Offensive DFA E-mail Message

[IndianaGreen]

Subject: Offensive DFA E-mail Message
Date: Sunday, October 15, 2006 11:17:55 PM (View Source)

By now you've probably seen the offensive e-mail message from
Democracy for America which 'jokingly' refers to Mark Foley as a 'Mo'.
If not, you can see the picture at:
http://www.outfordemocracy.org

This is one of the most offensive things I've seen as a result of the
Foley scandal, and it's certainly the most offensive thing I've seen
from Democrats.

I'm shocked that we really have to explain to DFA that A) Being Gay
and Being a Pedophile are two COMPLETELY different things, and B) When
straight people refer to anyone as a 'Mo' in a mean-spirited way, it
crosses the bounds of decency.

An HRC poll on the topics hows that, by a 2-to-1 margin, voters
believe that "this type of behavior is typical of politicians" over
"this type of behavior is typical of gay men." The poll also showed
support for either civil unions or marriage for same-sex couples at 66
percent, which is consistent with other polls on the same question.

"Some right-wing leaders and politicians have tried to divert
attention from the congressional leadership's failure to investigate
Mark Foley's abhorrent behavior, and their cover-up in order to hold
on to power, by insisting that his being gay was the central issue,"
said HRC President Joe Solmonese. "Conservative politicians have tried
to promote prejudice against gay Americans, rather than push for
accountability in this scandal. Today's poll shows that Americans
reject their outrageous claims."

For the record, I have tried to engage DFA in a discussion on LGBT
issues numerous times. Back when the controversy erupted over Howard
Dean's appearance on the 700 club, I was disappointed that DFA chose
not to publish a post I wrote on the topic on their blog (where I had
been contributing regularly). I have not posted on the DFA blog since
then. At that time, I did ask Jim Dean via e-mail if we could have a
dialogue about where DFA is on LGBT issues. Unfortunately I did not
receive a response.

So please direct your feelings about this situation directly to DFA.

--

[WildEyedLiberal]

1. What's a "mo"?

I've never heard that term before. What does it mean?

[Fridays Child]

2. I was just going to ask the same question.

I've never heard the term.

[StatGirl]

9. Neither have I, but my guess is it's short for "homo". (NT)

[niyad]

4. thank you, I was about to ask the same thing.

[TechBear_Seattle]

7. Derogatory epithet; short for "homosexual"

Rather like calling someone the "n-word" which is a derogatory epithet of Negro.

[WildEyedLiberal]

14. Oh, okay. Thank you

I've heard "homo" of course, but never heard it broken down to "mo." Is "homo" too many syllables for the bigots to handle? :eyes:

[IndianaGreen]

13. I am not originally from these parts

so the term is new to me as well. I got the e-mail and it is posted at the website.

[madfloridian]

25. Well, it will be getting some attention.

I will see to that. This is shameful. That was a contest they are having. See my post below.

[donco6]

36. Never heard of it. eom

[Chulanowa]

3. "Moe" is an insult?

Never heard that one before.

To quote Li'l John: H'WHAAT?! H'YEEAH!? H'OKAAY!!

[greeneyedboy]

5. i always thought 'mo' was short for 'molester'

but then again, i haven't heard the term since 3rd grade, about 30 years ago.

[w13rd0]

6. Ummm...

..."mo" is offensive to homosexuals? DAMN! I forgot my outrago-meter! I always thought mo and mopes were "shorthand" for criminal perpetrators. If there's another meaning, it's not something my Gay Agenda Monthly Bulletin covered.

[TechBear_Seattle]

8. Imagine if a black Republican were in a scandal...

... and a Democratic group called him a nigger. Same thing.

(Added: Apologies for using that word; I want to make sure others know of the seriousness of the epithet.)

[dsc]

10. This may be a regional thing

but I never have heard mo as short for homosexual. Homo, yes but mo, no.

[krkaufman]

11. Anybody...?? Buehler....??

What *is* a "mo"?

