Hey, remember Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina? No? Well, in case you need a refresher, he’s the super antigay dude who was formally reprimanded by the House of Representatives after yelling “You lie!” and President Obama during the 2009 State of the Union Address.
Now, one of Wilson’s former campaign interns has been caught saying horribly racist stuff on Grindr, the Washington Blade reports.
Bigotry must run in the office.
Rashad Humphries, a 27-year-old Marine from Washington, D.C., received a message from profile named “TGIF” earlier this month with the words “sup n*gga” along with two photos of a youthful white male.
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At first, he ignored the message. Until TGIF followed that up with another one that said: “F*ck me n*gga.” To which Humphries finally replied:
Bro you think using n*gga in any context would make a black person want to f*ck you? Get the f*ck outta here with that racist sh*t.
This prompted TGIF to become enraged and respond: “N*gger.”
Grindr indicated that TGIF was less than 500 feet away. So Humphries and his boyfriend, Joel Garcia, along with their friend, Matt Curtis decided to do some sleuthing.
Who was this racist guy in such close proximity to them? And what could be done about it?
According to the Washington Blade:
Both Garcia and Curtis took it upon themselves to uncover the identity of “TGIF.” Under the false pretense of arranging sexual encounters, Garcia, who’s Latino, and Curtis, who’s white, both exchanged messages with “TGIF” on the same day. The two obtained different photos than Humphries and had exchanges that were markedly dissimilar from their friend’s.
Curtis continued chatting with TGIF and eventually persuaded him to send his phone number and a Facebook friend request. When the guys looked him up, they discovered the young man was a Republican, a Trump supporter, and, oh yeah, a former campaign intern for Rep. Joe Wilson who worked for an entire year on his 2016 reelection campaign.
Related: ‘Unwavering conservative’ politician Robbie Gatti doesn’t think wearing blackface is racist
When they finally confronted TGIF, he panicked and immediately apologized. He called Curtis ten times in a row, then began texting and messages him.
“Look man, I truly apologize,” he wrote. “I truly apologize. I’m just now coming to terms with who I am.”
In another message he wrote “I’m fucking crying.” And in another, he said, “Tell him I’m sorry. Tell him to take the post down. I’m conservative. I grew up in a conservative environment.”
Humphries tells the Washington Blade that online racism from the gay community is nothing new. Since he left the Marine Corps, he claims to have “encountered more moments of racism than I ever did in the military.”
“It’s usually the idea that, ‘I don’t talk to black guys’,” Humphries explains. “People who don’t talk to black guys because they’re scared or they just don’t hang out with black people…even within the gay community in which we shouldn’t have that issue since we’re already marginalized as it is.”
Humphries adds that he “wrestled” with going public about the incident because TGIF “is young, and young people made bad decisions,” but nonetheless thought it was important to make a point.
“You’re actively going around calling — not just me, but other black gay men — through social media and fake profiles a n*gger,” he says. “So I think the reason why I wanted to go through with this is based on there has to be some consequences for people’s actions regardless of what sphere it’s in.”
TGIF appears to have vanished from Grindr and deleted his Facebook page. Here’s hoping he’s having a long, hard think about what he did, and that he doesn’t repeat the actions again in the future.
Related: Jack’d to Grindr: Admit it! You promote racism and it needs to stop!
AndThenTheresMax
Why do you think I deleted Grindr off my phone?! The racism on Grindr is so heavy it was not “if” I was going to be called a n***er but “when” and how many times in one day? That’s just disgusting. I don’t know why anyone uses this app. And you wanna know the sick thing? Grindr is owned by Beijing Kunlun Tech a CHINESE company! There is no excuse for racism on Grindr!
Paco
Grindr is working hard to be more inclusive.
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2017/11/gender-fluid-grindr-isnt-just-gay-men-longer/
UltimateSin
Sounds like this asshole got exactly what he deserved. I would have gone one step further and posted his photo as well. People like that deserve VERY public shaming. If you don’t want something like this to happen to you then there is an easy way to avoid it… don’t be a racist idiot to others or face the potential consequences.
