the shrewdness of apes

please forgive the policitization, but the front page of the NYTimes had another provocative photo today. in it the prime ministers of Pakistan and India wave to a crowd after agreeing to restart peace talks between the two nations.

but what might be more shocking than this diplomatic about face is that while they wave, the two men are clearly holding hands. could you imagine president bush holding hands with another world leader under any circumstances that didn't involve him about to fall over a cliff? what kind of reaction would there be if he and jacque chirac held hands in front of the UN Security Council? bill o'reilly would have a field day and the democrats might start looking forward to November. yet here are two men who run volatile countries that aren't exactly at the forefront of homosexual acceptance clutching each other as if it were de rigeur.

so why, in this queer-eye-era of US history, do i feel the need to point this out? i guess because it was the first thing i noticed about the photo. and that in turn made me realize how far we still have to go in this country when it comes to acceptance on a subconscious level. we can date lesbians and grill our gay friends about their latest nerve.com crushes, but the sight of two women kissing or a man in a miniskirt will continue to turn heads and wag tongues. and athletes will continue to spout slurs at each other while their gay colleagues remain closeted for fear of being ostracized.

and yes, i know that nerve.com reference is already dated.