Jasmyne Cannick, the intensely condescending gay “pundit” who’s on the wrong side of an issue as often she is on the right side, is furious you white gays are out there causing such a furor over Barack Obama choosing Rick Warren. So she’s written you a helpful condescending guide, The White Gay’s Guide for Dealing With the Black Community, a title equally divisive as her politics, which hopes to teach gay leaders about building bridges with blacks. (You know, because there aren’t any gay black people.)
Writes Cannick: “Instead of denouncing Obama’s choice to invite Warren, gays should be hailing it, as it shows a continued effort on Obama’s behalf to reach across the aisle in an effort to bring everyone to the table, the very thing that the gay leadership hasn’t even made an effort to learn how do post Prop. 8. You would think that after running a horrible campaign that was predicated on assumptions about how Blacks would vote that the gay leadership would have learned that preaching to the choir will get you about a far as West Hollywood.”
You can tell where this is going.
Cannick, of course, is the same lesbian who jumped to the defense of homophobe and former Grey’s Anatomy star Isaiah Washinton, then went ahead to tell you why you were completely wrong in feeling any anger toward him. (She also went after blackface “performer” Shirley Q., and rightly so.)
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
President-elect Barack Obama isn’t even in office yet and they are all up in arms over the inaugural invitation of evangelical pastor Rick Warren simply because Warren opposes gay marriage.
Now me personally, I’d have much rather seen Dr. Jeremiah Wright tapped to give the invocation over Warren, but then I guess they’d have a problem with that too. Because while Wright is one of the few Black pastors on record supporting equal rights for lesbians and gays, most whites consider him a racist.
Newsflash. Contrary to their belief, the world doesn’t revolve around gay marriage. If it did, let’s face it, Obama wouldn’t be the President-elect, now would he?
It’s no secret that Obama isn’t exactly the poster child for gay marriage, and for the record, neither was Hillary Clinton. However, that didn’t stop them from voting for her in the primary or me as a Black lesbian from voting for Obama. Add to that, we’ve had 8 years under an extremely anti-gay Administration and I don’t recall all of this anger being directed towards our current President.
The inequalities that exist between people like me, a Black lesbian, and white gays, who believe that marriage will give them parity with their heterosexual counterparts, are crystal clear when you consider that last week three Black gay men were murdered in New Orleans.
While gays are protesting Warren, last week New Orleans police identified three Black men who were gunned down in a 7th Ward home. The men were apparently gay, one possibly transgender, and police “believe the three victims knew their killers.”
[…]
Criticizing the first Black president before he even takes the oath of office for doing something that white gays themselves haven’t been able to do, bring everyone to the table, isn’t going to win them any fans in the Black community. Neither is reminding us that they voted for Obama as if they did us a favor when in fact, they did themselves one. And I’m sorry, there’s no reward for that nor does Obama owe white gays for their support.
As politically incorrect as this is going sound, I feel it needs to be said. The white gay community needs to go somewhere and just STFU already and let Obama get into office.
Nick
How can you want to share a table with someone who doesn’t think you belong there? Her logic could extend to a Grand Dragon of the KKK, etc.
ggreen
Hello Pot, meet kettle.
Nick
Just so you know, we have disowned her.
AJD
I notice two things:
a) She repeatedly uses the phrase “as a Black lesbian…,” as if that wasn’t obvious from the get-go
b) She spells “Black” with a capital “B” and “white” with a lower-case “w,” and I don’t think that’s simply because she doesn’t know AP style by heart
There’s a legitimate case to be made that the No On 8 campaign did a piss-poor job of reaching out to minority communities, and there’s a proper way to express that. However, Cannick consistently shows an underlying desire to basically say “Fuck you” to everyone.
She obviously views “the white gay community” as some monolithic entity completely divorced from every other group. I’m not doubting that there’s racism in the gay community and that minority gays often don’t have a seat at the table, but the sort of baiting that Cannick calls “punditry” isn’t going to make things any better; all it will do is further balkanize us.
Furthermore, maybe things are different in California, but when I was in college in the Midwest, there was never any race issue among the gay students. We all attended the same student union, went to the same parties, befriended and dated each other.
Mark In Indiana
I’m guessing that being black and lesbian isn’t a particularly easy life combination, but surely she doesn’t believe that either fact came about as a choice, and she can’t really believe her skin tone is any less a factor in de facto disempowerment than her muff diving.
But she seems to indicate it is–and she perpetuates the same tired formula in civil rights–you didn’t, couldn’t, won’t, suffer or know suffering unless you’re black in America. Right. Let’s see, the majority has been killing fags for how many millenia and getting away with it? Western slavery began when? (Oh, let’s not forget that black on black slavery is still institutionalized in Mali).
If you’re pissed off about the deaths of three gay men (black or not) in NOLA then use the power of the Internet to share that with us…believe me, I don’t get to hear about it every time a gay man is killed somewhere, because our news outlets don’t consider it news. They consider it a local problem at best and business as usual at worst. So, yes, if you think we need to hear about it, and I think we do, make sure it is heard. Take some responsibility instead of having just another piss fit about how white gay men are privileged and insulated and coddled and couldn’t possibly “get” your suffering.
Because, sister, I’ve lost jobs, been threatened, not gotten apartments and it’s all god damn legal because someone somewhere at sometime got the vibe from my butch ass and didn’t like it one fucking bit–even without the broad marker of skin color. So don’t lecture me on disempowerment, don’t tell me to get over it.
Or better–I will if you will.
Akri
@Nick:
LOOOOOL MTE (My Thoughts Exactly)
Jasymne does not speak for me, not now, not ever. I agree about the racism in the gay community but she’s gone beyond that and pushes it with homophobia and apologetics.
Donnie
Surely Cannick only does these things to remain in the public eye—she is intensely fond of media attention and one suspects her opinions are based on the seismology of her opinion rather than gut. She is the cliché in a dress: she is an angry black forever seeking some kind of reparation for ancient white sins. How annoyed she must be at the reality of a black man becoming president.
