SGL Café ...

What's it all about ... ... this anger at certain heavy-handed tactics? At the risk of sounding like a Boykinista [defender of Keith Boykin no matter how wrong he is], I wanna interject something. His Earning the Right to Complain essay did have a sharp edge to it. Lots of emotion. It's been an emotional few weeks and months for him and all of us .... Beginning with 'Rev.' Willie's repugnant "anytime you gotta slap some grease on your behind" sermon/homophobic rant ... and those moronic parishioners who cheered the aforementioned 'sermon', filling the church with applause and 'Amen'. Boykin and others stepped up in outrage demanding Willie's head, even Reverend Al Sharpton stepped up and said this has gotta stop ... whilst the rest of us SGL tribesmen vented our rage more anonymously, lighting torches and 'doing the rabble-rabble thing' in the distance. But at some point ... and I think it was after Keith and Jasymne Cannick asked the infamous question, 'Are These Pastors Gay?' ... we began to rabble louder. First ... some kats who are not completely 'out' themselves began to bombard Keith's website in outrage, completely twisted at the thought of exposing anybody's secret sex life. This morphed into personal attacks and accusations ... words like "ego-maniac" and "self-serving" began to fly about. Some proclaimed that, for mysterious reasons, they "just don't like him."

( A friend of mine is one of those people. When pressed, he raved, "Look at that picture on his website, all shirt-less and whatnot. How professional is that? He might represent YOU but he doesn't represent ME!!" I responded .. "First off, its his damn dot com and he can put his asshole on it if he wants to. Second, that picture you're referring to is Boris Kodjoe, not Keith ... it's an ad or something." He responded, "Oh. Oh. Still ... I just don't like him." ) Hmmm .... Ok.

Then the 3M thing came and by then, our burning torches on the sidelines were clearly split into different groups, and we fought bitterly amongst ourselves. Do we really need to be there? Do we even need another march? Is it a good thing? Is it a bad thing? Why does HE have to speak? Then the aborted speech, and the rabble turned into a riot, torches flying, punches thrown, tribemen being trambled all over the place ... and sitting back, watching the melee, 'Rev' Willie smiles at our disfunction (after all, didn't he just say there was something not quite right about us?) Have we forgotten who pissed us off in the first place? Is this a transference of aggression thing? How did we end up trying to put one of our own on a spit? Keith's essay had a sharp edge. Rightly so. People who are not OUT shouldn't complain too much about the actions of those on the front lines. If you don't like what's being done, or who's doing it ... then get out there and take their place. And I believe his essay should have gone a step further and reminded us that the real enemy is still sitting up in that pulpit ... with a most ungodly condescending smile. We need to get back to what this is really about.