MY PROBLEM WITH MSKAF1′S YOUTUBE VIDEO

I’m sure we have all seen MsKaf1′s video in which she does an excellent job taking down Eddie Long.

My only concern is that she believes that magical beliefs are the solution.

Her advice to “read the bible for yourself” and “trust in god only” etc, are all good until you realize that she’s basically promoting the same kind of behavior she critizies in Long’s followers.

I like her video, and I think she makes a lot of great points, but ultimately her video is part of the problem and not the solution.

There’s a lot to be taken away from the Eddie Long scandal, but I don’t know how I feel about the further reinforcement of magical beliefs being one of them.

Sexual abuse, sexual assault, hypocrisy, homophobia, and a host of other things need to be discussed, and I think putting the focus back on magical beliefs only gets in the way of that.

WAKE UP!

We are in a slumber and the slumber that we are in is having devastating affects on the black community. At a time when black women account for 61% of all new HIV infections among women, black youth account for 69% of all new HIV infections among teens, and when homicide is the leading cause of death of black men ages 18-34. I would like to think that given grim statistics like those, that we would be willing and ready wake up and take action, and yet we sleep.

For many blacks we simply cannot conceive of a life that is not based on magical or mythical beliefs. Sure, we will eagerly dismiss Santa, the Tooth Fairy, and Rumpelstiltskin, but when it comes to that Christian mythology many of us have been indoctrinated to believe, we just can’t seem to pass it up. So of course what you get is generation after generation that feels that their magical beliefs are special and that no one can question or critique said magical beliefs because they say they are special. If you try to have a conversation on illiteracy in the black community, HIV/AIDS in the black community, crime in the black community, of course blacks who believe in magic want a seat at the table, and not only that they want their magical beliefs to influence the way we go about combating those aforementioned ills of the black community.

I cannot stress enough that the very magical beliefs that have helped to create the problems that we currently have in the black community cannot be looked to as the solutions to the black communities problems.

We have been a churching and praying and holy ghosting people for decades and in light of that things have gotten worse not better. We simply can no longer dismiss issues affecting our community as, “The devil being busy.” We can no longer gloss over the hypocrisy in our churches as, “Put it in gods hands,” we can no longer start conversations based on the premise that, “Gods ways our not our ways.” If we continue to do these kind of things, incorporate these magical beliefs into our dialog, we will never be able to have the honest and open conversations that we so desperately need to have.

In a lot of ways the Bishop Eddie Long sexual abuse scandal broke the camels back for me. As a secular humanist I have long been concerned with the hypocrisy in the black church, and have spoken out on it many times, but seeing this saga unfold has really taken me to a new level of vigor when it comes to challenging my community and trying with all my might to get us to wake up from our slumber.

We are constantly told by those who believe in magic that they do so because they have “faith,” and yet as soon as the Bishop was accused of sexual assault, the first thing the same Christians who demand faith yelled was, “Those young men need to prove that the pastor did what they said.” To me it’s just a window into how sick and disgusting things haven gotten. Citing faith when it suits their magical beliefs and demanding proof when it doesn’t.

We are coming to a point in the black community where religious beliefs, magical beliefs, and mythical beliefs, are just not going to cut it anymore. We know the problems and we need solutions and those solutions are not going to come from reinforcing the same magical beliefs that led to our current problems.

WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO WAKE UP and look at things from the standpoint of facts, evidence, reason, and science!

Thinking back to a movie that many blacks love, “School Daze.” We are going to have to take heed to the message at the end of that movie, we are going to have to wake up.

A MATCH MADE IN DISCRIMINATION HEAVEN

Mr. and Mrs. Patriarchy

Request the honor of your presence
At the marriage of their daughter

Heterosexism

To

White Supremacy

Thursday, the twenty third of September
Two thousand and ten
Half past 6 o’ clock in the evening

The inn at oppression
1000 closed minded drive
Crestview, Florida

*Discrimination immediately following the ceremony*

Brides Bio: The bride specializes in the marginalization of gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals within society.

Grooms Bio: The groom specializes in promoting the belief that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds.

HOW THE BLACK COMMUNITY KILLED HETEROSEXUALITY

A tombstone needs to be erected over the unmarked grave known as sane heterosexuality. On April 14, 2004 the black community killed heterosexuality and left in it’s wake a community obsessed with every move and mannerism in a sad attempt to determine who is gay and who is straight.

“R.I.P. to Heterosexuality” the tombstone should read.

You see ever since the rise of the sensational and pathologic notions about sexual orientation and sexual identity that swept the country and particularly the black community around the year 2004 the black community has been literally the walking dead when it comes to addressing the sexuality of members in it’s community. We have become zombies fresh for human brain, but the brain we hunger for is any sign that a black man is gay.

Take for example a recent picture of NBA player Chris Bosh.

