I would like to have Mr. Jackson’s address so that I can educate him to the fact that
Gays did indeed “Survive the Holocaust”, but moreso to the point, many did not as they were also the targets of opression and annihilation, from people very similar to himself.
The fact that Mr. Jackson is moved to express dislike and to fain misunderstanding for these or for any gay who choses to come out, paints a clear picture of his mindet – it is one of hate.

Let’s just give these businesses a piece of our minds:
ExcellStyle Magazine
http://www.excellstyle.com
U.S. Africa Magazine
http://www.usafricaonline.com

Oh,Beside the fact that gay people are discriminated against, one of the best reasons to come out publicly is that it discomforts and annoys people like Raynard Jackson. It’s fun!

Eye rolling at best.What's interesting is that they are many like him who feign ignorance on said subject matter and really don't need to be educated. Why? Well, unlike being gay, they willingly CHOOSE be oblivious about. No need for a high profile people to come out, especially a POC, in a era deemed progressive but with so much hostility toward LGBT, especially those of color? Really?

And again with the fucking life style choices.Yep, I expect the absolute worst from people like this man. My question is…..What makes Republicans/Conservatives think they're anything position to disapprove of anything we do? Don't worry, the feeling is mutual and I find them quite disgusting and ammoral as they find me. You guys disapprove of our existence, period. Be honest and stop being so P.C. and quit with your bogus claims of gay friends or and what not. Again, a group complaining about political correctness in today's society and they still mangage to be exactly that…..P.C.

with this statement“Would the media react the same way to someone who publicly admitted they had a drug problem, alcohol problem, or a stealing problem? Should they be portrayed as heroes too?”
One might think this guy is getting his talking points from the Obama Justice Dept.

