Matthew Yglesias responded to my teasing* by a.) admitting that I was totally right, and then b.) writing that despite the fact that I was totally right, it actually proves his point. In other words, it's just another day at VOX DOT COM.
Rather than getting into a long thing about anti-heroes and villainy and how they're not at all the same, I want to drill down into a rather shocking moment in Yglesias' piece. Specifically, his snide dismissal of True Blood's Lafayette as a "drug dealer" and someone who is engaged in "socially deviant" behavior. Lafayette, who happens to be gay, is best thought of as the heart and soul of True Blood—the African-American cook who provides advice in times of sorrow and throws parties when the town needs a pick-me-up. Here, for instance, is Vulture's Jennifer Vineyard description of the character:
It’s not a stretch to call Nelsan Ellis's Lafayette the heart of True Blood. He's the one Sookie and other Bon Temps residents continually go to for both the tough love and the laughs, the one who comforts them when they need it most and who won't let them mope when they need to celebrate life.
Indeed, just this week,** we saw Lafayette throw a big party for Sookie following the murder of her boyfriend. With no notice at all, he puts together a veritable feast and invites the town, which has suffered greatly in recent days, to get together and appreciate what they have.
And yet, for all Lafayette's good qualities—for all he's done to help his fellows, all he's done to lift their spirits, all he's done to ease their pain—how is he described? What is this black, gay, community leader to Yglesias? A "drug dealer" who is "socially deviant."
That's not very progressive, now is it?
*Which he, oddly, described as "rather irate." I can do irate. That was more "amused with something that is obviously wrong."
**Yes, I still watch True Blood. No, I cannot explain why.