The left-wing Twitter mob is once again raising their pitchforks in outrage, and their latest target is Jonathan Van Ness, a star on the show “Queer Eye,” who is facing backlash over a tweet in which he said that “not all republicans are racist. Just like not all [democrats] are evil, we have to stop demonizing each other.” Van Ness went on to suggest that while he thinks President Trump is racist, “not all his voters are necessarily we gotta remember we are all in this together.”
This wasn’t exactly a glowing endorsement of the Republican Party, but Van Ness was quickly reminded by his liberal fan base that even these types of consensus-friendly statements are not welcome — anything short of condemning all Republicans is unacceptable. Many of his followers flat-out disagreed with even his mildly open-minded suggestion, arguing instead that all Republicans are in fact racist.
These responses make it clear that Van Ness’s liberal fans have not been paying close attention to the message of the show’s past two seasons, because if they had, they would realize their behavior represents everything the stars of the show are working against.
The series premiere of “Queer Eye” on Netflix started with the premise that while past seasons had fought for tolerance, these new seasons would focus on gaining acceptance. This distinction is important, because to tolerate someone for who they are is merely to acknowledge that you can live with it but you don’t necessarily like it. But to accept someone for who they are means that you go beyond mere tolerance, that you show them compassion and withhold any negative judgment about who they are as person.
With this goal of acceptance in mind, a central cast of five out and proud gay men, dubbed the “Fab Five,” travel around the heart of Trump country in rural Georgia giving makeovers and advice in fashion, food, interior design, and culture, typically to straight, white men.
The show’s slogan — “more than a makeover” — means that while the Fab Five teaches these men how to dress better, groom themselves, and lead healthier lifestyles, they are also breaking down social, cultural, and political barriers in the process. Unlike what Van Ness’ left-wing Twitter attackers want, almost every episode provides an opportunity for these metropolitan, liberal, gay men to bridge a divide with rural conservatives, and ultimately come to a place of mutual understanding, respect, and acceptance.
We see this in the show’s earliest episodes, like when Karamo Brown, an African-American member of the Fab Five, had a civil dialogue with a Trump-supporting police officer about police brutality and the tendency of people on both sides of the issue to demonize one another. We see acceptance in interactions like the ones the cast had with a middle-aged Christian father, who was taught growing up that homosexuality is a sin, but ends the episode with a teary-eyed declaration to all the men that they are loved and accepted in his home. We find hope in episodes like the one in the second season during which the the Fab Five empowered a young African-American gay man to go back to his hometown church and witness his mother testify before the congregation, calling on Christians and members of the black community at large to be more accepting of gay people than they have been in the past.
Moments like these teach us that our capacity for bridging cultural divides and having constructive dialogue is much greater than we think. In the age of intense hyperpartisan division, both in Washington and in the cable news universe, it is understandable that everyday citizens find hopeless the task of engaging in meaningful and constructive conversation with people who are different from them socially, politically, or culturally.
Yet we need to take a moment to cancel out all of the partisan noise-making and challenge ourselves to realize there is so much more to people than the party they support or the candidate they vote for. This will help us transcend this narrative, which is perpetuated by the type of people that attacked Van Ness, that one side of the aisle can be easily be painted with a broad brush of unfair and hateful stereotypes. It is clear that the many “Queer Eye” fans who denounced Van Ness’ tweet could benefit from a rewatching and ought to really think about what it means that the show is “more than a makeover.”
Scott Bledsoe is a Young Voices contributor and master’s candidate in political communication at American University in Washington, D.C.