As for the question at hand, it must give us all pause that this man, Barack Obama, who we willingly voted into office despite the fact that we knowingly turned a blind eye to the Jeremiah Wright, Jr scandal; did he really think we, the public believed that he was unaware of Mr. Wright’s more polarizing opinions?
The fact is Mr. Warren is a bad omen. While tending to the wounds of separation in this country, Obama has offended those of us who so willingly, gladly gave him our vote. Warren is not just some local pastor. He is a voice, a large, powerful voice in the religious wilderness with some very obnoxious opinions. Warren doesn’t just oppose gay marriage, he’s compared it to incest and pedophilia. He doesn’t just want to ban abortion, he’s compared women who terminate pregnancies to Nazis and the pro-choice position to Holocaust denial.
It’s sweet in this holiday season to think that ms cannick has gone soft and silly with admiration for Mr. Obama, but one of his first actions is to instill distrust in the very community that has long supported him, which is either very cruel or very stupid.
Akri
Oh and I can’t forget the other side too:
*cue racist comments from Queerty readers*
Though it looks like Donnie already got it started. Gj guys!
Donnie
*let the cliches begin…
Bob
When are we going to just stop reading the crap that this bigoted woman writes? She is just a stupid black racist (oh, wait, black people are never racists…I forgot, it’s only us white folks who are racists). Once again, I have wasted a few minutes of my life reading her hateful shit. Jasmyne, just go away and join a black, separatist lesbian commune where you can spend your days ranting about how you hate white men (gay and straight). Maybe you will then just fade away into the nothingness where you belong!
RS
Her examples are so skewed and nonsensical.
“…they are all up in arms over … Rick Warren simply because Warren opposes gay marriage.”
No, wrong. It’s not simply that he opposes gay marriage, nor even that he was a driving force in supporting Prop 8 in California. If that’s all it was, I’d be disappointed but not so upset. He has also compared homosexuality to incest and pedophelia. He compares abortion to the Holocaust … but also says that Jews will burn in Hell. His views are so extremely outside the mainstream on many, many issues.
“Now me personally, I’d have much rather seen Dr. Jeremiah Wright tapped to give the invocation over Warren, but then I guess they’d have a problem with that too. Because while Wright is one of the few Black pastors on record supporting equal rights for lesbians and gays, most whites consider him a racist.”
No, not only wrong but a deliberately blatant lie, a total straw man argument. Rev. Wright isn’t considered racist because of his support for LGBT rights. It has NOTHING TO DO with anything LGBT-related, and it’s hardly “white gays” that have taken issue with Rev. Wright. It was middle America that took offense to comments like “God damn America.”
Now, I know Rev. Wright’s comments were taken out of context, and in reading the full versions there are elements I agree with. That’s not the point. The Rev. Wright controversy had nothing to do with LGBT people specifically and she knows it.
I’m willing to let the Rick Warren controversy die down, especially since it’s an inaugural address and not a cabinet post. And I actually think Obama may be wise in reaching out to conservative elements through something as inconsequential as this rather than something of more far reaching consequences … like a Supreme Court nomination.
But Cannick is WAY off base here in her criticisms. She implies that “white” LGBT folks only oppose him because he’s black. Totally false; I guarantee these same opponents would be equally upset if a white preacher with the same rhetoric was asked to give the invocation. And I can also guarantee that Cannick would oppose him, too, if he wasn’t black. I am always extremely hesitant to subscribe to “reverse racism” theories because in most cases the comments are out of context and aren’t fully explained, and too many times when I get the explanation I actually agree with the elaborated comment. But Cannick has a long history here that leads me to conclude that she cannot get past believing that black is always good and white is always bad.
I’m done with her.
Akri
@Donnie:
Exactly!
“She is an angry black forever seeking some kind of reparation for ancient white sins.”
Those damn angry negroes have a president what else could they possibly want? It’s not like this “racism” thing still exists, especially not in gay communities right?
Inertia_90
I’m black, and I find her completely insufferable, but she does have a point here, I think. Obama has to reach out to everyone. This is an insanely diverse country with a lot of people with a lot of different views and Obama has to find a way to govern all of them.
Akri
@Bob:
Cry moar ;_;
Donnie
Angry Akri
I am of the opinion that little changes peoples opinions, especially on blogs, so despite one’s best efforts i will tell you this: you’re not listening. Try, for once in your life to listen to others rather than jump to your expected conclusions. If this is way I see it, does it make it racist? Does it make you feel right to use the word? Where is your outrage over Cannick’s words?
The problem is the race excuse is boring. It’s like some people on sex sites blaming race for their lack of attention—maybe their just not pretty.
Akri
@Inertia_90:
“Obama has to reach out to everyone.”
Really? I don’t see him embracing open racist and anti-semitic types. (Or even on the flip side radical glbt types.) If he really wanted to be inclusive he could have invited a Muslim or Jewish cleric, or a Christian minister that was less divisive.
And on the “everyone” bit. Reverend Jermaiah Wright would like to have a word with you.
Celia the lurker
Didn’t this woman go on Bill O’Riley’s show to talk about how all gays are racist, or whatever it was. O’Riley has been particularly keen to spark a “blacks vs gays” war, and I don’t think it’s because he has great sympathy for the black community.
Also, I am white and English, and I think Reverend Wright is fucking awesome. So there.
Akri
@Donnie:
“Try, for once in your life to listen to others rather than jump to your expected conclusions.”
“Angry Akri”
Ironic much?
“Where is your outrage over Cannick’s words?”
Why should I be outraged? I already commented saying I don’t like or agree with her and that’s pretty much it for me.
“The problem is the race excuse is boring.”