There Bosh sat with his fiance, but for some strange reason he decided to cross his legs which is a no no in the black community which is obsessed with the way men perform their gender. We insist that anything other than a very rigid hyper masculine performance is a chief indicator of a black man who is “one of those gays.”

TheYBF.com, a black blog notorious for fanning flames of homophobia and gender rigidity was quick to lead the foray into speculating on the sexual orientation of Chris Bosh.

A caption under the picture read, “Oh…ok Chris,” which in the black community generally means that an implication of homosexuality is at play. The comments on TheYBF.com weren’t any better, comment after comment accused the basketball player of being on the down low, one of the gays, and everything in between.

It would be one thing if incidents like this were the exception, but the black communities lynch mob like dealings with sexuality have led me to conclude that sane heterosexuality is dead. Somewhere in 2004 when JL King was given the platform to peddle his misinformation and outright lies to gullible black women, the black community killed off heterosexuality and left in its place a community scarred. No one is heterosexual in the black community, especially black men. Every black man is a leg crossing, pink shirt wearing, limp wrist, pedicure away from being gay. Every move a black man makes is seen through the lens of whether or not he is one of the gays.

I hate to say it but heterosexuality is dead in the black community and the black community is who killed it. We all took knives and stabbed heterosexuality in the stomach, arms, and neck. We all gleefully murdered heterosexuality to benefit our own ignorant notions about gender performance and sexual orientation. We happily watched heterosexuality die and patted ourselves on the back when it did. If we didn’t think that HIV was doing a good enough job of tainting our notions about sexuality in the black community, our obsession with masculine performance and the “Down low” stupidity surely drove black heterosexuality to an early death.

I suppose we can pay our respects and give resolutions and acknowledgements to that short lived heterosexuality that once seemed to be somewhat respected in the black community. But April 14, 2004, heterosexuality has been dead in the black community.

Rest In Peace.

THE CHURCH INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX

Church, it's big business.

If you’re looking for a industry to enter where the profits are high and the losses are minimal. Curious as to what that market is? None other than the church industry. The Church Industrial Complex. Wikipedia states, that the “Prison Industrial Complex” is a term used to attribute the rapid expansion of the US inmate population to the political influence of private prison companies.The prison industrial complex as perpetuating a belief that imprisonment is a quick fix to underlying social problems such as homelessness, unemployment, drug addiction, mental illness, and illiteracy.” Sound familiar? It should. A billion dollar industry that profits off the minds of humans. And what makes this industry to lucrative is that it includes a supernatural element that comes with approval from arguably the greatest endorsement ever, a mythical being by the name of Jesus Christ.

As with any industry entrepreneurial and charismatic men and women are drawn to the industry. Like the man or woman who opens a real estate business, a franchise through McDonalds, or some other small business, individuals with profits in mind flock to the church industry to try their hand at “spiritual” capitalism. Now as with any industry not all who enter are going to succeed but for those who do the rewards can be well… otherworldly. Opening a business is a way to get wealthy as is opening a church. Making sure your church is shinier, newer, bigger, brighter, better, more technological, better music, just as in any other business and the profits will be through the roof.

Take some of the most successful “pastors” in this country. These “pastors” who operate churches that are really multi-million dollar corporations bring in millions of dollars a year all under the guise of “freeing souls.” Which is a lovely catch phrase if there ever was. Extremely marketable considering how so many people have been duped into believing that humans have souls and that said souls need saving from a mythical location of eternal torment.

Like any industry not all are extremely wealthy but many in the Church Industrial Complex are just that extremely wealthy. According to a 2003 St. Louis Post-Dispatch article, Creflo Dollar drives a black Rolls Royce and travels in a $5 million dollar jet; Benny Hinn lives in a $3.5 million home and drives an $80,000 Mercedes-Benz G500; T.D. Jakes has 2 mansions and multi billion dollar book, film, and speaking deals; Robert Tilton’s ministry owns a 50-foot yacht; Randy and Paula White’s ministry owns a jet airplane and a Cadillac Escalade and a Mercedes-Benz sedan and bring in millions of dollars each year.

Now hows that for striking it rich under the guise of “religion.”

Now the interesting thing is how stark the contrast is between those who are in the business of “freeing souls” and the consumers who come to them for worship and spiritual services. A friend of mine told me of a church in DC where the pastors themselves live in a affluent neighborhood with a thousand square foot home, but their church was in a run down factory district and most of the members were living in or just above the poverty line.

Of course some of those in the Church Industrial Complex give back, they may help a family or two keep on their lights, but most of the money being made is not going back to the consumers, those coming for spiritual guidance, it’s going into the bank accounts of the businessmen and women profiting off of the Church Industrial Complex.

In most cities there are more churches than hospitals, schools, libraries, parks, recreation centers, and homeless shelters. Unfortunately Rec centers to keep youth out of trouble and homeless shelters just aren’t as profitable as opening up a church and building it to a membership of 500.

