The Harm of Hardaway’s Hatred

By Chip Arndt, Guest Contributor, February 16, 10:49 am

Tim Hardaway’s comments are indicative of the ongoing, insidious bigotry and deep-seated hatred that still permeates many parts of the United States of America, and not just toward GLBT people. Mr. Hardaway’s comments show us all that deep schisms exist among conceptions of what it means to be a citizen of America, a country that embraces all people from varying backgrounds and beliefs.

The most unfortunate aspect of Mr. Hardaway’s comments is who said them. Mr. Hardaway is a respected citizen and celebrity of Miami, a respected businessman, a five-time NBA All-Star. He makes money off of his appearances and celebrity name and owns two businesses in Miami. Furthermore, Mr. Hardaway has spoken at many schools and has been a role model and hero for many kids and young adults with his on-the-court grit and excellence. He now gives those same kids and young adults the power, excuse and platform, through his words and example, to practice bigotry and oppress a group of people who he chooses to “hate” (his own word).

At the very least, I am glad he was honest about his thoughts, which showed people and our leaders that great work still needs to be done to overcome learned prejudices in order to move our society to become a more open, loving and tolerant place that respects all people for who they are as American citizens and children of God, not denigrating them as pariahs to be cast out of our society.

Chip Arndt
Citizen of Miami, President of Freedom Democrats of Miami Dade
Co-Founder of MerchantAdvantage.com

[UPDATE: The Associated Press reports that Hardaway won’t represent the NBA in Las Vegas. The article includes a statement from Matt Foreman.]

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Friday, 2/16/2007, 2:41 PM (EST)

It’s great to see Arndt commenting about this, particularly his inference of the potential for the greatest harm Hardaway’s over-the-top comments might cause—which we know from history is actual physical attacks by others on those they identify as gay. Interviews of convicted gay bashers/murderers repeatedly reveal that it wasn’t just their gay hatred (which, of course, many share) that led them to act out but the belief that Society thought it would be okay.

While we’ve heard willful and willfully stupid homophobic nonsense from celebrities in and out of sports before, it is Hardaway’s closure that is the most dangerous: “I don’t like it. It shouldn’t be in the world or in the United States.” While I don’t seriously think he meant or even understood its ramifications, some already motivated to violence against gays could hear it as a virtual “fatwa” on our community. Sadly, it is but a less literate echo of the infamous words of author Joseph Epstein in his long antigay diatribe in “Harper’s” magazine, executive edited by the loathsome neo right harpy and churlish cheerleader for the antigay industry Midge Decter, 37 years ago: “If I had the power to do so, I would wish homosexuality off the face of the earth.” That article, and Decter’s refusal to print a rebuttal, led to a famous “zap” of the magazine’s offices by New York’s Gay Activist Alliance that not only put the literary world on notice that such outrageous bigotry would not go unanswered but raised the public and political profile of the early Movement itself. Given the LGBT body count since then, perhaps we need to manifest our abhorrence of Hardaway’s and others’ violence-spawning hatred beyond the written word, beyond Websites.

Thank you.

Wednesday, 2/21/2007, 11:55 PM (EST)

Nice try Mr. Arndt, but the damage is done and we need to face it. Hardaway's comments prove what's on his mind and making his thoughts public have down right made it MUCH harder for all gay people in this country. I can see by your comments that you have tried to take the high road, Mr. Arndt, but the plain fact of the matter is that Hardaway and his kind are the ones that don't belong in America. He is exactly what this country doesn't stand for. We need to stop kidding ourselves and trying to be as nice as you appear to be about comments like these. Well, at least, in my opinion, your gentlemanly response should gain YOU the right to be addressed as Mr.

As for Hardaway, he can go to .... But then I'm a gentleman too.

Domenic Metta