Brian
Seriously. They name Rep Joe Wilson, who had nothing to do with any of this, several times throughout the article but keep this asshole’s name private? WTF?
UltimateSin
I wonder how long before people start their deflections when it comes to anything regarding racism. Two examples of this are to say that “the race card is over used” or to claim that an incident is race baiting.
gravityyaoi
Because public humiliation actually shames people into not being racist…it just backs people into a corner and solidifies how they think. By all means call him on it but when you do it this way don’t be surprised when he goes right back to the way he was acting.
captainburrito
People act like jerks online because they feel there are no consequences and it is more removed from direct contact. I’d love to see him going back to being conservative and working on campaigns now.
It can change behaviour if not true feelings.
UltimateSin
Even if it doesn’t change their minds (and with these kinds of people I highly doubt it will), it at least has a higher chance of leading to a consequence for their actions.
DCguy
Who cares if he goes back to being the same way. The good of this is that it offers yet another example of the fact that the GOP is a breeding ground for bigots and racists. It prevents them from softening that fact by trying to hide behind phrases like “Alt-Right” instead of “Nazi” or “Racist”.
Independents or Democrats who may think that the GOP isn’t a hotbed of bigotry sees stories like this and gets the idea that yes….they’re as bad as they heard.
jaack
What does it take to change a racist? Call them out on EVERY racist remark comment whatever it is, but NEVER allow it to go unchallenged. Be they racist or homophobe, confronting the spineless bigots lets every one their true lack of character.
I have been physically attacked just walking down the street. Called names at work.; threatened with loss of employment because someone suspected me of being a fa**ot. I have been groped and had a raise suspended until I put out for a manager. I won’t tolerate being disrespected by “Christians” and thioise with ‘family values”
Bob LaBlah
Let me be sure I read this correctly. This site, Grindr, can tell you or the sender how far some one is from you? You have nothing else to go off of but a pic that you are suppose to believe is the actual person but yet no one questions the safety of that? Some how I think it wise to say to hell with whining about the racist messages that can be sent and get that damn app that is inviting more trouble than its worth off of your phone. That is simply crazy. People, doesn’t SOMETHING sound wrong with that situation? You mean to say that you are THAT horny your just saying “hey, mass murderer, I’m just a few feet away. Come kill me or rob me or blackmail me if you so desire.” What makes people so sure that once you’ve gotten off of the site your Prince Charming hasn’t modified that app to continue following you or even hack into your phone? It sounds like Grindr has helped these people hack your phone and simply said to hell with your safety and common sense.
Kangol
Um, most of these gay dating apps tell you how close the person is! Grindr, Scruff, Jack’d…it’s one of their basic features!
Creamsicle
You don’t understand the process of hacking do you?
Bob LaBlah
Once I heard of this thing called “cloning” I steered not only away from dating sites but I also turn my phone off when I am in a bar. The electronic age brought us instant everything including sex but at what cost?
WindsorOntario
This is why I have finally given up on Grindr, Facebook, and a few of the other ones. If you allow them to, these apps show the most depressing, hopeless outlook for the future. Not only do we have to deal with hate from society at large but more so from within our own community. Soon you begin spiralling into feeling like you’re never going to meet anyone or not wanting to try to meet anyone – or not even wanting to leave the house.
People like this guy will always be around. Those of us who are part of any minority group are well aware that things have not changed as much as others think, and within our own groups, we are absolutely not ‘all in this together’. We aren’t going to be there for each other. You gotta be there for yourself. The sooner you realize this and live life knowing this, the better off you’ll be and not let people like this jerk ruin your self-esteem.
Its too bad that gay men can not/will not be a support system or even empathetic towards one another. But app or no app, community or no community, that’s just how things are now.
Heywood Jablowme
Poor kid. Where did you ever get this crazy idea that all gay men are supposed to be nice to you? Find just ONE non-sexual gay male friend; it’s not THAT difficult, really it’s not!
