Dan Savage Is A Racist Typical Of White Gay Power Elite In North America!!!
Well, Dan Savage is at it again, he is blaming the African American community in the state of California for voting for prop 8. Savage utilizes statistics that can be manipulated to advance his anti black agenda. For example, Savage utilizes the statistic that 70% of blacks in the state of California voted for prop 8 automatically means all blacks are homophobic. Savage pathetic and ludicrous attempts to blame African Americans for voting for prop 8 only underscores the incredible racism some white gays have for black people. Only 6.2% of California’s population is African American.
According to exit polls, 53% of Hispanic voters also voted for prop 8. Does this mean that hispanics are suddenly pro gay? Also, there are more hispanics that live in California than blacks. Of course the statistic Savage loves is the fact 43% of white voters voted for prop 8. However, there is a larger white population in California than African American. Savage’s anger is not only misplaced it demonstrates his own bigotry.
It is the tired agenda of the white gay power elite to attempt to brand blacks as anti gay. However, when will the white gay elite such as Dan Savage admit they are anti black? When will the gay magazines such as Out or the Advocate publish articles about their anti black agenda?
Where was Dan Savage when the white gay comedian Charles Knipp discriminated against African Americans in California with his racist comedy act as routine as Shirley Q Liquor? Where was GLAAD? GLAAD only denounced Shirley Q Liquor after being pressured by black gay activists. Black gays proteststed Shirley Q Liquor while white gays laughed at his racist anti black jokes. When have the white gay power elite ever supported African American causes and issues? Yet suddenly, white homosexuals demand support from blacks?
Savage’s outburst is typical of the white gay power elite in North America, they think blacks owe them something for supporting Obama. There is a sense of “entitlement” some white queers have due to their white skin privilege. However, by attacking the black communities this will not advance their agenda. Savage’s outburst will only create even more hostility, and of course more friction and miscommunication. Another quandary is, communities of colour still view homosexuality as a part of white privilege and a part of the white matrix. The image society still has of gay people, is that all gay people are white. Some people still believe is that to be “gay” means to be “white”. Once again gays of colour are displaced due to racism.
In order, to bridge the gap between the white gays and black heterosexuals of course are the black gay activists. Black heterosexual people will not listen to Dan Savage, all they will see is another white man with white skin privilege. Although Dan Savage is a homosexual, he is still a white male, and still a part of the white American majority. The only form of discrimination white homosexuals encounter is due to their sexual orientation. White homosexual men have male privilege and white skin privilege.
Of course, Savage ignores the fact that the majority of people that voted for prop 8 were drum roll please….white Americans. The question remains, why doesn’t Dan Savage challenge the homophobia in white heterosexual culture? The people in the power structure that create the anti gay marriage laws and discriminate against gays through legal channels are not African Americans but whites. Therefore, Dan Savage’s anger is misplaced. Savage should be challenging the white heterosexual community yet he chooses not to since they are the ones with the political power to discriminate against gays and lesbians.
Savage refuses to challenge white culture about the deleterious homophobia. Instead, Savage chooses to paint his brush with venom by attacking blacks because since he is a white male he believes he can “patronize” and “preach” to blacks about tolerance. However, Savage’s anger just proves he is a part of the problem not the solution.
Why is Savage attacking only African Americans? The reason is due to white male skin privilege an issue that the powerful white elite in the United States refuse to acknowledge. White gay men in America although they are gay, they still have the social signifiers of gender and race due to being white and male. Savage also of course does not challenge the pernicious racism in the American gay community against gays of colour.
Of course, there is homophobia in African American communities, but there is also homophobia in white culture, Asian American culture, Native American culture as well. Just because the USA suddenly elected their first black president Barack Obama does not mean heterosexual African Americans are going to support white homosexuals.
Also, the prop 8 is a state issue for the state of California it is not a federal issue. Why doesn’t Dan Savage challege the homophobia of religious white people in the state of California? After all, there are more whites that live in California than blacks.
If white gays want the support of communities of colour they first must acknowledge and deal with the pernicious racism within the gay commmunity. Although I am not American, I have spoken to African American gays and lesbians they tell me Dan Savage’s attitude is typical of white gay America.
Gayblackcanada 
I don’t think it’s fair for you to criticize his use of generalizations with your own generalizations.
His priviledge definitely showed in his knee-jerk response to CNN’s exit poll results. Being that AA’s make up only 6.2% of populace in CA, I find it irresponsible that he didn’t consider that or the margin of error. That same information was just as available to him as it was to me.