Oh!, I wonder if it is short for homosexual? If DFA knew this, very bad form. If they didn't and some individual snuck it by their clueless eyes, then shame, as well.

[Mabus]

12. If this is what the complaint is about, I can't agree

Here's the image that was at the link you gave



What comes to my mind when I first saw this was The Three Stooges, Larry, Curly and Moe (Howard).

If 'mo is a degoratory term for gays, I must admit that I have never heard it before.

[Huskerchub]

15. Me thinks this is kinda amusing...

The only time I ever recall hearing the term was on Will and Grace...a few times Karen would refer to Will or Jack "a big MO" or something similar. In this case I think it was kind of endearing but I guess I could see where someone *might* get offended. I have read/heard of child molesters refered to as "chi mos" but I think that's just plain laziness.

[WildEyedLiberal]

16. Well, they are clearly using it in a context to mock and disparage Foley

Which is why it is offensive.

[madfloridian]

18. Foley disparaged himself.

He is hiding in treatment which we are paying for.

This is ridiculous.

[WildEyedLiberal]

20. Why is this ridiculous? Obviously, LGBT people consider the term a slur

Of course Foley deserves ridicule... but not by insinuating that he's a "mo." I have never heard that term before, but it is obviously regarded as a slur by LGBT people, so it's therefore inappropriate to use it in the context of referring to a known gay man.

It's not up to me to decide what gay people should or shouldn't find offensive.

[madfloridian]

21. Well I did not know it.

There has been internal discussion about this.

But you know what? Go for it. I am not gay, but this showed up in latest posts today. And it is just petty.

I am trying very hard to be supportive of everyone here, but I was called a "good german" by IG, and I have never forgotten that.

I think that is an insult, but the post stood, never questioned, no back up. Now god I am not a good german.

Go for it guys. Let's get everyone all mad about everyone.

[madfloridian]

22. Well, they should post a damn list for the rest of us.

And this site has been almost as bad as the Washington Blade in attacking the Deans.

Many of us are amazed they even call themselves by the DFA name....if they are so ashamed of us they should leave.

Yeh, those Dean brothers are really bad news for the gay community.

Dean has tried to be fair, far more fair than most....and this community has totally been unreal about it.

[WildEyedLiberal]

26. I don't see what Dean has to do with this thread

Howard Dean recused himself from DFA nearly two years ago to become DNC chair. Also, it's highly doubtful Jim Dean ever saw this email - I am sure DFA has staffers and interns who work on emails, they are a large organization so it's implausible that Jim Dean himself personally reviews every email and mailing they send out. I don't think this email has any bearing on Jim Dean, and certainly not on Howard Dean since he hasn't been with DFA in a long time.

At worst, a DFA staffer thought it would be clever to use a "Larry, Curly, and Moe" joke and substitute Foley for "Moe" because of the double entendre - if so, it was a bad judgment call and there should be an apology. It's also possible it was a completely innocent mistake, but since the offensiveness of the term has been brought to their attention, the proper thing to do would be to apologize. No harm, no foul - I have certainly offended people accidentally, but when my offense was brought to my attention, I apologized. Getting angry about the offended person's reaction just compounds the problem.

It's kind of insensitive to say that gay people "should post damn a list" of offensive terms - again, it's not up to me or you to decide what gay people are allowed to find offensive. I am sure the gay community would have been just as offended if MoveOn had sent the email instead of DFA - I don't see what the Deans have to do with anything here.

[madfloridian]

27. Read it.

Read what I have posted in my posts here. That was a damn contest. There is nothing wrong with that picture. Use your noggin. These are same ones who have tried to bring down Howard Dean because he went on the CBN network AND have attacked at DFA for ages. You want people to stand with Kerry, then realize that he and Dean AND others will be attacked from the left and the right. It is happening right now.

I know what I am talking about. This is just overboard.



Not arguing with you on this. This is just out of line.

