Earlier this week a local radio station was discussing the movie Brokeback Mountain . The morning show consists of 2 men and 2 women. One of the men (We’ll call him #1 for the sake of argument) on the show had seen the movie. The other male host (male guy #2) began ranting about how he wouldn’t be caught dead going to see a movie about gay men. #1 argued that there was no more than 60 seconds of actual homosexual sexual content and referred to the straight dude’s guide to Brokeback Mountain.

#2 continued to rant, stating, “Even 60 seconds is too much.” His commentary seemed a little excessive, then he opened up the phone lines. Soon, it had turned into an all out gay-bashing segment.

I was stunned that I was actually hearing this on the radio. I understand that some radio stations want an edge to their content but this is not typically one of those stations. I tried to keep my liberal opinions in check. But I still felt their comments crossed the line.

I sent the following letter:

Hello -

I was more than a little put off by your commentary about the movie Brokeback Mountain this morning. I thought it was quite disrespectful of gays. Taking calls was inviting the ignorant out to showcase their stupidity.

I don’t think you would have had the same type of conversation if it were a movie involving black people. Try this next time you want to talk about homosexuals, replace the word “gay” with the word “black” and see if you’re still willing to say the same thing. Would you come out on the air and state you will not see a movie about black people? If you are a decent and respectful person you wouldn’t.

You are doing nothing more than perpetuating inequality and creating barriers between people. Shame on you.

Jason.

P.S. I’m straight.

Just to be fair, their form-letter response:

Thank you for your comments, and I’m sorry if you found our positions offensive.

Courtney pointed out that I felt I needed to tell them I was not gay. I was trying to make the point that if I was offended as a straight man, imagine how a gay person must feel. Does being straight make my argument stronger or weaker? I don’t know for certain.