I wanted to ask what the forum thought about an idea

[EFerrari]

that Ellis Cose offered in his last long interview on BookTV.

Someone asked him about the comparison between the black civil rights movement and the GLBT equality movement. He said, an important difference to his mind was that black people enjoyed an inter-generational transfer of privilege.

And it seemed to me that, as thoughtful as he was trying to be, he was wrong.

For one thing, if you can have your "privilege" stripped from you in less than ten minutes by simply stepping out onto your own porch as Skip Gates did, is that kind of privilege really "heritable"?

The other thing that came to mind was that, just as young black men are constantly seen out of context (that black guy walking through the neighborhood with a backpack), Cose was looking at gay folk out of context. He was thinking, a gay couple's kids aren't gay or something. But he definitely wasn't thinking about families as families or neighborhoods as neighborhoods or other kinds of relationships either.

And I suppose this is a tired argument that many people are sick of. But I wanted to ask what you think about his idea that the inter-generational transfer of privilege somehow empowers people in the black community but not in the GLBT community because I'm not really seeing that and think it's a mistake.

[William769]

1. To begin with it's not "black civil rights" and "GLBT equality movement".

They are both civil rights. I am equal to anyone weather they think so or not.

When there is an amendment to the U.S. Constitution & Federal laws passed that give me all the rights that a U.S. heterosexual citizen has weather they be caucasian or African American or whatever, then I'll have this discussion.

[EFerrari]

2. That's a good point. It makes no sense to talk about inter-generational

transfer of anything when family life itself is on such an unequal legal footing.

[xchrom]

3. Too many people see us as white, male & frivolous.

They don't see or won't anti lgbtiq bigotry within different ethnic communities.

[EFerrari]

4. Hobbyists or something.

It's bizzare.

Cose said in the interview that he recognized there were blacks in the GLBT community. But, as much as he seemed to be trying not to trivialize, that's what he seemed to be doing and it bothered me.

I think he himself has a remarkable capacity to empathize with all kinds of people who are nothing like him. His take on different groups is complicated and thoughtful. So this claim of his stood out for me in the three hours.

[xchrom]

5. It is -- bothersome. & difficult to confront. Nt

[EFerrari]

6. Well, you know me, I wrote to him.

lol

But that's all right. I don't bother with a lot of people, life is too short. But Cose seems like a person who'd rather get it than be right in the instant and that's sort of rare.

[xchrom]

7. Excellent. I wouldn't be surprised if you hear back. Nt

[Chovexani]

8. This, basically

And the prominence of white male douchebags like Dan Savage in our community does nothing to help this perception.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

11. why is dan savage such a douchebag? i mean i didnt support his support of the war

but in otherways, i dont see whats so objectionable about him

[marginlized]

9. Cose' interview is very insightful and we can see many

aspects common to all minorities, outsiders, etc. But talking about "inter generational" anything is problematic for a group prohibited by law from forming households of any kind. Compound this with ageist attitudes within the glbt community where different generations come from drastically differing experiences, don't communicate, and even political organizations often don't last from one age demographic to the next.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

10. i think more accurately is that african americans have intergenerational support

and intergenerational passing of history