God Bless Kanye ...

Got into it in a yahoo group over my position on OUTing celebs ... which I'm gleefully for. But this gentlemen was not. Here're my reply weaved with his reply.

I hate to concede a point, it just tears into my ego that I could be vehement about something and yet also be dead wrong. So much so, that I had to let your note marinate for a day ... instead of just giving the knee-jerk, dreaded, concession.

While your prose soaked in my sub-conscious, me and J watched a moving interview on MTV last night with Kanye West ... where he makes a point of attacking homophobia in the hip hip industry. He talked about how he grew up a momma's boy, about picking up momma's gestures and about being ridiculed for it. Then he talked about how that ridicule resulted in him becoming the biggest homophobe around. First, you gotta love his arrogance (it comes from a good place) ... and second, coming from a black man who suddenly has so much to lose, you gotta admire his guts to align himself with gays. But is it just guts, or is it more?

Something clicked when I watched it, something vague, but I knew I it was time to respond to your note.

And, now I suppose you'll explain to me ALL str8 murders are solved and or get publicized; and yes, justice is unequally applied on this world - as any other - but then the cause should be to empower Justice and not un-closet innocents and or persons who have not spoken up.

Straight murders are not always solved, granted, but with the Joe Scarboroughs and Keith Obermanns of the world willing to devote hours of air time for the Natalie Holloways of the world ... they don't need me prodding them to do more.

And there are no “innocents” to un-closet. The very nature of being 'closeted', or on the DL is to be just a little bit ashamed of yourself for something. Yes, I’d happily un-closet them ... but they ain't innocent.

You do not imply that they were conspirators except perhaps in silence. Individuality is hardly indefensible; it is certainly easier to defend that mindless "groupthink." If you find weakazz str8's as threatening, attack always and directly, your enemy. Do not take it upon yourself to harm, by action or omission, members of the tribe - you'll find in that course, you'd make enemies that would not suffer long your presence and you would divide and split rather than consolidate and advance.

I just love your writing style ... it flows so well that it sorta lulled me, I think ... made me completely miss things when I read it the first time.

You like to toss about that word, 'groupthink'. I've been hearing a lot of that lately, all from your sort ... the defenders of the Too-Damn-Scared-To-Be-Real contingent. You all use that word, incessantly, like it’s your baseless cheer. Avoid “mindless groupthink” you say. Since your group, sadly, is quite large ... you might consider taking your own advice.

Now ... this is the part that got to me yesterday. By outing another SGL brother, am I attacking my teammates, so to speak ... am I wounding a fellow comrade in this war for our humanity? Is that what I advocate?

Russian commanders had a 'no-treat' policy when fighting for their humanity, troops either engaged the enemy or were shot attempting retreat (or for trying to blend with the scenery) ... their weapons confiscated for better use by a real team player, a real soldier.

We're in a war too, even you must see that. If our “tribe” members do not have the TRIBE’s best interest at heart (and thus tribe members by proclivity only) ... then they are useless to the advancement of the tribe and therefore what befalls them after the OUTing is of little consequence to the tribe. However, their exposure as secret tribe members, unbeknownst to legions of their homophobic admirers, is a proganda positive for the cause. Paranoia would abound, possibly causing some borderline members to consider going the more admirable route ... speaking up like a man.

Being suddenly OUTed is an awful thing which no one wants to endure.

The reason I understand the 'no retreat' policy is because the ones who flee (or hide) ... will be the first to pop up at the victory celebration (to bask in hard-fought freedoms), like the guy at the office who doesn't do a damn thing all year, but is first to arrive at your Christmas party, empty-handed and very thirsty.

There can be no consolidation between a hysterically retreating soldier (or tribesmen), and one who, though equally terrified, manages to move forward anyway ... and keep his sight on the enemy. Group advancement is clearly not the fleeing comrade’s goal ... so fuck him.

You CAN NOT know who murdered all of your cited deaths. In some cases, they be fellow tribesman and so, should properly be dealt with by us not THEM and they will be but only AFTER.

You're correct again.

I don't know WHO committed these crimes. However ... 'the who' is secondary: the culprit could be some lunatic going around taking out black gay men ... or they could be random acts of violence which had nothing to do with their gayness. The issue here is the mid-set of investigators in a climate that is more and more tolerant of blatant homophobia. The mind-set the says its cool to diss certain groups … ‘cause they ain’t nobody.