LOL and what should we do to make it more entertaining? Throw in a few lynchings, a few songs and a dance? idk. Pls advise I’m trying to listen for the first time in my life. ;_;
@Celia the lurker:
8)
Phoenix (Screw Rick Warren And the Bible He Road In On)
“I’ve lost jobs, been threatened, not gotten apartments and it’s all god damn legal because someone somewhere at sometime got the vibe from my butch ass and didn’t like it one fucking bit–even without the broad marker of skin color. So don’t lecture me on disempowerment, don’t tell me to get over it.”
Thank you Mark in Indiana, for coherently expressing what I feel.
John from England(used to be just John but there are other John's)
@Akri:
I’m black and I feel Donnie has a point. It’s very pragmatic and unfeeling per se but I know A LOT of black people who go and on and on and on BUT not action?
Don’t talk, just do. Simple. Action speaks louder the whines. The world is racist, so now what is one gonna do about it?
That said, she is really nonsensical. Tedious and an attention seeker as mentioned by the posters above.
concretepinata
@RS
Well said.
Trig Palin
we’ve had 8 years under an extremely anti-gay Administration and I don’t recall all of this anger being directed towards our current President
Well, perhaps if you pulled your head out of your ass…
afrolito
I completely agree with her points. Many of the responses here more than prove her arguments.
CommentDouble
@John from England(used to be just John but there are other John’s):
“I feel Donnie has a point. ”
I’ve read your comment and I’m not sure where the two meet. I’m just hoping it’s not the one implying the need for entertainment.
“I know A LOT of black people who go and on and on and on BUT no action?”
There are people like that everywhere. I’m not sure what this has to do with this post but I’d like to see more action too.
“Don’t talk, just do. Simple. Action speaks louder the whines. The world is racist, so now what is one gonna do about it?”
Um there are people doing something about – Jasymne included.
Wrt [with regard to] the prop 8 things recently She’s tried setting up large meetings and other stuff within her community.
There was also a movie dealing with black gay and marriage people you’ll probably never see because they just don’t have the agency (or $$$) like the bigger organizations (HRC/GLAAD) to put stuff out there.
CommentDoubleakaAkri
Oh wait I have to correct her I really didn’t see this:
“President-elect Barack Obama isn’t even in office yet and they are all up in arms over the inaugural invitation of evangelical pastor Rick Warren simply because Warren opposes gay marriage.”
It’s not simply because of this, he also compares glb to pedophiles and recommends ex-gay programs. He was also one of the people supporting prop 8. I really don’t think that type of person should be allowed to speak at the inauguration.
Though I wonder if this is where the disconnect is?
John from England(used to be just John but there are other John's)
@CommentDouble:
He said (Donnie) that he felt that “she is an angry black forever seeking some kind of reparation for ancient white sins.”
I agree. Why because of what I said in my post. Jasmyne is not doing a THING by being devisive. She’s actually being a hypocrite because her whole tone of her piece shows no form of the inclusion she is accusing the white gay community of being towards black.
Ok, she’s not very bright-she is a tenacious individual who got to were she got through opportunism and hard graft. But I still wait for an intelligent and progressively inspirational article.
Is she doing anything apart from winding people up with her flippant and sensationalist remarks??
Please, everyone’s like ‘yeah she’s right’. DUH. No shit the white gay community is racist,I hope she isn’t been paid for that fact! But instead of writting an engaging piece about this complex and very interesting situation she defends Warren!? And she makes it out like Black gays are FINE with Warren and White gays are not.
Again the seperatist attitude!?
I hate dumb people having a platform.
So how productive is this?
You know what is productive? Production is creating organizations to combat racism in the white gay community. Production is creating strategic plans to help and support the movement of black gays. Production is taking ‘turning other cheek’ and producing a brilliant essay with credible examples to push forward to media outlets mainstream and internet.
And you know what’s effed up? As a white gay how could I call Jasmyne my fellow comrade when she ignores the fact that Warren compared homosexuality to bestiallity or pedophilia? She to me, would in that fact already be saying that actually blacks and whites are completely living in different worlds, even though you and I know this is so far from the truth it’s embarressing.
Bob
Oh honey, you need to find a new schtick. Your white-gay hating routine is old.
Stephen Clark
I stopped reading Jasmyne Cannick some time ago. As I have said before, she has decided to niche-market herself as the Ann Coulter of black lesbians, and I don’t read Ann Coulter either.
Eminent Victorian
Let’s be honest, she’s an opportunist more than she is a black lesbian. I heard her interviewed on NPR some time ago and was just aghast at the undergrad-level illogic coming out of her mouth–she does well to assault one at the visceral level, that’s for sure. But all her arguments come apart in the end. I dislike that she’s getting so much press, though. Can’t we marshal our collective LGBT resources a bit better to put out some intelligent speakers to rally the minimally-informed toward healthier, more proactive ways of thinking? It’s no bad thing to want to make a place at the table for a multiplicity of viewpoints, but it’s quite another to reward a bigot with a place of honor. THAT is why so many LGBT people have reacted with outrage at Mr. Obama’s indelicate decision.
Evah21
I think the biggest problem that’s hindering the gay movement towards equal rights is all this hate and anger within our own community. I am right with you all in that I’m angry about the Rick Warren thing, but we have to choose our battles wisely. As numerous people mentioned above, this isn’t a cabinet position or a Supreme Court nomination, it’s an inaugural speech and it isn’t the end of the world. We need to take a step back, cool off, and ignore people like Jasmyne who just try to incite anger within the gay community because she endangers the rational, united front we need to present to the rest of the nation to show that the gay community can have a conversation with our opponents that will change misguided beliefs about homosexuality. We will never win our fight in this century if we do not have patience, choose the right battles, and fight those battles with a clear head. Let anger inspire us to get involved and fight for our rights, but do not let it consume us…
jesse
just for the record, I think Shirley Q Liquor is FIERCE, and I am a black woman. Get a sense of humor people!
