIDAY INN

Submitted by Barack_must_go..... on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 4:48pm.

Soon the local HOLIDAY INN will be covererted to a Ben Dover Motor Lodge, with their family restaurant becoming a ' full service ' Ram Rods.

The ads will read: A little piece of San Francisco, right here in Fairfax County.

The County itself is now known as " Over the Rainbow.

Barack_Must_Go.....

A man dresses and acts like a girl

Submitted by ThisnThat on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 5:03pm.

...and the media celebrate that act. And the liberals try to force us to accept this as "normal".

Bull shite!

__________
“Didn't win the Medal of Honor? Didn't even serve? Then lie about it. We'll support you." — 9th Circuit Court

'Jimmy Cirrito, the owner of

Submitted by Soldat44 on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 5:09pm.

'Jimmy Cirrito, the owner of Jimmy's Old Town Tavern, said he welcomed the gayification of So Addictive, which is across the street from his bar. "If somebody's against having a gay bar, then they're against America," he said. "It's freedom. We're all God's people. We do what we want." '

Clueless, absolutely clueless...

'One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church'

I don't really consider

Submitted by ant on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 5:39pm.

I don't really consider myself religious, more of a "seeker" but I must admit I've been pointed, in the past few years, to the Gospels and they always resonate with truth to me, much more so than any of the other corners I've peered into. With that said, I'm not surprised that anyone,journalist or transgendered alike, being misled by darkness would feel the need to mock God and faith. I would've expected nothing less. They are certainly not seeking to buoy the values of a strong, functional American system.

I find it incredible that

Submitted by wdvander on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 5:43pm.

I find it incredible that opening any bar would be considered a giant step forward. That a bar is an important part of a "community" says a lot about that community. I guess that anytime opportunity to find a possible sexual partner that might be impaired, that is cause for celebration in the homosexual "community". Just sayin'

They are despicable! How dare they!

Submitted by motherbelt on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 6:02pm.

Comparing partying along a circuit of gay bars to horrific journey of Jesus to the place where he was crucified.

Oh, wait! They're ridiculing Catholics and Christians.

Nevermind.

Jesus warned us that we would

Submitted by msh1973 on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 8:49pm.

Jesus warned us that we would have days like these...I am just sayin.

Gay bars are basically whore houses for gay people

Submitted by OxyCon on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 6:03pm.

There's only one objective for going to one. Figures that the morally bankrupt idiots at the WaPo would celebrate their existence.

It isn't a question of tolerating gay people, so much as it is tolerating seedy, sleazy, decrepit establishments in your neighborhood.

Ever checked out the straight babes in a "gay" bar, OxyCon?

Submitted by Dave. on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 8:54pm.

They are the exact same straight babes that show up at gay guy's parties.

I'm talking drag-your-tongue-in-the-dirt gorgeous.

:-)

-Dave

Vote for the American in November

There's no truth to the rumor

Submitted by bkeyser on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 8:57pm.

There's no truth to the rumor that they're just looking for fashion ideas, either.

bk,

Submitted by Dave. on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 9:20pm.

LOL - Back then, all we really cared about was getting those babes out of their "fashions" by whatever means possible.

But that was a very long time ago. :-^)

-Dave

Vote for the American in November

couldn't they use

Submitted by pak152 on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 7:57pm.

the Hadj instead or were they would worried that Ibrahim Hooper and the others at CAIR would be protesting?

"Heads would roll"....

Submitted by bigdaddy on Sun, 01/02/2011 - 2:10pm.

Literally!

"We're all God's people. We do what we want."

Submitted by SickofLibs on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 11:21pm.

Excuse me, but very few of us worship Dionysus these days.

But interesting to hear that the suburbs are swarming with homosexuals and the mutilated, oops, I mean transgendered.

I can't wait for our military

Submitted by jdhawk on Sun, 01/02/2011 - 8:26am.

I can't wait for our military posts to have gay bars. Yeah, we can all "celebrate" Sgt. La Countess . . .

Meanwhile, are we to devote precious medical resources in our military to "adadicktomoies?" You know, those transgenders that want to have a sex "change?"

How many bathrooms do we need on each post, base, port, ship, foxhole? Transgenders are demanding that there be separate ones for them as they go through their "transition." We don't want their sensibilities offended do we?

Of course, all of the above will be carried out at some point, as absurd as it may sound today. Meanwhile, this is a country at war in two foreign lands while defending outposts across the planet. But, the above is far more important to further a "lifestyle."

Given how much death and

Submitted by eaglewingz08 on Sun, 01/02/2011 - 9:40am.

Given how much death and disease plague the gay community, maybe the metaphor isn't that inapt. They party like AIDs is in the back seat mirror while it is still decimating their numbers. They still engage in the reckless behaviors that led to the spread of the disease and rail against reasonable measures to reduce its virulence. Under the name of 'partying' it really establishes a death culture.

Maybe they were chicken?

Hot Topics