[WildEyedLiberal]

28. I'm not arguing, either

I just don't see how a DFA contest has any bearing on Howard Dean. I think what people are finding offensive about the picture is that the same message could have been made without the Three Stooges reference in which gay Foley was substituted for "Moe." I'm not gay, so I can't tell you what my reaction would have been upon seeing that, if I would have been offended or not.

I don't want to argue with you on this - I guess I just don't see how disliking this picture equates to attacking Howard Dean.

[madfloridian]

29. This was in the OP...IG mentioned him.

"For the record, I have tried to engage DFA in a discussion on LGBT
issues numerous times. Back when the controversy erupted over Howard
Dean's appearance on the 700 club, I was disappointed that DFA chose
not to publish a post I wrote on the topic on their blog (where I had
been contributing regularly). I have not posted on the DFA blog since
then. At that time, I did ask Jim Dean via e-mail if we could have a
dialogue about where DFA is on LGBT issues. Unfortunately I did not
receive a response.

So please direct your feelings about this situation directly to DFA."

I did not bring him into it, the OP did.

[madfloridian]

30. He was NOT referred to as moe.

It was meant to be funny. I doubt the one who did it meant it that way.

[madfloridian]

31. May I explain more?

Here is the site with the ugly letter about DFA. There is another page at that site with a column written by the guy who was fired by Howard Dean from the DNC. At that site that is saying contact DFA over this contest.

http://outfordemocracy.org/arch/000552.html

Here is more about why he was fired, his partner was sending out mail and advocating not to donate to the DNC...and criticizing Dean.

http://www.washingtonblade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=6536

So there is a lot more institation going on here that most realize.

[donco6]

37. I'm gay and I've never heard of it.

So I don't know whether to be offended or not.

[sui generis]

38. we do?

It depends on the company. Why are we all spinning on manufactured outrage? This definitely seems like a waste of heartbeats.

[madfloridian]

17. Oh, come on. Here 's the picture.

http://www.outfordemocracy.org/

This site may be named for DFA but several there have been going after Jim Dean and Howard Dean in every way they can.

This was an effing contest! to make stick em notes. I got the email, I am not gay, but I just don't think anything was meant.

This same person almost got banned from the DFA link blog, which is extremely hard to do. They kept attacking for months.

Here is a link to the contest. Now I am sorry but this is just too much. NO one at DFA is homophobic...good grief, IG.

http://www.blogforamerica.com/archives/008457.html

Let's go after Jim Dean and DFA now.

[sui generis]

39. I think it's funny and I'm a big ol' mo

so there.

Guess I just have thicker skin or something, like a sense of humor.

[madfloridian]

19. As if we did not have enough to be pissed about...

IG is now after the Dean brothers and DFA.

This is so overboard.

Go ahead and attack and flame, but no wonder Jim and the others are not responding. They have responded and responded to this group, but nothing ever satifies.

This is just too much.

[madfloridian]

23. Hey, post a list of offensive terms that some may not know.

That way we won't accidentally say something we should not say.

Good lord.

[madfloridian]

24. I want an apology for being called a "good german" IG

And you never did.

The greens are a little irritated at some in DFA because are not "liberal" enough to suit everyone.

I am really angry. I think someone should post this in the comments at DFA Link.



There is a concerted effort by this community to hurt Gov. Dean at the DNC.. I just did not now they were after DFA alos. I suspected, but the guy had quit attacking at DFA every day...thought it was better.

Let's bring those Dean brothers down.

[madfloridian]

32. I have one more thing to say....I will let Arshad say it for me.

If IG had bothered to read the comments under the letter, there is a sweet and moving letter from one of the DFA staffers.

"It also didn't occur to me as a reference to the infrequently used expression "'mo." Some quick background, "mo" is short for "homo," which is obviously short for "homosexual." To 10 of eleven people in this office the reference was not merely obscure, it was unknown.

And the 11th person? That's me. The gay staffer.