Tamara
@Evah21: Right on Evah21! I totally agree. And Jasmyne has every right to her opinion. There are many black lesbians who feel the way she does. If you don’t like what she says, right your own take on the issue.
Tamara
my bad *write*
Akrigrowstired
@John from England(used to be just John but there are other John’s):
“You know what is productive? Production is creating organizations to combat racism in the white gay community. Production is creating strategic plans to help and support the movement of black gays.”
And she’s not?
“The seperatist attitude!?”
The separatist attitude comes from white gay people who not only have a history of ignoring lg of color, but also ignoring bisexuals/transgender people completely.
You talk as if people of color haven’t been trying FOR YEARS to work with white gay people and make little progress. Not everyone is going to keep trying to work with them especially when they keep bashing people with racist/sexist (or even transphobic) comments.
“And she makes it out like Black gays are FINE with Warren and White gays are not.”
I definitely agree with you here though.
Akrigrowstired
@Tamara:
Tamara if she had just left it at that I wouldn’t have a problem with her [I also disagree with Kenyon Farrow most of the time], but how she positions herself as speaking for the ENTIRE black gay community is what annoys me.
She can speak for her readers and herself, but don’t speak for me.
Camilo
One of the things you have to remember is Jasmyne Cannick is a monster created by the angry racist WeHo queens who called blacks “niggers” and told them they better not come back to West Hollywood. Racial tension (an understatement) was VERY HIGH against blacks in West Hollywood the day after the election. There were various accounts of blacks being taunted by white gays of WeHo. Of course, the White queer media left all of this out of their blogs.
Apparently, you reap what you sow.
And white gays were the first to scream about the BLACKS (something that is NOT true, it was the REPUBLICANS that made Prop 8 pass) making Prop 8 pass.
mark
Ms. Cannick,
Maybe I’m missing something, did the Christian Reich make an exception when it came to attacking OUR (LGBT) families, and NOT attack lesbian couples? Maybe they decided to not strip the Black LGBT couple’s Constitutional Rights from the equal protection clause? Cuz the G*D DAMN LDS chuch are your motherf*ckin’ best friends forever…well since the NAACP sued them TWICE in the 1970s.
JUMP UP MY F*CKIN WHITE MALE A$$!
Warren is such a SAINT when it comes to the poor, and to people living with AIDS (23 years here, and similar years for my lover.)
So OBVIOUSLY he didn’t attack the poor lesbian couple’s RIGHTs, and he sure as F*CK didn’t attack families LIKE MINE!
Neither my partner or I living in Louisiana, wold ever choose marriage for ourselves, but on my income, I donated to stop prop 8 for men and womyn in CA who choose marriage to be treated as HUMAN BEINGS living in America…well G*D DAMN silly me.
I also donated 4 times to Obama’s campaign to be SPIT ON, on DAY ONE.
Don’t tell me how to behave, or what to feel….cupcake, YOU haven’t earned that F*CKIN RIGHT!
Akrigrowstired
@Camilo:
Yep yep yep. Though it was actually older/church going folks since Cali is mostly democrat I think.
mark
would typo
mark
Jasmyne,
If you hoped to trade on my white guilt…I left it in my OTHER pants.
btw. I’m pretty sure I can guess what the A initial stands for…A$$WIPE!
Michelle
Many of the responses here more than prove her arguments.
Such as…?
John from England(used to be just John but there are other John's)
@Camilo:
Camilo, thanks for this bit of info.
It’s not just the white blogs, it would do the black (gay) blogs to mention this vital bit of information!
How is one to know?
Her reaction is knee jerk but no wonder she’s so pissed but again this is why I HATE her. Why can’t she mention this?? Like on her about page?? Or whenever she does an interview? So people can empathise?
Instead of sounding like an ‘angry black woman’, who will just be ignored and do more damage then not??
I just don’t get why one can’t explain how they’ve come to an argument or conclusion in thought/opinion.
Timothy
It’s sad, but when Jasmine Cannick thinks of “reaching across the aisle”, she thinks the aisle is race. Everything I read from her is defined by her race.
She’s far from alone. And some in the gay community do the same. I’ve read some gay writers defending some pretty abhorent things by people solely because the ones doing it were gay.
But Cannick takes it a step further. Not only is her perspective pro-Black, but it is also anti-White.
If I (or anyone else) were to say half the things about African-Americans or women that she regularly says about white gay men, I would be called a racist and misogenist – and rightly so.
It is sad when anyone allows themselves to assume and believe the worst about others based on the color of their skin. We should pity Jasmine – that mindset is so limiting.
John from England(used to be just John but there are other John's)
@Akrigrowstired:
“And she’s not?”
No. She’s creating more angst and unproductive progress. Unless you can prove otherwise apart from her blog and articles which just pisses people off and makes them turn away, like me when we see an article written by her.
“The separatist attitude comes from white gay people who not only have a history of ignoring lg of color, but also ignoring bisexuals/transgender people completely.”
I agree. Absolutely but unless you are a Marcus Garvey or Malcolm X type of leader or character…whats the point of being seperatist??? Deliver! Let them eat their words! The black lgbt community also needs to be more organised and also should have started some grassroots campaign re prop 8 with the religous folk…
“You talk as if people of color haven’t been trying FOR YEARS to work with white gay people and make little progress. Not everyone is going to keep trying to work with them especially when they keep bashing people with racist/sexist (or even transphobic) comments.”
Giving up should not be on the agenda. It’s exhausting but the minute you give up, apathy wins. No way.
Akrigrowstired
@John from England(used to be just John but there are other John’s):
“Her reaction is knee jerk but no wonder she’s so pissed but again this is why I HATE her. Why can’t she mention this?? Like on her about page?? Or whenever she does an interview? So people can empathise?”
Oh god. She mentions these things on her blog if you would go beyond the few entries put up.
http://www.jasmynecannick.com/blog/?p=2846
“Instead of sounding like an ‘angry black woman’, who will just be ignored and do more damage then not??”