Knight
Hey Windsor,
I agree with you to an extent. All one needs to do is go through the posts on THIS site to see how vicious people can be…and just over the SLIGHTEST difference of opinion (say “Justin Bieber looks like he’s put on some weight” and you’ll be called a “spiteful, hate-filled conservative troll!” or something to that effect). But just from one well-wisher here, Grindr (or ANY “app”) is NOT the place to meet anyone for anything other than the most base of instincts. If you are looking for community or common interests other than man-on-man sex, you won’t find it there. There are MUCH better places to meet guys that share common interests outside of apps and bars. Several of my friends play on gay sports teams (flag football, soccer, softball and volleyball) while others have a weekly “game night” (I go sometimes). I would suggest Meetup which I believe they have in Canada as well. Anyway, what you said is true about the need to be comfortable with yourself and not letting anyone ruin your self-esteem. But at the same time, I hope you find the companionship and camaraderie you seem to desire.
Kangol
Another irony is that Republicans and conservatives are supposed to be so pro-military, but this young white rac!st creep didn’t think twice about insulting a black Marine. I’m glad the intern was unmasked. Maybe he will think at least twice before spouting off rac!st BS in the future .
Knight
Hmmm…anyone get the sense that this entire story is BS? “I heard from a friend of mine who knows someone who said he talked one dude who works for this guy…”
Also, how is “you lie!” racist? Seriously, Graham…do you ever want to be taken seriously at all?
Creamsicle
Qwerty is nothing but a gossip blog. It’s not even always gay gossip. They don’t seem to place a high value on fact checking, ast least not compared to getting their clicks.
DCguy
What a shock, one of Mo Bros screenames pretending not to believe that somebody who works for a bigoted Republican is a bigot.
Hmmmm, guess you better try to explain away why the guy has the screen shots and messages from the guy admitting and begging him not to expose him. Oooops, did I point out that detail you were trying to avoid?
Knight
Dctwat newsflash; this is my one and only screen-name. You are one of two morons here who accuse anyone who disagrees with you as part of some singular kabal of names. And in case you’ve never heard, there’s an application called Photoshop, which you can use to create any such screenshot. That image above doesn’t contain any info that couldn’t have been VERY easily created/edited in Photoshop…hence my skepticism. You really aren’t very bright, are you?
Heywood Jablowme
@Knight: “anyone who disagrees with you”…. But that’s just it. I didn’t even disagree with you in that comment thread. I was in total agreement with you. And yet you attacked me out of the blue for absolutely no reason even though you’re supposedly new here. You seemed to have a vendetta against me even though you supposedly didn’t know my history here and we didn’t disagree on anything (yet, at that point). So it seemed a bit suspicious.
If it’s any help, DCguy a.k.a. Cam is a total hypocrite in this regard, as DCguy is obviously the very long-time poster here called Cam, with the very same arcane obsessions that nobody else gives a sh*t about e.g. “Queerty is pushing bi-erasure!” and such nonsense.
Knight
Heytard geeze. I wasn’t even talking about you here. You seem to be following me like some love-struck puppy-dog. Don’t make me regret using my real pic here (which I did specifically to show the hypocrisy of OTHER posters here saying how I’m “anonymous” or “fake” etc, when they don’t give any info as to who THEY are). My impression of you was accumulative; it was based on interactions with ME and with others whom you disagreed with. But I wasn’t even referring to you here, as I just said. So, unclench your sphincter and unbunch your panties; your ears were NOT burning. As I said previously, I really don’t care about you one way or another, but also wouldn’t mind at all if you would permanently piss-off. But thank you on that back-ground info on this DCtroll. Yes, I knew a mile away he was a troll and most likely had multiple screen-names (those first to accuse are usually the most guilty). Personally, I think ANYONE who feels the need to create more than one profile/name/persona etc is wasting FAR too much time on this site, and it’s a sure sign they have no life (or power within it) to speak of.
Heywood Jablowme
@Knight: I’ve never bought DCguy’s crazy argument that ALL the right-wing posters here are the same person. It’s unsurprising there are six or so in a forum like this.
