On my way Back...

I am on my way back, but I've been busier than a beaver! Of course you know that I have an opinion about some of the latest bullshit that's been happening, from Burger King's subliminally pedohilic kid's meal commercials to the blight of the Somali Pirates, to the scores of people killed by loved ones in murder suicide rages.

I'll be going out of the country tomorrow and I'm probably gonna unplug for the vacation, but I'll be keeping a journal.

I'll be bringing the fire whenI get back!

State of the Black Gay Union... Oh wait... There ISN'T one!

On the final day of Black History Month, the creme de la creme of negrodom and blackness converged on the city of Los Angeles to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of Tavis Smiley's State of the Black Union. Admittedly, I used to be a fan of Tavis Smiley. I thought he had some great things to say (which I thought he would actually act upon) and when I heard about this gathering of Black America's best and brightest (term loosely used) I thought this would be a great thing. Upon further review, the SOBU turned out to be a supped-up version of the now defunct Black Expo. Some things never change.

Like all people I evolved (read - shook myself from my stupor) and that evolution resulted in my questioning of the courses of actions taken by our self-appointed and community acquiesced leaders. 10 years ago black people had problems and the SOBU was purported to be a formal meeting documenting those problems. The SOBU was also supposed to be a forum in which solutions to those problems, accompanied by action steps to address those problem (i.e. covenant with Black America) were vetted. It's 2009 and just in case you haven't been watching, black folks still have problems.

I try not to think of us in collective terms, but old habits are very hard to break. Is it a wonderful and historic thing that we have our nation's first black president? Absolutely! Is it a beautiful thing to see a black first family who isn't some figment of our imagination or families who haven't insulated themselves from the rest of us because they believe in the classism perpetuated by white hierarchies? It's a great thing and I'm glad for it. However, the majority of the collective hasn't gone to college, much less professional school. Doesn't make them bad or abnormal. The rates are in accordance with any group whose systematic and legalized oppression made things that way... and as they are. So please don't get too pissy with me for not recognizing our collective progress even if what I'm recognizing are the successes of individuals. I don't see the progress of black gays; the lack of presence at the SOBU confirms it. I digress though.

The purpose of this post is the beginning of a discussion about the colossal failure of the SOBU and to talk about the typical and peculiar absence of discussions related to the State of Black GLBT folks. Aside from some random patronizing quote by Cornel West, where was the Black LGBT representation on any of the panels? And please don't attribute homosexuality to some academic who people assume may be down, because they don't count. I'm talking about full, unfettered, representation (What kind of Community Report does one need VIP tix for?) I was expecting to see the usual suspects, Kieth Boykin, Jasmyne Cannick, Phil Wilson... hell, ANYONE would have sufficed - (then I probably would be bitching about the lack of substantiative conversation). It's not as if there weren't topics that could have been brought up. In the past year LGBTs have been thrown under the bus by every group - even those groups thought to have been allies. Black LGBT folks caught hell from our heterosexual, churchgoing counterparts for being against Prop 8 and the larger, predominately white gay community for the actions of our heterosexual churchgoing counterparts. HIV/AIDS is still rampant among young black gay men and even higher among Black women, not a single doctor on any SOBU panel mentioned ANYTHING useful about HIV/AIDS.

As a matter of fact Tye Tribbett, a homophobic gospel singer performed at one the SOBU events. If that doesn't speak volumes about how little the black community values us, I have no idea what does. (Hold this thought though... I'll be writing another post in the future about homosexual homophobes.)

Even with the purposed and deliberate exclusion of Black LGBT folks, the SOBU has stated NOTHING new and has done nothing different. I was expecting this SOBU to be different. Turns out that the SOBU is nothing ore than a meeting for Tavis to peddle his books. I see this as a pattern in our community. Symbolic, showbiz, public displays of activism are wonderful as long as no real work is ever done. Some blacks folks are still waiting on the second coming of M.L. King and some believed that to be Barack Obama. The masses aren't any wiser and the adoption of this single messianic leader ideology is infecting younger generations.

So what should Black LGBT people do? Should we unify? Should we work to identify a person or group of persons we deem capable of articulating our positions? What if we don't agree with that person? Should we form our own SOBGU or attempt to be included with the rest of the SOBU? Do we even know what our problems are or what we want?

I have ideas and I'll start posting them soon. However, I am listening.

Danielle Belton aka The Black Snob gives the SOBU a very thorough review.

5 Million Dollar Marriage Intiative: Taking Gay Taxpayer Money to fund Anti-Gay Initiative

So the Federal Government has gone back into the business of invading people's person relationships in an attempt to dictate how they should act towards each other. Given the sorry state of our economy, the Feds have figured that there's no better time to launch its Healthy Marriage Initiative to persuade folks to get together to save money. This initiative is going to cost 5 million dollars and was actually authorized under Bush's now defunct administration. President Obama thought it might be pretty cool to continue the program I suppose. They even have a neat little quote from his book, The Audacity of Hope, strategically placed on the home page for the initiative.

Now, I am all for people being taught how to be in relationships because many folks don't know how to relate to other people. HOWEVER, I am miffed at the fact that this initiative is inherently discriminatory in that it completely ignores any monagamous, mutually exclusive relationship that isn't heteronormative. The proponents of this program cite benefits such as economic security and family stability as evidence that marriage works. If that's the case, why not extend that same benefit to gays? Why use gay taxpayers' money to fund an initiative that selectively excludes them because of moralism?