Instead of pulling up old and tired racist tropes like the “angry black woman” how about trying to understand where she’s coming from?
I say this as person that dislikes her.
The Gay Numbers
She’s an idiot.
I am black. I am also gay. First, even if this were about just gay marriage, she is wrong as she often frames gay marriage as white gays versus blacks. She speaks for hself. Not for the many gay folk I know who are black who want to be married to their partners. She’s pissing me off with this crap about wanting to be married is a white thing.
Second, he is not just about gay marriage. He’s called us gays pedophilles and wants to train us not to be gay. Last I check that’s not a marriage issue.
Third, he’s not just anti gay, but also anti women. That she ignores this says alot about her own agenda. it has nothing to do with reality.
But, let me add. I am disappointed this woman is being cited by Queerty.
She is not important except in her own mind.
John from England(used to be just John but there are other John's)
@Evah21:
“ignore people like Jasmyne who just try to incite anger within the gay community because she endangers the rational”
Brilliant point.
She’s very destructive.
But if only people would listen to your words. It’s not in the human make up.
What we should do is remember what she is doing and have her be brought upon her info.
Anyway, if that woman was white and straight….woooh! Hands up if she would be the most racist and insular evangelic talker! It sucks to be black and gay for Jasmyne but she is. And because she’s pissed off, she’ll make you hear her.
getreal
First of all to the idiot that said black people are under the impression that we can’t be racist only White people can be that is silly and just plain wrong. There are a lot of straight black people who were passionate about gay rights but all the racism that has come out after is changing people’s minds. My own 60 year old father who raised me to believe we are all equal and gay people are born gay was has said that if the gay community is this racist he will not continue to champion their cause. And frankly i’m starting to feel the same way. It is arrogance and racism that lost this campaign. Black churches have a history of not turning people away (there are some stupid people of course but for the most part) and there are plenty that would have allowed gay people to speak in their church and minds could have been opened and changed. I would ask myself how is anger and fear against black people helping any of us. If the gay community would only reach out to the black community they would find a lot of allies. In my experience black people are the easiest to turn on this issue if framed as a civil rights issue we tend to relate. Instead of being angry with blacks reach out and identify as a gay or lesbian person. Build bridges don’t burn them.This could have so easily gone the other way.
John from England(used to be just John but there are other John's)
@Akrigrowstired:
I’m on her blog. I’ll have a look.
Again this is HER fault for spouting so much crap that I don’t even want to venture there.
But is there another ‘term’ I can use for ‘angry black female’??
Can you not see the reason I used it is because it IS tired and so is SHE?
Do you think I would use that to describe friends, family who are (black) female and angrier (work for social political parties, writers etc) but channel it in a much more productive way??
Can’t you see why I used that term for her? She’s unoriginal. A Cliche. Predictable.
She ‘lucked out’.
I see no brilliance in her arguments.
But I just don’t know how I should have to see the point of this woman when all I’ve done my whole life is argue with people like her personally and proffessionally. And they never did anything.
All she does is stuff to get her attention, whilst others work behind the doors.
Urgh.
leschuck
So white gays must end racism in America before we are “allowed” to speak out against anti-gay discrimination, or have any right to address our new president’s decisions…right.
Will she also require white gays to solve the nation’s economic problems before we may cash our own paychecks? Solve all wars before we’re allowed to live in peace?
I’m guessing Jasmyne has a whole list of demands she would like to place upon the shoulders of white gays, and “end anti-gay discrimination” is last on her list. If it’s there at all.
damien
I can’t find a single black gay person who’s a fan of her. Not one.
Qjersey
Another pundit who would be a nobody if it weren’t for a blog.
She is out of her mind on so many levels.
Colleagues of mine in the social sciences have done surveys with 1000+ LGBT folks in NYC for years. They told me that their data have shown REPEATEDLY, that folks of color are more interested in marriage than white folks.
Probably has more to do with economics, if you are lower income, as sadly, many people of color are, marriage has its benefits, particularly health insurance.
That said, I worked in gay bars and restaurants for years… and while there are still some old racist white queens, it was more about “class” that color when black folks experienced racism in gay bars. Basically, show up looking like a ghetto hip hopper and yep you’ll experience racism in your typical gay bar. Show up dressed like the other clones… not so much.
And regardless of class and clothing, I have seen more hateful attitudes thrown toward asian men then black and latino gay men combined…. hate thrown by white, black and latin men.
Rodney King
My own 60 year old father…has said that if the gay community is this racist he will not continue to champion their cause.
And this is different from those gays who “blamed” blacks for Prop. 8? Can’t we all just get along?
The Gay Numbers
@damien: That’s because she really is like Ann Coulter. There are legitimate conversations to be had on racism in the gay community, but she’s not the voice for that. She’s the voice for just trying to get attention for herself.
The Gay Numbers
@Qjersey: That’s why I consider her destructive to gay people of color on this topic of gay marriage. Here’s a link to back up your points about marriage and people of color:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/30/nyregion/30bronx.html?_r=1
Gay Families Find the Bronx Is a Place to Call Home
“A new study finds same-sex couples in the Bronx are more likely to have children than those in any other New York City borough, and, “perhaps more than any county in the country.” “
sal
im like Obama,im mixed race and i think this lady is a idiot!!!!!!!IDIOT!!!!!my personal experience there is just as much racism in the black community as in the white,”your not black enough” “U AINT BLACK,black people dont listen to so and so music” HELLOOOOOO!!!!RACISM IS NOT A WHITE MANS ISSUE ALONE!!!!
Yo' Pappy Ain't Too Bright
“My own 60 year old father who raised me to believe we are all equal and gay people are born gay was has said that if the gay community is this racist he will not continue to champion their cause.”
And that’s because the “gay community” is just made up of whites and no blacks, correct?
John from England(used to be just John but there are other John's)
@The Gay Numbers:
Exactly.
