Responding to my eulogy to William F. Buckley, some readers noted that Buckley had written a notorious column during the 1980s calling for AIDS victims to be tattooed on their rear ends. For one responder this was eerily reminiscent of Nazi policies.
Actually Buckley was no Nazi. On one occasion Buckley appeared on a late-night program with the writer Gore Vidal, and Vidal accused Buckley of being a "crypto-Nazi." Incensed, Buckley called Vidal a "goddamn queer." Both men ended up suing the other. Buckley won his case, because he was able to show that his opinions were never sympathetic to the Nazis, "crypto" or otherwise. Vidal lost his case, because, well, truth is an effective defense in a libel case.
So what about that AIDS column? Let's remember that not much was known about AIDS in the early 1980s. In particular, there were competing theories about how AIDS was actually transmitted. Little more was known than the fact that AIDS seemed to be concentrated in the homosexual community.
Buckley noted in his column that in previous epidemics, such as the syphilis epidemic of the early part of the twentieth century, America quarantined people who contracted the disease. Buckley argued against quarantining victims of AIDS. Somewhat light-heartedly, he suggested that a better alternative might be to have some insignia warning off potential partners. He came up with the admittedly strange idea of a small tattoo on the AIDS victim's rear end. Not surprisingly, the column caused immediate controversy.
At National Review, however, the controversy was of a different sort. The big question that arose among the editors was not whether there should be a tattoo but rather what the tattoo should say. Several entries were submitted, and the contest winner was my own English professor Jeffrey Hart, a senior editor of the magazine, who proposed the line emblazoned on the entrance gate to Dante's Inferno: "Abandon all hope ye who enter here."
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That Notorious Buckley AIDS Column
Posted Feb 29th 2008 4:09AM by Dinesh D'Souza
Filed under: Gay and Lesbian, Bizarre, AIDS
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Reader Comments ( Page 7 of 53)
91. Of course, the problem with negative attention and publicity is, like his ex Ann Coultergeist, he may end up with MORE book sales and revenue because of it. Always a catch-22.
But still, on principle, we need to let folks know how horrendous this guy is today. If this post included a joke about lynching African Americans, or a funny about breast cancer victims, there'd be hell to pay.
And rightly so.
brandon at 12:12PM on Feb 29th 2008
92. Brandon...
I'll be notifying some new organizations in a few minutes.
Paul at 12:13PM on Feb 29th 2008
93. For once i have to say,Dinesh,you are getting it wrong here.As much as i believe AIDS is as a result of sexual promiscuity,such a measure as you propose here will only bring about a return of the paranoia of the 1980'S.(remember Ryan White?)
AIDS victims need love and care.As a christian,I disagree with you.PLEASE DO REMOVE THIS POST.Jokes about the AIDS victim are macabre and sick.
Dinesh,you are better than this.
In closing,I live in a HIV ridden Africa.A lot of people are suffering as a result of AIDS.Your solution demeans them,Dinesh.
Please remove this post.
God bless.
aniekan thomas at 12:28PM on Feb 29th 2008
94. Trying to understand Paul's endless fomenting, I've read and reread DD's blog enough times to realize Paul is trying to hijack it to further his own agenda. Nowhere does DD mention children or innocents who are, sadly, infected with the HIV virus. So Paul, with your continued emphasis on kids, "me thinkest thou dost protest too much."
fanmanaf1 at 12:34PM on Feb 29th 2008
95. fanman: Its true that DD doesn't mention children or rape victims. I don't think that his post needs to be misconstrued. The question that remains though, are gay men a fair target for this kind of ridicule, or is this "joke" a little cruel?
AndrewV at 12:40PM on Feb 29th 2008
96. Andrew: Where did DD characterize it as a "joke"? His only reference to the tatoo was "Admittedly strange idea". Who knows, perhaps DD finds the story as tasteless as Paul does. But Paul somehow extrapolates the whole gay universe into one little blog.
fanmanaf1 at 12:48PM on Feb 29th 2008
97. Fanman...
See, you're absolutely right. Dinesh NEVER mentions children. Why not? Because he doesn't even pause to THINK that a joke about tattooing bottoms with such an "entry" warning ALSO INCLUDES TATTOOING THE BOTTOMS OF CHILDREN CURRENTLY INFECTED WITH AIDS!
