Twenty-three weeks ago yesterday ...

Dwan Prince was bludgeoned into a coma.

We all know the story. It sent shivers through the community and gay activists into a tizzy calling for an end to the violence and murder of same gender loving people. Now … long after the news vans have careened toward more timely tragedies and with violence against gay youth shockingly still on the rise, Dwan and his mom, Valerie Prinez, wage a lone battle with the aftermath of hate. NY Blade reporter, James Withers, who has diligently followed the case, writes ... “Dwan Prince sits in a wheelchair in his mother’s living room. He is a fan of professional wrestling and watches the television smiling. Prince’s hair is cut short, and it’s impossible not to notice the pink and white scars that cover his head. Down the middle of each are the delicate impressions left from stitches.

... When Prince talks, his words emerge slowly and with deliberate labor. His days are now spent with speech and physical therapies, hoping he can get back the life he had as a construction worker before the night in early June when three men decided to get out of their car and pommel Prince, leaving him in a coma.” I was shocked and saddened when I read that: Shocked that I’d let Dwan Prince slip into my subconscious, assuming, well … at least they caught that animal (Pomie) and he’s being punished for his crime ... and saddened over how quickly I'd allowed my outrage to mellow into indifference. Never once did I wonder how the family was doing ... or if they needed any help.

As it turns out, they do need help. Some wounds aren’t mere scratches and take much longer to heal … if they ever do.

Valerie Prinez knows that all too well. “...She also points to indifference, from politicians and from her own religion. As a member of Mount Olive Baptist Church, Prinez was dismayed when her minister refused her cries for help. The reason: He found out her son is gay, and wanted nothing more to do with her.” Withers continues … “… She has turned into his primary caregiver. Her bank account is depleted; she filed for bankruptcy and faces eviction. She is now on unpaid leave from her employer, which is a double-edged sword. It lets her help her son, but means no money is coming in. And her employer would like her back by December.” All this has made me wonder, who can victims of violence turn to for longer-term support? There are groups out there I’m sure, but apparently they aren’t doing very much. We as a community rally around our martyrs and their families when these injustices occur, when unconscionable acts take the lives of our young and innocent. But what about the survivors? What about the long-term suffering of innocents like Dwan and his mom? Will we just ignore their continued struggles, while quibbling over seemingly inconsequential things like whether Johnny Gill is gay … or if the Queen will ever step up? There but for the grace of GOD ... is what my grandmother would always say. She was right too. Dwan could easily be me, and his wheelchair … it could easily be yours. Time and time again it is proven that no one is gonna look after us ... but us. Dwan and his mom need our help now. Our community has resources and talents that we have yet to tap, let alone consolidate. Can we pull together to help this struggling mom? I know we can ... ‘cause despite our bickering and differences in style and tactics, when you get right down to it ... we are ALL THAT and a bag of skittles. I chatted with James Withers and acquired the mailing address of Valerie Prinez, Dwan’s mom. Though with all the kooks out there, we both agreed not to publish the address because the last thing this family needs is more drama or worse, a visit from the lunatic fringe. But Valerie & Dwan desperately need our help. So … if you can offer any services, advice, guidance, financial aid (no matter how small) or anything to be of assistance to Dwan Prince and his mother, contact me and I’ll give you the mailing address. The system doesn’t care about the Dwan Prince’s of the world or their mothers, but we certainly do. Let’s put our heads together to help Dwan and his mom get their lives back. Let's show the world we won't be beaten down, and teach one so-called Christian at the Mount Olive Baptist Church ... what charity, love, and support are all about.

Are we ...

Screwing Ourselves to Death?

True or false?

If heterosexual women trolled the parks at all hours of every day, looking for men to anonymously copulate with … heterosexual men would never make it to work and the world as know it would cease to function.

