White Gay Guy Put Religious Blacks On Blast?
Photo: Bishop Charles E. Blake of LA’s humongous (5000+ members) West Angeles Christian Center. Blake like numerous black church leaders has been a vocal opponent of marriage equality. In 2010 he was personally awarded a trophy for his efforts by National Organization For Marriage’s Maggie Gallagher.
“Religious black’s are a blind breed of non-thinking embarrassing idiots with no real culture of their own so they ride piggyback on the back of a ridiculous white Jewish religion designed to keep them in a slave capacity. And its still keeping them in bondage looking for a payoff that’s never going to happen. As for Tracy Morgan’s unfunny Ape looking ass, he needs to concentrate on learning to be funny instead of funny looking & bashing gays with his lame ass embarrassing corny-ass jokes and movie roles.”
~ Readers comment taken from our post “To Hell With Scripture: When White Abolitionists Ignored The Bible To Free The Black Slave”.
Let’s have a hypothetical conversation shall we? We’re going to “assume” this commenter is a gay white male responding to our post. (Actually the individual posted the comment in July. But we’ve been so busy we’re just now noticing it.) And after reading the comment we got to thinking about it before reacting. Are they really out of line for posting such harshness aimed at religious black folks?
Fact is, it’s not like many of our sanctified brothers and sisters haven’t said homophobic and hateful things aimed at gays. And from the non-religious sector of black America God knows we’ve read some seriously skanky and unflattering stuff about gays generously offered by blacks. All one has to do is take a glance over on Black Planet’s news or community pages and read any commentary/discussion related to gays or being gay.
Black people hate to get read by someone outside of the black community for any perceived intolerance issues and with a demand that we put it in check. We hate it cause we excel at reading others. We’re REALLY good at it. We also own victimhood in terms of race and racism as part of the badge of our identity which we believe makes us entitled to be always be in the “readers” seat. But when someone reads us in return who is outside of the black community——we tend to cry racism.
Is it really always about race when responding to blacks and their own unchecked intolerance?
Like for instance, the term used in the comment up above describing Tracy Morgan: Unfunny Ape looking ass. Is that truly racist? Or just serving back to intolerant religious black folks some of their own intolerance without any restraint? Is that wrong? Does that make someone a racist because they do as much? Religious blacks (actually black folks in general and yes we’re generalizing) who oppose gay rights have no issue or hesitation with condemning and name-calling when it comes to their thoughts.
Here’s a question we want to ask black heterosexual, LGBT and same gender loving alike: why is it racist when someone white hurls something about black people in angry response to blacks and homophobia? Furthermore, is this comment really all that off base? Christianity is a Jewish religion. While we have no particular beef with Christianity ourselves, is not the black protestant church grounded in white religious Christian teachings introduced to black Americans while they were enslaved? And with this being the truth does that make someone white wrong in angrily pointing this out in response to religious homophobia among blacks?
Lots of questions. Probably won’t be answered by anyone is our thinking. Food for thought nonetheless.
Community | Derrick Mathis August 29, 2011
9 Comments to “White Gay Guy Put Religious Blacks On Blast?”
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By michael hansen, August 30, 2011 @ 4:02 am
This is defentally the elephant in the living room. Every time I have commented how unsupported the black community has been toward LGBT having equal rights, I never get a response. One would think people who have felt the sting of discrimination such as black people would be very supportive of other groups going through the same thing. That has certainly not been the case with blacks. They as a group have been very hostile towards LGBT people and voted overweeningly against same sex marriage.LGBT black youth have an awful time coming out in their own communities.The main reason as usual is religion. The more religious people are the more bigoted.
By Chitown Kev, August 30, 2011 @ 9:44 am
"One would think people who have felt the sting of discrimination such as black people would be very supportive of other groups going through the same thing."
Whatsoever gives you that idea? The historical and anthropological record shows quite the opposite. And I will repeat yet AGAIN ( I am soooooooooooo tired of saying it) perhaps black people aren't the problem; the problem is the expectations of white gays and a general lack of information on the subject of oppressed/oppressor relations.
Change y'all damned expectations.
By Chitown Kev, August 30, 2011 @ 9:45 am
Having said that, I don't automatically get offended, especially if the commenter specifies black church folks as Derrick's comment does.
By derrick9, August 30, 2011 @ 10:31 am
I don\’t think it\’s wrong for white gays to be angry at religion based homophobia in the black community. I do think it\’s wrong to harbor expectations of any American who is not gay. Black people are American. To expect them to show up any other way is racist.
By Chitown Kev, August 30, 2011 @ 11:47 am
Not only are black people American, derrick, but the overwhelming majority of them are also straight. Privilege is not a hierarchical thing; in the sense that most blacks have straight privilege, they ARE in the majority.
(Offhand, I wonder if some white gays are just like the rest of white folks in that they actually do view blacks as sexually licentious beasts. certainly, the stigmatization of black sexuality as diseased and outside of the norm is one thing that blacks and gays share…and i wish that the gays that get heard (read: the white gays) actually went THERE.
tbc
By Chitown Kev, August 30, 2011 @ 11:47 am
Between you and me, though, I don't mind all that much that white gays are angry about religious based homophobia in the black community; noone seemed to be concerned that there is a simmering anger among black LGBTs about black religious homophobia (that too is a "black on black crime"). So hey, if it takes angry white gays to make the problem of religious based homophobia in the black community better known, then so be it.
I do know when this comes up, say, at The Great Orange Satan, it is funny to see black straights (and at Kos they are far more often than not very very supportive of gay rights) squirm in their virtual seats.
So maybe white privilege is an asset in that sense.
By Ron Reality, August 30, 2011 @ 11:42 pm
Black folks are always wrapped up in some kind of Mass Delusion. If not religious Bullshit then its patriotism. Always trying to fit in where their not wanted. You’re not American, you’re Black’s in America. America doesn’t want u they Tolerate you,u have no idea of what is said about u behind closed doors. Don’t get so wrapped up in white commercialism. that you lose sight of that fact, Black’s are basically seen as profit, & who can blame them? any race of people without a real identity and are as Gullible & Dense as most black’s deserves to be used…
By jdub, September 1, 2011 @ 1:50 pm
The only problem I have with it is what is the difference between black homophobes and white ones? White gays seem to save all their anger for blacks.
By Chitown Kev, September 2, 2011 @ 7:57 am
It seems that way but it's not. Well…you do rarely see anger at white homophobes because they're white
There's a very specific anger that is saved for blacks though; the "those people should know better" anger.
That specific anger is really based on misplaced assumptions, expectations, and racism. And not looking in the mirror very often.
And forgetting the fact that prior to being a part of the "gay community", white gays were a part of the "white community" and they still are. All gays (of whatever ethnicity) have to assimilate into a "gay community." They are not born into it.