Get it, now?
Only a depraved mind full of hatred would think that resurrecting a worn out joke about tattooing AIDS victims (INCLUDING CHILDREN) with a warning such as "abandon all hope ye who enter here" is worth your time.
As someone said earlier, if it were a joke about "lynching" an person of color in the US then the outcry would be heard from pole to pole, sea to sea!
Hate speech is hate speech, no matter how you couch it.
Paul at 12:52PM on Feb 29th 2008
98. Fanman...
So you're saying that such a humiliating warning on the backside of an AIDS victims is NOT a joke?
Please tell me that you didn't just say that.
Paul at 12:53PM on Feb 29th 2008
99. Dinesh...
Please remove this post now. This is just disgusting.
You've got people thinking that such an idea of tattooing innocent AIDS victims is NOT a joke.
Please remove this. This is just disgusting to think that you really find the resurrection of what was once a joke worthy of your readers. Dinesh, have you absolutely NO regard for your readers? Have you absolutely NO self respect? Will you really stoop to (and then dwell in) such a low house of depravity by regurgitating such vile jokes?
C'mon, man...get real. Even for you, this is out of line.
Paul at 12:58PM on Feb 29th 2008
100. There you go again Paul; still trying to hijack. Do you know the old saying "There's a difference between scratching your ass, and tearing a big chunk out of it"? Kind of crass, especially if the chunk you tear out has the tattoo on it.
fanmanaf1 at 1:04PM on Feb 29th 2008
101. There you go again Paul; still trying to hijack. Do you know the old saying "There's a difference between scratching your ass, and tearing a big chunk out of it"? Kind of crass, especially if the chunk you tear out has the tattoo on it.
fanmanaf1 at 1:04PM on Feb 29th 2008
102. fanman: If it's not a joke, are you saying he's actually serious that we should tattoo diseased people? I highly doubt that DD finds the joke tasteless.
I'm not actually offended by the joke itself. I have heard much, much worse. I think Dinesh's right to free speech is more important than the feelings of those who may be offended by this blog. I would NOT attempt to censor or stifle his opinions. I think he is a bigot, and I have the freedom to say it. This joke belongs in the locker room, not in a blog that purports to legitimately discuss news events. If Dinesh was trying to defend Buckley, he did a terrible job.
AndrewV at 1:07PM on Feb 29th 2008
103. Fanman...
I've noticed that you do nothing but snipe at me.
So, I'll give you one more chance to offer a legitimate point of view on the topic (but this is your last chance.) You've suggested that the paragraph about tattooing AIDS victims was not a joke. So, rather than sit here sniping at me, please tell us exactly how you view such a recommendation as being serious.
And for the record, I have no agenda here other than a deep desire to combat ignorance and hate speech in America. I am not trying to hijack anyone's blog (mostly because I don't see how that is even possible) but I will persist until Dinesh removes this offensive (and possibly) illegal post.
Paul at 1:17PM on Feb 29th 2008
104. I just went and complained to AOL about this stupid blog, and I've never done that before. But today's stupidity was too much for me. DD has made the crossover from blogger to hate speaker. I'm getting tired of him getting away with this crap.
Copy of my complaint:
Your columnist blogger, Dinesh D'Souza, in today's blog, made a JOKE about tatooing "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here" on AIDS patients butts. PLEASE control this person or get rid of him and his hate mongering blog. Some of us are actually talking to our lawyers about a libel suit here. This is unwarranted and hateful. It's hate speech. His homophobia has finally gone too far.
So DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
Godless Heathen Brian at 1:20PM on Feb 29th 2008
105. Making "light-hearted" comments about people dying of a horrible disease is so characteristic of "Christian" conservatives. According to the myth, Jesus healed the sick, but conservatives prefer to kick them. You people really are scum.
emelpe at 1:23PM on Feb 29th 2008