He left many people scratching their heads this week after he implied he was a member of the Black community and possibly a member of the gay community, too.
It all started while he was speaking about his time as an official within the Democratic Party during a campaign event. Shipman declared himself a champion for diversity.
“My first vice chair was an African American female,” he said. “My second vice chair was a gay male.”
And that, Shipman went on to suggest, kinda makes him black by proxy. Or something.
How about we take this to the next level?
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“I’m a member of the African-American community,” he continued. “I’ve been where you are. I’ve been in your communities.”
Speaking more about that gay dude he hired that one time, the candidate went on to say the man “recently posted on Facebook that when he came to this community he found doors closed until he came through mine.”
“I opened the door to diversity!” Shipman boasted.
Based on his logic about what it means to be Black, we can only assume Shipman also considers himself to be gay.
(For the record: Shipman is straight and white and married to a woman named Mary Jo with whom he has three sons.)
https://youtu.be/suDpqtt4IVQ
When asked later to clarify the remarks, Shipman only seemed to dig himself into a deeper hole, especially when it came to the whole “I’m a member of the African-American community” thing.
He admitted that he’s neither gay nor black, but he doubled down on the claim that he’s part of the Black community, noting that many “other members of the African-American community” agree with him.
“I’ve eaten at many a fish fry held by my ‘brothers’ and ‘sisters,’ ‘aunts’ and ‘uncles’ in that community,” he said. “I’ve celebrated birthdays, births, marriages, graduations, Christmas, Thanksgiving, July 4, etc., with many members of the African-American community.”
He continued, “Many members of the African-American community have called me in the middle of the night when someone was sick or to come help them or some other member of their family, and I’ve responded–because they are my family.”
“I don’t see color,” he said. “I see people.”
Kangol
Just…no.
Smith David
As an African-American, I can appreciate that he is attempting to connect with the black community. I’d much rather deal with his willingness to seek acceptance than the vile displays of racism we’ve seen in this country of late. Growing up, a large majority of black people have been taught that the world over hates our skin color for no reason. So, again, I applaud him for trying.
bjohnmasters
I’m not African-American, but I am gay. I think that gives some insight into what it is like to be discriminated against. I have always had African-American friends and try to understand their experience as best I can, but I can never claim to be Black. I agree with you. I think the guy is actually genuine in wanting to be open and welcoming…he’s just trying a little too hard, and that will come across as disingenuous to a lot of folks, and I can understand why. He needs to dial it back a notch or two.
Canuck4Life
Actually African Americans commit 8 times as many race crimes then any other in the US as per DOJ statistics so it goes both ways. The vile racism in this country never went away though. Want to know why in the 1990’s DEMOCRATS decided to elect a man who belonged to a segregated country club, and celebrated the confederacy you know Clinton. He went of to create the discriminatory crime bill which mostly affected the minority community with his wife going around touting it and demonizing minorities by using phrases like “super predators” to help get support. Democrats despite there bigotry STILL support those idiots. THAT’S the real problem. We focused on Republican bigotry when the other side were the ones who were passing discriminatory laws, rhetoric is just that rhetoric. Actions are the ones we should be paying attention too.
jd.cali
I don’t know this man’s politics or history, but I think it’s a great message albeit sounding odd for a moment.
He is correct that you do not need to be gay, black, etc to be a part of that community. You only need to participate and be a friend to their cause.
I just hope he’s walks the walk and stands by his sentiments.
Troyfight
the GIF says it all
PinkoOfTheGange
I think what we have here is a failure to communicate.
He sees community as a physical place, not as the abstract concept.
Honestly this desire to tear people apart for not using the exact words that a coked out SJW would is just circular firing squad.
Cylest Brooks
Hi! Queerty comment moderator here. Please review our comments policy. Future comments using phrases like “coked out SJW” will be deleted.
Thanks!
dwes09
Please “cylest brooks”, use your little brain, if you are not an algorithm (as i suspect from the tone deaf posts), consider intent and not just the presence of buzzwords.
“pinko” is regressive, and certainly not a friend of the liberal/progressive lgbt community, but in this case he is correct, despite his right wing dislike for those who stand for social justice.
