Olbermann and "This Way Out" maintaining closets for biphobes? Why???

Back on the 14th of May, I recorded a piece for the radio program “This Way Out,” the text of which appears below.

An Open Letter to Keith Olbermann

Dear Keith,
How are you? I are fine. A bit disappointed, but fine. The disappointment? Well, you, or perhaps your producers at MSNBC, seem to be engaging in a double standard when scheduling your guests.
Remember back in February, when the wanna-be Miss Beverly Hills USA, the Carrie Prejean clone calling herself Lauren Ashley, claimed the Bible called for the execution of homosexuals? You dealt with the story at the time on your MSNBC program, but the guest you featured to discuss the matter wasn't a person who, at least on face value, was qualified to discuss both homosexuality and theology. It was syndicated newspaper columnist Dan Savage. We bisexuals are familiar with Mr. Savage, as he has spent more than a decade publishing some of the most virulently biphobic material we've ever had to contend with. If your editing guidelines were consistent, the only time Dan Savage would be seen on your program would be as a recipient of your Worst Person in the World award, not as an expert on Gay Theology.
Usually, I'd let that screw-up pass if you didn't commit it again. Unfortunately, yep, you dood it again. On May the 11th you covered the resignation of homophobe activist and preacher George Alan Rekers from his so-called “gay cure” organisation after he was caught by a Miami newspaper returning from a European vacation with a companion hired through a gay-oriented website. Again, you didn't discuss the matter on your program with a Gay Theologian, you discussed it with an even snarkier newspaper columnist than Dan Savage: gossip screed Michael Musto of the Village Voice. Keith, perhaps you are unaware of Mr. Musto's column of last year April, which was titled "Ever Meet a Real Bisexual?" In the piece, Musto asked about those who are open about their bisexuality, “do you ever suspect they're full of spit?” Only, he uses a word that merely rhymes with “spit” that would generate an FCC nastygram if I used it here. You're probably also unaware of the “non-retraction retraction” Musto ran the following week, in which he apologised for “having caused some division within the LGBT community” but didn't bother retracting the biphobic statements of the original piece. Again, one of your guests who would better fit the Worst Person in the World criteria than that you featured him for.
Keith, there is a national Christian denomination, the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, whose membership is primarily homosexual, bisexual or transgendered and Christian. There happen to be two congregations of this denomination in the New York City Metropolitan Area. There is also another national Christian denomination, the United Church of Christ, which is well known for its advocacy of homosexuals, bisexuals and the transgendered from a Christian perspective. Their website lists no less than 94 congregations affiliated with this denomination in the New York City Metropolitan Area. Do you honestly think that I will believe you or your producers couldn't find any of the pastors of those congregations to discuss stories dealing with homosexuality and theology in time for your New York-based program, rather than a couple of biphobic newspaper columnists, one of which had to be brought in via satellite from Seattle?
Perhaps it's time you gave yourself another one of those Worst Person in the World Awards. Now, go and sin no more.

Most sincerely,
King Daevid MacKenzie
member, Water of Life Metropolitan Community Church
Tucson, Arizona

On the 27th of May, I got an email back from Greg Gordon, host and producer of “This Way Out.” It reads:


Hi King D -

Sorry, we can't use this for a number of reasons:


(1) We rarely, if ever, run "personal commentaries" like this on TWO -- I can't remember our doing so during our 22+ years on the air;
(2) It's very US-centric, and we're *global* in scope;
(3) It directly attacks Olbermann, Savage and Musto, which we feel would require an "equal time" situation we don't want to get into.


If you had "pitched" me beforehand with details about this, as you've done with previous material, I would have most likely responded with a "thanks but no thanks" for the above-noted reasons. Please know that this has nothing to do with our running bi-related stuff on TWO. We have and will continue to do that.

Thanks for your effort, but I hope you understand why this isn't appropriate for TWO.

Best,

Greg


You'll notice that the “reasons” are all contradictory to what Gordon has actually done with “This Way Out” in recent months. Just take January's programs, for examples:

(1) the entire feature portion of the January 4th program was devoted to the newly-elected Mayor of Houston, Anisse Parker. Very “U.S.-centric,” as damned little of what Mayor Parker does will have any effect whatsoever on a gay man living in, say, Calgary or Brisbane.
(2) The January 11th program contained two different personal commentaries. The first was by Rachel Maddow, on her MSNBC program, on the nomination of the transgendered Amanda Simpson as Senior Technical Advisor to the Department of Commerce. Much as I like Maddow, all of her program is a news and commentary mixture, and nothing she's broadcast there would ever be considered for NBC Nightly News. The second was a Janet Mason commentary on Elvis Presley and poet C.A. Conrad. Gordon himself even introduced that one as being by “commentator” Mason on the program.
(3) The January 18th program led its feature section off with a major piece on the court challenge to California's Proposition H8. Yet another “U.S.-centric” piece, as no matter how that challenge pans out, it won't have the slightest effect on the lives of lesbians in Brussels or Amsterdam.
(4) The January 25th program contained comments by Sir Ian McKellan criticising Prop H8. Neither the interviewer or Gordon himself had the gall to say to Sir Ian, “Sorry, you can't make that comment on our air, that's too U.S.-centric.”

In addition to those pieces, “This Way Out” ran a three-part interview in April and May with Nate Phelps, the son of professional homophobe Fred Phelps. In the course of this interview, Nate accused Fred of committing criminal acts, of which child abuse was the most prominent. I have to assume that Greg Gordon hasn't offered Fred equal time on the show, as you know full well Fred would gladly take it.

And why wouldn't Gordon want to offer “equal time” to Olbermann, Savage and Musto? I'd love to hear what justification Keith has for his double standard, and it would be very amusing to hear Savage and Musto try to weasel out of their flagrantly biphobic conduct.

Oh, and that little bit Gordon writes about, “nothing to do with our running bi-related stuff on TWO.” That reminds me of one of the ways you could tell, back in the early '70s, how a record of a major artist on a no-name label was a pirated edition: it contained a legend, somewhere on the record label or jacket, to the effect of “all royalties and license fees have been paid.” If the royalties and the fees had actually been paid by the record pirate, there would not have been any reason to note such on the label or jacket. You never saw any of those statements on the releases from, for example, Capitol or RCA Victor, just those on Trade Mark of Quality, Contra Band Music or any other obvious bootleg outfit.

Of course, Gordon will continue to occasionally run bi-related material on “This Way Out.” He just won't touch material that would be potentially embarrassing to media figures with larger audiences than his, because he doesn't have the courage to put up with the lightning shafts that Gay hypocrites like Savage and Musto will most likely send his way. Which, of course, makes Gordon just as much of a hypocrite.