“shannika’s diary” on DailyKos does the math on those exit polls in corellation to the percentage of AA’s in that state.
Check the link, you’d find it interesting. And great post!
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/11/7/34645/1235/704/656272
If you think Savage made a generalization about blacks voting against gay marriages, then have a look at what media across the US had to say about the issue:
· “Black voters helped ban gay marriage in California” – Detroit Free Press
· “Latin and Black Voters Instrumental to the Success of Proposition 8” – Associated Press
· “Most of California’s Black Voters Backed Gay Marriage Ban” – Washington Post
· “Black, Latino voters helped Prop. 8 pass” – LA Daily News
· “Black voters in Broward overwhelmingly supported amendment banning gay marriage” – Broward Politics
· “Black and Latino voters critical to same-sex marriage ban’s success” –San Jose Mercury News
· “Exit poll: Black voters back Calif.
marriage ban” – San Francisco Chronicle
· “Black voters helped Prop. 8 passage” – The Sacramento Bee
I guess it’s “back of the bus” for gays in the US.
Greetings, it was interesting to read your post, but I find it problematically reductive and riddled with racist assumptions.
You claim “Black heterosexual people will not listen to Dan Savage as they will see it yet again another white man with white skin privilege.” I find your statement rests upon a problematic essentialism that reduces individuals to groups according to race. “Black heterosexual people”–really? Do these people all have one mind, one opinion, one politic? You seem to think so, and you seem to have access to their group think?
This problematic appears again when you write “yet again another white man with white skin privilege” as if all white men are the same and share the same experience, the same privilege, and again, you somehow have access to this group think. I am beginning to feel an intellectual privilege seeping into your discussion as you assume omniscience when it comes to reading the motives of others.
Your ultimate assertion is also flawed for these reasons: “Why is Savage attacking African Americans? The reason is due to white male skin privilege an issue that the powerful white elite in the United States refuse to acknowledge.” Again, you are on a slippery essentialist slope, and your reading feels reductive and very mid-1990’s, and the problem is the Emperor Is Not Necessarily Wearing White Skin anymore. Heck, he is not necessarily even male anymore.
Savage errors in diction but not the structure of his content. Yes, the majority of voters were white here, and I suspect at heart this is a failure of education as such provides the potential for an empathic relation between self and other, but there is undeniably a problematic minority prejudice here.
Let’s also not forget history, and the Prop 8 exits polls are not new.
There is an established trend of contemporary minority voters taking an anti-gay position at the polls. Also, let’s not forget the history of how long the vast majority of minority churches were in the face of the AIDS epidemic.
Let’s not forget the treatment James Baldwin endured and let us not forget the closet of the Down Low culture, which is riddled with individuals falling to be honest about who they are and what they want out of cultural fear. Yeah, I had this same fear took, but sometimes, one rises above their fears and blazes a trail of freedom for self.
This is a post-theory moment, and you need a new paradigm, and you are very wrong here: “If white gays want the support of communities of colour they first must acknowledge and deal with the pernicious racism within the gay community.” There is a long history of GLBT support of race issues, and yes, there has also been racism, but you know what, there is also a ton of homophobia in the various minority communities, and Savage’s voice is symptomatic of a great many of us.
As a gay white male working-class professor, I have carried more water for the history and condition of race and misogyny than I ever have homosexuality, but a new day has dawned, and until minorities support me—and my people—by greatly reversing these numbers–I am greatly reducing their issues, concerns, and texts from my classes. It looks like GLBT people are the new mules of the world, and this one ain’t carry no more water for a movement that just left me—and my people out.
Please avoid hasty generalizations: “Although I am not American I have spoken to African American gays and lesbians they tell me Dan Savage’s attitude is typical of white gay America.” This is so hasty as to be a ridiculous assertion, and yet again, you presume one can know “typical of white gay America.” You may contend I am doing the shame, but please note distinction in my wording. Whereas you are discussing race and being quite racist, I am discussing “minority” voting trends, and the question for me in all this—will one oppressed minority step upon another as they rise or will they bring them along?
Yes, it is very clear you are not American, and it is also very clear you need to learn Her history, and acknowledge her shine. What other country would vote a minority in to its highest office? Would Britain vote an Indian as PM? Would France vote for a Muslim? No, this happened in America, and we are flawed—at the Prop 8 exit polls and vote overall show—but we are ever on our way toward actualizing a more perfect union.
“white gay comedian Charles Knipp discriminated against African Americans in California with his racist comedy act as routine as Shirley Q Liquor? Where was GLAAD?”