Occasionally a monomaniacal poster gets banned for reasons unstated – or in the case of Jaxton / Brian / jason, or Danny527 / Danny 595, reasons comically predictable – and when they return as another name it’s suspicious until it becomes obvious. The sudden disappearance of our pal “Mo Bro,” however, caused some conspiracy theories. People see him everywhere! He’s kind of like the Grand Duchess Anastasia of Queerty. That’s as far as I’ll go on that, since I accidentally put my tinfoil hat into the recycling bin (we liberals get a little obsessive about recycling).
Yes, I should have guessed that you already imagine more enemies than just two, although I haven’t yet noticed the third or 4th etc. Apparently I’m not here enough, lol. But regarding your photo, alas, we’ve all seen it already so we’re smitten. 🙂
Knight
Heywood, OK. And just as an FYI, MOST of my gay friends are liberal (if not “ultra-liberal”). I’m neither conservative nor liberal (I actually have this thing I was born with called a brain, which I try to use as often as possible to form my opinions…sometimes with more success than others). In other words, I LOVE a good conversation, which often involves a difference of opinion. I’m the furthest thing from a “snowflake” (I actually don’t like that VERY overused term, FYI) but I did think this particular site would welcome any/all opinions from ANYONE who identifies as part of the LGBT community. And yeah…boy was I wrong and naive on that one. I really was not prepared for the vitriol and hate towards me and other posters for simply stating facts (let alone opinions) on certain topics that went against the very predictable ultra-liberal playbook/talking points.
Anyway, despite my very Latin temper and distaste for blatant rudeness and hypocrisy, it’s in my nature to want to seek balance and not create drama (on this or any other site). So, as long as you remain respectful moving forward you can expect the same from me.
kornula
Knight; Marry me!
BigWill
Any bets that TGIF is Mo/Brody/et al here?
Knight
You seem to say that about a lot of posters…most likely you’re the real troll here with multiple names etc.
Juanjo
Racist gay men is nothing new. it has always been there. That said, this young jackass got caught and deserved the shaming he got. Will he change? Who knows? Some people do and some just dig in even deeper into the hole they have dug for themselves and defend their position by deflecting to others. Like some of the Negative Nancy types who regularly post here. Hi Mo biotch!
Knight
The point is he didn’t receive ANY “shaming”. We don’t know who this is. If it really happened, let us know who it was. No need to “protect” anyone here. I seriously doubt this ever happened.
Heywood Jablowme
A gay intern who works for a Republican congressman from South Carolina is inevitably going to be closeted.
If he comes out he will be fired. Perhaps fired under some other pretext, but he will be fired. He has no incentive to come out, especially if it also involves coming out as a RACIST! The racist part would mean: no job in DC, and the outed-gay part would mean limited job prospects back in Gooberville / Opioidville either. If he IS real, the out gay guys in this story (if the story is real) are being rather kind to him by not outing him completely.
VentiBlue
You get all kinds of racism on all kinds of gay dating apps. I use Grindr and haven’t seen much of it probably because I’m in a smaller city. One can’t blame Grindr for the BS gaycists say
jasentylar
Why does the story lead with him being a Marine? I mean, what a badass career choice but what does that have to do with the ACTUAL story?
Heywood Jablowme
um… that’s his job. If he happened to be a congressional staffer (for instance) they’d probably say that.
Also, Marines are hot!
Bob LaBlah
Wow! Theres a double standard when the n-word can be used tens of time during a black dl thug porn raw breeding video but………..you know, on second thought never mind.
Heywood Jablowme
uh… I’ll take your word for it, LaBlah. THAT’S what you like to watch? Who’d have guessed.
Bob LaBlah
I think it safe to say that YOU are no stranger to it yourself (both the word and the videos). lol
Heywood Jablowme
! – dunno why you’d think that, but no.
mhoffman953
Does it matter if it ends with an ‘a’, instead of an ‘er’ ?
Bob LaBlah
The really passionate scenes use the version ending in “h”. The prison, street-hood types (which I always avoided) use the “er” version.