Gremore, never particularly deep or insightful, is throwing a political ally under the bus for cheap laughs and diplaying a shallow intellect and slavishness towards outmoded identity politics in the process. He deserves to be called out for it.
Get over yourself, and deal with meaning and intent in comments (if you are actually a human being).
This is Queerty, not Candyland, or some magazine for 7 year olds. We can deal with offense and epithets, we’re adults.
Cylest Brooks
Thanks for the feedback, dwes09. I’ll keep it in mind for the future.
mhoffman953
@dwes09
Yikes. I don’t agree with Cylest Brooks on many issues, but I wouldn’t say she has a “little brain”. Plus, it shows that you don’t even know what an algorithm is if you think she’s a robot.
Cylest Brooks
@mhoffman953, probably my favorite part of this gig so far is watching people try to guess what/who I am. The “are you just an algorithm’ one is new. My personal favorite is the ongoing debate into whether I am a cisgender woman or a drag queen… which shouldn’t even be a debate anymore, since I have already said that I don’t possess the contouring skills necessary to be a drag queen.
But whatever. Let them make their funny little guesses about who and what I am. It makes the job more fun. 😀
dwes09
“Globalist policies” are the bugaboo of the regressive who cannot understand that we are in the 21st century, not the early 20th. And one would think as a regressive you would understand that the free market takes jobs where they can realize the most profit from the labor of others.
Your beloved Trump has cut off funds to job retraining programs because he, like you is just giving lip service to caring about others, what he cares about is the ease of corporations to make profits. He favors “bigly” the ongoing concentration of wealth in a small class of people which has accelerated since his election.
Clinton HAS done a lot for black people, or she would not have gotten their votes, unlike you most progressives do not feel they are easily manipulated. She repudiated her remarks of 20 years ago, whereas Trump, who called gleefully for the death penalty for young men falsely accused of a crime, insisted that they still needed to be locked up even after they were totally exonerated.
As for “algorithm”, it is a process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer. So it can identify forbidden words, parse grammat, and form the basis for bots or AI applications, and given the wittiness of things like Siri, why exactly couldn’t Cylest be algorithm driven: especially as I have noticed an inability to discern intent and mostly a response to specific trigger words. That was one of the motives for the “little mind” comment. The original poster was making a comment about the foolishness of the author tearing down a man who is an ally in a very real way. His reference to “coked out SJWs” was not aimed at a specific person, but at a non-productive tactic unfortunately too common on the left, and yet Cylest responded only to the words and not the meaning of the comment. Even her response had the ring of a response chosen from a list by AI in response to certain words.
Cylest Brooks
dwes09… You seem to be under the impression that my decision to remove the “coked out SJW” comment would have been different if I had understood some deep, complex intent behind the words that made them somehow not mean what they mean. You are mistaken. I understood the complaint full well and made the decision to delete the comment because it violates the comments policy, which does not specify intent from impact.
There is some algorithm in play here… we have a list of words that, if included in a post, will be automatically flagged for my review. Sometimes the comments are fine and I approve them, and sometimes they are shit and I delete them. However, I spend the majority of my time reading through the comments sections of each post, engaging in content and deleting comments as needed. No algorithm there.
mhoffman953
@dwes09
I assume your responding to my comment further down the page but got confused, so you responded up here. That’s fine.
““Globalist policies” are the bugaboo of the regressive who cannot understand that we are in the 21st century, not the early 20th. And one would think as a regressive you would understand that the free market takes jobs where they can realize the most profit from the labor of others.”
Corporations do go where they can realize the most profit but when politicians create policies that shift middle class jobs overseas by allowing unfair trade, then globalist policies are detrimental when they don’t focus on the home nation first. President Trump is working on measures to prevent this in the long run with the current tax cuts and hard talks with China, something that is long overdue.
“Clinton HAS done a lot for black people, or she would not have gotten their votes, unlike you most progressives do not feel they are easily manipulated. ”
LOL Can you elaborate on the many things she has done for black people? You said she’s done a lot so I’m sure you can name 10 things easily. Yet I have a feeling that you’ll talk around answering that and say that I need to use Google.
