Potential homophobic conventions in Arenas' final anti-Khamis mailer?
Well, there's been a lot of chatter online in SJ this election season about potential race-baiting and unseemly dogwhistling in campaign mailers. While some of the over-the-top accusations from the left have been effectively rebuffed by local media, other, perhaps more dangerous, complaints were left unaddressed.
[Editor's note: A strong argument can be made, as was made here in Opp Now, that Sylvia Arenas' team trafficked in anti-Arab and anti-immigrant conventions in her early campaign mailers. But less noticed was her final mailer, which raised eyebrows among many for what certainly could be seen as anti-gay, homophobic undercurrents. We're not saying these were necessarily intentional, nor that they necessarily cross any ethical lines. But given the low bar the Labor/Left has set for accusing others of dogwhistling, the following argument, submitted to Opp Now by a writer who wishes to remain anonymous, is worth considering.]
Here are the potential anti-gay, homophobic elements in Sylvia Arenas final mailer attacking Johnny Khamis:
Fake, altered imagery creates an atmosphere of mysterious male interactions
One of the key techniques of hate literature is the use of manipulated imagery to create an atmosphere of dread and suspicion; this often takes the form of darkened faces, ghoulish backgrounds, unsettling graphics. The Arenas mailer uses these techniques liberally:
The key image on the flyer is a mysterious white male hugging Khamis. This an image that is clearly manipulated, in two ways. First, the hand that is around Khamis is too large for the man hugging him, begging the question of: Who is the large man off-frame hugging Khamis? Additionally, the man’s MAGA hat is clearly photoshopped in at an odd, rakish angle, contributing to the mailer’s overall feel of an off-kilter interaction.
Targeting Khamis’ gay chief of staff
Shane Patrick Connolly was Khamis’ widely respected, moderate chief of staff, appointed in 2013—well before Donald Trump and MAGA were on the scene. He is a self-styled moderate Republican. And gay. Arenas’ mailer devotes 75% of its content review of Khamis’ tenure in office exaggerating Connolly's policy-making role and responsibilities in Khamis' District 10 office. This targeting of a gay leader and creating suspicion around his influence is a classic right-wing hate technique, as it seeks to uncover a mysterious Other working behind the scenes to create policy that is anti-volk.
Use of gay dress color schemes
In pre-Lib gay culture, it was common for men to use red or blue clothing to identify preferences. In Arenas’ flyer, the man hugging Khamis is wearing a red tie. Khamis is wearing a blue tie. These subtle tropes also align with long-held hateful anti-Arab tropes that identify Arab men as rejecting the traditional heteronormative sexual practices of bourgeoisie Americans.
Loaded language
Arenas’ mailer talks about the relationship between Khamis and MAGA in an odd and charged manner, invoking the same odd physical suggestions seen in the manipulated, false hug. Check it out: On the mailer’s cover, an all-male group (there are no women pictured in the mailer) of red-hatted men, all looking off-frame toward some unidentified event, are described as “going gaga” for Khamis. Perhaps even more overtly, on the page that pictures the manipulated hug with the unidentified MAGA stranger, the headline suggests MAGA is “”going all-in for Khamis.” The flyer also negatively links Khamis to health issues (as in the previous anti-Arab mailer), which was a standard homophobic slur during the height of the AIDS pandemic.
Of course, all these examples are implicit accusations, but their cumulative effect is notable—especially on the heels of the similarly charged, racially-tinged conventions used in previous mailers. Arenas has a long history of loose race-baiting in her public comments. It could be argued that she expanded that impulse in her supervisor campaign to include homophobic slurs.
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