Follow @Travon“Our lives begin to end when we remain silent about things that matter” – Martin Luther King Jr.
The last few days have been quite interesting. And by interesting I mean I’ve had quite a few conversations addressing people’s ignorance as it relates to sexuality. To sum up the flurry of emotions I’ve felt in the last five hours let alone the last five days would be as complicated as teaching a toddler the Pythagorean method. So this being my forum for venting, here I go.
For those who STILL don’t know, yes I am a bisexual Black man from Compton California. Proud of it. Quite frankly I don’t care what you think of me, it’s none of my business. It has been well known and documented for the last two years but some people are apparently still unaware and decided to voice their opinion(albeit an uneducated and ignorant one) on the matter. I actually plan to address the concerns of the aforementioned individual in a separate piece later so I won’t go into detail. My focus here is aimed elsewhere.
It’s Black History Month. A time to celebrate and rejoice for all things Black and the rich culture and history Black people have woven into the fabric of this supposed great nation. However, I recently saw a video of a young Black man exiting a store in Atlanta Georgia only to be brutally attacked by a mob of several more young Black men from a gang known as the Pittsburg Jack City Gang, who repeatedly shouted “No faggots in Jack City.” This heinous attack (seen below) was based on the young man’s “Perceived” sexual orientation.
I’ve seen many videos similar to this one over the years which is sad enough in and of itself but for some reason seeing this video angered me to the point of tears. When I look at the layers of issues that surround Black people, especially in America and around the world, why are we doing this? in 2012 why is this still happening? I know that these issues plague many other races but right now I’m talking to my people. Are we really that socio-economically advanced, and doing so well that we have the time to go around gay bashing?
What about the astronomical unemployment rate among Black men? Why aren’t you focusing your energy on the elected officials trying to have your history erased from text books? Why aren’t you demanding attention to the fact that Black America is plagued by and HIV/AIDS epidemic? Why aren’t you pissed off that you don’t have nearly as adequate or enough educational resources as your peers in White and Asian communities? But then again when people like CNN’s Roland Martin(who is on radio everyday in Atlanta) finds gay violence trivial and funny I can see where someone might adopt this attitude.
It’s absolutely disgusting to see that on the same day LGBT Californians have to celebrate the fact that they deserve equal rights and court finally agrees, I see that video, then read a story of another young man who killed himself because of bullying, and then as I read the heart breaking story, I see these headlines stacked in the sidebar:
I see this all too often and it’s getting to the point where I’m starting to wonder just what kind of people actually comprise the fabric of this nation. Here’s the truth, and I’m not a politician so I don’t have to be politically correct about it. Rick Santorum and people like him are pieces of shit. Plain and simple. Not people who may simply not understand what it means to be gay, or people who don’t fully understand why gay rights are necessary, the blissfully ignorant. I’m talking about the Santorum’s, Bachmanns, Gingrich’s, NOM’s and everyone else who share their vile opinions and voice it publicly. You don’t deserve respect, your opinion carries no weight and you’re a cancerous mole of the flesh of all that is good in society. It’s because of people like you and your bigoted, homophobic, disgusting comments that kids are taking their lives and why people like the morons in that video feel empowered to beat someone up because they look gay.
“There are people who were gay and lived the gay lifestyle and aren’t anymore. I don’t know if that’s the similar situation or that’s the case for anyone that’s black. It’s a behavioral issue as opposed to a color of the skin issue, and that’s the difference for serving in the military.”~Rick Santorum, comparing homosexuality to being black
People like you are not viable candidates for any form of public office and you are a detriment to the advancement of a civil and just world. Yes you have family and friends who loves you but so do the people who suffer both physically and socially from your ass backwards ways of viewing society. Kids aren’t born knowing how to hate, it’s taught to them by disgraceful human beings who think like you. You have no respect for people or anyone’s views but your own outdated, religious, idiotic opinions and it’s people, parents, politicians, and public figures like you who have the blood of so many dead young kids on your hands, whose friends and loved ones will never see them again. It’s people like you who in a very short time history will look back on the way we look back on certain deserving individuals during the Civil Rights Movement.
“You can say I’m a hater. But I would argue I’m a lover. I’m a lover of traditional families and of the right of children to have a mother and father. I would argue that the future of America hangs in the balance, because the future of the family hangs in the balance. Isn’t that the ultimate homeland security, standing up and defending marriage?”
~Rick Santorum, comparing his fight against homosexuality to the war against terror.
