As a guy who had lots of anxieties and was more comfortable reading a book of poetry, Binkley was an important character for my personal development.

He was never explicitly coded as gay, (that I am aware of) and I think that made him a stronger character. Maybe he wasn’t struggling with his sexuality, but he was struggling with toxic masculinity that expected him to grow up to fit the nickname “Mad Dog.”

Further, it touched on how many conservatives would read such admissions as meaning Binkley was gay. Which is why the major flips his lid here in response to what Binkley says.

Once, when I was young, I had someone sucker punch me snd try to start a fight because I was wearing a tie-dyed shirt and was drinking a root beer because I was the designated driver at a party. In their eyes that meant I was “queer” and needed the shit kicked out of me. I didn’t go to a lot of parties after that.

Anyway, good for Binkley and his love of non-masculine coded things.