As requested…Dear Mr. Jackson,
It might surprise you to hear this, but I agree with youon the point of it being enough.
Where we differ, however, is on what we’ve had enough of. To the end of explaining what I mean by that, I give you the following.
I care. What you may find hard to be lieve, however, is that I don’t care about their sex lives — but, this is not that bad a thing since they are not, in fact, talking about their sex lives.
They are speakin gout about their love lives, their lives in general, and the impact of people telling them that they don’t want to hear about what those people decide, for no reason other than their own puerile and morbid preconceptions, is little more than their sex lives.
This, Mr. Jackson, while they are, in turn, expected to hear about the sex lives of every two bit starlet, overpaid sports player, and politico on the news, in the trade rags, and generally everywhere one looks.
I have no doubt that it is of no concern to you whom they chose to be romantic with.  The same applies to me — but what does matter is that they be allowed to provide the expression of their lives, which are different from yours due to the social pressures that you are encouranging here with your venting of frustration so that other people are allowed to see that yes, you can indeed have success in a field you may choose to enter, and you can do so when you are gay.
I am someone who is called gay, and yet, sir, I am not.  Indeed, “gay” for me, becomes  amatter of whatever someone else decides, without bothering to give me, personally, any more thought or consideration than they would a turnip truck.
And I, sir, am a member of that very public that they speak about.
And yes, for your information, I do have a right to know, just as you do.  That right is granted to me in a little phrase you may be familiar with, since our predecessors found themselves often denied it: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It falls into that last part, you see.  The pursuit of happiness.  I have a right to that, just as you do, and part of the pursuit to that happiness is knowng that people who in this country are often used as political footballs and subjected to social ostracizing and what effectively amounts to childhood abuse — however unintentional — are able to overcome those obstacles and succeed without the thing that is at the root of so much of that holding them back.
I’m fairly certain that you could,if you so chose, see a parallel there.  I’ll skip over it in direct, and allow the oblique reference remain such, in order to move forward through your letter.
You literally ask if someone is kidding you when they express a commitment to honesty — are you suggesting that honesty, that truthfulness is a bad thing?
I certainly don’t expect that you are, but that same sort of logical fallacy is what you use when you make the connection between someone saying they are gay having something to do with their sex life.
It sounds good, and I understand that you are in the business of saying things that sound good to others, even if they really aren’t true or  actually logical in the way they are constructed.
In my religious belief, that’s called dishonesty, and that may be why I am moved to respond to your complaint at this time, especially since you quote this section about honesty and then proceed to mock it.
You ask what does his sexual preference have to do with a story?
Allow me to note that he isn’t talking about his sexual preference.  HE’s talking about his sexual orienation — those are two very different things. Preference might be for some well dressed guy with rock hard abs much like you or I have our particular preferences for specific things about some people — but sexual orienation is what governs a much broader concept surrounding the nature of his attraction to sex and gender only.
And that, too, is an act of dishonesty on your part — which I honestly don’t think you are fully aware of, because of the ease with which you make that assertion — I think you’ve been had by the same forces that he’d been had by for so long before he summoned the courage to make such a statement.
But, back tot he subject of what his sexual orienation has to do with his job.  It impacts his ability to do his job when he’s essentially told that he shouldn’t talk about it, that he should be on guard against someone finding out about it lest it affect his ability to do his job — which, I’ll remind you, is part of that pursuit of happiness.
In other words, since partof his job is to report on the ways in which people engage in their pursuit of happiness, denying him the freedom to be himself is, in fact, hampering his ability to be able to to fullyunderstand what that means and be able to report on it accurately, since he is, thereafter, always seeing it through the lens of something he is otherwise denied.
And I remind you, again, that I am not gay.  And yet, despite that, because I am often subjected tot he same abuses he is socially, I am familiar withthat, and I can see that — whereas you appear to have a similar problem in seeing the “other side” — which is esential for impartiality.
I am trans.  I could explain wht that means to you, but I think for the purposes here, I’ll leave it at that, lest you decide to ask me for information like my income (nothing), my home address (readily available), my cell and home numbers (a singular number, also readily available), my social security number (which you can pay dearly for just like everyone else), the anme and address of my parents (same as mine, since they are dead and one is in a box in the garage), etc.
AMazing what you can get if you want, isn’t it?
Now, why would I freely share all of that information?
Seriously, dwell on that thought and come up with an answer.  Report that answer, as you would expect a journalist to do.
Now, I’m pretty certain that you will think of several reasons if you try, but that because you don’t understand the particulars of my viewpoint, that you would find it most difficult to do more than make wild guesses — despite the fact that I’ve made such reasons public already in the past.
And that is just one example of why he isn’t kidding you, and why such hoensty and openness is important for the job he is supposed to be doing.
As a columnist, one would expect you, if you were an ethical sort of columnist, to be aware of such.
It is my business, as well.
And I understand that you are having difficulty with why and perhaps even how this is my business.
Again, the answer lies in the examplar that he provides — that all of them provide. And, to understand it, you have to understand what it is like to be a member of a group of people that are constantly told how less valued they are in society, constantly reminded that they are not allowed the same expression of their rights and their freedoms as people who are “less different” than they are.
All of which leads up to an error you make.
You say this will not make them better at their jobs.  THis is incorrect.  Indeed, there are, literally, scientific studies to support the oppsoite of what you say — it literally makes them better at their jobs most of the time.
Which might surprise you, since you appear to be uninformed on the subject.
As to your note, do you really think that if you were to admit to a co worker that you were a christian that it could be construed as workplace harassment in the United States?  If so, then you also lack a strong familiarity with what constitutes workplace harrasment.
And you should do some research before you say something that is as foolish as that ever again.
