Righteous Deniability In Angels In America

370 Words2 Pages
Roy Cohn’s dialogue at the doctor’s office upon his AIDS diagnosis draws my attention to discuss the theme of righteous deniability in Angels In America. What I meant by that term is the ability of a person to deny a diagnosis or an accusation due to their powerful position and/or belief of being morally justifiable. I see the way Tony Kushner introduces a real lawyer during McCarthy era as a point of contact for the right wing “righteous” audience who may view homosexuality as a social disease during the time period of the play. In real life, Cohn was a prominent figure for the Lavender Scare in the 50s where the United States government went for a witch hunt and mass fired homosexuals. A hypocritical act from Cohn as he was regularly seen