GLAAD Condemns Offensive “Shirley Q. Liquor” Character
Los Angeles, Tuesday, February 6, 2007 – Neil G. Giuliano, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), today condemned performance artist Charles Knipp’s “Shirley Q. Liquor” character for promoting and perpetuating ugly racial stereotypes.
The character, a staple of Knipp’s live local performances and spoken-word recordings (including a CD entitled Spirit of Ignunce), is performed in drag and blackface. “Liquor” is described as a welfare mother with 19 children, and Knipp’s depiction relies on a stereotypical misappropriation of African American dialect often associated with the South.
Recent email communications by several community members speaking out against Knipp’s performance brought his act to GLAAD’s attention, and local activists protested a scheduled – and subsequently canceled – performance in Los Angeles.
“While our work at GLAAD is about promoting fair, accurate and inclusive media representations of the LGBT community, this issue has risen to a level of visibility and importance that we feel compelled to add our voice to those speaking out against this awful portrayal,” Giuliano said. “Based on what we have heard from community members and read about this character, we are joining those taking a stand against Knipp’s offensive caricature.”
“We recognize that this performer has a right to free speech and expression, but we also have the right to condemn his performance and speak out against this harmful depiction,” Giuliano added. “This performance perpetuates ugly racial stereotypes that are offensive, hurtful and simply unacceptable, and we are urging our constituents to visit glaad.org so that they can express their concerns to the venues at which Knipp is expected to perform in the coming months.”
Orville,
I’m thrilled you are back and hope you are well…
Thoughts this was interesting.
Kia
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lee-stranahan/four-lessons-gay-marriage_b_142469.html
Orville, you and Dan deserve each other.
You lost me at “White Gay Power Elite.”
Elitism is the cry of the logically bankrupt, an inflammatory word designed to make people think, rationally or not, “This person thinks he’s better than me.” Hence we had a Presidential candidate who was painted as both “elitist” and “Socialist,” a pretzel of an argument if there ever was one. But it nonetheless stuck, a bit, for some.
It’s a childish argument designed to stir base emotions, and I fear is much of the weight of your post. Stereotyping goes both ways, and I fear your references to “white gays” are equally as offensive as Savage. As a white gay, I don’t see eye-to-eye with Savage — why am I being unfairly maligned in your post?
Oh, wait — I guess I’m an elitist.
If 70% of African-Americans voted for Prop 8, does that mean all AA’s are homophobic? No! Only 7 out of 10 are, that’s what the “%” symbol is for.
Does it mean that Hispanics are pro-gay if only 53% voted for Prop 8? No! 53% is larger than 50. Hispanics are, generally speaking, homophobic.
Of course, if 43% of whites voted for Prop 8? Guess what 3 out of 5 whites ARE pro-gay.
Yes 6.2% of Californians are black, so that’s not that many votes. And there were, on a headcount basis, more whites that blacks that voted for Prop 8. Guess what, homophobia still exists (just like racism does). But if blacks (and Latinos) were proportionally as pro-gay as whites, Prop 8 would have failed.
On an individual basis, we should be blaming and trying to convert then homophobes. However, demographically, it makes sense to look for those homophobes among the black community (and Fresno, of course).
Looks like you need a refresher course in statistics.
Oh, and why else aren’t the 43% of whites being criticized for being homophobic. Well, to be white and homophobic is merely, well, homophobic. To be black and homophobic is homophobic AND hypocritical! Blacks reap the benefits of civil rights and then deny them to others. That’s the very definition of uppity.
@ Fact Checker GLAAD only denounced Shirley Q Liquor after black gay activists protested Shirley Q Liquor at events across the USA. Also it wasn’t until the LA Times ran an article BASHING GLAAD due to pressure from black gay activists did Knipp change his tune. GLAAD was very SLOW to respond to the protests and the concerns of black gays and lesbians. GLAAD only made their statement after political PRESSURE from black gays and lesbian activists.
The problem I have with white gays is they see ONLY care about WHITE GAY RIGHTS. White gays do not care about black gays, Asian American gays, Native American gays and lesbians. All white gays care about is issues that affect white gays because of WHITE SKIN PRIVILEGE. Race + class + gender + sexual orientation are ALWAYS interconnected.
White gay men aren’t stopped by the police when they enter certain areas of a city due to their race, they aren’t carded at gay bars due to race.
