Book Review: "Bashing Back"

Wayne Besen, a syndicated columnist and Executive Director of Truth Wins Out, a GLBT advocacy organization, has released a new book titled, “Bashing Back” (Harrington Park Press, 207 pages, $14.95). The cover features Besen wearing boxing shorts and gloves, and the collection of his syndicated columns chosen for this volume live up to that image.

Besen’s was one of the first GLBT oriented websites I was linked up with when I started this blog, and it didn’t take very long to discover the creativity, biting wit, and insight that are featured in his writing. All of those qualities come through in “Bashing Back.”

Although his career has featured a lengthy stint as a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign and the establishment of Truth Wins Out (an organization that “counters right wing disinformation campaigns, debunks the ‘ex-gay’ myth, and provides accurate information about the lives of GLBT people.”), Besen has also worked for news organizations and goes beyond GLBT issues in his writing. “Bashing Back” features numerous columns on issues in culture and politics that affect the general population.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from his columns. There were plenty of quality ones to chose from:

On Civil Unions:

…..gay people are a small minority and can’t afford to be obstinate and reject civil unions as a last resort. Our families need protections today, and idealism won’t get them hospital visitations rights. However, fair-minded people should always push forward and be wed to the idea that America should never settle for a system that doles out different rights to different people simply for who they are.

On Republican Attitudes Toward GLBT People:

(President) Bush and his sophisticated Republican cronies have enough gay friends, colleagues, and family members to know their red-meat rhetoric is pure nonsense. Sadly, gay people are considered expendable and collateral damage in Bush’s unprincipled war for reelection.

On “Modern Conservatism”:

Modern Conservatism is a fraud. It is the province of hypocrites who stand for no core principles except amassing political power. Nowhere is hollowness of conservatism more evident than in cynical election year attempts by Congress to ban same-sex marriage.

I have to admit, I sometimes envy right-wingers. They can be as creative with reality as they wish, and their bamboozled base of boobs rewards their audacity with membership and money.

On Dating in Cyberspace:

In cyberspace, however, if you ask for Don Juan, you’re likely to get Don Knotts. Recently, I was flirting with a guy on the Internet who said he was a great catch. He wasn’t kidding. When I eventually met him in person he looked like a salmon. (What a great line!)

On Religion in the GLBT Community:

Unless we win the battle of heaven, the right wing will continue to make our lives hell. To win the hearts and minds of most Americans, powerful alliances with religious organizations must be forged, and GLBT people of faith must be respected. (Amen!)

On Evangelistic Response to AIDS in the GLBT Community:

AIDS has killed millions of people while evangelicals have been, at best, indifferent. It is great that they want to get in the compassion game a quarter of a century after the fact. However, if evangelicals want a truly loving marriage with the gay community, they need to treat us with respect in both sickness and in health. If they are going to condemn our loving relationships in the bedroom, there is no place for them at our bedsides.

I really enjoyed this book, which is organized alphabetically by the subject of the column. This makes it easy to pick and choose columns that are near and dear to your heart, but I recommend taking the time to read each one—you could miss something interesting and entertaining.

This book alternately made me nod my head in agreement (I read many excerpts to Pastor Brenda), laugh out loud, or wince at the edginess. Agree or disagree with Besen (I largely agreed), his writing will hold your interest, his information is well researched, and his conclusions/suggestions show creativity and a passion for doing the right thing, two qualities often lacking in today’s public discourse.

Besen is much more in-your-face and confrontational than I am, but I find his voice to be a very important one in leading the fight for GLBT equality. I highly recommend “Bashing Back,” and you can purchase it at Amazon.com or buy an autographed copy at Wayne Besen’s website.