A serial-killer can get away with icing black drug addicted prostitutes for a helluva a lot longer than if he took out ordinary work-a-day white women. The mind-set that says some are more important than others is the enemy here. Did the fact that Rashawn Brazell took it up the ass have any affect on the investigation into--and media coverage of--his dismemberment? Did the fact that he sucked dick make his death any less horrific ...and therefore less newsworthy?

And finally, that bit about the tribesmen handling tribemen business is, well.... All I can is I can't believe you had me going for a hot second yesterday. I almost conceded. Shame on me.

I'm tryna remember now ... was I smoking something when I read this yesterday, before slumping dejectedly?

If though you SERIOUSLY believe the voices of str8 power elites to be some heinous portent of badd things to come for homosexuals, you need dive deeply into the history books - the current environment is NOTHING. Homosexuals have wedded far more dangerous climes and not in the so distance past but this - THIS is NOTHING. It is but a cloudburst and we shall carry the day. You cry about rain and seem to forget entirely the just ended drought. Well, you may, I can not and your proposed solution does squat for the katts you'd have remembered; their murders addressed and Justice made triumphant.

You sound like the Uncle Tom sort who opined that we'd just left the "drought" of slavery, and therefore shouldn't quibble about a little lynching. "Rufus shoulda knowed not to look at that white women anyways!"

You talk of the mighty in the closet - I'd note no str8 celebrity making the Aruba case; it be family; you seem to equate media coverage with justice when what you should desire is more effective policing and detective work. You'd confuse, based upon wrong-headed perspective, exactly what the defects are.

Confused? Let's see ...

No straight celebrity NEEDS to bring anymore friggin light that ARUBA case … so who’s confused?

Media coverage, unfortunately, make all involved in the case work more diligently because the world is watching. And by targeting the mindset of America itself, and therefore the minds of investigators IS a way to acheive better police work. We seem to see the same defects, but differ on how to address them. You'd patch the Cog with the hair-line fracture ... I'd throw it away and try a new one ... for the good of our war-machine ... or as you put it, the tribe.

Broken parts will only fail us catastrophically one day ... best be rid of them as quickly as possible. There is nothing wrong-headed about that.

It be homosexuals that do not properly document our sexual dealings and so, who we are most likely with upon our disappearance. Yeah police can be defective but so too how we ourselves would carry our lives. I do not have access to police files and do not know the extent of police work in any cases cited BUT unless you claim the police are actively covering up the perpetrator and or neglecting because of the sexuality of the victim, do not imply that outing and or certain homosexuals leading the public bang-wagon is cause for you disrupting other people's lives.

People who skulk about are most guilty of leaving a mysterious trail behind. Though it is true that we all tend to be more secretive about our sexuals activities ... I can't find a need for this topic, even on the periphery of this discussion. We need to be more careful. Okay. Granted. But lets get back to the ones who weren't so careful.

You seem to think that we aren't deemed 'less than'. OUTing, lets say, Tyson Beckford, would do absolutely nothing for the Rashawn Brazell investigation. You're right. But would his face leading the charge for justice have done anything? I say probably, but we'll never know for sure. So ... hypothetically, Tyson would akin to that Russian soldier who threw down his arms and hide beneath a dead comrade. Once discovered, should he not be dispatched as the spineless 'traitor' that he is?

I don't profess to have all the answers, just some things that I truly believe in my heart.

One, no less that total visibility is the salvation for our community ... anyone who refuses to get his hands dirty is useless and therefore should be dispatched ... publicly ... even if the only benefit is the paranoia factor.

I’m not talking OUTing someone, and then expecting to him to fight for our cause. No. Hardly that. I’m talking about fighting the enemy while sloughing off the dead weight of our own caught cowering like escaped slaves along the way … and not carrying a single one of their useless asses across the finish-line. Basically ... slaying them as we go forward.

As for Kanye West … is this bold social statement one of genuine concern … or the ploy of a wise forward-thinking young entrepreneur who sees the handwriting of change on the wall and is positioning himself to capitalize on it? It matters not. Just having him broach the subject, and to compare it to civil-rights, is a major coup in changing the thought patterns in hip hop culture (which influences everything else).

The end game, our total visibility, is all that really matters.

One way to put out a forest fire is to start several smaller fires ahead of it. As far as disrupting useless ‘innocent’ lives with my methods … I don’t give a hot damn. Do they care about us?

It’s the end game that counts; my way is just one viable road toward that goal.

Eventually, OUTed celebs would become so passé, so been there done that, no one will care at all anymore.

Tolerance can’t be too far behind that ... ya think?