So When did the memo go out that the GLBT Community can't call Bullshit on the Black Community. [View All]

[BronxBoy]

I don't know if our community is the reason for Prop 8 passing. But it seemed, at least in Cali, that we weren't squeamish about adding our voices to those who are ok with the concept of second class citizenship for GLBT citizens. And there are some people who are saying "That's fucked up." And there are those who are saying "Why blame the Black Folks? Lot's of other folks voted for it too!"

Well, from what I've been able to gather from reading posts here, Black support for banning Gay marriage ran about 70%. Was that the reason the prop passed? Don't know. I am more concerned that, at least in this incidence, our community was a willing participant in doing the very thing that we have railed about for decades: endorsing the concept of separate but equal. Especially on the night that a Black man was elected to one of the most powerful positions in the world.

I've sensed a hesitancy on DU to talk about Black complicity in this act. "Maybe we need to phrase it differently!" "It wasn't the fault of Black people" Yeah, I heard the comments. But our community, more than any other in this country, should know what the hell disenfranchisement is all about. I'll be blunt; There is an undercurrent of homophobia that runs beneath the surface of our community and it's time to talk about it.

When the Donny McClurkin episode broke out over the summer, I wrote an OP here about how the Black community had problems with dealing with issue of homosexuality and that, quite frankly, we were being very hypocritical in adopting the language of religion to justify unequal treatment. For every statement that that a Black person can pull from the Bible supporting homophobia, I could probably find just as many that were used to justify Slavery and the subjugation of our people.

Black people by and large also bristle, absolutely bristle, at any suggestion that the struggle of the GLBT community somewhat parallels our struggle in the civil rights movement. Personally I think it's bullshit to get so wrapped up in the sanctity of the Civil Rights movement that no one can't compare the other struggles to what went on with it. While I don't have proof of it, I think there is a mentality that says "How dare those fags compare their struggles with what we went through" Not trying to be disrespectful but I know that's how a lot of people feel.

So maybe so our community may need to be talked to in a certain way. Or maybe we need to be told we have our heads up our ass and buying in to a belief system that turns other American citizens into second class citizens is the height of hypocrisy considering where we've come from. I mean, we'll celebrate James Baldwin in February but you better shut the fuck up about him being Gay. It's our version of the don't ask, don't tell policy.

And aside from denying people equal rights, this homophobia is a prime reason we are the number one group when it comes to new cases of HIV\AIDS.

So yeah: Black folks got their collective heads out of our asses about this

On Tuesday we celebrated the ascendancy of a Black man to the Presidency.

But you can't bask in the heavens while you are standing in shit