Now, it could be such if you did more than merely admit soemthing that I am certain every colleague you work with already knows, simply because if you are a good christian you go to church, and if you are in any of the typical places that someone expressing your views and coming fromt eh background you have would be in the job you have, that you see many of those coworkers doing the same thing and that you mention it off an on in things like your oaths and your overall philosphy about things.
Including things like not understanding whyit is so important that people who are oppressed — who are knocked down by the man — need positive role models to look up to and to admire and maybe even to make silly jokes about next to the water cooler.
Especially when you consider that one of the “Celebrities” that’s nominally of my sexual orientation is better known for misbehavior and red hair.
You would think they’d just survived the Holocaust.
I find it rather fitting you would use that phrase, as it conjures certain very storng and emotional imagery in the minds of readers.  Its meant to, and in this case you seek to capitalize on the misery of one oppressed group to make it seem like the suffering of a nother oppressed gorup isn’t really all that bad.
Nevermind that your doing so reduces the horrible, brutal damage that that thing speaks to — and let us ignore the fact that that inhmanity you invoke led to people like msyelf being subjected tot he same treatment as all the others that were burned, starved, abused, and worse.  Nevermind that invoking that when black and gay men would have been among the first to be brutally destroyed in that very event.
Let’s note that this is a man who has grown up in a country that ostracized him every day multiple times a day and sent him messages in everything he’s seen and everywhere he’s gone that he is not only “bad” but “less than” — and let us note that we now know that doing that very thing is no different from beating him with a baseball bat.
You are up on the latest sceince about the damage done by ostracizing and rejecting people, aren’t you?  I mean, I probably shouldn’t expect that much of you since you are, after all, struggling with this.
Surely you’ve never heard anyone speak about the ills of being gay in public anytime in the last what, 35 years? No one has ever said that he shouldn’t be able to adopt kids or get married or work in the government or go to war in order to die with honor for his country.
If you had, then perhaps you’d realize that eachof these men ahs, to a great extent, survived a sort of miniature, personal holocaust — they have endured a form of imprisonment and torture at the hands of people who are not all that different from you.
And this is their escape from that prison, this speaking out.
ANd they are speaking out in orde to help others find the strength and courage to escape theirs, since so many of us are subjected to exactly this kind of treatment each and every day.
You say that gay people are protected by laws.
Tell me, sir, what law protects gay people from being told they cannot marry — a right that was declared fundamental to all Americans two years after I was born to a mixed raced couple.
Tell me, sir, what law protects them from being told that they are unfit to die for their country while I got to go out and risk my life?
Tell me, sir, what law protects them as humans from being able to work — a right, I’ll note, that Republicans made damn sure we all had once.
And, especially onthat last one, I would really like to know what they could sue over to gain redress for such, because all the usual ones have been tried already and failed.
You are fundamentally against the gay rights movement because you say you see them as human, and yet none of the laws that protect them as human actually do that.
So you are against laws that fix what’s broken, one might surmise — especially when that nbroken thing is you and the views of people who are just as uninformed on such things as you are.
You say that these “public confessionals” — a term whcih reveals your religious thoughts, I’ll note — are about acceptance, and that also goes to show just why it is that you reveal your effective incompetence when it comes to knowledge abot the lives of gay people.
Allow me to inform you that it has little to do with equality and even less to do with acceptance.  It has to do with letting others know that
they are not “wrong” and that they are indeed human in a society that treats them as if they are not.
It is not “sometimes” that gays are discriminated against, sir.  It is all the time.
I know you are a busy man, so I doubt you had cause to follow the court case and testimony regarding Proposition 8 in California. IT would behoove you to read the transcripts and study the materials there.  THey lay out a strong and effective case that directly contradicts everythign youv’e said, and these people are working from solid data and evidence, not assumption and incompetence.
You are correct — they are not heroes.  Role models, however, need not be heroes.  Indeed, I would argue that it is better they not be heroes, but be regular people, so that we do not try to create vast legions of heroes and instead focus on allowing people to live pretty normal, typical lives where liberty and justice for all are the norm, instead of the exception.
You ask if the media would react the same way to someone wh admitted they had a drug problem, alcohol problem, or a stealing problem.  And to that I have to ask are you kidding?
First, to compare simply existing to crimes and addictive behaviors is akin to saying that being black is something one can only do if your skin is dark enough.
That is, stupid and foolish and patently untrue.
But, more directly to the thrust of your non sequitur, have you not been watching your FOX news for the last 7 years?
Have you not read the very magazines you are a contributing editor for?
Apparently not, if you are going to ask such a quention when the number of examples is huge, and includes a former president (Bush was the name, I’ll note) and a former first lady (Ford, the name, in that case).
I think that covers a pretty substantial amount of time.  I am shocked that you are so very much out of touch with the last 40 years of history and the media’s proclivities given its a field you work in and with.
None of this is about personal choices, either — Don Lemmon did not, in any way, choose to be gay.  If you think he did, then please, do something that no one else has been able to do and effectively prove that he did.
And keep in mind that people have been trying for well over 100 years. Without luck of success.
I find it quite disturbing that you feel the need to assert an uninformed opinion that does exactly what I’ve described is the reason for their needing to speal out on this subject without ever once taking a moment to examine your own view and seeing if there may be flaws.
Yes, you are in the business of opinion, but to spout opinion that is not only as uninformed as your appears to be on this topic but is also as incompetent as you are demonstrating yourself to be on this topic demsontrates a shocking disregard for standards and ethics and a frightening lack of moral character.
As to the forcing of private, personal informationintot he public arean, I shall ask you the same question — why is it that you choose to force intot he public arena such ill willed and poorly conceived writing?
Enough already with the lies, distortions, fabrications and outright incompetence, Mr. Jackson.
The public doesn’t need it.
(disclaimer: I have not edited this for typing or other errors and most likely committed several. And for those who would harp on my use of the third rail, please, get over yourselves.)

