Slate: "Is Pete Buttigieg Just Another White Male Candidate, or Does His Gayness Count as Diversity?"

[Dr. Benton Quest]

Slate piece arguing that, to Democrats, Buttigieg is basically just another white guy a la Biden, Sanders, Hickenlooper, etc.

But with momentum comes backlash, currently in the form of frustration that the well-qualified female and black candidates in the race are getting shoved aside for another white guy.

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A gay man who conforms to a critical mass of gendered expectations can move through life without his sexuality attending every interaction, even after he comes out. Buttigieg, for instance, would register on only the most finely tuned gaydar. Most people who are aware of his candidacy probably know he's gay, but his every appearance doesn't activate the "hey, that's that homosexual gentleman" response in the average brain. That doesn't mean he's not gay enough—there's really no such measure. It just means that he might not be up against quite the same hurdles that a gay candidate without such sturdy ties to straight culture would be.

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To me, a queer woman, it seems hard to argue that the presidential run of this apotheosis of respectability politics is a major win for diversity. Buttigieg's perception of queer sexuality as a not-sinful but ultimately unimportant distinction—"like having brown hair," his coming-out essay said—doesn't make him less gay. It does, however, put some distance between him and the queer communities he's getting credit for being the first to represent. And if I'm being cynical (or just honest), it probably makes him more electable.

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Nate Silver isn't very positive about it:

I should add to the OP that the writer is a queer woman, and says in the article that she isn't saying Pete is not "gay enough".

Although imo, that's exactly what she's saying.

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More here:
Link to article

 

[Deleted member 32822]

Slate piece arguing that, to Democrats, Buttigieg is basically just another white guy a la Biden, Sanders, Hickenlooper, etc.

Nate Silver isn't very positive about it:



More here:
Link to article

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I don't understand the quote with your context. Nate Silver is mad about the article or about gay people being considered a minority?

 

[You Are Viewtiful]

I've never wanted to hit Ignore Thread button so hard. Infuriating headline. If these ninnies lose they can blame their homophobic whining.

 

[BDS]

I generally like Nate but the only thing Pete Buttigieg is a serious contender for is being the first to drop out after the Iowa primaries. Of course being gay is a point of diversity. You can be gay, white, and male at the same time. You can have the oppression of being gay and also the privilege of being white and male at the same time. This is called "intersectionality" and is like social justice 101. Not sure what the overall angle is here.

 

[AlexMeloche]

In the US, where gay people get killed everyday for being gay... I sure fucking hope it does.

 

[Dr. Benton Quest]

I don't understand the quote with your context. Nate Silver is mad about the article or about gay people being considered a minority?

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He's mad that the article is, in a way, dismissing the sexual orientation of Buttigieg as "not very meaningful".

 

[Kin5290]

I don't understand the quote with your context. Nate Silver is mad about the article or about gay people being considered a minority?

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For context, Nate Silver is openly gay. He's mad about the article/Buttigieg not being considered "gay enough".

For context, Buttigieg served in the Navy during the height of DADT.

 

[Trojita]

Way to twist his words Slate writer

"I was well into adulthood before I was prepared to acknowledge the simple fact that I am gay," Buttigieg wrote at the time. "It took years of struggle and growth for me to recognize that it's just a fact of life, like having brown hair, and part of who I am."

 

[Ziltoidia 9]

Might have relevance during primary, but during general it would probably only hurt him.

Also, the title is so horrible.

 

[Violence Jack]

Colorado just elected the first openly gay governor in October. Don't think it would be much of a headline if it wasn't apart from the norm or not considered to be diverse.

 

[Deleted member 39450]

I normally enjoy her work, but Christina Cauterucci is a giant shitpile.

The guy served in Afghanistan twice under DADT and she has the nerve to call him out for not being "gay" enought?

Fuck her.

 

[Dr. Benton Quest]

I generally like Nate but the only thing Pete Buttigieg is a serious contender for is being the first to drop out after the Iowa primaries.

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Is this sarcasm?

Gillibrand and Gabbard are dropping out before Buttigieg.

 

[Common Knowledge]

Yeah, I'm with Nate here. Article writer can go fuck off.

 

[Prompto]

I generally like Nate but the only thing Pete Buttigieg is a serious contender for is being the first to drop out after the Iowa primaries. Of course being gay is a point of diversity. You can be gay, white, and male at the same time. You can have the oppression of being gay and also the privilege of being white and male at the same time. This is called "intersectionality" and is like social justice 101. Not sure what the overall angle is here.

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He's currently polling in third in Iowa. Only below Biden and Sanders. Still has a long way to go obviously and we're still a year away but his stock is rising.

 

[spam musubi]

Nathan Robinson from Current Affairs wrote a 10,000 word piece about Buttigieg and his neoliberalism

https://www.currentaffairs.org/2019/03/all-about-pete

 

[dlauv]

Trump smiling on toxic armchair progressives.

 

[Trojita]

I normally enjoy her work, but Christina Cauterucci is a giant shitpile.

