Over the past couple weeks, Rob and Doug Ford have come out against Toronto Pride and have (unsuccessfully) tried to have a rainbow flag taken down from city hall. Most politicians would take a look at their actions and try to smooth things out.
Rob Ford is not most politicians.
According to the Toronto Star, The Ford Brothers took to their YouTube show to set the record straight: They’re not homophobic! It’s just that the LGBT community is bullying them. Shame on all of us!
“You know how many gay friends that we have?” asked Doug Ford, setting up the easiest joke in the world. “People that have worked on our campaign. So you may want to try to bully us into things, but — that’s how I feel sometimes, Rob. I feel like I’ve been bullied into something.”
Doug, clearly committed to the whole bullying excuse, added, “[D]on’t try to put a gun to anyone’s head that disagrees with you. It doesn’t mean that they hate gays. It’s just a bunch of bullying, a bunch of bullies coming after you.”
Personally, I think the word he was thinking of was “criticized” — as in, an argument against something with perceived imperfections — as opposed to bullying, which would imply that the LGBT community wielded a power greater than Rob Ford’s and was systematically using it to abuse him. Or maybe he really did mean bullying — who knows.
I really shouldn’t have to explain this, but it’s not bullying to question or criticize a politician’s actions and positions. You threw a hissy fit over a Pride flag, the fuck did you expect out of that? Freshly baked shortbread cookies and a back rub? Nope. Sorry. With great power comes great responsibility, and great criticism when you start putting off the great responsibility part.
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