Oof.Ironically, the word Raynard ends with the letter “d.” As in, “dee-ude, I don’t think you know what irony means.”

Well

Who these people choose to be romantic with is of no concern to me and should be of no concern to those who know them.

That at least I can agree with, as it should hold true to anyone regardless.
Unfortunately the rest is the usual nonsense by someone who is attempting to use logic whilst ignoring the salient facts.
I wonder if he feels the same way about the civil rights movement as he does about gay rights. Though perhaps he feels that explicitly protecting against racial discrimination is  ”different” from explicitly protecting against any other form of discrimination.
Sad…

ENOUGH!!!!with the I’m a [insert identifiable minority group whose interests the Republican Party's policies consistently screw over and, hence, I should know better but I think that whatever money I've accumulated tus far, and will accumulate in the future, will buy me substantive status equal to that congenitally enjoyed by white, christian, heterosexual males - so, love me! adore me! and don't you dare point out that my personal greed is winning out over the reality of who I'm in bed with politically and, therefore, has already eaten away any credibility that I may once have had] Republican thing already!

Typical homophobiaHe takes so many things for granted. Going out in public with his heterosexual partner – be it wife or girlfriend – or talking about her is normal.
For an lgbt to do it is “cramming our lifestyle down someone’s throat” or somehow giving an open window to ways we engage in sexual intercourse.
It’s so stupid to have that mindset.

AgreedIdeally, people like Don Lemon (or any of the rest of us) should be able to come out, in a “just so you know so we’re clear” way, and then it’s not an issue at all, ever again.
It is precisely because coming out is seen as such a big deal and such an affront to people who would rather not know that it is important that we do it.

We DID survive the Holocaust — It’s called AIDS!Not that you give a shit.

And of courseIf his “SECRET MAN LOVER” had one day been “discovered” by someone, it would have been a media shitstorm, and he would have been perceived as a liar/deceiver.
Gotta love the double-bind of heteronormativity. Either you’re “shoving it down others’ throats”, or you’re a lying SOB.

