‘Misinformation’ is when, for instance, someone says Donald Bradman’s batting average was 99.98 when it was 99.94. It is a slip of a key in typing, or misreading of a figure – it is a natural mistake.
‘Disinformation’, on the other hand, is a deliberate attempt to mislead the public – in other words, it is a lie. And right to the fore with using it is that man, Donald Trump – that arrogant narcissist, pathological liar, convicted felon, serial adulterer, bankrupted six times grifter, and with a vocabulary and outlook on life like a spoilt sixth-grader. Oh, and he doesn’t like dogs.
And it is he, and the people with whom he has surrounded himself, who may well soon unleash an attack on gay people using a convoluted ‘argument’ of family values, religion and goodness knows what else. And this article is about how I intend to counterattack any ‘slurs upon my character’.
“Prove it” should normally be enough, as it then requires the person to validate or invalidate a statement, but it seems honest logic is beyond some people, most of whom seem to belong to the “New Order” the people around Trump are talking about. So I will use logic AND humour, humour being another attribute that seems to be in short supply amongst the Trump cult.
Being in South Africa, the “moffie” term may start being thrown around again, but this time with venom. Ask the person where the term came from, get the almost inevitable shake of the head and the “Don’t know”, and then explain that a moff ram was a castrated ram, who was sent out amongst the ewes during the breeding season to get them excited for the arrival of the breeding ram. Then look down, pull your front pants area away from your stomach (now easy for me because I have lost weight – yippee!), and say, “No, they are still there, so that is an impossibility for me to be a moffie”. And then laugh.
So called ‘religious’ people will try to get you on the various texts in the Bible that purportedly show that we gay people are wicked, sinful and against God’s word. Ask the person if they understand ancient Hebrew (I think I can safely say that you will get a “no”), because that is what the original version of the Bible was written in. Ask them if they have ever seen the Bill Murray film, “Lost in Translation”, and leave it at that, while the cogs in the brain of the accuser grind away and produce smoke.
And you are going to get the “God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve” bit – correct them by saying that they left out a line and that it actually goes, “If God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve, why did God make me?” More turning cogs in the head, and more smoke.
Remind them that, if they were to have a brain tumour (which supposes that they have a brain), does it really matter that, apart from the surgeon being good at neurosurgery, whether the person operating is male or female, what their nationality is, what their skin colour is, or what their sexual orientation is? And do it with a smile, ‘cos they hate that!
And one of the things that these bast….er, people hate, is being fact-checked. Pre-empt any “You don’t believe me” by saying “isn’t Google marvellous?” (and remember the smile, people!), and have your phone, tablet or PC to hand. And if they say that so-and-so News Channel mentioned that, come back with “But Uncle Ronnie’s Roundup said something different”, and then tap into Google while they are processing that.
My mind is cast back to a time when being gay in South Africa was a criminal offence. My late partner was once confronted by the SA Police when he was saying goodbye to someone outside his flat, and was picked up for “soliciting”. His tack was to target one of the policeman and say, “Didn’t I see you at Mandy’s the other night?” (Mandy’s being a well-known gay bar in the 1980s). The chief detective then pitched up and, after a few questions, said, “Come and have a brandy and Coke”, which must surely be the most interesting end to a particularly difficult situation!
But it could also be another tack to take – put the accuser in the hot seat, and see how they handle it. It might (though I wouldn’t hold my breath) give them an insight into what they are doing to you.
We are also going to be told that we “chose to be gay” – it is almost inevitable. My comeback is to ask them if they are right- or left-handed, and whether they chose that. I quickly follow that with, “I didn’t even choose to be born – that was my parents”, before getting more specific, and saying I wanted blonde hair, and to be better hung, etc., etc.
One of the key arguments, according to the Trumpers, is that humans were put onto this earth to procreate. Jump in, and remind them that the world’s population is past eight billion, and Earth is taking a bit of strain because of it and, if not Earth, you’re taking a bit of strain because of the rush hour traffic. Then throw in the fact there are so many unwanted children that need adoption, and say that gay people are doing their bit and helping in that regard – “They say kids like having two parents”. Stand back and watch for cogs and smoke.
If some of the above comes across as flippant, it is not meant to be. Getting angry because of the insane crap these people talk, led by the you-know-who in the USA, is going to get us nowhere. What is going to get us somewhere is being prepared for what we will be accused of, and diverting that in a direction that will, perhaps, make the other person think. And, of course, don’t forget the smile!
Source: Gay Pages edition 1 of 2025
