Queer like me by MATTHEW HAYS It was with some dismay that I read Mike Booneís Saturday Gazette column on the British made-for-TV miniseries, Queer as Folk, which aired this week on the cable channel Showcase. Booneís is a column I regularly read and I generally consider him to be one of the better Gazoo columnists. But Booneís jovial tone while making some rather disturbing remarks left me greatly disappointed. ÃWatching gay sex scenes somehow puts me in touch with my inner redneck,Ò Boone wrote, in a rather misguided attempt at humour. While insisting heís a good, gay-loving liberal¾and praising the series he was writing about¾Boone went on to discuss his need for medication to get through the review cassettes he was sent of the show. Make no mistake: Boone has a right to his opinions, itís his column, bla bla bla. But I wonder what would happen if a writer were to review a Barbra Streisand film and confess that the experience put him in touch with his Ãinner anti-Semite.Ò Or, if a writer were to complain that Spike Leeís latest film featured so many uppity black folk that he couldnít help but feel his Ãinner white supremacistÒ emerging. You get the picture. Folks are made to feel ashamed to admit to nasty, racist thoughts, thereby making them socially unacceptable (which, I would argue, is a good thing). But when a straight guy talks about feeling victimized by having to watch two men going at it, it somehow simply falls under the auspices of honesty, or a bad effort at humour, or whatever it was Boone was trying to do. Again, homophobia appears to be the last acceptable prejudice. (Among older folks, anyway¾and the Gazette wonders why itís having so much trouble attracting younger readers?) Finally, Booneís column is probably being read by TV execs across Canada, who can now congratulate themselves for being safe and boring, going out of their way to be middle of the road and avoiding the chance of offending some inner redneck somewhere. The result? Britain produces amazing TV shows like Queer as Folk, Absolutely Fabulous and countless other brilliant series, while Canadaís national TV culture is a virtual wasteland, offending no one with crap like Traders. Thanks tons, Mike! Our cinematic crown corporation launched its 2000Â2001 season this year and, as usual, the NFB is doing a pretty stellar job of delivering some choice documentaries and animation. Perhaps most notable is esteemed aboriginal filmmaker Alanis Obomsawinís latest entry in her documentary series on the í90s Oka Crisis. Rocks at Whiskey Trench recounts one of the nastiest events in that very tense summer, when 75 cars attempted to exit the Mohawk town of Kahnawake via Mercier Bridge and an angry mob hurled rocks at them. For more information on the NFBís lineup for the coming season, log on to their Web site (www.nfb.ca/preview). : COMMENTS: matt_hays@babylon.montreal.qc.ca