I love the way you’re so literal and pragmatic that you come out with the facts and evidence!
hardmannyc
Media ‘ho
MCnNYC
Hey you know…what if I said something along the same lines as she writes like: “the Black lesbian community…’needs to go somewhere and just STFU already…’ and let marriage equality go foreward.
Come to think of it…Why doesn’t Jasmyne Cannick just go somewhere and just STFU already!
Bruno
She only desires to further any rifts between the LGBT and black communities (which are not mutually exclusive, as has been pointed out). This actually makes her no better than Bill O’Reilly, she’s just coming from a wholly different direction to reach the same place.
newyorkboy
Yes – lets spread more hate within our own community. Good idea black lesbian! Happy holidays to my fellow intolerant white gays?? Whatever that means.
Larry
I can’t help thinking that Jasmyne Cannick is the plague bearer of the gay community: She sows discord and chaos wherever she goes.
The best way to make her go away is to ignore her. She comes across as a deeply unstable person with some serious issues and a big chip on her shoulder.
tofer david
who is she and why does she think she matters?
getreal
@Yo’ Pappy Ain’t Too Bright:
Well my Father not “yo pappy” as you called him who incidently is a Judge so I’m not sure what the ebonics were meant to imply has always seen this as a civil rights issue period but once incidences of gay racism started making the news he flat out felt if the gay community has a problem with the black community then clearly they don’t need our help (donations, moral support, etc.).
I’m more sad than angry about this just heartsick but my marriage rights were not taken away and I understand the rage that people rightly feel. The fact is a lot of elderly church ladies in the black community voted Yes on Prop 8 out of ignorance and had they actually MET or TALKED TO any of the people on here or their families and put a face to this issue they would have voted differently.
Whether it was distaste, fear, or just bad judgement that stopped the outreach these verbal attacks on other communities black, straight, latino,mormon are conterproductive. The fact is reading these comments anyone can see this anger pre-dates the Prop 8 vote.
THIS WOMAN IS AN IDIOT I DON’T KNOW ONE BLACK PERSON GAY OR STRAIGHT WHO AGREES WITH HER so please stop holding up idiots like this as some kind of “Voice For The Black Community”. She is just another racist and America already has enough of those. Black people are not the enemy and we are not to blame for the Prop 8 vote period The elderly, christians, and republicans voted it for it in near unaimous(I misspelled) numbers.Why out of all the groups of people who voted yes are so many people attacking us?
getreal
The gay community had the moral high ground and is losing it with the hate and racism. Please don’t let the hatemongers win by becoming one of them.
The Gay Numbers
@tofer david: because it gets alot of comments. She’s no one important other than she says outrageous things that can be hyped for how outrageous it is. There is a lot of actually reasonable discourse on race and sexuality out there, but its not hype. Despite the economy we still live in the age of hype.
Larry
Getreal,
I agree that there’s racism in the gay community, but I think you’re blowing out of proportion a little, not least because a lot of gay people aren’t white. Aside from a few nasty blog posts responding to articles and what I heard about the West Hollywood incidents, I haven’t seen any. When I was at the protest against Prop 8 here in NYC, shortly after the election, I saw people of all races in the crowd demonstrating together, as well as quite a few interracial couples.
But your father the judge seems to think that gay equals white…
Mike
It’s not condesending…it’s the truth. And white gay men REFUSE to listen to the truth about the failures of the LGBT movement, the Gay marriage movement, or anything else. I’ve yet to see any of the LGBT marriage organizations reach out across on any other issues that people might care about.
After gay marriage is won…what will these organizations do? Disband? What other issues do they care about, are concerned with? It’s is all very one sided, self centered, and hasn’t worked.
I’m a gay man who’s been in a relationship for going on 5 years and I do not support the gay marriage movement, the way it’s been handled, or anything about it.
getreal
@Larry:
I never said my father thinks the whole gay community is white in a discussion about racist comments that were made toward me at a rally in West Hollywood (where I live) he registered surprise and discomfort which is normal I think.
getreal
If you look at the great civil rights movements the world has seen. Indians vs British, The Suffragist movement,Black civil rights and now Gay civil rights. These movements eventually succeeded by not only having the moral high ground but not stooping to the level of the opposition. All this petty backbiting back and forth on race matters is beneath us and conterproductive to the cause. The important thing is equal rights for ALL Americans don’t let divisive people pull us down into the sludge.
Jasmyne is Right
I agree 100% with Jasmyne’s article. And it’s proven once again here in the comments. People have a hard time of looking at themselves in the mirror. So please do not come to DC on the 20th. We don’t need you there. Makes much more space for us to enjoy this moment in history. You can sit at home and drink bitter kool aid.
getreal
@Jasmyne is Right:
Another divisive person. It’s you we don’t need. If you can’t be a help why not go away. It is people like you who are splintering this movement and helping the religious right win. This new administration is supposed to be about change you sound like more of the same so why don’t YOU stay home
Larry
Getreal,
I’m sorry to hear about what happened to you in West Hollywood, but I do find it troubling that that alone was enough to make you either of you question your support for gay rights.
getreal
It did not make us question our views it made us question our place on the front lines fundraising, marching etc.
getreal
And make no mistake every black person who supports gay rights and hears about these incidences is troubled and racism unfortunately WILL change minds on this issue
JH
I see I have to educate the new editor in his hypocrisy too. The last editor retracted hi opposition to Shirley Q Liquor after my letter, and even posted it. Sarah ” I love you moe then two balck guys who call each other nigga” Silverman and Lisa “I’ve had more black dick in me than the urinals at the Apollo” Lampenelli, like Shirley Q Liquor , are comedians.
Get over it. Laugh. It’s funny. The spirit is more than OK, it’s right on.
Jamyne on the other hand is so hateful. Why cite her and not Melissa Etheridge’ eloquent comments today?
Pity – you were doing so well….
