The Homeowner: Margaret Cho's latest revolution

By Mike Prevatt

There's an adage that sometimes you have to laugh because it hurts too much to cry. And then there's comedian Margaret Cho, who often makes her audience laugh so hard that they cry until they hurt. So it goes without saying that there should be loads of laughing, crying and hurting--the good kind--at her gig Friday, which is part of her just-launched "State of Emergency" tour.

Normally a chat with Cho is filled with snappy, observational and even faux-arrogant one-liners that embody gay attitude far better than all the post-"Will & Grace" TV queens put together. But during a recent phone interview, homegirl means business, as her main focus onstage and off lately has been President Bush's administration and encouraging people to vote it out of power. Here's some of what's on her mind:

You've always been outspoken on social and political issues, but was there one particular thing Bush did that really drove your creative drive in the political direction?

This administration, I think, with their social conservatism, that's really what got me working toward change and to do so very quickly. Starting with the federal marriage amendment and then on from there, so many things are really problematic and are a detriment to democracy. So it's a matter of wanting to defend democracy more than anything else.

It's just a travesty what's going on, in terms of gay rights and women's rights, and in terms of equality in general. You can't give equality in degrees. It defeats the purpose of equality. It only exists as an absolute. Yet our government tries to dole it out in degrees, and it shouldn't be possible for them to do that.

Kerry and Edwards didn't vote for the FMA, despite claiming to be against it, and they essentially backed Missouri's proposed constitutional ban against same-sex marriage. How can that not be a slap in the face?

Of course it [is], but then, at the same time, you have to go, well, at least they're more movable or reasonable than what we have now. You find the thing that's closer to you, that's easier to move. I think that it's more of a political decision than anything, to not want to openly advocate gay marriage, at least before the election. I imagine things will change. It's always going to be an issue until it's resolved.

Do you sympathize at all with Mary Cheney, the openly gay daughter of the vice president?

I feel bad for Mary Cheney because she's stuck in this quandary, and in a weird way, I kind of feel bad for Dick Cheney--a little bit. He tries to twist around the words and make it seem like he's against gay marriage, but he's not really. You can tell he's not. He doesn't want to discriminate against his daughter, but they can't put her on stage with the rest of the Cheney family at the Republican National Convention. It's very sad, actually, because you can see the support.

Have your views provoked any racism and/or homophobia, or even threats, against you?

Oh yeah. It's pretty alarming how much rage there is out there toward Asian-Americans, and also women and gays. I've gotten a lot of very intimidating [threats], or attempts to intimidate me and silence what I do, and I don't really care. If you're angering the right people, it's a job well done. I'm overjoyed when I get these crude threats and outbursts of anger. I think I'm hitting a nerve and it's important.

Is it hard to be funny when things feel so urgent?

No, it's because the urgency exists, I feel there's a need for levity and humor, and it's amazing how knowledgeable people are about politics nowadays. After 9/11, people needed to feel like they understood what was going on, and how to be involved in what decisions these people were making, or wanting to know about them anyway, because they are important.

How does Kerry make sure frustrated gay voters don't just stay home from the polls on Nov. 2?

Well, I would hope that voters are able to remember that we have to do something, that they can't give up, that there has to be some kind of action taken, that it's about getting closer to our goals. We're really not that far away.

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