Gonna Be Fooled Again ? Guess Some LGBT People Will Be.

In my e box this AM I found an article that is making the way around the lg (bt?) e-mail lists. The article was all about Obama and his views on LGBT issues and concerns. This was sent about by a person that I had been politically active and very close with a few years back but since have lost touch with over a flap concerning Ned Lamont, the multi-million dollar baby of the liberals and progressives who ran for the Senate against Joe Lieberman. Needless to say I did not support the man as I am a firm believer that no millionaire democrat or anything else for that matter can represent me as a low income worker and queer liberationists. I certainly did not like Lamont’s stand on Trans rights either.

Back in the 1990’s and I remember it well, all my friends in the LGBT movement were telling me how wonderful Bill Clinton was going to be, that he was going to do this and do that for us and that we all should get our butts in gear and work on his campaign. Well not this queer. I felt something was wrong, couldn’t put my finger on it but didn’t trust him from the first time I ever saw his face. After all the liberal (progressive) gays and lesbians got done with swooning they found out fast. One of Bill Clinton’s first acts was to introduce “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” enshrining active discrimination against open homosexuals in law. In the early years of his presidency, discharges of gay soldiers rose 70%. In 1996 Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act, which allows states and the federal government not to recognize the same sex marriages of other states and then touted his support of the measure as something that had to be done. He did not instruct his justice department to offer an amicus brief in the Supreme Court case of Romer V Evans which challenged a Colorado constitutional amendment seeking to ban cities and towns from instituting anti-discrimination laws protecting gays (the court overturned it any way), to signing a bill barring HIV positive people from entering the country, and encouraging Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry to not support anti-same-sex marriage constitutional amendments at the state and national level. Need we go on? This is just some of the injustice perpetuated by Clinton to lgbt people never mind the injustice to others in this country and all around the world. (I am sure we could fill the comment section for this posting with examples.)  These “gay” works of Bill Clinton goes to prove that politicians can be pro-gay by convenience (when they want our money and votes) not by any real conviction and that when homophobia works for political advantage liberals will grab that tarnished ring and used it like its going out of style.

Obama shows he could be the same, pro-gay when it is convenient, he can say just what he should say and talk a nice talk to us. Take the case of inviting Donnie McClurkin—a notorious “ex-gay” singer and minister. This man of God claims that gays are trying to “kill our children”, and that we can be cured by prayer. Obama claims that he does not agree with McClurkin but has no problem giving the man a platform to preach his bigotry. How else can Obama get the conservative Southern Black voters and other assorted bigots whose support he needs to win the Democratic nomination? Now I don’t know about you but I don’t care to run with or to form an alliance with those who preach hate against me and our people. Obama knows how to say all the right things to those he wishes to court.  The interview with the National Advocate the gay glossy is no different. He says all the right things, every thing that he should say, he does. He goes nowhere beyond that which he knows is expected of him. Let’s not chase away those who hate gays and let’s tell the gays how much we will do for them.  A very scary part of the interview is this. “And nobody is going to be perfectly aligned with my views. So what I hope is that people take me for who I am, for what I’ve said, and for what I’ve displayed in terms of commitment to these issues, but understanding that there’s going to be a range of constituencies that I am reaching out to and working on issues that we have in common, even though I may differ with them on other issues.” That sends up red flags to me. How is he going to work for any of our issues if he has rabid homophobic preachers breathing fire and brim stone down his neck? How will he work for any of our issues when he will have conservative democrats staring him down? That is how we get things such as DOMA and DADT. It is called compromise and if history is any indication of what they do with the rights of lbgt people then we could be in for some real sorrowful surprises with President Obama. We always get the stick and a good kick. He sounds so wonderful on the surface if one wishes to accept the choice of the bosses and the media who have picked this candidate for all of us workers, poor, and the middle class. They sure did a good job this time. Right now when windows and doors are opening, when America is falling apart along comes a savior to head off any revolt. He inspires his followers and others that through the electoral process there can be change. He really has very little to offer us in the way of real change. It is an illusion, an appearance of change. A new face on the old empire as a young man around here has said. A united capitalist America. Pity those who fall for this again. Pity those who wish to live in a kinder and gentler Capitalist America. It will bite you in the ass, chew you up and spit you out.

Warning red flags fly high when we read about his support for Gender Identity and Expression included in an ENDA bill. He claims he is for it but that it will be “a heavy lift through Congress.” “We’ve got some Democrats who are willing to vote for a noninclusive bill, but we lose them on an inclusive bill, and we just may not be able to generate the votes.” Okay, Mr. President but will you work hard to win them over? He goes on to say that, “and obviously my goal would be to get the strongest possible bill-that’s what I’ll be working for.” So we can bet a dollar that will be a non-inclusive bill. You can bet that old Barney Frank(i’m scared to pee in the same room with a trannie) and the hated, corrupt in the human rights department, HRC will be fondling Obama along on this. Give them queers a few crumbs. We need it, all of us straight looking, rich, white lesbians and gays who are so oppressed. Go for it! Isn’t President Obama grand. He just loves us l&g’ers. Meanwhile out in the real word. 1. The sisters and brothers in the gender identity and expression communities who need protection most in hateful americka will be left back in the dust of the bus. 2. Crumb gathering does not interest me. Not when the cry is so loud from our sisters and brothers. 3. I got an idea. Let’s give full rights to the Trannies and and the gender expression/identity people and fuck the lesbians and gays. No crying now boys and girls. You are so straight looking, so straight thinking that you don’t need protection anyway. How do you like it? 4. That’s what you have always done to the Trannies amongst us, from the time that nasty lesbian, Jean O’Leary did her lesbian thing against Sylvia Rivera at PRIDE in 1973. I don’t care if she is dead and we aren’t suppose to speak ill of those in that human condition. We almost lost Sylvia over it.  

So I have to tell my friends once again. Thanks but no thanks. The way you led the charge on supporting Bill Clinton and then getting us all kicked in the ass would make me say, “PLEASE retire from your political shenanigans.” For anyone who wishes to read the Advocate interview with Obama please click here.  But please don’t be fooled again over all the frosting on the cake. Sweet and nice, but eat too much your teeth will rot.