Larry
@getreal: That’s sort of what I’m talking about… I know that you KNOW that gay doesn’t equal white, but do you FEEL gay doesn’t equal white? People’s conscious knowledge and visceral reactions don’t always match up. From what I gather, your and your father’s reaction was, “Well, screw the gays; they’re all a bunch of racists, it turns out!” to racist taunts you encountered from a few white gay people.
Similarly, hearing that 70% of black voters supported Prop. 8 obviously gave some people the impression that blacks were almost uniformly homophobic, which is likely what sparked the shouts of the n-word in West Hollywood. I’m not trying to excuse that, and no doubt the people who said that had racism issues long before Prop. 8, but it seems to me that you and your dad also had an underlying issue as well, namely a visceral feeling that the only face of the gay community was a racist white one. I mean, I’ve long known of homophobia among blacks, but that never stopped me from supporting black civil rights and writing some fairly brusque op-eds about racist coverage of Katrina.
My point is this: By retreating, don’t you think you’d be helping to reinforce the notion that black equals homophobic?
I was relieved to see the diversity at the rally here in New York. It reminded me that the efforts of people like Bill O’Reilly and Jasmyne Cannick can’t be too successful.
I do agree with what many have said, that there needs to be more acknowledgment of ethnic and racial minorities in the gay community by white gay people, and sexual racism is a big issue that needs to be confronted. Reading about the n-word incidents in West Hollywood really saddened me; we, of all people, should be the last ones to let race divide us.
The Gay Numbers
@Mike: I am black. This is not about you. That you posted what you did as a black man- I find it incredibly offensive. Yes, there is are racism. A lot of it. That does not excuse what you wrote. There are a lot black gay men who are in relationships who do want to be married. How dare you come on here with this silliness trying to use racism as an excuse to deny them their rights? What’s wrong with you?
Bruno
@Larry:
I think it’s the media who blew this rift out of proportion, starting with the exit poll “findings,” which a few gay people took to mean as blacks hate us, but more importantly, gave the O’Reillys and Cinnicks of the world the chance to try and create the illusion that the gay community in general hates black people and vice versa. It’s a shame that people like Cinnick, or O’Reilly, or various others, are able to make a habit of trying to divide communities.
The Gay Numbers
@Jasmyne is Right: I find your comments as patheticLike I told to other bigot who is using racism by white gays (which there is a lot of ) as an excuse to justify homophobia- you need to realize how much harm you are doing to other black gay people. Do you even care or is this about racism and not about homophobia too? Is it either or with you? Then you need to figure out at what point did you identity with opression. I would say the same if I saw a black gay person justifying racism. Neither is right. Neither is exceptable. What’s wrote with you that you say she’s right to justify a white bigot like Warren? That’s the topic here.
Larry
@Bruno: I was skeptical of that figure as well… But obviously, some white gays did interpret it as an indication that black people hated gay people, and they chose to respond by being racist assholes.
My first exposure to Cannick’s work was the column that she did in the LA Times, and I thought then as I do now that she does service to nobody, except for herself.
As a journalist, I find her application of that label to herself insulting. She’s a shitty writer and a shittier reporter, and her arguments smack of the PC-gone-wild identity politics of the 90s, especially with her constant need to inject the phrase “as a Black lesbian” into every other paragraph.
getreal
@Larry: Larry I was raised in a gay positive home from birth there were gay people in loving relationships caring for me in my formative years. My comments about being accosted by racists at no on Prop 8 rally’s is a reality. So all this how you feel deep down BS is you projecting your own sh*t on others. My parents were pr0-gays rights 20 years ago when it really raised eyebrows. You are so desperately trying to make me someone who has an issue with white’s and race and I just don’t. You seem to have an idea that as a black person deep down I must have an issue with whites I just don’t and I’m glad I don’t maybe you should ask yourself why you are soo sure most people are racist. What does that say about YOU deep down. It seems like you are muddying the water on an important issue ie the civil rights of american citizens with your own racial hang ups. Maybe I’ts because I’m younger than you (your opinions seem dated) but for people of my generation race and sexual idenity are just not as much of an issue. There was a PFLAG at my high school and people were out and proud. So take your certainty that people must deep down be racist and shove it. It is a wrong, dated,pathetic, and like most of what you have written a completely counterproductive point of view. Some of us are passionate about fighting for the rights of ALL Americans not just playing out our own fears and biases in these silly race squabbles.
sparkle obama
all the defensiveness expressed here is disturbing.
i don’t really like the tone this blog is taking lately.
sparkle obama
ps
the Black press capitalizes “Black” because, unlike “white”, its use in america refers to ethnicity and culture – not only color.
please stop being fake and recognize this simple fact.
AJD
@getreal: Let’s revisit what you originally wrote, in post no. 48:
“My own 60 year old father who raised me to believe we are all equal and gay people are born gay was has said that if the gay community is this racist he will not continue to champion their cause. And frankly i’m starting to feel the same way.”
You describe “the gay community” as a big, monolithic block, as if it’s all racist, on the basis of your being accosted at a No On 8 rally. You further say you and your dad may no longer champion the gay-rights cause because *some* white gay people accosted you.
Speaking of that incident, you say it’s reality, but when did I ever say it wasn’t?
Furthermore, when did I ever say I’m “soo sure most people are racist” or even imply such a thing? And I never said that you had a problem with white people deep down, but it’s obvious from your statement that you and your 60-year-old dad jumped to the conclusion that “the gay community” wasn’t worth your time because a few racist assholes accosted you at a rally.
And by the way, however “dated” my views may seem, I’m in my mid-20s. Furthermore, I was raised by a Native American stepfather, and I think he would disagree with your statement that race isn’t that much of an issue in our generation, considering what a lot of people younger than either of us have said to him.
I don’t think is nearly as much of an issue among our generation as among the older ones. As I’ve already said, it was never a noticeable issue in the gay community at my university. Then again, look through any gay personals site and see how long it takes you to run out of fingers when counting the ads that say “Sorry, not into [insert race here] guys” or “I have a total fetish for [insert race here] guys.”
