Why I Love Gay People
by Lloyd Kaufman

Weird is just another word for different as far as I'm concerned. And these are not good times to be different. More so than ever before the mere act of expressing yourself has become risky business, especially after the tragedy of Littleton Colorado. Here was a case of two teens who, for whatever reason, chose to dress and act in a manner that was not part of the mainstream. For that reason they were ridiculed and persecuted simply because they looked and acted differently from their peers. It does not help that they were raised in an environment that is not known for open-mindedness. I'm not a shrink and I am not going to try to get inside these kids heads and understand or rationalize what they did. I firmly believe what they did was fucked up. In many ways, why they fucked up is not my interest. What I'm more concerned about is the general reaction. They were pushed over the edge and the result is now anyone who is different is suspect. Being different is now the same as being a danger. For decades the message has been- play football, fuck girls, beat up fags: Good. Express yourself, be creative, be different: Bad. Now added to the latter are, dangerous, anti social, and criminal. Such an attitude can catch on easily because American culture already has a foundation of racism, sexism and homophobia. This message comes from our "leaders" both political and religious, and it comes from the mainstream news media. It comes from our schools and it comes from the parents and children who are getting the message full blast. They will either suppress their true selves and live in constant fear of being persecuted for what they are, or they will do the persecuting themselves.

We here at Troma have been expressing ourselves for the past quarter century. We have done so despite the criticism that has been heaped upon us. We are proud to be different. It's because we are different that we have enjoyed a measure of success. But that success is little consolation when we read the headlines. The movie industry is now the target of a great deal of criticism (and seeing how Troma has always been the bad boy on the movie block you can see how under the thumb we may feel sometimes). We have too much influence. We are corrupting the youth of this nation. We are the cause for all things bad. Of course we know we are none of those things but it still pisses me off because I am beginning to see the same catch phrases pointed at Troma, that have been used to persecute others.

These condemnations have a ring of familiarity and are similar to the hate speeches that have been heaped on gays. "They have too much money", "are over-educated", "they run the media and have too much influence in everything from education to finance". That is what has been said about gays. That is what is being said about the people who run the movie business. And it is very similar to what was being said in 1936 in Germany.

Just a couple of final thoughts:

1) Cukors Romeo and Juliet (1936) is, to this day, the best cinematic adaptation of Shakespeare. When I was making Tromeo & Juliet I gave all the cast members a copy of this film.

2) Now, before any of our Colorado fans get upset, let me explain. Yes, Colorado is a pretty state and Denver is a fantastic city and there are lots of great things from Colorado. However this is the state that passed legislation making it perfectly legal to discriminate against a class of people, namely homosexuals.