Holy Mason-Dixon, Batman

Until recently, the only thing one could depend upon North Carolina to be absolutely predictably is even more Southern than its Siamese Twin, South Carolina.

Them days is gone.

While South Carolina’s Constitution prohibits gay marriage, North Carolina’s does not, but it does have a statute on the books that not only prohibits gay marriage in North Carolina, but also explicitly refuses to recognize the validity of gay marriages legal where performed. Thus a gay married couple from Massachusetts, entering North Carolina, is, for purposes of North Carolina law, a couple of unmarried persons shacking up.

This hardly comes as a surprise. Every single state south of the Mason-Dixon Line prohibits gay marriage and prohibits recognition of gay marriages legally contracted elsewhere in the U.S..

So it should come as no surprise that a 6’ 8” basketball star sophomore, C.J. Leslie from North Carolina State, would tweet, “I’m no anti gay But I would rather not have a gay n the locker room” and later “I’m not saying I hate gays but that’s sumthing that I would not wnt n my locker room …”

Except of course that it is more than interesting that in each of those tweets he was careful to disavow prejudice against gay people. A Yankee like me, left to my own assumptions, would have assumed that in North Carolina, if there is anything you can say with absolute safety, it is, “I hate homosexuals.”

But apparently he didn’t think so.

Even more apparently, he was right to be reticent about his homophobia.
Both comments have been deleted from his Twitter account and his coach, Mark Gottfried, has spoken with the young man, according to reports. But it doesn’t stop there!

North Carolina State assistant athletic director for media relations Annabelle Myers released a statement saying: “Any student has the right to express his or her personal opinion, but those comments certainly don’t reflect the diverse and welcoming atmosphere at N.C. State. Our student-athletes are reminded and encouraged to be circumspect in what they say, post or tweet.”

Now if all of this had happened at ANY school in the Northeast or in California, I would not be sharing it with you.

But it happened in North Carolina for gosh sakes! Yes, North Carolina, of all places, announces to the world that its State School, no less, has a “diverse and welcoming atmosphere”!

And this is the point that the country is arriving at. When our hallowed halls of racism, sexism, genderism, homophobia, religionism and on and on are nearly universally feeling the necessity to proclaim that they are “diverse and welcoming,” it simply doesn’t matter that they are lying. Such lies become the truth because they CAN’T hand out little disclaimer cards.

In the Northeast, we see the snowball of orientation acceptance rolling down the hill, but if you think it is going to melt in the hot sun beneath the Mason-Dixon line, think again!

How do I know?

A little birdy told, or rather tweeted me!