If one were to carefully examine all of the programs implemented by the previous administration influenced by the shallow morality of conservative ideologues, one would conclude that those programs are ineffective. Abstinence only, marriage education, promise ring type faith based programs which received federal funding, HAVE NOT WORKED. Supporters of these program lament about them not having enough time to work, when they have had ample time to work and be evaluated. The data obtained from multiple evaluations is the same. More teens are still having sex and some are still getting pregnant. Black girls are still getting STDs at rates higher than whites and the GOP, the party of the moralists, had to embrace teen pregnancy as a "normal American Family Value" during Palin's rise to national prominence during the Presidential campiagn.

Probably the most important statistic to demonstrate that moralism fails is the National divorce rate... it's still OVER 50% and has remained that way for a few decades.

So what are gay, tax paying americans to do? It is completely disrespectful that my taxes are being used to push an ineffective agenda that will no doubt result in people getting married to each other who will undoubtedly end up divorcing each other. Fifty percent is an "F" and a really bad one.

I'm not an opponent of heterosexual marriage. Coversely, I an opponent of ANY program that discriminates against a group of people whose taxes are being exploited to further the oppression of another group. This case is no different.

Bummer: Pig Sex Orgy Party to celebrate the inauguration cancelled

If one decides to publicly advertise an event, are they entitled to a certain level of privacy? Take a trip with me to last week. Apparently during the Inauguration of President Barack Obama, the Mid Atlantic Leather conference was conveneing simultaneously.

One attendee of either or both events, official or not, decided that he would be like everyone else and capitalize on Change cummin' to Washington (pun intended) by having an Obama Pig Sex Orgy Party. Apparently some conservative group which despises gay people got wind of the event and contacted the hotel that was supposed to host the event.

Long story short, the event was cancelled. Folks were pissed, namely the party organizer, citing rights to privacy and sexual freedom. For me, this is where I kinda disagree with the gay rights movement. Marketing equality for all would probably be a little easier if gays weren't so willing to reduce their collective identity to sex. Yes, I know that heterosexual sex clubs and parties exist, but they are the controlling majority. They can make the rules such that they only apply to the minority. The bigger issue for me though is the perception that everything in the gay community boils down to an erection and injection.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy getting my groove on, but if I were going to attend a sex party at a hotel or other private, but really public venue, I'd be preoccupied with the thought of being arrested. Sorry, I just don't get it.

Source

Update: Day w/o Homos not so Good

I mentioned in yesterday's post that I was a bit leery about how effective massive, unorganized, well-intentioned, but poorly planned protests can actually be.

Seems like I was right, but this isn't an "I told you so" moment. It's more like a "insanity = utilizing the same methods every time, but expecting a different result each time" moment.

In CA, the belly of the anti-anti-gay protest beast, participation in the boycott was spotty. Here in DC, many gays (those with jobs) who took off from work chose to participate in a $5.00 12 noon - 5:00pm sex party (I am not kidding). So while they may not have been at work, per se, some folks were definitely "putting in work" and getting their groove on.

Perhaps I should have attended the latter protest. *wink*

I will say this though; when I talked to my boss about why I wanted to be off, she was extremely receptive and supportive. I guess I'm pretty damn lucky to be working for some very cool people.

A Day without a Gay!!

Today, in response to the passage of anti-gay extremist ballot initiatives, gays all over the country have been encouraged to call in to work and then volunteer in their respective communites.

Given the current economic climate of our country, I am not sure how effective this sick out will be. As I was walking to work this morning, gay stores in Washington, DC's. Dupont Circle were open for business. I understand the symbolism, but the jury's still out on how effective these types of protests are.

Free to be ME

I'm a black man who is also gay (and probably in that sequence if I were forced to pigeonhole myself into a certain dichotomous key). Much of what I write will come from my experiences growing up as a black male child who knew he was gay. The "active" gay part came much later--not that it was a huge surprise to me or my parents.

I'm in my early 30's, was born in Los Angeles, CA, reared in NYC and Atlanta, Georgia. My mother's family is from the south (Louisiana, Georgia, and Texas) and my father's family is from the Dominican Republic, CUBA, and Honduras.

I consider myself socio-politically independent, spiritual, and I'm a little arrogant. I have no children, but I am the eldest male of seven children and I did assist with the rearing of some of my younger siblings (emotionally and financially). I hold Bachelor of Science degrees in Biology and Chemistry and I'm applying to Law School for Fall 2009 entry. Currently, I am indulging my idealism by working for a DC Non-Profit Agency.

My interests include but aren't limited to: Men, Politics, Culture, Religion, Sex, Music, Food, Wine, Books, etc. All of the "normal" shit most people who like to write are interested in. I love life no matter how difficult it can be beacuse it sure beats being dead!

I'll be writing more substantive posts in the near future. Stay Tuned.

And Then There Were 2!

I decided to start this blog because I am A.) an ego-maniac, B.) refuse to attend psychotherapy, and needed an additional outlet to rant about randomn bullshit. (Just kidding about A&B)

My other blog, Black Sapience... My.02 was supposed to be about me rambling about how we as black folks have lost our collective minds - from the perspective of a gay black man.

It took on a life of its own and just isn't the appropriate forum to discuss issues that are equally important, but definitely more personal. I'm gonna be playing with layout for this blog so don't get used to anything for too long. In the meantime, thanks for reading!