The guy served in Afghanistan twice under DADT and she has the nerve to call him out for not being "gay" enought?

Fuck her.

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It reads like she is saying homophobic things under the shield of "I'm a queer woman". That shit is still homophobic.

 

[Dr. Benton Quest]

I should add to the OP that the writer is a queer woman, and says in the article that she isn't saying Pete is not "gay enough".

Although imo, that's exactly what she's saying.

 

[dapperbandit]

If he's a good candidate it shouldn't matter how they rank on some idiotic diversity scale. You could tick every minority box there is and still be a fucking idiot

 

[BDS]

He's currently polling in third in Iowa. Only below Biden and Sanders. Still has a long way to go obviously and we're still a year away but his stock is rising.

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He got 11% of the vote in a single poll with a 6% margin of error. Congrats to him.

 

[lmcfigs]

Nathan Robinson from Current Affairs wrote a 10,000 word piece about Buttigieg and his neoliberalism

https://www.currentaffairs.org/2019/03/all-about-pete

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:(

 

[Dr. Benton Quest]

He got 11% of the vote in a single poll with a 6% margin of error. Congrats to him.

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Nathan Robinson from Current Affairs wrote a 10,000 word piece about Buttigieg and his neoliberalism

https://www.currentaffairs.org/2019/03/all-about-pete

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You can tell when Sanders stans are nervous about a particular candidate.

 

[Eidan]

I should add to the OP that the writer is a queer woman, and says in the article that she isn't saying Pete is not "gay enough".

Although imo, that's exactly what she's saying.

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Yeah she outright says that he doesn't truly represent the queer community. It begs the question, "What exactly is the queer community? Are there levels of queerness one has to achieve to be a member?"

 

[Deleted member 39450]

It reads like she is saying homophobic things under the shield of "I'm a queer woman". That shit is still homophobic.

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Yep, it certainly is.

Gay people tearing each other down is absolutely what we don't need right now; I hope she enjoys her clicks.

 

[Aaronrules380]

Being gay is absolute a point in favor of diversity and just because it's not always as immediately obvious as skin color or gender doesn't change that. That type of argument suggests gays don't need representation at all which is ridiculous

 

[Rocket Man]

Even disregarding him being Gay, he is not like the other candidates. He's by far the smartest guy in the field, extremely articulate, and at 38 he's accomplished more than almost any of the others.

 

[Rover]

I don't really like the assertion that to be "truly gay" you have to "look the part"

 

[Aaronrules380]

I don't really like the assertion that to be "truly gay" you have to "look the part"

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If anything i'd Argue that's ultimately harmful because it reinforces stereotypes

 

[Mona]

thats a hell of a headline

 

[Eidan]

This article feels as desperate as the attempts to say Kamala Harris isn't black. Some on the left are tying themselves into knots trying to kneecap primary candidates that they don't favor by making asinine arguments questioning their diversity. We haven't even reached debate season yet.

 

[Suiko]

Nathan Robinson from Current Affairs wrote a 10,000 word piece about Buttigieg and his neoliberalism

https://www.currentaffairs.org/2019/03/all-about-pete

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From the guy who wrote:

THE SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER IS EVERYTHING THAT'S WRONG WITH LIBERALISM
HOW TO WRITE A POLITICAL PUFF PIECE (article attacking Beto)

and of course,

THERE IS STILL ONLY ONE CLEAR WAY TO GET RID OF TRUMP
"Let's be honest: running Bernie in 2020 is the best shot the Democrats have at beating Trump…"

 

[Meows]

Fuck her.

 

[Officer Big Mac]

I think Nste got it right.

 

[Deleted member 10060]

This is so fucking stupid. I swear, the greatest enemy of the left isn't the right, it's the left itself.

 

[Trojita]

From the guy who wrote:

THE SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER IS EVERYTHING THAT'S WRONG WITH LIBERALISM
HOW TO WRITE A POLITICAL PUFF PIECE (article attacking Beto)

and of course,

THERE IS STILL ONLY ONE CLEAR WAY TO GET RID OF TRUMP
"Let's be honest: running Bernie in 2020 is the best shot the Democrats have at beating Trump…"

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This is in the article:

Before I dive into Shortest Way Home's account of the life and career of Peter Buttigieg, let me be up front about my bias. I don't trust former McKinsey consultants. I don't trust military intelligence officers. And I don't trust the type of people likely to appear on "40 under 40" lists, the valedictorian-to-Harvard-to-Rhodes-Scholarship types who populate the American elite. I don't trust people who get flattering reams of newspaper profiles and are pitched as the Next Big Thing That You Must Pay Attention To, and I don't trust wunderkinds who become successful too early. Why? Because I am somewhat cynical about the United States meritocracy. Few people amass these kind of résumés if they are the type to openly challenge authority. Noam Chomsky says that the factors predicting success in our "meritocracy" are a "combination of greed, cynicism, obsequiousness and subordination, lack of curiosity and independence of mind, [and] self-serving disregard for others." So when journalists see "Harvard" and think "impressive," I see it and think "uh-oh."

lol

 

[captainpat]

The dems had one black president and everyone immediately thinks white people in the party are finished

 

[RoKKeR]

From the guy who wrote:

THE SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER IS EVERYTHING THAT'S WRONG WITH LIBERALISM
HOW TO WRITE A POLITICAL PUFF PIECE (article attacking Beto)

and of course,

THERE IS STILL ONLY ONE CLEAR WAY TO GET RID OF TRUMP
"Let's be honest: running Bernie in 2020 is the best shot the Democrats have at beating Trump…"

Click to shrink...

