Overheard at SXSW
on Mar 11 in Cornell, SxSw by Erica FirmentGuy at mike: In the words of Walt Whitman, do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes.
Guy next to me (stage whispers): Gay.
It’s deconstruct-jokes-day here at Librarian Avengers.
Walt Whitman’s status as an historical gay icon is key to this comment. His poetry is universal, but a Whitman reference in a different context is sometimes used to covertly signal homosexuality, a la “are you a friend of Dorothy?” The humor comes from the incongruity of the unfortunate speaker quoting Whitman in the context of a professional discussion, and having his comment sarcastically interpreted as a self-referential proclamation of his sexuality.
A similar situation occurred during the 2006 New York gubernatorial debates at Cornell University. Republican candidate John Faso inadvertently caused laughs among the student-aged crowd when he declared that he did not want to “force gay marriage down the throats” of New Yorkers.
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I don’t get it.
LMAO. That is hilarious. Apparently the guy had no idea what he was implying. He obviously needs to read more. I love the quote from Faso, too. You really need to be carefull when speaking in front of teens and 20-somethings.
That took me way longer than it should have (ok, it took me until you explained it), but it was worth it.
Valerie – Yeah. The poor speaker wasn’t really implying that, it’s just the asshole kid next to me (i know him, i can call him that) was being all snarky and using his wide-eyed Whitman quoting as a chance to mock his ostensibly “repressed” homosexuality.
I LOVE WALT WHITMAN!!!