The Guardian covers Jim Hoft’s announcement that he is gay. While nitpicking and undermining him every step of the way, author Jason Wilson profiles Hoft’s effort, alongside Breitbart Editor Milo Yiannopoulos, to lead a gay resistance against Islamic supremacy in the western world.
From the Guardian:
In the aftermath of Orlando, hard-edged religious conservatives are facing a dilemma. How can they call for a redoubled assault on “radical Islam” without drawing attention to their own homophobic history?
Jim Hoft, a longtime hard-right blogger also known as the Gateway Pundit, thinks he has the answer. Yesterday, Hoft revealed that he was gay on Breitbart news and argued that it was time for gay people to “come home” to the conservative party. He wrote: “I can no longer remain silent as my gay brothers and sisters are being slaughtered at dance clubs. There is only one man who can lead this nation and protect all gays and all Americans. His name is Donald Trump.”
Hoft claims that he was driven to the announcement by the Orlando massacre in the Pulse nightclub.
He told the Guardian, “If there is an enemy of homosexuality today, we can look at the Middle East. There we see countries where it’s still illegal. We’ve seen the horrific pictures of them throwing gays off the roof in Syria and Iraq, and they believe they’re doing this out of some Islamic connotation. Certainly radical Islam is a severe threat to gays in the west.”
Hoft’s announcement came as a surprise to both friends and foes. Previously he had only been out to friends and family, and liberal bloggers had even accused him of homophobic political activism. In staking out this position, he showed one way conservatives might move to reconcile anti-gay politics with the exigencies of the war on Islam.
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Hoft cites alt-right celebrity Milo Yiannopoulos as another who is working to reframe the conversation in a way that opens a door between gay communities and the right. In the wake of Orlando, Milo tweeted that “as a gay person, the scariest words you will hear are ‘Allahu Akbar’”. The phrase means “God is great” in Arabic; Yiannopoulos is playing on its association with terrorist acts.
“I thought that was an intelligent tweet.” Hoft says. “Milo has become a prominent voice in conservative circles.”
He’s hoping that people like himself and Yiannopoulos can encourage gay people to “come home” to conservatism, and offer their full-throated support to a continued war on terror.
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