Plus, some liberals (I’ll use that word instead of “progressives”) might not feel easily manipulated but they are easily manipulated and so are some conservatives. For instance, one of the biggest and most liberal Black Lives Matter pages on Facebook was actually a troll page being run by a white guy in Australia to make money.
You’re also an example of someone that is easily manipulated if you think Hillary Clinton actually cares about the black community and isn’t just pandering for votes. She did the same with the gay community. She only pandered to them when it was convenient and socially acceptable during an election year for votes and donations. Clearly she supports whatever is popular and will win votes, just like the politician from this article. It’s called pandering. You seem to be afraid to ask questions and think freely and refuse to accept things that don’t coincide with your confirmation bias.
“As for “algorithm”…why exactly couldn’t Cylest be algorithm driven…Even her response had the ring of a response chosen from a list by AI in response to certain words.”
Yeah, I know what an algorithm is. I’ve created them when trading stocks and when developing websites. Cylest clearly isn’t an AI bot because unlike Siri, she doesn’t have preprogrammed responses and has typed out her opinions before. She was hired to enforce the new comment policy which I’m not sure if you’ve even read it. This site is ran on WordPress and it already has plugins that catch words that are not approved by the admin. No AI bot exists for WordPress’ comment section and if it did, Queerty couldn’t afford it. This tech stuff might be too much for you LOL
mhoffman953
@dwes09
Also, I forgot to address this statement you made, “He favors “bigly” the ongoing concentration of wealth in a small class of people which has accelerated since his election.”
That is false. President Trump’s tax plan and economic plans are not favoring a “small class of people” over another. I think you need to understand the difference between wealth and income. Also, if you’re referencing income disparities, those figures have not been released yet, meaning I don’t understand how you can make that claim. There will never be equal wealth in this nation, nor in any nation. However, policies should be implements so all classes can thrive.
The founder of the BET network (a registered Democrat and Hillary Clinton voter) even said recently on CNBC that President Trump is doing something right and that black Americans should be encouraged by President Trump’s growing economy which benefits all Americans. He even said that black voters shouldn’t lock themselves into one party but instead use their power to support and elect whichever party best serves them. He cited a quote which says, “Black people have no permanent friends, no permanent enemies, just permanent interests” and that holds true.
Cylest Brooks
mhoffman953, the quote that you’re attributing to Bob Johnson (founder of BET) did not take place “recently”. The article from CNBC was published in November of 2016… just a few days after the election. Here’s the link:
https://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/21/bet-founder-after-meeting-with-trump-says-blacks-should-give-president-elect-a-shot.html
I think that’s an important distinction, since his entire premise was “let’s give him a chance”… and we have now had over a year to do so. The time to “give him a chance” has passed. He has proven that he does not have a vested interest in protecting black Americans. There is no logical argument otherwise, no matter what mental gymnastics you do to try and make him seem like a “for the people” president.
mhoffman953
@Cylest Brooks
“the quote that you’re attributing to Bob Johnson (founder of BET) did not take place “recently”. The article from CNBC was published in November of 2016… just a few days after the election.”
That’s incorrect, my dear. Robert Johnson spoke with CNBC on April 6, 2018 when he said what I wrote
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/06/bet-founder-trump-economy-brings-black-workers-back-into-labor-force.html
You need to stay up-to-date with the news. Otherwise, you’d be spreading “fake news” by claiming what Robert Johnson said didn’t take place recently
Cylest Brooks
@mhoffman953… Ehhhhh, kinda, I guess. MUCH of the content you included in your original comment, including the specific reference to Trump (which I did not hear in the clip from the link you provide) AND the whole bit about black folk having only permanent interests. Both of those came from the 2016 interview.
But you’re not wrong that Johnson obviously seems to have some kind of boner for Trump. The recent article even suggests that the two have been friends for a long time. Personally, one multi-millionaire black person does not outweigh the EXTREME MAGNITUDE of what black Americans are saying, even if he does make for a great soundbite for racist media. I’d give his words the same weight as Cosby’s, when he said that black folk need to “just get over it” with regard to slavery.
Just because you can find a black man who’s willing to say the things you’re saying DOESN’T mean that he’s right, that he speaks for all of black people, or that his opinion is worth more than the collective voices of black America saying the exact opposite of him, just because you like what he’s saying better.