Thank you Mr.Lloyd-Douglas for criticizing the smug Savage,it’s about time someone did.I have always disliked Dan Savage because he is so self-righteous, and on everything else but gay/lesbian rights he’s a Republican.He supported attacking Iraq(which is a corporate/racist/imperialist war),he uses the language of misogyny yet claims to care about women,insults people in the same way any homophobe would, and Savage is very insensitive to people who for various important reasons cannot be openly same sex attracted and/or loving.It’s just like you have said ,I have never heard or seen him pay attention to race or ethnicity in any meaningful way.I am Canadian too and I think Americans are so quick to divide themselves and lay blame that they miss the fact that the most powerful people in America(rich straight White guys) depend on racial,sexual,gender,class,religious,and ability divisions to maintain inequality.They love it when marginalized groups fight each other.It seems that most people involved have forgotten what June Jordan and Coretta Scott-King have said about racism and homophobia.
As an African-American gay male, I should be shocked by what I’ve heard thus far in WeHo and other places – all the racial slurs that have been hurled.
But interestingly, I haven’t been…..
I think it’s because of all the slurs I’ve already heard over years in gay bars and on gay websites. I mean really – is there such a difference between “NO BLACKS” and “N***ER”? I guess for me, it’s all the same. Exclusion is exclusion. Bigotry is bigotry. The only difference is that now, it’s not followed by the obligatory “SORRY JUST A PREFERENCE”. Now they don’t need to excuse their prejudice and hate.
Looks like we’ve finally broke open very thin layer of skin where underneath lay a festering wound. There has been separation for years within the gay community. White Gay Pride. Black Gay Pride. Are we really surprised this occurred? I’m not. It was inevitable.
For some reason most (white) gay men feel that because they’re gay, they immediately can brush off the American heritage of racial division. Not addressing it for years was the eventual climactic flash point destine to erupt about a topic too long ignored.
I’ve read repeatedly that “we” (African-Americans) should realize how (white) gay people feel. We do, but you don’t realize how we feel because in almost every at-large community gay event minorities are just excluded. Ever pick up Out Magazine lately? The only people of color were in HIV medication advertisements.
When I see the Rainbow Flag, I don’t think of “diversity” I think of white gay and lesbians, not necessarily a community that’s open to me. If I truly want to feel that way……
Well….
I have to go to Montreal or Europe (minus the UK) for that experience.
Yes it appears I opened a wound here by speaking my mind but nobody is going to silence me or tell me what I can or cannot write on my blog.
I am not surprised at the bigotry of the white gay male community it is the reason I wrote this piece.
On the one hand, you have some of these hypocritical racist white gay men such as Dan Savage complaining about being “discriminated” against due to their sexual orientation. However, some of these white gay men are a part of the problem they have white skin privilege they have male privilege. Yet the ONLY concerns of the white gay male community of course is about WHITE GAY RIGHTS.
As a black gay man I am not just “black” and I am not just “gay” my race + sexual orientation + culture+ class are ALL INTERCONNECTED. It is the reason I have lost a lot of faith with the so called “mainstream gay community.”
I don’t give a fuck about OUT and ADVOCATE because those magazines are clearly about WHITE GAYS ONLY.
I think this is one the reasons I started my blog it is about claiming my SPACE and letting my voice be heard. Canada isn’t much better although the white gays up here and the white heterosexuals act as though Canada is some multicultural paradise it is NOT.
In fact, I believe in America the issue of RACISM is actually discussed more openly and frequently in the USA MEDIA than north of the border.
There is too much hypocrisy and bullshit going on in the gay culture.
I agree the “white” gay community is very hypocritical here there is so much racial exclusion in the gay community for gays of colour. However, when white gay men are discriminated against they suddenly want the support of people of colour. There is something called reciprocity and when have white gays ever supported black gays and black heterosexuals?
Let’s call it what it really is shall we? It is not a secret that white gay men feel, by the nature of their sexuality, with a sense of entitlement that ultimately betrays their racism. Rants like Savage’s show and expose the genuine feelings of a rather large part of the white bourgeois gay elites.
Oh and Marco, thanks for nothing, if this “As a gay white male working-class professor, I have carried more water for the history and condition of race and misogyny than I ever have homosexuality, but a new day has dawned, and until minorities support me—and my people—by greatly reversing these numbers–I am greatly reducing their issues, concerns, and texts from my classes” is your idea of justice, fuck you. Instead hyperbole and attempts at obscure “paradigms” you were honest with the underlying motivation for your rant I might respect it. Minorities are not asking YOU for support, if you choose to raise those issues it should be about the fact that you are merely telling the truth about a long history of injustice. THATS IT, this is not a tit for tat, and nothing fills me with more annoyance than white folks talking about “my people”.
I won’t even bother to comment on “Her history” as that would take another book. You betray your socio political bourgeois leanings not to mention your pedantic and condescending views with this bullshit about minorities.