It’s sad that the Church Industrial Complex continually profits off the minds of humans under the guise of soul freeing and spiritual guidance. It’s even sadder that until right thinking persons start calling out these businessmen and women for what they are that this will only continue.

The Pope is one of the richest men in the world but millions of children are starving around the world. And yet we continue to proclaim that “god is able” and “Jesus is good oh yes he is.”

I may be an atheist but that doesn’t sound good or able to me at all.

KNOWING THE RISK VS IGNORING THE RISK

In 2010 it’s generally assumed that most people have had exposure to some form of STD/HIV awareness. We were born into a generation where condoms were supposedly the norm. Children born in the 80′s and decades there after were supposed to be educated and inundated about HIV/AIDS. We were supposed to know that HIV was spread through bodily fluids and that unprotected sex greatly increased your chance of acquiring STD’s and HIV.

Is is safe to say that we know the risks associated with unprotected?

Do we know the risks and do we simply ignore them to suit our own human urges and desires?

How many of us continue to engage in unprotected oral and anal sex despite knowing the risks associated with them?

What can be done to increase the efficacy of STD awareness initiatives?

Is HIV/AIDS a virus/disease that thrives on the elements of poverty, lack of education, and the deeply religious?

For those who are living with STD’s did you know the risks but ignored them?

For those who are sexually active do you know the risks and continue to ignore them?

Is anyone 100% safe in their sex lives?

Is monogamy the answer?

There are many questions and much to discuss so let’s have at it.

PIEDMONT PARK: WHAT PEOPLE SAY VS REALITY

Anytime there is a gay event that draws large crowds of gay men and women the stereotypes are sure to fly. Add the City of Atlanta to the mix and what you get is something much more spiteful. I had never been to Piedmont park but from what I had heard from many other gay men I had expected nothing short of anarchy. Although what I experienced was the exact opposite.

I had heard that there would be lots of j-setting and fighting with the occasion of mace and perhaps worse. What I witnessed were gay men and women doing what most people do enjoying themselves. The atmosphere was very friendly and all the people I met were very cordial. I was surprised by the number of children present but it makes sense since many gay men and women are parents and probably wanted to share the park experience with their children.

The crowd for the most part was laid back and relaxed. Music was playing, people were BBQ’n, and some people were walking their pets. The atmosphere reminded me of black family reunions but on a much larger scale of course and with a lot more colorful hair and clothing choices.

I did see a few possible spats from people bumping into each other on accident but nothing ever serious came of that.

I can honestly say that my park experience was a lot of fun. I got to do my favorite thing in the world which is people watch. Not to judge but just to observe humanity at work.

I guess the main idea of this story is Pride and Piedmont park are a lot like life. It’s something you have to experience for yourself and whether or not its negative depends a lot upon the person viewing it.

Hope everyone is enjoying themselves at Black Gay Pride Atlanta 2010!

GENDER PRIVILEGING: “Wassup guys” vs “Hey girls”

A lot of things go over our conditioned heads in this world and one of them is the way in which we privilege manhood over womanhood in ways that at first seem normal to us, but once examined with a finer lens real just how we are taught to conceive of the two. When speaking to a crowd we are taught that’s is perfectly fine to refer to a group of men and women using the address “Hey guys” or “Wassup guys.” This is seen as a perfectly acceptable way of addressing both men and women and most people have no qualms over being addressed as such. But on the same token saying “Hey girls” or “Wassup girls” to a group of men and women is sure to rifle the feathers of the group if not drive them to react in a similar fashion.

Even in something as casual as conversation on the phone between two friends women have felt the need to apologize to me when referring to me as girl but I have never seen a man apologize to a woman for casually referring to her as man.

This because we are taught from an early age to see womanhood as something that is insulting to a man, but manhood is something that is complimentary to a woman. The address “Hey guys” to a group of men and women is seen as a gender neutral way of addressing the group, but if an entire group is addressed as “Hey girls” we conceive of something very problematic in that address, and the men are taught to find something insulting in it. For a man to be referred to using female pronouns is not only acceptable but it’s insulting and denigrating to the male. But the opposite is not true of women being referred to using male pronouns.

This is also why the street between manhood and womanhood is often one way. It’s fine for a woman to do male things but it’s very concerning to us as a society if a man does so called female things. The woman who dresses in male attire is seen as complimenting herself, but the man who dresses in female attire is seen as degrading himself, or emasculating himself.

I challenge all people to consider the way they privilege maleness over femaleness and the way this leads to a society based on double standards and a lack of respect for one gender and praise for another.

I am a man who sees the feminine and womanly as a strength as well as the masculine and man. Call me woman, girl, sister, or whatever it doesn’t diminish my manhood and on the inverse may in fact strengthen it.