Are we really making fun of LGBT people?

I shared this photo this morning . . .

Underneath was a link to the article by Daily Snark - "Tony Romo Arrested in North Carolina for Using the Men's Bathroom."  It was just too funny not to share.  I am a rabid Eagles fan - I bleed green.  As a result, the Cowboys will always be The Evil Empire.

So after posting it there were a couple of people that got offended.  By their comments, they seemed to indicate that we were making fun of transgendered people.

I wasn't.  I was making fun of the Cowboys by saying the quarterback wasn't a man.  It's a joke - I don't really believe he's not a man.   That is what jokes do - they overstate things.

America . . . please listen.  You need to relax.

I am using Romo as a proxy for my disgust of a team by saying he is more of a woman than a man.  This does not mean I have anything against women.  I married one - I think they are great!

The joke in comparing him to a woman is that football is a very masculine game (hitting and tackling).  In the majority of the cases, women have feminine traits (not hitting or tackling).  So it was like I was saying Romo is more feminine and therefore not a good football player.  I am sure there are some great woman football players - but the majority of them aren't.  Sorry, it's just the truth.  It doesn't mean women are any less - it just means they aren't as good at football than men (in like 95.2% of the cases).  

It kind of robs the humor of it when you have to explain it.

We can and should have a laugh at this.  Loosen the belt a little bit here folks.  The humor is not about LGBT people and it is not even about women.  It is not saying masculinity is superior.  It is only saying masculinity is a necessary ingredient for football (and Romo lacks it).  Ha!  And it really has nothing to do with gender anyhow.  

We might laugh at a similar headline: "Rosie O-Donnell arrested for trying to use the women's room in North Carolina."  She is a pretty masculine figure - it is the stereotype we are having fun with here in both instances.  It would be funny watching Rob Gronkowski (or Rosie O'Donnell for that matter) dancing Swan Lake - because the required feminine grace would be missing.

This says nothing about how femininity or grace are superior.  And no one is saying we should make anyone ashamed for struggling with identity or any issue for that matter.

So no one is targeting innocent LGBT kids.  The only way we are making things unsafe for anyone is being so quick to jump to offended status.  Laugh a little.  This is a very difficult time for our nation to figure out how to respectfully balance the needs of the LGBT community with the non-LGBT community.  Christians especially should not be quick to write off the deep needs of the LGBT community.  We all struggle with what it means to be human.  We all need grace.  I think we will figure this bathroom thing out eventually but it is probably going to take some time.

In the mean time, let's have a little fun at our own expense . . .