After losing the coveted "Column One" position in Bergen County and filing a campaign receipts and expenditures report with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) in April that showed his campaign was deep in debt and not raising enough money to sustain itself, candidate John McCann apparently sent out an SOS to his friends and colleagues. They responded in a big way.
A former Democrat candidate for Mayor of Bogota (Bergen County) stepped forward to accuse McCann's opponent of saying some pithy things about him a decade or so ago. McCann's campaign neglected to fully vet this Democrat (who they, oddly enough, describe as a "Christian conservative"). He recently attacked the policies of President Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
Now Carlos Rendo, a once and perhaps future statewide candidate in New Jersey, has stepped forward to call McCann's opponent a "homophobe".
Really? Because that is a curious jibe to throw at someone. Does Mr. Rendo even know what it means? Is all homophobia "irrational"? If someone was molested by an authority figure, as a child or adolescent, and the resulting trauma produced a certain "guarded" nature, would Mr. Rendo taunt that person with the word "homophobe"?
We can't speak for Mr. Rendo, but there are a great many men out there for whom the idea of having sex with another man is very off-putting, scary even. Are these men "homophobes"? There are a great many women of a similar mindset when it comes to other women. Are they "homophobes" too?
We have news for Mr. Rendo. Depending on the scale of their fears, and how one defines it, there are a lot of "homophobes" in both political parties (although they may be a bit more closeted if they are active Democrats).
We were taught to tolerate. And so, with the best "live and let live" intentions, we tolerated. Then we were told that mere "toleration" was not enough. We must "celebrate" -- which is more than live and let live, it's kind of joining in. So we did, but only in a happy clappy sort of way. Now when people like Mr. Rendo start throwing around words like "homophobe" at what level are they expecting us to participate? How far are we to go to prove that we are without "sin" or the version of what goes for "sin" today?
Not only that, but Mr. Rendo requires that we reach back in time to atone for the words and attitudes said and unsaid (for if Mr. Rendo believes in a god -- whether of the New Age or Tradition -- that being sees both what is said and unsaid, so both must be addressed). For if not, Carlos Rendo -- "Judge" Rendo as he sets himself up to be -- will pronounce sentence, and that sentence is a word that he will seek to make you wear.
Being tagged a "racist" or a "homophobe" is nearly as bad as being called a "sexual predator" or "molester"... except that the latter have the benefit of the judicial process, while the former have some moe like Judge Rendo passing sentence on Twitter. People lose employment and are harmed by such "sentences". Take care.
Actually, what Mr. Rendo (and Mr. DiGaetano and Mr. Olmo and Mr. Kulmala) are engaging in is something called "virtue signaling" -- they are making a fashion statement. You see, fashion changes. A decade or so ago, they might very well have been the ones making the less than kind remarks about men who have sex with other men. But fashions change, so today they are making less than kind remarks about men who are afraid of men who have sex with other men.
Wait a decade or so and it will all change again. Round and round we go... tis a dance to the music of time.
Finally... and this is the most humorous bit of all... these idiots are members of the party of Donald Trump. Their man, "Stumbling John" McCann, is running on a line that directly references that old "pussy-grabber" himself, the Commander-in-Chief, the 45th President of these United States, Donald Trump. How can Mr. Rendo reference a remark someone allegedly made a dozen years ago, but then demand that the voters ignore the dozens upon dozens of remarks Donald Trump has made during the same time period?
Haven't the Democrats already labeled Trump a "homophobe" and "racist" and "sexual predator"? And you want to label someone on less?
Is Mr. Rendo in desperate need of a change of party form? Because it is plainly evident that he cannot attack McCann's opponent and remain a loyal supporter to his President, Donald Trump. We fear that Rendo can no longer swim in the party of Trump and that he must take to purer (or more rigorously fashionable) waters.
Yes, a change of party is essential. Sad to say it, but it looks like Rendo is either going to choose to be a hypocrite or change his party.