Trying to pass brings negative consequences regardless of what some people think

Now I would be the last brotha' to constantly harp on the ignorance of a certain religious right member by the name of Peter LaBarbera . . . .

Oh who am I kidding? Other than exposing the lies of religious right groups, I live for demonstrating just how clueless he is.

I mentioned twice today I have been having ongoing email conversation with LaBarbera (who, according to his own words, has spent over a decade tracking the so-called gay agenda) on his claims about the lgbt community.

We tend to go back and forth because we both refuse to give an inch. There have been, however, many times when LaBarbera has shown himself to be a complete ignoramous.

Our original email conversation was about Anita Bryant. This morning, it drifted to the African-American community and sexual orientation. LaBarbera continued to push the broken record talking point about not being able to choose race while being able to choose sexual orientation.

I pointed out a parallel between how light-skinned black folks tried to pass for white years ago to how some gays try to pass as heterosexuals. This was my exact comment:

I prefer to say that just as some blacks have tried to pass as white, some gays try to pass as straight - both of these actions have negative consequences.

This was LaBarbera's answer to me:

Alvin, you are a twit . . . That is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever read. You CANNOT become ex-Black. Period. You can change your sexual behavior.

Seems to me that if LaBarbera wants to be the best friend of the black community, he should be up on black history a little bit.

Some light-skinned African-Americans in the past did try to pass as white because of the racial climate. The ability to pass for white kept them free from violence and made available to them certain opportunities usually not given to African-Americans.

However, being exposed could have meant several things, from violence to loss of home or job to complete rejection from both communities.

And then there were the feelings of guilt and self-hatred felt by many of those who did successfully pass.

Unfortunately while blacks trying to pass as white is a nonexistent occurrence in this country now, gays trying to pass as heterosexuals is still an unfortunate happening.

The negative consequences are the same - the possibility of violence or rejection, the self-hate, and the guilt.

It doesn't matter if we are talking sexual orientation or color. When you feel that you have to hide your true self, it means nothing but trouble.

It's a shame that folks like LaBarbera can't see this simple parallel. And it's an even bigger shame that they do what they can to keep others from seeing it also.