Actually, it’s called the HolocaustOn the order or 10,000 +/- 5,000 accused gay people were sent to concentration camps during the Holocaust.
Also, tens of thousands were sent to camps for “Rehabilitation”, and singled out for sexual abuse.
Hundreds were castrated.
Part of the official policy for accused gay people was Extermination through labor.
There are numerous other horror stories – medical experimentation, being used as live target practice, being killed by other prisoners.
Here’s a wikipedia article:
https://secure.wikimedia.org/w…
This is not to minimize AIDS, nor is it to minimize the genocide against the Jews or the Roma during the Holocaust, but a lot of accused gay people died during the holocaust, and that machinery of death came from the top.
We must exterminate these people, root and branch… We can’t permit such danger to the country; the homosexuals must be entirely eliminated.  - Heydrich Himmler, 1938 Source: http://www.history.ucsb.edu/fa…

Go Jackson!I agree with him 100%.  He raises more than a few good points and I’d back him on most of them.  However, my view is not so much of enough but more who the hell cares.  Why exactly should it matter who you fuck and why does the whole damn world need to know?  I’m not exactly jumping for joy here because another fellow fag came publicly out of the closet.  Do they really need the pat on the back from the liberals?

“Opinions like these are floating out there and deserve a response.”I disagree absolutely.  The only thing opinions like this deserve is to be roundly ignored as we get on with our lives–and get on with revealing the truth of our lives.  Don Lemon and the others have done more good by coming out than a troglodyte like Jackson could possibly do with this essay of his.  If Lemon had paused to try and reason with Jackson, he’d still be closeted.  If I had tried to placate the homophobes in my family, I’d still be leading an isolated, agonized life.  If there’s one thing we can learn from the Obama administration, it’s the disastrous futility of trying to make nice with people who want to destroy you.  By arguing with them, you implicitly concede that they have a valid point of view.
Arguing with committed bigots is a waste of time. Our task is to erect a legal structure that will protect us from their hatred and ignorance.  Enough, already, of this “winning hearts and minds” stuff.  As one of Richard Nixon’s aides once advised, “One you have them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow.”
Living our lives honestly and OPENLY is the soundest way to refute halfwits like Jackson.  Period.

Shame? No thanks, you keep it.Mr. Jackson’s words betray the ignorance that lies within his heart, “each of them, independent of each other, all admitted in the media…”. “Admitted”! As in – confessed to something that no decent person should ever have to confess because no decent person should be involved in? What else could he mean by, “…to know his deepest, darkest, most private information” and his repeatedly describing the events as confessionals?
No, sir. They did not admit to some shameful act. They proudly proclaimed who they are and that there is no shame or remorse in the truth of who they are.
These men did not revel their particular sexual proclivities; they simply stated that they’re gay. The fact that you would rather not have to hear it, because your small mindedness immediately draws you into some prurient fantasy from which you just as quickly retreat in disgust, is your own problem. Try a little self-reflection and ask yourself why you react to the “gay” in this manner when you have no such problem when you encounter other “normal” folk like yourself. Gays do not exist solely within their sexuality in the same way that who a straight person is does not reside solely within their sexuality.
You’re insistence that The LGBTQ portion of humanity remain quite, hidden, and unseen for your comfort and convenience echo those who insisted that you as an African Americans defer to them and step into the street when they passed you on the sidewalk.
So long as a person’s sexual orientation can be used against them in the work place, in housing, in public accommodations, and in the courthouse then we each must ask ourselves whether it is better to remain in the closet or come out.
There are risks and advantages to both options but it’s hard to argue that living in truth and honesty is not only better for the individual but also for society in general.
Mostly it comes down to the fact that if who you are is going to be used as a weapon against you, better to flush the bigots from under their rocks so you can fight them in the open for all to see. So long as we hide, we allow the bigots to act from a position of strength, shielded from view and safe from the ridicule of humanity’s better examples.
We would not be where we are today if all the brave souls who came before us had remained shamed and hidden within the closet. The more visible we are the harder it is for bigots to denigrate our humanity and deny us the dignity to which we are entitled. Indeed the greatest obstacle to equality that our trans brothers and sisters face today is the hard demographic reality of their low numbers in the overall population, which makes the general ignorance of their struggles so difficult to overcome.

Really?Seriously?