AJD
@sparkle obama: Actually, “white” is used to refer to culture and ethnicity, and Cannick uses it in that context. When used to refer to skin color, it can also include people of Middle Eastern descent, but I doubt she’s talking about Arabs and PErsians when she refers to the “racist white gay community.”
It’s still improper to capitalize “black” or “white.” “African-American” and “Caucasian” should be capitalized, however.
Slick Willie
And make no mistake every black person who supports gay rights and hears about these incidences is troubled and racism unfortunately WILL change minds on this issue.
Even if those black people are gay?
sparkle obama
@AJD:
this is so depressing.
from ebony magazine to church bulletins to the amsterdam news, Black people capitalize “Black”.
be respectful of Our style choice and please don’t try to make it all about “white” people.
We can name Ourselves and you don’t have to agree, but when you try to turn it into an insult against “white” people, you are perpetuating the worst selfishness and myopia that the world is starting to realize is too present in Our gay communities.
please be consistent.
if gays want to have Our difference respected, we must cut out the knee-jerk negativity about conservative christians and Blacks.
lead by example and quit telling other people how to live their lives.
cut out the name-calling and the censorship.
you don’t have to be a christian to follow christ’s example:
do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
two wrongs don’t make a right, and you can’t fight hate with hate.
get over yourselves, quit acting ghetto and show a more positive face to the world.
cut out the entitled, emotional, prideful hysteria.
i am gay/bi and mixed Black, “white” and american indian.
i was raised in a swedish-american middle class family by respectful, educated episcopalians.
i am proud to be Black and i have no “white trash” issues.
i have lived in Black communities and i have been racially profiled in the castro.
i have been judged and rejected by “white” gays because of my color.
i know that the picture you guys paint of christians and Blacks is one-sided, hostile and curdled by ignorance and resentment.
the world is watching!
angry, destructive, r*cist gays, get over yourselves and quit being fake.
you all are going to be very embarrassed someday about the attitudes you are currently expressing.
sparkle obama
ps
please quit being facetious and disingenuously ironic about these issues.
it’s not a game, it’s real life.
gays can do better!
Charlie Chan
Speaking as a person who is neither black or white, I have to say I’ve heard black people refer to gays as “faggots” many multiple more times than I’ve heard white gays call blacks “niggers”.
AJD
@sparkle obama: Frankly, your post is so full of capitalization errors that I have difficulty taking it very seriously. You even spell “Native American” and the titles of magazines in lower case.
And no, “black” is not an ethnicity; it’s a skin color. African-American is an ethnicity.
Spelling “black” with a capital “B” might be nice and PC, but it’s still not proper English, no matter how many magazines do it.
AJD
@sparkle obama: And from the way that Jasmyne Cannick uses the terms “white” and “Black,” the difference in capitalization, it’s obvious she does it with the intent to demean.
sparkle obama
>> And from the way that Jasmyne Cannick uses the terms “white” and “Black,” the difference in capitalization, it’s obvious she does it with the intent to demean.>>
AJD, (is that right, hon?)
–please don’t pretend to be so simple.
this is the main problem the gays are facing today: willful fakeness in the bald face of the revealed truth!
some of you gays are either *very bored* or you are straight jealous of Black people.
oh my gosh, “proper english” is almost as problematic these days as “gay marriage”, i guess.
jasmyne cinnick, whom i only discovered today
(i withhold judgement on her more outrageous pronouncements)
graciously leaves the capitalization of “white” to “white” people, all right?
(if it’s mostly “white” supremacists who embrace “White” as an identity, that ain’t my fault).
the capitalization of Black in Black media goes back to the 60s and predates “african american” by 20 years.
Black is my african-american heritage, which goes way beyond color or continent.
i’m sorry, you don’t get to tell african americans what Black means, or how to use it.
please don’t start about “afro-american”.
“afro-american” is to Black what “homosexual” is to Gay.
it’s a real word compound, but its clinical tone lacks the warmth and loaded cultural resonance of “Black”.
any child knows this!
yes, “Black” is loaded, but outside of the “white” world, for african-americans within our own communities, the Black identity has little to do with color per se – and everything to do with Soul and Our shared american cultural history & struggle.
like mariah carey said:
you can try/but you can’t take that away from me
and act like you know.
the world is watching.
stay out of trouble
& have a nice “xmas” (sue me, miss crabtreee, you didactic b*tch)
Mister C
WORK IT OUT MS Sparkle,
But I need to request this.
SOMEONE PROVE HER WRONG ABOUT RACISM IN THE GAY COMMUNITY. Please prove that we’re inclusive and loving towards each other!
Someone please prove it.
Because if the shoe fits WEAR IT. Anyone regardless of their race should not be bothered by this if it doesn’t affect you and you are not the ones she talking about.
new orleans lady
Jasmyne Cannick sucks. All these self-righteous fruits that get bent out of shape about Shirley Q also need to get a life. Go to work and earn a living like I do. BTW, don’t attend a Shirley Q show or buy her CDs. She brings smiles to the faces of many. Gay icon Joan Rivers has insulted people for years, including herself. Kathy Griffin calls out fairies constantly, making us laugh incessantly. I am so tired of having to treat people with kid gloves. Raise your children right and teach them them make smart decisions on their own. Teach them to stand on their own two feet and work hard to EARN the respect of others. Learn to live in this imperfect world rather than always trying to be an activist!
Underwood Devil
Amen New Orleans Lady. She is SO DIVISIVE and hateful. I am sooooooooo tired of angry black women who feel the world owes them everything. She claims to be such an upstanding citizen, but she is nothing but an Al Sharpton with a head full of braids.
HEDY LAMARR
The biggest joke is that racist c**t Jasmyne Cannick. She is a NOBODY and probably has rotten credit.