Any time an apology is issued, we need to ask why.

Just who exactly is she apologizing to? Can you apologize to the dead?

Or is this merely an exercise in hypersensitivity? We thin-skinned queers were offended by something she said, so she has to say something else. To placate us. To smooth it all over. If that’s the case, then fuck sensitivity.

We know she didn’t write her own apology. Politicians don’t write their own words. There’s a cadre of queer apologists who would be all too happy to stay up late at night crafting and manufacturing the soundest of apologies. Gotta mention ACT UP, gotta give a shout-out to the Gay Men’s Health Crisis. Look at me; I read a history book; let me cite Silence = Death. Look how knowledgeable I am, despite not knowing better than to keep my damn mouth shut about Nancy Reagan and her devastating legacy of AIDS and HIV when a bunch of queer ears are listening.

Further proof that she, as the consummate politician, is always craftily crafting her message, no?

Then there’s “And I’ve always tried to do my part in the fight against this disease, and the stigma and pain that accompanies it.” Well, since you bring it up, just where were you exactly while the White House was ignoring the deaths of tens of thousands of people dying in America? I somehow can’t recall hearing your voice at the time. Indeed, Silence = Death.

Tell me, Madame Secretary, how many quilt panels did you sew?

Yes, she and her husband have a lovely legacy regarding queer rights in America. But since you didn’t ask, I’m not obliged to tell. Said lispingly and with a flick of the wrist: Ssshhhilence = Death. I’m sure she and her husband were just ensuring we didn’t get –er, too cocky.

And yes, “some of my best friends,” too, have died of HIV/AIDS. Which is why you won’t hear me lauding a vile person like Nancy Reagan, even at her funeral. No apologies needed.

Perhaps there’s something this election cycle we queers would do well to remember. It’s something that Black Lives Matters knows all too well: “We know that the revolution won’t come at the ballot box.”

Any time an apology is issued, we need to ask why.

Just who exactly is she apologizing to? Can you apologize to the dead?

Or is this merely an exercise in hypersensitivity? We thin-skinned queers were offended by something she said, so she has to say something else. To placate us. To smooth it all over. If that’s the case, then fuck sensitivity.

We know she didn’t write her own apology. Politicians don’t write their own words. There’s a cadre of queer apologists who would be all too happy to stay up late at night crafting and manufacturing the soundest of apologies. Gotta mention ACT UP, gotta give a shout-out to the Gay Men’s Health Crisis. Look at me; I read a history book; let me cite Silence = Death. Look how knowledgeable I am, despite not knowing better than to keep my damn mouth shut about Nancy Reagan and her devastating legacy of AIDS and HIV when a bunch of queer ears are listening.

Further proof that she, as the consummate politician, is always craftily crafting her message, no?

Then there’s “And I’ve always tried to do my part in the fight against this disease, and the stigma and pain that accompanies it.” Well, since you bring it up, just where were you exactly while the White House was ignoring the deaths of tens of thousands of people dying in America? I somehow can’t recall hearing your voice at the time. Indeed, Silence = Death.

Tell me, Madame Secretary, how many quilt panels did you sew?

Yes, she and her husband have a lovely legacy regarding queer rights in America. But since you didn’t ask, I’m not obliged to tell. Said lispingly and with a flick of the wrist: Ssshhhilence = Death. I’m sure she and her husband were just ensuring we didn’t get –er, too cocky.

And yes, “some of my best friends,” too, have died of HIV/AIDS. Which is why you won’t hear me lauding a vile person like Nancy Reagan, even at her funeral. No apologies needed.

Perhaps there’s something this election cycle we queers would do well to remember. It’s something that Black Lives Matters knows all too well: “We know that the revolution won’t come at the ballot box.”