It's a revolting situation in need of revolt!

Via Good as You:
It's a revolting situation in need of revolt!: "

Martha Nussbaum is a philosopher, professor, author, an all-around intellectual explorer. In this weekend's New York Times Magazine, she talked with Debroah Solomon about her latest focus:

SOLOMON: Your inquiries have lately revolved around the politics of physical revulsion, which you see as the subtext for opposition to same-sex marriage.



NUSSBAUM: What is it that makes people think that a same-sex couple living next door would defile or taint their own marriage when they don’t think that, let’s say, some flaky heterosexual living next door would taint their marriage? At some level, disgust is still operating.



SOLOMON: In your book “From Disgust to Humanity: Sexual Orientation and Constitutional Law,” which will be out in February, you draw a distinction between primary disgust and projective disgust.



NUSSBAUM: What becomes really bad is the projective kind, meaning projecting smelliness, sliminess and stickiness onto a group of people who are then stigmatized and regarded as inferior.


FULL INTERVIEW: QUESTIONS FOR MARTHA NUSSBAUM -- Gross National Politics [NYT]

A very worthy, very true topic! This country considers a golf pro's multiple affairs to be entertainment. An escort who sleeps with a married governor is given an advice column. Scores of heterosexuals go on national television, doing whatever is asked of them so that they can win love and ratings (not necessarily in that order). And all of these things are considered regular parts of the national conversation, palatable enough for the family dinner table.

Yet same-sex marriages still constitute a 'war,' in which loving couples who want to spend a lifetime together are painted as this nation's enemy, gay opponents' targeted condemnations are respected as a mere viewpoint, personal religious beliefs are exalted to the same level as accurate legal assessment, and certain people's non-desire to have a certain form of sex is accepted as a suitable basis on which to build a civil rights-stripping campaign. Revulsion is indeed the underlying factor here: Both our opposition's revulsion for our lives and loves, and our revulsion for the fact that their intense distaste is still all it takes to 86 our equality from the world's menu. "
I couldn't have said it better Jeremy!
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