But I'm not going to say "oh no! I should have known." I did know about the term, and I did see the poster. But even I didn't make the connection. I've had my fair share of dergatory comments made at my expense (I grew up in North Dakota. Vivid experiences. Enough said), but I honestly only saw the Three Stooges reference. In the poster, we did not call Foley a '"mo," nor did we intentionally imply it.

It's a fairly obscure term, even for me. In all honestly, The only times I or my friends use the term is when we (queer people) are wondering about or referring to someone and we don't want straight people in earshot to know what we're talking about.

I do a pretty good job making everyone in the office aware of overt and underlying issues of prejudice around LGBT issues. And issues which affect people of color. And issues surrounding bias against muslims. And issues reflecting blue-state bias, and northeastern elitism. I embrace my minority identities and advocate for them in the office and in life.

I am lucky to work in an office that not only promotes diversity in hiring, but also in understanding diversity while working. I wouldn't work here otherwise. Hell, when i travel around for trainings, I often look up nearby gay bars and take the staff, trainers, and sometimes the trainees out with me.

Incidently, did anyone see the "Daily Show" a couple days ago? Jon Stewart was making fun of the Republicans attempting to pin this as a gay issue. He pulled up an absurd chart outlining the "conspiracy" of gay republicans and made fictional titles. My favorite was the "Secretary of Fagriculture."

I laughed. I laughed hard. In fact, I printed it out, put it on my desk with the name "Arshad Hasan" on it. It was either that, or the "Deputy Director of Fabulousness."

We like to have fun at the DFA office. We never do it at the expense of any minority groups. In this case we took the three stooges, and seeing an opportunity to riff off a known cultural icon, we replaced "Moe" (not 'mo) with Maf54. Why? Because they both start with the letter 'M.' And it's funny. And because a lot of us wish we were as funny as Jon Stewart.

Posted by Arshad Hasan, DFA's resident 'mo at October 16, 2006 03:09 PM

Thanks, Arshad, for all your great training sessions for Democracy, and thanks for putting things into prospective on this issue.

When people attack DFA for things like this, it shows they have no idea of the staff make-up or the mindset of the people there.

[madfloridian]

33. And another staffer from DFA posts there as well.

David,

Please accept my apology. You took a completely different meaning from our e-mail image then we intended. The Larry, Curly and Moe reference was 100% about the three stooges. The photo was of Michael Brown who led FEMA during Katrina, President Bush who led America into Iraq, and Mark Foley who chaired the Missing and Exploited Children Caucus while instant messaging underage children about sex from his government desk. These guys are completely incompetent stooges. Attempting to be clever, we substituted Foley’s IM screen name, MAF54 with Moe.

None of any of part of it had to do with Foley being gay. None of us were even aware of that term or it’s derogatory meaning. I am disappointed that you could think it is possible that we could have meant that. DFA stands on three basic principles of social justice, fiscal responsibility, and grassroots activism. Social justice and GLBT issues go hand and hand. Equality, civil rights, human rights, freedom from discrimination, there is no left or right on these issues, there is only right and wrong. We stand together.

If you would like to have a dialogue with me on GLBT issues or discuss anything else, please don’t hesitate to write me at [email protected] or call me at [phone].

Charles Chamberlain
Political/Field Director
Democracy for America


(What more do you want? Some things were not meant the way they were taken, and this is doing great harm to a very nice and open-minded community of people called DFA.)

And some have wondered why Out for Democracy continues to associate their name with DFA is they so despise them? This has gone on way too long. Some even left the blog there in part because of the posts about this topic about Howard.

[hyde]

34. is "mo" even deragatory?

my only exposure to the term came via Will and Grace and it always made me laugh, so even if the intention was to poke fun at Foley being gay and the inherent hypocrisy of that truth I wouldn't be offended. I mean... homosexual isn't deragotory, so how can a derivative of it be deragatory?

[meegbear]

35. OK, us fags will shut up now ...

just let us know when you need us for support or something and we'll be right there.