This story is kinda old, but with the hoopla over gay marriage in New York coupled with the fact that I'm a bit under the weather with my eyes again. I figured throw this out there because I could imagine just how many Black church organizations out there are actively working against legislation in New York and pretty much everywhere else it pops up. As you folks know, I don't like the marriage of religion and politics. So with that said, lemme just say that I think this particular organization needs to go fuck themselves.
Do you remember the 1946 Frank Capra classic, It's a Wonderful Life? You know, the one they play every year at Christmas to remind people who have given up their dream that it will be okay, their life was pre-determined, Christianity and guardian angels will save them? Yep, that's the one. I can't lie, I do truly enjoy the film--probably because between television stations and my family I have seen it close to a million times. Well, the recent "coming-out" of DeJuaii Pace, left me re-examining, well, life.
In the same way George Bailey has to re-visit what his life could have been like had he never been born (or made different choices), it appears DeJuaii Pace had to do the same type of critical self-reflection. She supposedly arrived at her lesbianism after several attempts to "pray the gay away" through fasting. Surprisingly enough, her same-sex desire remained. Well I'll be damned...
Reading her interview I was left with many questions: what makes someone "gay"? How is the Black church a place of support as some ignorant queer activists have proclaimed while disregarding Black queers (read: Dan Savage)? If someone has never engaged in a sexual act, is desire enough to label one's self "gay"? Regardless of the answers to these questions, one question left me clueless: what the hell is "the lifestyle"?
No, I understand what the stereotypical "gay lifestyle" is: for some Christians, the epitome of sinners. But aren't we all supposedly sinners? Why is there a distinction being made? Let's debunk the stereotype right now: white, gay male, chiseled body, snorting crystal meth in the bathroom of a club, sneaking into a bathhouse. That's only one of them. Yes, some gay people choose to live their life that way but so do some heterosexual people. What's interesting about "the lifestyle" is that no one ever questions it. Even if there were some supposed monolithic "lifestyle" that queers were living under, it then becomes above questioning. Queer communities, queer "lifestyles", promote the same oppressive structures that society does. By that I mean, you have members of the community reinforcing the very behaviors and languages that have kept queers controlled throughout the last century and longer. There is racism, sexism, and homophobia even within queer communities. So this supposed "lifestyle" becomes imagery that reinforces the schema of the larger society--male-dominated, fear-mongering, sex-driven, etc. Using "lifestyle" only serves to other people who, in many cases, have as many similarities to you as they do differences.
How often does your sexuality come into play in your day-to-day living? Whether you're heterosexual, homosexual, bi-sexual, pan-sexual, you should have the choice in how much you allow sex to be a part of your daily life. My experiences have shown me that my queer family hold a lot of other identities simultaneously. We are brothers, sisters, daughters, sons, employees, lovers, artists, truth-seekers, right-handed, and a whole host of other identities at the same time we are gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, etc. So why are we constantly forced into having to use our sexuality as the primary means of identification?
To my sister DeJuaii Pace, I realize this is a new period in your life that you are still trying to figure out. You've only just begun to stop letting the church and your family dictate what is acceptable for your life. But I ask that you please stop referring to our lives as a "lifestyle." Doing so only promotes the same idiotic mentality that being gay is a choice. Now, being gay is only a choice insofar as being heterosexual is a choice. Each of us has a lifestyle, as individuals, where we make individual choices on how we want to live our lives. You've allowed your family to force you into some oppressive standard, retracting your sexual desires so you wouldn't be "tainted" for your husband? Lawd have mercy. Will the same standard be held up against your wife? Hopefully this question gets people to really ponder how sexuality has been used to reinforce these behaviors like the institution of marriage. Marriage is not innately between man and woman. People have made it seem that way. As I've stated before, marriage was instated as a property exchange among men where women were assets. Thus, women's sexuality were monitored and controlled as a way of not damaging the property. The logic behind saving yourself for marriage only holds if you believe people are property.
