Posted by Jens Spahn is a queer on Thu, 01 Oct 2015 06:17 | #

Out on the Right: On Being Gay, Conservative and Catholic

Jens Spahn is a conservative parliamentarian. He is also gay. In a SPIEGEL interview, the 32-year-old describes how this has informed his political career and assesses how far Germany has come on civil rights for gays and lesbians.

SPIEGEL: Mr. Spahn, two years ago we asked you for the first time if you would be willing to grant us an interview about your life as a gay member of parliament in a conservative political party. What made you hesitate so long?

Spahn: Because my gayness has nothing to do with how I define myself as a politician. I don’t focus on gay issues at the expense of other political issues. Instead, as a health expert, I strive to solve today’s problems. I wouldn’t want my way of living and loving to play a larger role than the substance of my work.

SPIEGEL: What changed your mind about talking with us?

Spahn: I want to send a signal. There are many gays among Germany’s conservatives who are discontented with their party. Nevertheless, this will be my first and last interview about my homosexuality.

A queer, a Catholic (read universalist) and not a conservative unless you consider nativist union busting to be “conservation” of anything but the bank accounts of an oligarchic few.

Posted by But a right-winger Jens Spahn is.. on Thu, 01 Oct 2015 11:51 | #

A queer, a Catholic (read universalist) and not a conservative unless you consider nativist union busting to be “conservation” of anything but the bank accounts of an oligarchic few..

But a right-winger Spahn IS, exactly, by proper definition. Maybe now some will understand what the right is and get out of it

Posted by Kumiko Oumae on Thu, 01 Oct 2015 12:07 | #

The problem with Jens Spahn is not his homosexuality, though. It says in that very article that you are citing, that Spahn has left any considerations of the gay lobby out of his politics, and that he’s instead chosen to focus on being a Christian Democrat to the maximum that he possibly can in this era.

So the problem would really be the universalism which is a feature of the Judeo-Christian world view.

Clearly, anyone who is interested in pursuing same-sex romances, should not find it to be in their interest to invite foreign population groups into their civic space, when those foreign groups are resolutely anti-gay. It makes no sense whatsoever.

Posted by DanielS on Thu, 01 Oct 2015 12:25 | #

“interested in pursuing same-sex romances”

Kumiko, that euphemism is too soft.

You are not just taking about women who want to explore delicate feelings that men can otherwise be clumsy about, you are talking about men who like to fuck each other in the ass and suck each other’s dicks, etc….among other things that I find revolting to even put into words (unless for the purpose of utterly degrading an opponent).

I can understand your not wanting us to be associated with the ridiculous right wing proclivity to exaggerate the negative importance of homosexuality but…

..couldn’t you have phrased it: 

“Clearly, anyone who is ‘gay or bi’, should not find it to be in their interest to invite foreign population groups into their civic space, when those foreign groups are resolutely anti-gay. It makes no sense whatsoever.”

Posted by Mick Lately on Thu, 01 Oct 2015 12:44 | #

“SPIEGEL: When did you become aware that you’re attracted to men?

Spahn: In puberty, at the age of 15 or 16, when I first developed a sense of sexuality. Fortunately I have wonderful parents. I didn’t have to do a whole lot of explaining—mothers have a good instinct for such things. My parents said right away: Everything’s fine the way it is. My friends also reacted well. You have to realize, I come from a small town of 3,700, and there was still a high degree of acceptance right from the beginning. That helped me have a relaxed attitude about the issue.”

Those wonderful parents don’t appear to have merited a mention on Jens Spahn’s wikipedia page.

Note also the hovering implication that homosexual male adolescents are attracted to men, rather than other male adolescents.

And he should honour that small town by seeking to preserve small-scale indigenous Germany.

Posted by Kumiko Oumae on Thu, 01 Oct 2015 13:00 | #

DanielS on Thu, 01 Oct 2015 12:25 wrote:

Kumiko, that euphemism is too soft.

Well, isn’t that the most objective and tactful phrasing possible? It’s euphemistic in the sense that it doesn’t describe any specific sex acts performed by anyone be they lesbian or gay, sure.

But in terms of the content, the reason that ‘pursuing same-sex romances’ is a better phrasing, is because that phrasing speaks of actions and behaviours, rather than merely an identity or a thought.

Muslim fanatics can’t read a person’s mind, so they can’t persecute a person who never reveals their desires. However, they can persecute a person on the basis of their actions, and that’s precisely what they would do.

So I think it is right to say that anyone who should happen to act on those kinds of desires, should not want to bring Muslims into their civic space. This applies to women and to men in the same measure, it’s the same principle.

Think of it like a wedge-issue of the modern era.