I know, it seems perverse of me. Because I must admit that he’s an amazing young man. He’s evidently brilliant, attending Harvard and then Oxford (as a Rhodes scholar), and speaking seven languages. But then just hearing ‘Mayor Pete’ hold forth during the 2020 presidential campaign is enough. His studied articulation of the middle-of-the-road democratic party platform is astute, to say the least. And just as a bonus, he’s charismatic. And he’s kinda cute — in a puppy dog sort of way — with his furry eyebrows, pug nose, and toothy smile.
So what’s not to like?
The problem is that Pete is not only gay, and married, and a Christian, but he is recently gay (he came out five years ago) and recently married (for a year and a half) and most importantly, he is not just Christian — but terrifyingly devout. So devout, in fact, that he can’t seem to mention his sexuality without mentioning God. Dare I say that being so recently out — and so recently married — might mean that Pete may have some emotional baggage to deal with quite outside of running for president?
But that’s not my concern here.
My concern is that if we gaze for too long at this pesky little pup in his perky little suit, we might just forget that Stonewall ever happened. It may become a little too convenient not to remember that during the late ‘50s and early ‘60s Mayor Pete-style homosexuals carried signs and wore suits claiming to be ‘just the same as you and me,’ but achieved precisely nothing on the road to gay liberation. It took a bunch of randy bull dykes, sex trade workers, drag queens, and effeminate gay boys at Stonewall to win that fight. Pete seems to be trying to convince us that if we were all just nice, devout, middle-class, multi-lingual Rhodes scholars we too might get our homophobic dads to love us.
But I have other concerns as well. What will happen to our queer lives post President Buttigieg? Well, exactly what happened to black people after Barack Obama. Obama’s presidency confirmed — for so many — the agreeable fantasy that racism was over. Having a gay president will once and for all confirm that the-love-that-dare-not-speak-its-name had better finally shut up. Buttigieg’s presidency will also further polarise America, as it drives homophobia deeply and quietly into the psyches of the Christian right. If you think they hate us now, just imagine how they’ll feel after some little Christian fellatio artist becomes commander-in chief?
The homophobic attacks have already entered the mainstream, but no one will acknowledge them. Recently Biden railed against Mayor Pete’s effeminacy, charging that while Biden was busy doing big manly stuff — like negotiating the Iran deal and the Affordable Care Act, Buttigieg was busy in South Bend — “installing decorative lights on bridges.” So what if Mayor Pete can’t make American great again. After all —like any gay man — he is certainly more than capable of sprucing it up.
All this is not to say that Pete Buttigieg doesn’t deserve to be president. Or that he shouldn’t be president. But sadly, a Mayor Pete presidency will probably not make the world a better place for people like me. In fact, Perky, pesky little Pete, will probably make it much, much worse.
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