We live in an ever change, always evolving society that has always shifted in the direction of equality and whether anyone likes it or not, equal rights will one day belong not just to the privileged many heterosexuals in this country and world, but to everyone under the sun. No one deserves to be a second class citizen and no one deserves to be beaten for being different, perceived or otherwise. With that being said, I issue a challenge. To both supporters and opponents of equality.
Stand up and let your voice be heard. If you’re an LGBT or straight ally, know someone who is LGBT or may think you know but they aren’t ready to come out yet, and you stand for equality for ALL human beings then LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD. Because it’s those most afraid to be who they are, the kid in middle or high school being bullied or just too afraid to talk to someone about how they feel and may have an ally in their life they don’t know about who need your love and support most. I challenge you to do even the smallest thing to make a difference, to be on the right side of history.
“Let’s look at what’s going to be taught in our schools because now we have same sex couples being the same and their sexual activity being seen as equal and being affirmed by society as heterosexual couples and their activity. So what is going to be taught to our people in health class in our schools? What is going to be taught to our children about who in our stories, even to little children — what are married couples? What families look like in America? So, you are going to have in our curriculum spread throughout our curriculum worldview that is fundamentally different than what is taught in schools today? Is that not a consequence of gay marriage?” ~Rick Santorum, warning that homosexuality will indoctrinate our children in schools.
And if you’re against gay rights then I challenge you to stand up and show yourself or get with the program. Out yourself for the ignorant bigot that you are so that we can see you the same way we get to see every politician who votes against equal rights. Stop hiding behind your PERSONAL CHOICE of religious beliefs to voice your opinion people’s BIOLOGICAL make up. What are you afraid of? If you believe you’re right then it should be nothing.
“This is an issue just like 9-11. We didn’t decide we wanted to fight the war on terrorism because we wanted to. It was brought to us. And if not now, when? When the supreme courts in all the other states have succumbed to the Massachusetts version of the law?”~Rick Santorum, comparing legalizing same-sex marriage to the September 11th terrorist attacks.
Otherwise I challenge you to re-educate yourself on a wave of change that is coming whether you like it or not. You can suffer in silence or learn to be a loving and compassionate human being who made and effort to understand something you may have never understood. White people didn’t understand Black people(and some still don’t) but the Civil Rights Act happened. Men didn’t always understand women(and some still don’t) but women’s rights happened and are still happening.
Today, many Americans don’t understand LGBT Americans(and some never will) but equality is going to happen and that doesn’t mean you can’t learn. Stop the violence. Stop the hate. It’s going to take a nation of millions to force the wave of equality to wash over America. And in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, in the end we will not remember the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. Lift your voice.
Follow @TravonWhen i think of people being abused and mistreated for simply being who they are, this is always what comes to mind…
Thanks for being an honest voice. I wish that more people would find the acceptance within themselves to be honest and proud of their sexuality. You are very sure of who you are and that’s freedom.
Thank you very much for reading it. I hope that one day everyone will have a safe enough environment to be comfortable enough to live he same freedom. Any way I can contribute to it coming into being I will do just that.
Well done Travon – Santorum and his kind are narrow-minded and can’t see the forest for the trees. The world is changing, one voice at a time..,,and now it’s time for the LGBT community to sing!!!
Travon,
Hooray for you. Let us hope that the more people.like you “speak your truth,” a reasoned, valid and honest view of life as it truly exists, your words will penetrate the fear encased minds and hearts of bigoted ignorant people. You say that a Rick Santorum has no influence. I wish that were true. Unfortunately, the rush to join and vote for the likes of Santorum, and all bigots who do not practice their own religion of love seems to increase. The past week of anger by the power of Cathollic Bishops in their misplaced fight over providing insurance coverage to some of their employees who are NOT Catholic shows misunderstanding of the principles for which this nation is supposed to stand–freedom FROM coercion where a citizen differs. On all bases, homosexuality, contraception, race, etc. all are of ONE fabric.
Ignorant bigots do not comprehend that they impose their morality in a nation founded differently from the old religion controlled monarchies of Europe. The words are:freedom , democracy, equality and justice.
In the areas of sexuality of all kinds the obsession that demands that others who do not believe as they do is blindly and un-historically all around. We seemed to be advancing, but the troglodytes of reaction have reared their frightened, ugly heads, again. An American psychologist, Erich Fromm, wrote, in the 1950s, of four sicknesses of modern society, with “the intrusion into the private and sexual lives of others” a major sickness.