Since we're down to our last day of Black History Month here in our third year of post-racial bliss. What would yet an unnecessary month of recognizing Black achievement be without heralding a couple slave catchers among us. I mean, why recognize the brother who invented the Super Soaker and leave out fellow Black people, who are bent on holding up progress; and, who would possibly go as far as to say that slavery never happened, and the Middle Passage and all that went with it is a lie, much like the people who deny the Jewish Holocaust.
So, apparently things have gotten pretty dangerous and, "The Safest Place For African Americans is in the Womb." I don't know just how it got that way all of sudden; and just why we were never given this information before now. I mean, this information could have come in handy just before the slave-ships landed on the African coast, you know? But at any rate, though many several centuries late, the important thing is that we now know:
Now I have to be honest: when I first read the above story I automatically assumed the people behind the ad were your typical white right-wing group. I figured since we're all post racial now, and white conservatives now care about the well being of Black folks, that the strategic use of it in Black History Month was genius. Shit, they had me so convinced that I was looking for a vagina to dive into, and curl up like a fetus in a Black womb just to be safe. Shit, forget Black on Black crime, HIV/AIDS, and bad credit, son; I wanted to be safe.
I’m currently going through a family crisis. It’s no more or less complicated than other barriers I’ve had to face as a single mother living in America. I don’t often talk about my problems with people I know. To me there is nothing more frustrating than when I divulge/explain/confide in another person in (the slight) hope that they may be able to offer me a solution or at the very least some insight.
“Well, you should pray on that and God will delivery you from whatever is bothering you”
“Have you prayed to God for a solution?”
“Give it over to the Lord”
“I’m gonna pray for you”
Why are the people of the US so dam religious?
According to social scientist and Journal of Religion and Society the reason is mainly due to the existence of higher levels of stress faced by US citizens. The stress levels suffered by residents of the U.S. is much greater than stress felt by European citizens who live under a social welfare system that alleviates many of the same factors.
“Scientist also found that countries that had higher infant mortality, homicide rates and levels of corruption, had lower life expectancy, had more AIDS and more abortion all tended to have a population that turned to prayer more often. The other interesting finding is that all these factors also went hand in hand with higher income inequality. In other words, income inequality acts like a kind of barometer of societal health.”
I dunno what's up with "Reverend Ruckus" and the gay shit other than possible his obvious need to repress his inner and existent gaydom. But this is the second time in recent weeks that he has attacked "the gays", or has framed a discussion of homosexuality around political correctness. Which by the way, happens to be a crutch for most people on the right who hide behind the First Amendment to advance their vitriol and hate.
Now I don't know if Dr. Marc Lamont Hill is gay or not; frankly, I don't give a damn. Or more specifically, I could give two shits if he is. As a matter of fact, I've never heard of him being "on the down low," as black men are egregiously thought to be. But, from a very good source, I have heard that he's somewhat of a playboy, and currently has a female ex-lover currently walking around at 3am with a flashlight, stuck on stupid because she's unable to get over him since their breakup. But I suppose to the mind of an idiot, him being "liberal" and working for Columbia University pretty much makes him a flaming and raging homosexual, who is possibly six months away from a sex change.
Whether Marc Lamont Hill or any openly gay (or closeted) person is in fact gay, does not give licence for any one individual or group to persecute them. Point blank, it is called discrimination, and they too should be protected by law, because said persecution comes from a place where hate is fostered.
[Editors Note: One of the joys of social networking for me, has to be the the ability to "meet" new people, new voices, and new bloggers. Such was the case recently upon the discovery of the blog Confessions of a Legal Diva. A blog presented with a certain freshness and honesty with a splash of virginesque.]
I have been searching for something. You know what it feels like to be looking for something....never knowing what it is. I am at a crossroads with my spiritual life. For years, it has been based on everything and everyone around me. Today I draw the line in the sand. I have to do this on my own.
Religion and spirituality in the black community has always been something that has made me sit up and take notice. In my opinion, it lacks genuineness. This is based not only on my own experiences, but also the experiences of friends and family members. Here are my reasons below:
#1: There is an almost bullying into Christianity.