Awhile back, reports of two gay men being shot while engaging in sexual activity in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park set tongues wagging for and against these anonymous encounters. Well … there was a time when trolling a dark trail in the moonlight and happening upon another beautiful young wanderer (who was equally as eager to explode without words), was as thrilling as a hit of crack … and just as addictive. But with the shocking rate of HIV infection in black gay men nearing (arguably) fifty-percent … can we afford to be so hedonistic anymore? Our community has many negative labels attached to it, sex-obsessed perverts who troll the night looking for anonymous sex is just one of them. But this is about men being men … basically … our innate impulse to plant our seed as often as possible. Yeah. No matter how highly we think of ourselves as a species, we may just be animals with iPods and misty dreams of Heaven. I’m not defending anonymous sexual activity, but I do understand it's feral beginnings and advocate self-control and civic responsibility ... in order that we don’t "cease to function" as individuals and as a community. I know some people who literally live for their next encounter, cyber or park ... it's the same compulsion. We're better than that. Although the call of the night can howl like wolves in the distance, I know I'm destined for higher things ... and am not meant to be murdered in a park with my pants around my ankles. It's time we all realized that we're better than that. We are talented and productive members of society, first and foremost, but if we keep acting like irresponsible faggots ... that's how we'll forever be seen.

The Champ and the Queen?

Jasmyne Cannick gives us the heads-up on this newest rumored pairing, Laila Ali and Dana Owens … aka, Queen Latifah. If it’s true, they'll knock every other lesbian power couple out of the box. No pun.

Okay, yes pun. Predictably, the Queen’s camp denied the rumor. I have to wonder why though? Why deny it? Isn’t it common knowledge that The Queen likes girls? Is this some ‘don’t ask don’t tell’ bullshit? I could always understand struggling artists who chose to hide their sexuality. Yes … to bury the core of their being beneath a shroud of bullshit in the interest of self-preservation and financial advancement. Yeah, I can’t fault anybody for that … because ‘dog eat dog’ is a euphemism for what it really is like out there, and coming out of the closet can certainly put the brakes on a career. But there's a limit on my understanding. Dana … you didn’t win an Oscar for playing that big dyke in Chicago, nor did you win one for playing that other big dyke in Set It Off. However … you played the hell outta those roles though. Clever casting? C’mon Dana, seriously. We know. Gay people certainly know family, but even straight people know about you. My grandmother even knew about you. Still ... we've supported you for years, though you never once spoke for us. Not once. Now is the time to be the powerful black 'Queen' that you are, and step up and do the right thing. Isn't it time? Have you noticed your Same Gender Loving brothers and sisters are under siege? It's a subtle attack, not many 'die faggot' signs brandishing about, but the mind-set is firmly entreached. You know that. It's the reason you've remained low so long. Step up. Your Queendom will not only support you, but tribesmen will rally around you in defense of SGL royalty. Hell, with Laila watchin' your back, you're pretty much good to go already. (Her left hook is no joke.)

But I have this sickening feeling you won’t just yet, maybe due to ill advice from someone close to you. I’ll still love and support you regardless, and keep waiting for the day when you realize that visibility is viability. We all see it in our own time.

But please, Dana Owens .... don't take too long.

Fuck you, Curtis Jackson.

The only reason your missing-link lookin' mug is disgracing the face of SGL café is so I can say that.

"Being gay isn't cool" in the world according to you, Curtis, and rap music is "too aggressive" for gays. I know your steroid-addled brain has every right to express itself, but lines have to be drawn.

For some crazy reason, Curtis Jackson, God, serendipity or whoever-the-fuck has given you a platform from which to speak. This is a great responsibility and whether you want it or not ... it came with the money and the Bling. Millions of young impressionable minds out there are following your every move, dressing the way you do, pretending to be hard ... like you also do. But statements like that feed intolerance into those minds, and sometimes leads to violence against SGL youth and further fuels their need to go low.

Not cool, Curtis. For squandering the platform you've been given, this is an official SGL café Fuck you.

Fuck your movie. Fuck your CD's. Fuck your record company. Fuck any magazine with your face on it. Fuck any artists who support you. And most all, fuck any Same Gender Loving people moronic enough to still give you a dime.

And listen up ... the next sound you hear will be fifty pennies landing in the gutter. Symbolic I know, just more good money after bad, but it'll feel good to do it. ~~~ Thanks to Rod2.0 for his No Homo report. He's got the complete lowdown on Curtis Jackson.