Nearly a year ago, a teenaged girl wrote a “rap” about the evils of homosexuality, recorded it in the forest from “FernGully” and laid it on top of a dramatic piano soundtrack. She uploaded her antigay anthem to YouTube under the name Apologetics and ironically titled it “Rated T for Tolerance.”
Apologetics’ video resurfaced a few months ago, gaining commentary from bloggers across Internet and even a response video from comedian Daniel Tosh on his Comedy Central TV show.
After viewing Apologetics’ video and somehow refraining from jamming screwdrivers into my ears, I decided to jump in on the fun. The following is my response to this poor, brainwashed young lady.
Dear Apologetics,
From the ring on your finger and the video on your YouTube channel of you playing drums in a wedding dress, I assume you’re married. I’m not sure how old you are, but various media outlets labeled you as a teenager and one pinpointed your age at 16. That seems awfully young to be married, but congratulations.
In your rap you say, “Homosexuality can only imitate. It will always be a counterfeit, a fake.”
Well, Apologetics, I’m glad your love is real. Even though you may only be 16, I’m happy you’ve married a man (boy?) so you can have an authentic romance.
I hate to veer off topic here, but there are few things about your video that I must address.
I assume the ideals you rapped about have been pounded into your narrow mind since birth. Perhaps, instead of Dr. Seuss, your parents read you quotes from Pat Robertson. But regardless of where your bigotry stemmed from, you are wrong.
I would like to point out that the title of your video is quite misleading. Do you know what tolerance means? You experimented with a lot of big words in your rap, like propagate and propaganda, and, though you had some trouble with pronunciation, you almost used them correctly. But your usage of the word tolerance is way off.
Merriam-Webster defines tolerance as “sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one’s own.” I regret to inform you, Apologetics, that your rap actually epitomizes intolerance, meaning your video should have been rated “I.” I would suggest that you intended to be ironic, but I feel there’s an even slimmer chance of you comprehending irony than there is of you understanding what tolerance means.
In your rap, you imply that being gay is a choice. I especially love the line, “It’s always a choice with whom you fornicate.” Such eloquence. And I admire your proper usage of the word whom.
However, I must again tell you that you are wrong. The American Psychological Association published a study in 2009 disproving the idea that a gay person can be turned straight. The Washington Post reported, “An APA task force found nothing to suggest that therapy could steer a member of a sexual minority toward heterosexuality.”
You say that you’re simply trying to show that homosexuality is detrimental to health. Reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that HIV and syphilis rates were more than 40 percent higher in homosexual males than in heterosexual males in 2010. The CDC has since acknowledged that previous STD prevention efforts have failed, recognizing that it’s time to “prioritize the needs of gay and bisexual men with HIV prevention efforts.”
So, Apologetics, while your proposal that gay people simply stop being gay may be in the best interest of their health, I must support the CDC. Call me a dreamer, but I believe efforts to cure HIV will be more effective than efforts to reverse homosexuality.
You also say that gay people “don’t see what’s at stake until it’s too late.” What exactly do you feel is a stake, Apologetics? The opportunity to fall in love? To be happy? To feel comfortable in one’s own skin?
At one point in your rap, you tell us being gay is “like a poison that intoxicates the mind that says you can’t choose your own fate.” Have you perhaps mistaken homosexuality for tequila?
You say gay people will burn in a lake of fire and instead of being admitted through the golden gate to heaven, they’ll be shown an alternative entrance to the afterlife. Instead of making a comment about the existence of heaven and hell, I simply ask you, Apologetics, to let me know which gate opens for you. When my time comes, I’d like to choose the opposite.
(Somewhat) sincerely,
Tyler Killette
P.S. Have you considered trying out for “the Voice?”
Tyler Killette is a junior majoring in mass communications and news editor for the Crow’s Nest. She can be reached at tkillette@mail.usf.edu