*shrug* I can find someone to validate every garbage opinion, but that doesn’t make the opinion less garbage, I guess?
mhoffman953
@Cylest Brooks
“Ehhhhh, kinda, I guess. MUCH of the content you included in your original comment, including the specific reference to Trump (which I did not hear in the clip from the link you provide) AND the whole bit about black folk having only permanent interests. Both of those came from the 2016 interview.”
Kinda? You guess? Did you watch the full interview at the bottom of the CNBC story or did you just watch the 1 minute clip at the top? Clearly you didn’t watch the full 13 minute clip at the bottom where Mr. Johnson goes into further depth about Trump’s economy and how his policies are helping black Americans and all Americans.
“But you’re not wrong that Johnson obviously seems to have some kind of boner for Trump. The recent article even suggests that the two have been friends for a long time. Personally, one multi-millionaire black person does not outweigh the EXTREME MAGNITUDE of what black Americans are saying, even if he does make for a great soundbite for racist media. I’d give his words the same weight as Cosby’s, when he said that black folk need to “just get over it” with regard to slavery.”
Previously, you alleged that I’m performing “mental gymnastics” but that seems to be what you are doing here. First you didn’t believe that Johnson praised President Trump’s economy just two weeks ago then when I present proof that he did praise it, you seem to throwaway and dismiss his opinion because it doesn’t agree with your confirmation bias.
I would think that Johnson’s take on the economy and effect of Trump’s economic plans on the black community should be heard. Johnson has built himself up from nothing, he has been involved with the black community and involved in business throughout his entire life. His opinion should hold more weight than your own as a white woman on helping the black community and hold more weight than someone who might not understand economics.
Plus, I don’t understand how CNBC is “racist media” as you claim they are in your response.
“Just because you can find a black man who’s willing to say the things you’re saying DOESN’T mean that he’s right”
The economic numbers don’t lie. Black unemployment is the lowest it has ever been, wages have risen 2.7% YOY, the civilian labor force participation rate for black men is almost at 70%, the same labor participation rate for teenage black men is higher than it’s been in a decade, and the gap between black unemployment and white unemployment is narrowing closer than ever before nearly 40% into President Trump’s first term. Something good economically is working here.
If you can show me economic numbers that can show Johnson isn’t right, I’ll look at them. Otherwise, you’re just giving an opinion not based on facts.
dwes09
“I think that’s an important distinction, since his entire premise was “let’s give him a chance”… and we have now had over a year to do so. The time to “give him a chance” has passed. He has proven that he does not have a vested interest in protecting black Americans. There is no logical argument otherwise, no matter what mental gymnastics you do to try and make him seem like a “for the people” president.””
I usually do not come back to threads after a few comments (so little time to read, so many things to read…Wapo, NTY, Guardian, Vox, Quartz, Queerty, Flipboard…), but checked this one out by chance. You’ve won me over (not just by this post, but by your responses in general here), and I will never question your humanness or judgement again, even should I lapse into a mean spirited rant and get deleted for hurled epithets (as some of the comments here can be maddening)!
Cylest Brooks
dwes09… glad to see you’ve come around.
I’m sure we won’t agree all the time. But I’m definitely a real person.
jonasalden
Ugh. I groaned when he mentioned the fish fry. Hillary Clinton and Democrats of her ilk always turn out for those things, and the people who throw them are partly to blame for making them an opportunity for politicians to trot themselves out and show their “open-mindedness” for all to see, conveniently at election time. As a Black Southerner, those things are an embarrassment. It’s like a dirty trick that we always fall for. “Uncles and Aunties”! Blech!!!
mhoffman953
@jonasalden
That’s the only time those types of people come around, when it’s an election year. They’ll trounce themselves out there, shake hands, eat with black people, try to look hip, but then they’ll get elected and you won’t hear from them or see them for another 4 or 6 years.
It’s complete pandering. Hillary Clinton did this worse than anyone in 2016 when she was doing an interview on a black radio station and claimed she carries hot sauce in her purse. She then went on Ellen and tried “dabbing”. Then had to do a photo-op with Jay-Z and Beyonce. They just want your vote and nothing else, then they do nothing to ever help black people or minorities once they get your vote
dwes09
Prove it. Let’s see your list of things the Clintons have not done in support of the black community that your regressive heroes have.
