Homophobia 101: Courtesy of AOL Black Voices (You'll Never Find A More Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy)

                            

Dear Friends:

Recently one of my favorite bloggers Darian Aaron (of “Living Out Loud With Darian” fame) did his regular feature “Coupled Up” for AOL’s Black Voices forum. Coupled Up is one of my favorite features on any blog. It focuses on LGBT African American couples in loving long-term MONOGAMOUS (emphasis on monogamy) relationships. As a young gay person it always fills my heart with joy to see this because someday it will be me (hopeless romantic that I am it better be!). Personally, I can’t get enough “Coupled Up”.

Anyway…

Initially, I was SHOCKED to see it on AOL. AOL’s Black voices? The Jamaica of the internet posted an affirmative feature about a gay couple (two BLACK MEN mind you)? Oh my goodness and heavens to fuckin Betsy! “It must be the apocalypse!” I thought.

All jokes aside I thought it was cool for such a bigoted website to take a huge leap like that.

Yet, true to form BV would not be BV without it’s WONDERFULLY tolerant regular posters (please note the sarcasm).

What began as something beautiful (the article itself) turned really ugly very fast (in the replies). The featured couple were refered to as everything EXCEPT human beings. Furthermore, all of the rhetoric was based in “Christian love” and “wanting what is best for the black community and Jesus” and etc al.  

I was not too surprised though. Naturally, what do you expect to happen when you get a bunch of ignorant folks in one place? They amass together like a cancerous tumor. That is exactly what AOL’s Black Voices is in my opinion. After being a regular chatter there for over a year I vacated to avoid dropping anymore IQ points.

Be that as it may…

It is still disturbing to see that so many black people are still this insanely retarded when it comes to the topic of LGBT people. Now, I would go on a tirade about the prevelance of fundamentalist Christianity within the African American community but that’s a whole other post honey…

But, I will give you all just a snippet of the comments…

In spite of what society says, God’s Word – His Standard still holds true. Marriage is a holy covenant between a man and a woman. Anything else is not of God.

Took the words right out my mouth. A marriage between 2 of the same sex is not sanctioned my God PERIOD!

reiterating God’s standard is not being judgemental, the truth is just that the truth. I have relatives in the same lifestyle, so I’m the last to judge (note: this dummy said that she is none judgemental. Ha! Silly cow)

Naomi, thats the purpose of being a Christian. As a follower of the word, you are reqired to condemn anything that goes agaist God’s will. If you don’t condemn, then you condone, and if you condone any acts of sin, then that makes you a transgressor against God!!

I understand its not for us to judge. But what if everyone had sex with the same sex. Where would the human race be? (gotta love this one. Yes, a fraction of  humanity will bring the human race to extinction. People this dumb should be forbidden to procreate in my opinion)

A Christian is always in a position to judge sin. If you cannot judge right from wrong, then I doubt that you’re a true Christian. Christians must always be able to call sin what it is. You cannot stop homosexuals from doing what they want to do, but by God you can say it’s wrong.

Those were just of few of the disgusting comments I had to sift through (there were some that were worse). The irony is that the majority of them were from African American women. These same women will gripe and moan about gay black men living on the down low but continually disparage gay men who choose to live on the up and up. This pervasive ignorance and hostility is the reason so many of them resort to the closet in the first place (not that it is an excuse, but it is a factor).

Anyway, the ignorance and hostility towards gays and lesbians in the black community is inexcuseable in the 21st century. It is time for us to get into college and out of the damn church pews. Pick up an issue of NewsWeek and not just the Bible and Hype Hair!

At some point our community is going to have to evolve or be left behind. It’s sad that I feel completely alien in my own surroundings simply because I’m openly homo, agnostic, and an aspiring vegetarian. What we need to understand that there is just as much diversity in our community as there is in other communities. Homosexuality is NOT destroying the black community. Ignorance, apathy, and religiousity is the unholy trifecta in this situation.

Sincerely,

Toddy English.