And by “musings” I mean “a barely (hardly?) contained rant.”
Okay, for those who may not be familiar with what I’m talking about, Piers Morgan had trans woman, activist, and author Janet Mock on his show earlier this week. The way he handled the interview was highly problematic, as has been explained by numerous people who did it far better than I can, so I’m not going to try. Mock and those who support her decided to criticize the way she was treated on his show, and Morgan has acted like an ass since. Furthermore, he’s acted like an ass who insists that he’s now the one who’s being wronged. (Because you know, heaven forbid you actually criticize a white cis man who sees himself as a good guy.
One of his more recent complaints is this whine:
I’ve supported #LGBT rights vociferously on air for the past 3 years and I’m now the target of the LGBT community’s fury/mockery? Pathetic.
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) February 7, 2014
And there you have it, folks, the martyrdom of the faux ally. Because, you know, allies never have unexamined privilege left lying around (we1 do). Allies never screw up (we do, and all the time). Allies are always above criticism (like hell we are). Here we have Piers Morgan demanding the “cookies” he feels he earned from (alleged) past good deeds.
I call bullshit. A real supporter would have display more critical reflection than that. A real supporter would be open to correction and seek to be supporting. And a real supporter would never dream of whining about how the people he’s supported “turned on him,” as if they owe him anything.
If Piers Morgan thinks this is what “supporting LGBT rights” looks like, then this is one cis gay man that would be much happier without his support. I won’t abandon my trans* friends and acquaintances for anyone’s support.
1I’m saying “we” because as a cis gay man, I have relative privilege compared to trans* people.