Here in the real world…Why exactly should it matter who you fuck and why does the whole damn world need to know?
Here in the real world it does matter.  Maybe in your life everyone is treated with respect and dignity no matter whom they love, but the reality for many people is quite the opposite.  Life is good for many of us, but there is still a significant portion of the population that will treat us differently – and in fact wants that enshrined in the law – because of who we love.
It matters because when people know someone who is gay, they realize that person is (gasp!) just like them.  It’s what makes your “who the hell cares” attitude possible.  The more comfortable straight people become with gay people, the more the realize their gay friends are just like them and should be treated the same.  And when high-profile names that people recognize and respect come out, it furthers this process.
And of that is even without touching his ignorant “If choose to be gay” and false equivalencies of homosexuality with drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and theft.  Surely you cannot possibly “agree with him 100%”.  Or maybe you believe you chose to be gay and that you have the same kind of problem as a substance abuser, in which case, well, that’s your right.

“Who Cares?”

Rick Welts, “I’m gay.” Don Lemon, “I’m gay.” Will Sheridan, “I’m gay.” Uhhhhhhhhhh, ENOUGH!
Who cares?

Gay people, whom society has taught to feel ashamed of who and what they are. Gay children, who may feel alone in the world. Gay young adults, who need to see that gay people like themselves can lead happy, productive, and successful lives. Society as a whole, who needs to learn that there’s nothing wrong with being gay, and that it’s no big deal–so someday, we can reach the point where we can truly say, “Who cares?”

here are the three things he doesn’t get…quoted directly from his writing:

“These are all about personal choices [emphasis added] and the fear that public knowledge of these behaviors, in their thinking, might cause them to be frowned upon by society-thus be discriminated against.”

it is NOT a choice, Mr. Jackson! if you had the choice to not be African-American and suffer discrimination & injury from it, what would you choose? i was born this way just the way you were born African-American; i don’t believe anyone chooses to be in a position of possible harm or discriminated against.
and:

“Are gays discriminated against? Sometimes. But they are protected by laws, not because they are gay, but because they are humans.’

before the Civil Rights gained by MLK & others these same human rights were in effect for African-Americans from your line of thinking, also. should we do away with the Civil Rights Act? on the same level, what about gender, age, etc? no one has a choice on those either. and your allegory to Christianity doesn’t work – people are NOT born christian – that is a choice or their parents make the decision for them…
and:

“You’ve got to have the same rules for yourself as you do for everyone else.”

the very fact of your releasing a statement like the one you did proves that this is not true in your way of thinking; otherwise you wouldn’t have done it.
oh, by the way, i am sure that neither Don Lemon, Will Sheridan, Rick Welts nor i, certainly, care one whit about your sex life…

The account was created just to complain …… because PHB dared to criticize the homophobia of a basketball player. And that is what this person does: Defend homophobia.

Yep, I’ve had enough, too…Of all the straight people who display pictures of their spouse.
After all, it “is of no concern to me and should be of no concern to those who know them”.
It’s almost as if they believe that “we, the public, have a “right” to know [the] deepest, darkest, most private information” about the person “[w]ho these people choose to be romantic with”
“This is ludicrous.”
To the other points, being gay is not a “problem”. It is not about morality, so it can’t be equated to stealing. People who steal commit a crime. On the other hand, drug and alcohol addiction are both forms of mental illness that must be treated; we have made great strides towards not discriminating against and judging people for these issues.
As a black man, Mr. Jackson, you should also be well aware that there is a long history of selective application – and complete dismissal – of the law. While race, sexual orientation, or gender identity should not matter when it comes to how they are punished for committing an assault, it’s a sad truth that all too often, crimes against minorities OF ALL KINDS are outright ignored, or the perpetrators are given a mere slap on the wrist (and, all too often, a high-five outside the courtroom).
Finally, all the recent coming-outs are important, because every single one is proof that gay people can be productive members of society, that gay people are not the scary unknown, and that people like you will soon be dinosaurs.

I quite reading at “black republican”.

YupSeriously.