Most black people start going to church right out of the womb. Somewhere around age 9, there is a subtle pushing towards joining the church. By age 13, you will be reminded nearly everyday that you are not a member of Hold My Mule While I Shout Missionary Baptist AME Zion Church. In my hometown, our local paper publishes a bio of every high school graduate. It contains awards and accomplishments of the graduating senior, where they plan to go to college, parents' names….and what church they are a member of. At 17 I had still not been baptized (I know….the horror!) My mother pushed me for a whole year to join my home church so that there will be something to say about it in the paper. Ummm….what?! It was then that I realized joining the church is more like a social stage of life, a coming out party of sorts where you present yourself to the world as a Christian. I take my faith a little more seriously than that. There is a problem when you force young people into accepting Christ at an age when they don't really know what all that entails. You end up with a generation of adults that think just because they got dipped in water, they are free and clear with the Lord. I don't subscribe to that kind of behavior. I know that there are some people that accept Christ early and lead the life that they are supposed to. But often times….youth and the process of growing up overshadows your faith unless you have more guidance than "join the church!"
What does James H. Bell, Tyrone Forbes, Edwin House, Bruce Curtis Leon Dupree, Clarence Garrison and Willie L. Jefferson all have in common? They are pastors that have been arrested for sexual abuses against their parishioners. And in some of the cases, several have been convicted.
It is a fact that sexual abuse goes under-reported in communities of color. Now let's take that fact and apply it when it comes to outing a pastor, deacon, bishop, or other clergymen and women who serve as high power figures in black communities. Not only is it complicated, but in some instances it can be dangerous.
The recent Eddie Long church scandal has magnified an oft-overlooked flaw in the black community. We exempt our "leaders", and more readily, our religious leaders from moral or ethical scrutiny. And when this happens, we participate in our own oppression.
With the past 10 years of sexual abuse cover-ups, lawsuits and scandals becoming a mainstay in the Catholic church and among white clergymen, there is a notion among some black church members that their black pastors are absolved from this sin. It is as if their pastors' erections are somehow different, more divine, thus are stuck in the right orifices.
And in some instances, the victim at the church becomes the predator or the enemy in the eyes of church members---resulting in a collective exile, or one that is self-imposed due to the rejection from people they thought loved them as children of Christ.
OK, so today I have Jesus on my mind. No, not the little brown dude from Mexico; sorry, this isn't another one of my pro-immigration reform posts you love so much. Instead, I feel like talking about the white, sandal wearing, hippie looking dude - yeah, the wine making carpenter.
So anyway, ironically for the past few days I've been pondering this question:
If Jesus was a woman, would she be as famous today as he is?
I asked a couple of friends a few days ago and we've all concluded that we probably would not have heard her story. Personally, I happen to think that she would have died a lot sooner than the legendary guy on the cross. I dunno, but images of witches burnt at the stake come to mind. Which is really ironic because if it wasn't for Christianity there would be no witch hunts.
I mean let's be honest, folks: judging by today's standards and structure of male patriarchy, the biblical days were pretty damn sexist. Yep, and women were reduced to property one level up from cattle in my opinion. Sure, there are positive stories of women in the bible, but even they had to, as The Rock would say, "know their role." And today, this is one of my points of contention with Christianity and the worship of Jesus Christ by believers, and more specifically women. But hey, per the bible Jesus loved the chicks too.
I mean why wouldn't he? According to the "story", a woman is responsible for man's fall from grace with God, and it took the birth of a man from a white virginal platinum-plated uterus, to bring salvation to the world. That being the case, it's only natural for him to pity the women who threw their panties on the stage at his concerts. You know, sorta in a "don't worry baby, it ain't your fault; these niggas ain't shit and I got you," kinda way? You know, those black women who are obviously less virtuous than white women; black women who just can't find a man, so they run to the church like momma and grandma told them to?
Yeah I know it sounds kinda crazy but that's just how RiPPa's twisted mind sees it; and also, it didn't help that he watched this weeks episode of The Boondocks. For those of you who saw it, on the surface it appeared to be possibly the greatest dig at Tyler Perry, who in a few years has become the closest thing to a Black Pope the Negro kind has seen. Before he came along all black church goers did was eat at buffets and get fat. Now, because of Tyler Perry, they can eat at buffets and have conversations about his moviesas they get fat.
