I was going to pull out some news briefs but something via Vanity Fair caught my eye.Rap artist Warren G said the following in an interview:
I ain’t against gay people. I’m just against it being promoted to kids. . .
I know people that’s gay. My wife’s got friends that are gay. I got family that’s gay. Cousins and shit. He cool as fuck. He cool as a motherfucker. He’s my homie. I just mean that on some of these TV shows, they got dudes kissing. And kids are watching that shit. We can’t have kids growing up with that. . . .but let’s keep it behind the scenes. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with it if that’s what two dudes wanna do. Cool. But that’s not bring that out into the world, where the kids can see that. We don’t want all the kids doing that. ‘Cause that ain’t how we was originally put here to do. Like I said, I ain’t got no problem with the gays.
What? Excuse me? Is this the same guy who spent a considerable amount of time rapping about "money 'n' bitches." Isn't this the same guy who got arrested last year for drug posession?
Who the hell appointed him as a moral spokesperson? I guess when you reduce the worth of black people to the lowest common demoninator of sex, that means all black people get reduced, lgbts of color included.
Well speaking for myself and so many lgbts of color he has insulted (and many of them lead households that include children), I want to school Mr. G. on a few things.
With all due respect to Warren G, maybe he should stop obsessing over what he thinks is gay sexual behavior and start focusing on heterosexual sexual behavior. Since he has a problem with two men kissing, I would sincerely hope that he has an equal problem with songs and videos that objectify women as sex objects, that teaches black children to be underacheivers, and that romanticize the selling of drugs.
Or have I just described the contents of his last albums?
Just to be clear about things - homosexuality is not a "lifestyle." Putting on a skin tight dress or wearing your pants down past your ass, drinking and hitting on each other in a club, and then having wild sex that leads to illegitimate births is a lifestyle.
Why don't folks like Warren G. ever criticize that?
You see this is the problem that lgbts of color face in the black community. This open hypocrisy that we are supposed to say nothing about.
I am so sick and tired of members of black community who will screw each other till the cows come home without the courtesy of a wedding ring and then have the absolute nerve to pass judgment on lgbts of color just because we want a little affection from each other.
I am so sick and tired of black pastors who will say nothing about the depressing rate of black men in prison and black girls with babies but will break each other's necks to get camera time in order to dehumanize lgbts of color.
I am so damn tired of being treated like a dog being allowed to come in a house as long as he doesn't pee on the furniture. "Oh I don't have a problem with gay people as long as they are not in my face about it."
What the hell is that supposed to mean anyway?
I am sure the entire African-American community does not feel the same way as Warren G. but damn his comments get me angry.
Can black folks have a serious conversation about lgbt issues? Is it totally impossible?
Lgbts of color are not objects to be pointed at or referred to as dogs or "the other."
We are contributing members of society and especially the black community.
And I don't think it's asking too much for the black community to gives us the respect we are entitled to.
Kanye West's publicity stunt was better !!!
ReplyDelete"CHRISTINA, BRING ME THE AX!!!"
ReplyDeleteIt's easy to say "homosexuality is immoral and I don't want my kids to be exposed to it" while at the same time shutting yourself off to the real problems in the black community as you mentioned, education and illegitimate births and whatnot, the stuff paraded on "The Maury Show".
ReplyDeleteJa Rule also expressed similar views back in 2007.
Here's an interesting article you could blog about too.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20091012/zirin
This was a really good article. I'm sick and tired of black people talking smack about LGBT people, but they have nothing to say about the lack of education, the lack of respect for woman, and the violence that plagues our community. Where was the superior attitude when Flava Flav had 3 shows that aired during daylight hours? i guess it's OK for kids to see that.
ReplyDeleteLet me start off by saying that Warren G's comments are stupid and that I think he fundamentally does not understand what it means to be homosexual.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I think you're misrepresenting his position a bit. It's been a few days since I've read the Vanity Fair interview, but I don't think Warren was justifying his past life or recent mistakes. He talks about getting on the straight & narrow for the sake of his family which implies he finds fault in those prior actions.
Also, I'm not what you'd call a regular church goer, but even I know that black preachers do plenty of complaining about the number of kids born out of wedlock and the number of black men behind bars. I can't even count how many times older black people have told me that "we've got to do better". In fact, I'd say African Americans complain more about the "maladies" affecting straight folks than they do the "homosexual lifestyle" (I put maladies in quotes b/c I don't necessarily think the number of kids born out of wedlock is a problem).
Now don't get me wrong, black preachers' disdain of homosexuality is undoubtedly more virulent than is their moralizing on most other issues. The only reason I'm writing this somewhat meandering comment is that this characterization of black people as a group that only cares about fixing the "gay problem" while ignoring all others drives me crazy. Is homophobia a problem in the black community? Yes, I'm not disputing that. My point is that you don't have to create a caricature of black folks to prove that their is a need to be more accepting of our gay brothers & sisters.
Point taken but when I see a black pastor coordinate a march against out of wedlock births and the rate of black men in prison with as much vigor as they attack lgbts of color, I will rescind my comments.
ReplyDeleteMy point speaks to the blatant hypocrisy in the black community regarding so-called other sins in relation to the so-called "sin of homosexuality."
It has been said that a black man can be in prison for murder or selling drugs and he would get more support than a successful black man who happens to be gay.
I find that to be true and I think that says it all about some essences of our community.
I'm definitely not saying that there isn't hypocrisy in the black community. There is. My only quibble with your post is that the picture you're painting of black people is too simplistic.
ReplyDeleteI know there are a number of preachers who rail against the "gay agenda" like it's the scourge of the black community, but most of the ministers I've encountered prefer to ignore LGBT people altogether expressing their antipathy only when prompted. When dealing with these folks, talking about their hypocrisy might be a good vent but I don't think it actually buys you anything.
Now perhaps the purpose of this post was to vent. I'm not familiar enough with your writing to say. I just think that when you're trying to affect change, it helps to know what the opposition actually thinks, not some parody of it.
I think therein lies our disagreement. Whether these folks agree with me or not isn't my concern. I am trying to put something out there that expresses the views of an lgbt of color. And also gauge discussion.
ReplyDeleteWhether you believe it or not, that is a way to affect change. If I paint black folks as too simple then chalk it up as a result of the problem of the ignorance of lgbts in the black community. When we have discussions, such as ones my piece may gauge, the understanding of our views grow.