Not so muchActually, I created the account because I read the site everyday, agree with some of it, disagree with a lot of it and well, just because my opinion isn’t inline with PHB doesn’t mean much.  I’m just here, commenting, laughing and just generally enjoying the chaos.  This post and and the other post I commented on involve the right to free speech, my favorite subject.  Basketball boy can say what he wants for all I care, homophobe or not.  Same with Jackson, I just happen to agree with Jackson.  And to quote someone far smarter than me “I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.”  

Why?How did that end you perusal of the post?  Republicans are the party that pushed for the freeing of slaves.  Why shouldn’t he be a republican?

I’m not in the real world?Why doesn’t anyone tell me these things sooner?  Actually, no, most people in my life aren’t treated with dignity and respect.  The significant portion of the population that treats us differently does so because they have a clue.  Lots of people find gay male sex mildly disturbing to say the least.  Less so with lesbians but still.  Understanding often does not lead to tolerance.  It’s an odd correlation.  For most folks understanding merely reenforces their views, not changes them.  Forcing people to deal with things they don’t like makes ‘em rather pissy.  I’m responding to this post not because I think queers need to go underground but I think we need to find a better medium than “out ‘n proud.”  I guess if people haven’t figured out you’re gay, then why alert them to the fact.  Why must it be a tossup between hiding who you are and screaming it to the world.  I honestly don’t know.  

LMAO, what a prickWe're just commenting on his stupidity and ignorance, kind of like your own comments. It's always hilarous to listen to jackasses like yourself come in with condescending and smartass remarks here despite no interest in The Blend. You're agreement with Jackson shows your own stupidity because the idea that coming out of the closet or being honest with oneself is akin to letting the world know who you sleep, completely ignoring the stigma about being gay to this today. It demonstrates how you, Jackson, and others don't have a fucking clue. I'm pretty sure those Gay Republicans would like another addition of another pompous, conservative faggot like yourself as well. How's that for freedom speech?

An apologistWhat's your alternative, give into the conservative mindset? Really, if you're so fucking concerned about us, what's the best way to confront these folks rather than being “out 'n proud”? And what the fuck makes you think every LGBT person strives for the approval/acceptance/tolerance of every person they meet? It's fucking amusing to see the likes of yourself pretending to have some sort of concern because the notion that being honest with oneself is, again, akin to screaming it to the world is a reflection of the dumbass that you are. Your posts sounds so phony and it seems you're feiging ignorance. Tell me, Mr. Expert, what medium do you suggest we do? The notion that we DO have to go underground is EXACTLY what the fuck you're implying we should do.

Are you fucking stupid?Given the nature of your posts, how the fuck can one NOT get the impression your just here to fuck around and piss people off. Why don't you tell the commentators here the on The Blend who are Black the same thing. You know, since the Republicans freed the slaves, they must own them some sort of gratitude.

WowDo you kiss your mother with that mouth?  Because I don’t agree with you apparently means you get to be rather bigoted.  There’s so much vitriol streaming from your comments that I don’t know where to begin.  Let’s start with this: I comment on PHB because I don’t agree with everything that’s posted.  It would be a rather boring blog if there weren’t differing opinions.  I’m not here to curse out anyone who disagrees with me.  I don’t know what is the best way is to change people’s opinions of the gay community.  I live in a small town in Montana, my neighbors call me the “fucking lesbian,” not because I have a pride flag on my lawn but because I have short hair.  Regardless of whether you come out of the closet or not people often figure it out.  The obliteration of prejudice will never happen.  The traditionally hated groups are still often hated.  Hell, even non-traditionally hated groups get a turn in the barrel.  Coming out of the closet does equate with who you sleep with.  Being straight means you sleep with the opposite sex.  How is being gay different?  You want to be out and proud that’s fine.  I don’t really see that tactic changing things though.  Being in the closet doesn’t change things either.  I don’t know if there is a middle ground.  I don’t honestly think understanding means tolerance.  Visibility doesn’t mean tolerance.  And yes, your comment is definitely freedom speech, if only I were so base as to respond in kind.  Behold my rambling.        