It is folks like Trump who want the photo ops but lack any actual care or concern, as is very clearly demonstrated by…well, everything.
mhoffman953
@dwes09
Prove it? Just look at the crime bill signed by President Clinton. Not only that, his globalist policies that have shipped jobs overseas. His wife called young black men “super predators” and said that they must be “brought to heal” regardless of the reason.
But keep pretending that she’s done a lot for black people
Kangol
And one of the usual suspects (Mo-Brody) reappears to slam liberals. The GOP, led by his/their beloved Trump, Mo-Brody, is far worse; Trump is openly racist and misogynistic and is planting homophobes like Neil Gorsuch throughout the judiciary, so let’s see him/them defend the Republicans and the pResident.
As for Gary Shipman, the pandering is absurd. Just say you’re an ally and show it with actions. It’s white and straight privilege to assume you understand the experiences of people of color or LGBTQ while still benefitting from being white and straight. If he were truly radical or considered himself black or gay, he’d say he wasn’t white or straight at all.
Also, I hate to have to say it, but just look at the front page of Queerty today; the site once again fails to show a single queer person of color (save a RuPaul Drag Race contestant, whose identity is somewhat unclear)–so I guess Gary Shipman will have to do for now.
Heywood Jablowme
As opposed to Trump & co. who are proud of being racists.
(Hey, Brody, didn’t you say you were leaving us & not returning?)
chris33133
“I don’t see color,” he said. “I see people.” ….. Let’s get back to this article because this quote should provoke conversations about race that commentaries about dating cannot.
When someone claims not to see color, that individual is being disingenuous because the inability to see the single most obvious thing about someone else — that person’s skin color — cuts off the ability to engage in some much needed conversations about race and bias that this society needs to have. It suggests a post-racial utopia that we are nowhere near.
Only blind people, who cannot see, will not see color. And even then, Steve Wonder, Jose Feliciano, Ray Charles, and Doc Watson were all keenly aware of race.
He’d have been better off stating that he had selected people whose thinking is aligned with his and who he trusted. But as it is now, I’d think twice before voting for this guy.
Cylest Brooks
Chris33133, absolutely. People who say “I don’t see color” are not making the profound claim they think they are. Generally, I regard them to be just as dangerous to black folk as outright racists.
chris33133
Since I’m not Black, I usually don’t engage in a calculus of who’s more or less dangerous to black folk. However, I’ve yet to read about anyone claiming not to see color who’s shot someone because of their color. So on that basis alone, I’d say that racists are the more dangerous group of people.
DCguy
I always think it’s weird when people do this. The same with Straight women saying they’re a gay guy, or white people saying they are black etc…
He is in NC and he could very well just announce that he has worked well with people from other groups. What he did is the typical silly thing that people who haven’t dealt with what those groups go through say.
Given a chance to correct he just kid of re-dug himself.
Oh, and Cylest must be driving the anti-LGBT troll account and it’s multiple screenames CRAZY! We know they are here to always defend anti-lgbt bigots, but they also seem to hate women. So CYLEST’S account must drive them crazy! A moderator on an LGBT blog that is fronted by a woman. Cylest, if you changed your picture to an African American woman the troll’s head would most likely explode.
mhoffman953
@DCguy
I assume you’re referencing me because of my exchange with Cylest in this comment thread but you’re too afraid to say my name, so you’re going to tiptoe around it with your usual rants.
First, I’m not using multiple screen names on here. If you have proof of that, then show it. You have multiple screen names with your “Cam” account.
Second, I’m not anti gay and I don’t hate women and don’t have a problem with African Americans. I don’t recall you calling out dwes09 for saying that Cylest has a tiny brain – a man telling a woman she has a tiny brain.
If this site is just going to allow baseless claims against me, I’ll start making claims against you as well if that flies here
Cylest Brooks
@DCguy… stop calling people trolls. Consider this your warning.
thomas prentice
This is the logical outcome of the TransGenderist TransJuggernaut.
Or as Frankenfurter said, “Don’t dream it, be it.”