Is Gay REALLY The New Black?

I consider myself a strong gay rights supporter, but this "Gay is the New Black" argument is just bogus and backwards thinking. It's like the longstanding argument between Jewish folk and Black folk, whether the Holocaust was worse than slavery or vice versa. The ONLY answer is they were both equally horrible and devastating events to it's victims, just as they are equally important to history as they are different as historical events.

Why can't the Gay Rights Movement stand on it's own two feet without comparing or replacing the STILL on-going Civil Rights Movement for African Americans? Each movement has it's own issues, problems, and struggles. This comparison is insulting and condescending to the Black folk that suffered during the Civil Rights and Black Power eras and its completely unfair and distracting to the Gay folk who are busting their cans doing good work in their quest for COMPLETE civil rights.

We need to be very careful in these discussions or we are going to have more angry outbursts and mis-guided accusations like those that occurred after Prop 8 passed in California. We need to have open conversations on this issue by both sides. For example, I wonder how many gay black folks would be willing to admit that racism is over in America or that race is no longer an issue in America. Not many, I think. Being gay, just adds to their pressures and their anger.

And I wonder how many white gay folks hollering about being denied their civil rights have practiced and are still practicing discrimination against people of color, everyday. Not to mention enjoying their white privilege whenever the opportunity presents itself. I know first hand, I switched academic fields because of the white lesbian women that dominated my primary field of study, but regularly turned a blind eye to racism or engaged in racism themselves.

The Gay Rights Movement and the Civil Right Movements are not the same for many reasons. Every black man, woman, and child was denied basic citizen rights for decades, the Gay Rights Movement does not have this history or the sweeping denial of basic rights based on just a VISUAL representation. This does not make the Civil Rights Movement better than the Gay Rights Movement, but it sure makes it different and unsuitable for comparison.

If being denied something is the simple criteria for being considered a movement like the Civil Rights Movement, then everyone should be taking to the streets. What's next, the Single Women's Movement or the Single Folks Movement? Single folks get discriminated against everyday, all day. Single people have a hard time adopting and getting a dinner reservation. Single people pay more for EVERYTHING, taxes, insurance, you name it. Buying a house or car is a pain in the ass when you're single, some salesman is always remarking "that's a lot of car or house for a single person." Makes you wanna holla, believe me.

Let's the Civil Rights Movement be what it was and what it continues to be and let the Gay Rights Movement create and complete its own unique history.