Early Sunday morning sex is the best sex ever. You know that early morning, damn I feel fresh after a good night's sleep sex? Yeah, on an early Sunday morning, it's the best. The only downside to Sunday morning sex is turning the TV on afterward to see some preacher-man talking about the Lord. Yep, after one of the best orgasms of the week, that can be a downer. And that's how my day started today.
After getting out of bed and getting all fresh, I decided to hop in the ride and go to my neighborhood walk track, to get my 2mls in for the day. As I got in the car I turned on my radio instead of my beloved Mos Def CD, "Black On Both Sides". I tuned in to my local hip hop and R&B station - something I almost never do given the type of garbage they play that they call music - but this morning, I did.
Feeling kinda good about myself before I pulled off, I started bobbin my head to the song they were playing. I never heard the song before but it was the same typical southern style Lil Johnesque, Dirty South, straight out of Atlanta garbage. But like I said, I was feeling pretty good so I bobbed my head.
I started listening to the lyrics, and I heard the hook, "rollin down the street with my top down, listening to Jesus music." Huh? Jesus music? Really? On some thugged out sounding shit? Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking. As I drove off I listened further and it was then I realized that I was listening to a Sunday morning hip hop gospel show. I was stunned. So now I'm wondering, when did Jesus get thugged out? And does he have a grill in his mouth??
Seriously, if I hadn't known any better or cared about lyrical content, I would have thought that what I was hearing was the hottest shit in the clubs today. Yes, the music was seriously like that, and adding a few Lil John yells and screams would have probably made the song a well known hit. Bottom line: the shit was banging! All that was missing was a few choice bitches and hoes referenced here and there, but they did at least stay on message. They did talk about bling, ballin, and the rest of the common elements of hip hop culture, within the music, but they did manage to keep it in perspective by it all being blessings from God.
Oh well, you gotta get with the times if you wanna get your message across I guess. And you gotta get them early. You can't expect some old geezer to be gettin' "crunk" up in church like the kids do with the same tired old Negro spirituals. Way to go Jesus, you and the crew did a good thing. Because if what I read recently is true, Black people are now claiming no religion more than ever before. Yup, there are more Black Atheists today openly than any other time in our American History. According to the American Religious Identification Survey released last week, about 11% of the Black population are not into the whole religion thing like me.
"The first indication of an increase in the percentage of blacks who claim "no religion" was in the 2001 survey, with a jump from 6 percent in 1990 to 11 percent in 2001. In the overall population, the percentage of people claiming to have no religion increased from 14.2 percent in 2001 to 15 percent in the current study.
The trend on "no religion" in the ARIS report is similar to a study released last year by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. That report showed that people really are losing their religion; 16.1 percent of Americans say they are not affiliated with any particular faith—double the percentage of people who said they were not affiliated with any particular religion as children." - source
This is why I think Jesus needs to go ahead and buy BET. If Jesus bought BET, chances are, using the musical format I heard today, throw in the already naked women on BET, he could win some much needed Negroes over; especially the young ones. And you know that whatever Negroes deem as hot, "other folks" tend to follow, right? Seriously, if Jesus did it and snatched BET and MTV from Viacom, with a good marketing strategy and campaign, he could make a comeback. You know, kinda like Michael Steele hopes to do with the republican party? Yes, just like that. Uh huh, and Jesus would appear on 106th & Park like Jay Z or Kanye West from time to time.
Of course I don't like the combination of religion and politics, but it really doesn't bother me if people are catching the Holy Ghost up in the club. I mean why not! They do it every Sunday in church after sipping a shot glass of wine. Hell, up in the club, if Jesus was there, there'd probably be less violence, and baby momma drama. Chances are, if MC Jesus told me to "Walk This Way" instead of RUN-DMC back in the day, I may not be so turned off on religion as I am today. Come to think of it, I would have probably been apt to listen to the preacher-man on TV after I had sex this morning.
“He who warned uh, the British that they weren't gonna be takin' away our arms, uh by ringing those bells, and um, makin' sure as he's riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that we were going to be sure and we were going to be free, and we were going to be armed.” -- Sarah Palin on Paul Revere