Savage went after Rick Warren and the Mormon church too. It’s just particularly disappointing that after years of fighting for their own equality, 70% of the African-American community would vote against equality for gay people.
Mister, ask you fellow gay white brothers if they would like to trade races with you…Nah, that’s a long as wait
I’m a straight black man from TEXAS is against discrimination towards gays; however, if this Savage guy keeps blaming and talking trash about the gay community, the GLAAD movement will NEVER get black vote.
Being WHITE AND GAY and NOT THE SAME AS being BLACK AND GAY; like Chris Rock said in one of his stand-ups, being white is like having $5.00 in your picket…being black is like being 50 cents short. You’re a double minority.
The white gays claims they fought for Black civil rights; I didn’t see that many white men hanging from trees in the South back in the day, nor did I see white men who stated that they were eopenly gay and they were fight for black civil rights.
Damn, I meant this: if this Savage guy keeps blaming and talking trash about the BLACK community, the GLAAD movement will NEVER get black vote.
My bad, bro…
Hmmm…why haven’t white homosexuals protested in black neighborhoods and in front of black churches?
“If white gays want the support of communities of colour they first must acknowledge and deal with the pernicious racism within the gay commmunity. Although I am not American I have spoken to African American gays and lesbians they tell me Dan Savage’s attitude is typical of white gay America.”
Lovely use of the word “pernicious”, but an even better way to invalidate your entire argument by closing with this passage. Thank you for being racist and generalizing “white gay America”… we’re not all the same on this side of “white gay America”. Obviously you find it okay to point out Dan Savage’s supposed “racist” behavior, but have no trouble making your own sweeping generalizations about groups of people. Newsflash: that’s racism.
It’s racist to hold black people responsible for anything they say or do. WAH!!! *Sarcasm*
I thank Dan Savage for having the balls to speak the truth knowing full well he would be called a racist by blacks who wanted no public discussion of this issue. No matter how much you try to intimidate people like Dan Savage the issue is well known; blacks are significantly more anti-gay than any other racial group. Don’t come begging white gay people for help when you haven’t done anything to help yourself and in turn label white gay people racist.
And don’t label white gay men racist because they don’t want to date you. It’s their bodies and they decide who they share it with.
Jake your comments about my love life are ignorant, childish, and very immature. You don’t know me and you don’t know my love life. I never said blacks can’t be homophobic. However, you are ignoring the fact WHITE PEOPLE have the social, economic, and political power to discriminate against homosexuals in America NOT black people.
Jake’s comment: “It’s their bodies and they decide who they share it with.” I think that’s true with gays, straights, in all races and nationalities. Just don’t make it seem like white gays are the sh00! Because they are average at best.
Nothing sexy or passionate about white gay males, if you ask me. Racist? No, just my opinion. They walk around with this air of superiority. Acting worse than a DIVA. I believe they do act with a sense of entitlement. White gay business owners, are just as bad or worse than a heterosexual, racist, white male. The only difference is that one likes it from behind.
Zoe was so sexy in Avatar…. I don’t know why Vanity Fair snubbed her.
Ugh Dan Savage is annoying and besides being racist he’s also highly biphobic, transphobic, misogynistic, and he has a “sex advice” column yet he’s afraid of people who are actually out about being into a kink or into BDSM or a fetish. Look these things up. He also makes jokes about rape to people who have been raped and said something mean and vulgar to a woman who had been raped who did not want to have sex with her husband basically telling her to STFU and stop being a sh!t. He is also very Poz phobic and ignores the fact that you can have safer/low risk sex with someone who is HIV+ and not get infected with HIV.
I’m not sure why the Gay White male community here worships him since he’s nothing but a conceited A-hole who got his start answering people’s questions in a mean and vindictive way in a free Seattle paper. His whole “It gets better” project is a total joke too since it’s all about making him money, self promotion, and it was about him getting a reality TV show on MTV not about helping GLBT youth at all. If you go on American gay white male blogs like JoeMyGod you’ll see nothing but how people worship him and totally ignore all of the bad things he has ever said or done and act as though he’s St. Mother Theresa.
Dan Savage is a motherfucker and I do like the label “White Gay Power Elite.” In my experience, it’s what most gay men aspire to, even though there’s very little room at the top. The reason I’ve come to hate him? I always had a hunch he was full of crap, but his past support for the war in Iraq-something which has made life horrible for all Iraqis and has put Iraqi gays in a dangerous situation they’d not faced before-is something I’ve only recently found out about. I really do find him despicable.