Ed Morrissey, conservative blogger at what used to be Michelle Malkin’s Hot Air, has labeled a very passionate, respectful, intelligent young man and Minnesota native, who some report as an openly-gay high school student named Gabe Aderhold, a “heckler,” because Aderhold had the audacity to raise his hand, be recognized by Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty, and ask him why the former fellow Minnesota Governor does not stand up and support gay marriage.
In “Video: Pawlenty and the gay-marriage heckler,” Morrissey, reportedly a devout Roman Catholic, writes, “…one questioner berated Pawlenty for his stand on traditional marriage — which Pawlenty used as an opening to politely offer his position.”
Regular readers will know the The New Civil Rights Movement posted the impassioned video earlier today. For your benefit, here it is again.
Morrissey posted a different version, one with a few seconds more at the end. I still see absolutely nothing that qualifies as “heckling,” and, to be frank, I am offended. What do you think? Here’s Morrissey’s.
There were no slurs, no four-letter words, no booing, no hissing, no glittering — nothing more than an impassioned plea respectfully addressed to Governor Pawlenty. And Pawlenty, while he didn’t have a valid or reasonable answer to give Aderhold, certainly didn’t seem to take issue with the question or the questioner.
But Ed Morrissey sees this as “heckling.”
And let’s not even bother to mention the fact that Pawlenty didn’t give a valid answer. Let’s not bother to mention that in a hostile crowd, Aderhold actually got some applause. Morrissey doesn’t even bother to address the real issue here: why doesn’t Pawlenty, and, for that matter, all the main GOP presidential candidates, support same-sex marriage equality?
I approached Morrissey via Twitter, and asked him to retract the accusation and apologize. “Do you want to retract your ludicrous ‘heckler’ label? It was a recognized legitimate question. Apology?,” I asked.
Morrissey responded, “You mean when Pawlenty answered it, and then he kept trying to talk over Pawlenty and yelled at the stage? Er … no.”
“He was engaged in a conversation with Pawlenty. When Pawlenty ended it, so did Aderhold. There was no heckling. Shame on you,” I said.
“He got his question answered and didn’t like the answer. He wasn’t conducting a ‘conversation,’ and wasn’t owed one,” Morrissey responded, adding, “No, he didn’t. I was 10 feet away from him, and people around him were telling him to knock it off.”
Welcome to America, where conservatives (supposedly) tell a high school student who is actually interested in politics and the future — one that they have screwed up for him, thank you very much — to “knock it off,” and call him a “heckler?”
God forbid Pawlenty was asked a question on the future of social security, or NASA, or, Medicare. Would those questions be considered “heckling,” too?
This is why the right wing is scorned in America. Because they can’t even see a young man whose civil rights are being violated by the fact that — as he said — he is a second-class citizen, as are all LGBT Americans who can’t marry the person they love, but who can be fired merely for being who they are, and who, thanks to our tax system, are forced to subsidize not only those who have the right to marry and not get fired for their sexiual orientation, but are forced to subsidize the very entities who call for their downfall, namely, religious institutions..
And if you can’t even cough up a little compassion for Gabe Aderhold, whether you agree with his issue or not, you should be able to at least recognize his right to ask a question — and get a valid answer.
This isn’t what heckling looks like. This is what an impassioned attempt at survival looks like.