Episode 150 — Homophobia In The Black Community

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The illustrious and radio experienced Jake Fogelnest joins Andrew today to talk about Jason Collins, the sentiment of there being a higher percentage of homophobia in the black community, and Megan Phelps. Make sure to leave us a message about anything you think is racist at (323) 389-RACE.

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I think part of the reason that liberal white people tend to fixate on homophobia in the black community is because they don't compare them on equal levels. Like, they see themselves as a separate group from the less-educated "white trash" that tends to be strongly religious and homophobic. But they lump black people together into one group, so they wind up comparing the relatively educated and tolerant white people they identify with black people in general.

 

In fact I would say the "apples and oranges comparison" is a common way that racism works today--they take the relatively good parts of white people and compare them to the average or bad parts of other races. So whenever you see anything saying that white people are better than other races in some way, check to see if it's really an equal comparison. Chances are, it's not.

 

As for the actual statistical differences in homophobia... very debatable, and indeed they get much smaller (or nonexistent) once you take into account educational and religious background. Also I think the media doesn't really appreciate how much the pro-gay people in the black community have been more active lately, and are really stepping up their efforts to spread the message that homophobia is not okay. And so many black celebrities have been going out of their way to voice support for gay rights. I mean, Obama is the first president, Democrat or otherwise, to come out strongly in favor of gay marriage and he did it JUST BEFORE THE ELECTION. Compare that to 2004, where the Democratic candidates were giving the wishy-washy "I support civil unions" bullshit.

 

Finally, I just want to say that one of the most awesome things about the 2012 election is that the bigots in the Republican party totally tried to win over black voters by appealing to homophobia, and it completely failed. They totally bought into the "black people oppose gay rights" myth, and tried to use that to erode Obama's support... and then black people came in record numbers to support Obama after he had openly voiced support of gay marriage. So maybe there is a silver lining, heh heh.

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Black people are way more homophobic than other races, which is why same-sex marriage is legal in Maryland and banned in North Dakota.

 

Wait, shit.

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I can't get into the mindset of someone who thinks Obama's change on gay marriage BEFORE THE ELECTION (sic) wasn't a ploy to reestablish his progressive credentials after four years spent expanding the national security state and surreptitiously launching explosives at various countries around the world.

 

Anyway, most black people are simultaneously religious and not Unitarians, so it isn't surprising that they're less enthusiastic about SSM than the secular urban white people that are its most fervent proponents. I'm in no position to say whether that translates to significantly more homophobia in black populations than in white ones.

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People also have a habit of presenting SSM as the most important civil rights issue since the thirteenth amendment, which must be annoying.

 

Black people are way more homophobic than other races, which is why same-sex marriage is legal in Maryland and banned in North Dakota.

 

Wait, shit.

But not Mississippi, where there are more black people but fewer secular urban white people. Then other than Maryland you have very white states like Vermont and Washington.

 

Edit: A small majority of black Marylanders voted against SSM.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryland_Question_6#Results

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I can't get into the mindset of someone who thinks Obama's change on gay marriage BEFORE THE ELECTION (sic) wasn't a ploy to reestablish his progressive credentials after four years spent expanding the national security state and surreptitiously launching explosives at various countries around the world.

 

Still, it points to how much things have changed. 10 years ago, a presidential candidate would have been afraid to even say something like that, much less use it to his advantage. And I'm sure there were people who thought it was a bad idea, worried it would cost him conservative blacks and "middle America."

 

Maybe it just shows the Democrats have finally learned that pretending to be conservative on social issues doesn't win over moderates, and brings the national discussion on to things the GOP wants to talk about.

 

Anyway it definitely speaks to the fact that homophobia isn't as strong in the black community as people think. Also I think it's worth mentioning that there is a difference between the KIND of homophobia in the white versus the black community. There may be more black people opposed to gay marriage overall, but they are not the people who think the sky is falling down and all of society will crumble if men can marry other men. White people have a lot more of the kind of homophobes who commit hate crimes, harass gay people and their families with protests, and fight tooth and nail to do things like force a vote on gay marriage when the supreme court has already declared them legal. Black people may be more likely to vote against gay marriage, but it's usually white people who really fight hard to oppress gays.

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I think part of it is that people like to focus on homophobia among black people because it seems more hypocritical. So the logic is "how could people who've suffered so much from not having civil rights, be against the civil rights of others.

 

So you know, at least white people are being consistent when they're oppressing others.