> In what other situations does a secret affinity result in such
> violence?
Most forms of regressive, reactionary politics have deep roots in a distorted envy of the oppressed. The British had all these Orientalist fantasies when they were plundering India, the US had similar fantasies of Asiania when bombing Vietnam, etc.
> Did being queer somehow cause me (and other queers) to be immune from
> the effects of such training? Why am I not violent?
Some of us men learn to resist that violence, or were lucky enough to have parents/guardians/mentors/life experiences which taught us to critique our own patriarchal privilege. I'll be the first to admit I only began to comprehend the full depth of my own whiteness and imperial/male privilege until I met my (non-American) partner. Not that I'm dealing with those issues any better than anyone else, but I couldn't have even begun to wrestle with them if I hadn't met her.
-- DRR