Why am I not surprised.

This is so fucking stupid. I swear, the greatest enemy of the left isn't the right, it's the left itself.

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This. Nate silver is correct here.

 

[Pasha]

Is there like some sort of progressive point system or something?

Like is Gay +25 points, Male -10 points, White -25 points, Pete scores -10 points and thus not diverse enough.

 

[Red Arremer]

Yeah she outright says that he doesn't truly represent the queer community. It begs the question, "What exactly is the queer community? Are there levels of queerness one has to achieve to be a member?"

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You have to understand, you only count as gay representation if you shave your chest, wear pink shirts and hotpants, have a little plastic penis attached to the rear mirror of your car, call everyone 'hun' or 'darling' in a nasal voice and sway your hips while walking.

 

[Trojita]

Is there like some sort of progressive point system or something?

Like is Gay +25 points, Male -10 points, White -25 points, Pete scores -10 points and thus not diverse enough.

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You solved the equation.

 

[Stinkles]

There's a couple of dozen gay politicians on the hill - the diversity only has meaning when they're truthful and advocates for other people instead of monstrous hypocritical frauds.

 

[Deleted member 10551]

I generally like Nate but the only thing Pete Buttigieg is a serious contender for is being the first to drop out after the Iowa primaries. Of course being gay is a point of diversity. You can be gay, white, and male at the same time. You can have the oppression of being gay and also the privilege of being white and male at the same time. This is called "intersectionality" and is like social justice 101. Not sure what the overall angle is here.

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Yeah, it's pretty unlikely he wins in 2020. The Dem bases are feuding with each other hard enough that 2nd-tier candidates won't be seriously considered as anything other than wasted votes. He is doing a good job for himself, and setting himself up well for a cabinet spot, statewide race, or future run.

I won't be voting for him, but I like him.

 

[Deleted member 4346]

Are people really erasing Buttigieg because of his sexual orientation? Nate Silver is right, of course it's significant. Buttigieg is gay, and Sanders is Jewish. I don't put either of them in "oh another white dude running" category with Beto, Biden, Hickenlooper, etc. We've never had an openly gay president. We've never had a Jewish president. Diversity isn't just about race.

 

[Deleted member 24907]

"I'm not saying he's not gay enough but he's not gay enough"

Johnolivercool.gif

 

[Midnight Jon]

also think what you will about buttigieg's likelihood to win but his stock's definitely risen pretty dramatically this month

right now it's basically "top of not-the-75-year-old-white-guys tier" with approximately 10 months to any actual voting, whereas 4-5 weeks ago it was "gabbard tier"

 

[Aaronrules380]

In the first place the queer community is so diverse and has so many subsections that I think expecting any singular individual to represent them all is kind of absurd. The experiences of a gay man will differ from those of a lesbian will differ from those of a trans man will differ from a trans woman. Obviously there will be a lot of overlap, but any of these broad groups will face inherent differences in treatment and that's not getting into the subsections within those groups

 

[Aaronrules380]

Are people really erasing Buttigieg because of his sexual orientation? Nate Silver is right, of course it's significant. Buttigieg is gay, and Sanders is Jewish. I don't put either of them in "oh another white dude running" category with Beto, Biden, Hickenlooper, etc. We've never had an openly gay president. We've never had a Jewish president. Diversity isn't just about race.

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As a Jew myself while it certainly contributes to diversity, I also think it's miles away from being gay, female or black in terms of the types and amount of discrimination you face

 

[Madison]

From the guy who wrote:

THE SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER IS EVERYTHING THAT'S WRONG WITH LIBERALISM
HOW TO WRITE A POLITICAL PUFF PIECE (article attacking Beto)

and of course,

THERE IS STILL ONLY ONE CLEAR WAY TO GET RID OF TRUMP
"Let's be honest: running Bernie in 2020 is the best shot the Democrats have at beating Trump…"

Click to shrink...

...am I supposed to like him less for writing that?

 

[Particle Physicist]

Have there been any 'Beto is just another white guy' articles?

 

[JustinBailey]

I understand the argument.

But perception, in this case, is not reality.

Being of a different sexuality firmly plants you in the mind, existence, and fears of the minority classes of the world, regardless of how similar to the majority you might look.

There are gay people, though, who are not fit for being president, which is a different conversation entirely.