On Sanchez and Vocabulary

The Matt Sanchez story is occupying more of my time than I had expected it to, but then, that's one of the joys of being editor and publisher -- I get to cover the stories I want as deeply as I want.

I think the blogosphere has uncovered a possible reason for Sanchez' soft-core denial of being gay. From Marine Corps Times:

As a member of the IRR, Sanchez falls under the authority of Marine Corps Mobilization Command in Kansas City, Mo., where the commanding general’s staff judge advocate, Lt. Col. Michael Blessing, has begun an inquiry into the revelations about his past, according to command spokesman Shane Darbonne.

“We’re looking into it and we’re going to verify facts and determine if any further action is warranted,” Darbonne said.

As of Friday afternoon, officials at Marine Forces Reserve in New Orleans were unable to confirm whether Sanchez had enlisted prior to the end of his film career or if Reserve Marines were prohibited from doing porn when not in a drilling status. Sanchez has not returned phone calls seeking comment. He joined the Corps May 14, 2003 and is a refrigeration mechanic.

On Friday Officials at Marine Corps Recruiting Command were unable to say whether past participation in gay porn disqualifies a potential enlistee because it was unclear how the current “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy might apply.

If, as was disclosed in the interview with Colmes, Sanchez was advertising his services as late as three years ago, it could have a definite impact on his military career. (There's also the little thing about "conduct unbecoming," which got several members of the 82nd Airborne kicked out with dishonorable discharges for performing in gay porn.) Of course, if you believe the folks at Exodus and NARTH, there's no such thing as a "hommoseksual":

Since the language of Love Won Out represents a distinct dialect of Evangelical Christianity, the first order of business for the day was to teach us the elements of that dialect. First up was Dr. Nicolosi. He began his talk by proclaiming that “there is no such thing as a homosexual.” Knowing this was a head-scratcher to most people there, he repeated it again: “There is no such thing as a homosexual… He is a heterosexual, but he may have a homosexual problem.”

So here’s the first lesson: the words “gay,” “lesbian,” and “homosexual” aren’t nouns; they’re adjectives. And even as an adjectives they are never used to describe a person. There are no gay teenagers, there are no homosexual men, there are no lesbian women. Instead these adjectives are always used as modifiers to something else: a problem, a struggle, an identity, or an issue that is separate from the person. This is important because it’s very different from how these terms are normally used in the broader culture. It is also very different from how these terms are used even by other anti-gay activists.

So I guess Sanchez is off the hook.

(By the way, as an excellent analysis of how the far right has developed the Orwellian concept of Newspeak, read Burroway's entire post -- it has obvious ramifications far beyond the "ex-gay" movement. If I can find some time to think about it, I may do a post on it myself, although I don't know what I can add to his.)