Facing backlash over the state’s sweeping anti-LGBT law, North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory’s (R) re-election campaign on Tuesday criticized musicians who have cancelled their shows in the state to protest the law, accusing them of channeling “selective outrage.”…. Ricky Diaz, a spokesman for McCrory’s gubernatorial campaign, wrote in a statement obtained by The Carolina Mercury that “it is the height of hypocrisy for these Hollywood elitists to deny their service to customers over a political disagreement.”…. “The reality is that while these and other groups unfairly target North Carolina, they often tour and play shows in the 29 other states with similar levels of anti-discrimination protections as North Carolina,” Diaz continued. “If you are writing on the selective outrage expressed by these bands in canceling their North Carolina shows, you should also ask if they plan on canceling the shows they’re playing in these states.”
It’s often been said by people far wiser than I that there’s no right way to do the wrong thing. No matter how hard one might try or how creatively one might approach the task of doing the wrong thing the right way, it’s virtually impossible to look anything but astonishingly foolish. Welcome to the world of North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory, who’s unwittingly become the face of Christian homophobia and bigotry. Having signed HB2 into law, McCrory has taken on the task of defending the new law requiring that transgender individuals use restrooms corresponding to their birth gender. “Y’all have it wrong!” seems to be his go-to argument. HB2 isn’t about discrimination or hatred; it’s about protecting the sanctity of North Carolina’s restrooms and keeping our precious snowflakes safe from sexual predators.
That McCrory’s argument could quickly and easily be punctured is almost a gimme. All one would need to do is ask why, if North Carolina Republicans are so concerned about sexual predators, they’ve yet to do anything about pedophile priests in the Catholic Church. That would be far too easy, though. No, it’s far more enjoyable watching McCrory attempting to spin the unspinnable and portray hatred and bigotry as rational policy by going after those with the temerity to boycott the Tarheel State.
HOW DARE THEY??
The campaign then offered a list of groups that have cancelled show in North Carolina, including Pearl Jam, Boston, and Bruce Springsteen, and called them out for performing in states with similar “non-discrimination laws.” Diaz also noted that some of the groups boycotting the state have performed in Singapore and Russia, both of which have harsh laws regarding LGBT rights.
Since he signed the rushed legislation banning local provisions providing anti-discrimination protections for LGBT individuals, McCrory has stubbornly defended the law. In responding to backlash from businesses, the governor has said that some corporations “don’t quite understand” the law.
To the contrary, it seems that some corporations and others who wish to do business in North Carolina understand the law all too well. They understand that state government has now sanctioned discrimination by inserting itself into the question of determining who gets to use which restroom. They understand that HB2 is narrowly focused and directed at North Carolina’s transgender community. They understand that a minority class has unjustly and inaccurately been portrayed as sexual perverts waiting to prey on innocent women and children. More than anything, they recognize that hatred and bigotry is designated a minority class as “less than.”
Unfortunately for McCrory and others who call the Tarheel State home, businesses understand all too well that HB2 is about hatred, bigotry, and homophobia wrapped in the warm embrace of “religious freedom.” Those artists and entertainers who’ve been cancelling previously scheduled gigs in North Carolina absolutely have the right to determine where they’ll do business. Some have determind that the best way to register their disdain for HB2 clear is to refuse to perform in North Carolina. Rather than condemning those boycotting the Tarheel State, McCrory might be well advised to consider the reason performers and businesses are staying away.
Of course, that would require a degree of humility and self-awareness which thus far has seemed impossible to come by. When you’re arrogant enough to believe God is on your side, how are you going to be able to recognize, much less admit, the error of your ways?
No, North Carolina is not the only place with a law justifying discrimination against the LGBT community. That hardly means the haters and bigots who support HB2 are correct in demanding absolute ideological consistency…not when they can’t even begin to be consistent about observing and honoring the teachings of the Lord and Savior the profess to revere.
No one who values equality and equal treatment under the law will be fooled by McCrory’s lame and unsupportable argument. It’s a smoke screen, and not even a particularly well considered attempt to deflect legitimate outrage. McCrory is attempting (ineptly) to defend the indefensible, and he seems incredulous that so many are calling “Bullshit!” on him.
Like it or not, North Carolina’s legislature passed and Gov. McCrory signed HB2- a bill that established North Carolina as a state that hates. McCrory and his fellow homophobes have chosen to come down on the wrong side of history, and no one who values equality is required to do business in a place so inimical to love, acceptance, tolerance, and inclusion.
North Carolina Republicans can continue down this path and see their home state lose billions of dollars as businesses, artists, and entertainers take their commerce elsewhere. They can continue to play the victim card, or they can admit their mistakes, issue the requisite mea culpas, set things right, and rejoin the rest of us here in the 21st century. Not that anyone should be holding their breath in anticipation of this happening any time soon.
Your move, Governor.