Yeah, I’m probably stupid.Of course I’m here to “fuck” around.  It’s a blog, people comment, that’s the whole point.  I’m honestly asking why he shouldn’t be black and republican.  There’s quite a few black republicans.  How is this a problem?  Is there some disconnect?  

Bigot?Coming from somebody despertately trying to rationalize fucking Right-wing/Conservative view points? Fucking hypocrite. Please don't feign igorance and just come out as fucking Gay Republican or Gay Conservative. And no, being openly honest about being gay isn't telling people who you sleep with, moron. That's conservative crap talk there, again. Folks get enough patronizing with the likes of you, so I believe it's a safe bet you're just posting here to piss people off and get some sense of rightousness. So Mrs. Expert, please tell us what should we do? It's pretty stupid to think that believe every LGBT person strives for approval or acceptance. There are people in this world who will always find a fucking fault with you. So why do you care so much if not everyone becomes accepting or tolerant. The fact these assholes try to pass laws against us and dehumanize usat  any chance probably strikes a bigger chord with us than not being friends with those assholes.Once again, the idea that we should go underground is EXACTLY what you're implying everyone should do. There's no middle ground, that's more crap talk. Please, go to your GOProud chronies and leave us be. We don't need smartasses telling that us that calling out their hypocrasy or right-wing crap talk is being “bigoted”. 

Ask anyone here is BlackBut you won't do that, given that you're just here to troll and hide your status as someone sympathetic to Conservatives/Republicans.

I disagreeThe significant portion of the population that treats us differently does so because they have a clue.   Lots of people find gay male sex mildly disturbing to say the least.
Only because the religious right (or other factions) beats it into their head that homosexuality is a choice, and it’s all about behavior.  It’s because they define it by acts, instead of being part of someone’s core personhood.  If you believe that, it’s easy to agree with Jackson.  But either way it misses the point.  Who spends that much time thinking about someone else’s sex life?  I don’t give even a fleeting moment of though to the sex lives of my heterosexual friends, why should they care about mine?
The answer is that they don’t, and my being “out and proud” (as you put it) makes people who know me – and more importantly, didn’t know a gay person before, or only knew gay people through the stereotypes in sitcoms and movies – realize that I am just like them.  I have the same lifestyle, hopes, dreams, goals, concerns, family issues, etc.  This is where understanding does not reinforce their views – it changes them.  Because people stop thinking about us in terms of sexual behavior and start thinking of us a people.  People they know and love.

Yer awesome!Thanks for you comments.  And in all actuality, calling you a bigot is technically accurate as it is defined as someone intolerant of other views.  However having a discussion with you is apparently imposable.  Try not to whine so much in the future.    

You should reread the quote a thousand times.Free speech doesn’t mean immunity against criticism.
But you are correct: You aren’t the sharpest knife in the drawer.

Why bother with the facts when you can suffer from ignorance?Anyone with these kinds of views should read at least some of the NY Times Coming Out stories of gay teenagers in their own words.
Anyone who keeps insisting that there is choice involved in being gay should read those stories (the reader contribution stories, all of them!) to realise without the shadow of a doubt that this is just not true. We are not born with a default setting of ‘straight’ and then somehow ‘decide’ to change! That’s completely and utterly absurd.
What runs through all those stories is how alone almost all those teenagers felt, growing up in straight families where they didn’t think they would find support.
How many of them would have done anything to change, and found they couldn’t. Absolutely heartbreaking to know that there are so many teenagers out there who are struggling like this.
And then some idiot completely ignores just how important it is that young kids realise that they are not the only person in the world who is gay? How utterly ignorant.
And it is those very same dimwitted people who will not read those stories. That’s the definition of what a bigot is: holds prejudiced views and won’t ever deign to acknowledge the facts or evaluate what they base their views on.
After all it is so much easier and much more comfy to not bother finding out about the facts.
Why bother with the facts when you can be lazy and ignorant?