Not A Friend Of Dorothy.
Barack Obama announced that he’s asked Pastor Rick Warren of the Saddleback Church of California to deliver the invocation at his inauguration in January and gay people across America are upset. They’re nearly rioting in the streets (albeit an orderly, well coordinated riot with everyone matching and cake and punch… but I digress) over this decision because of Warren’s open support of California’s Proposition 8 and opposition to gay marriage.
Gay people… calm the fuck down.
I know it must be hard for the GLBT community to watch as their savior of liberalness embraces a social conservative in the spirit of national unity after they gave him overwhelming electoral support, but I got news for homosexuals today… Rick Warren is not your enemy.
Nope. In the grand scheme of labeling the enemies of gays in America, Rich Warren isn’t even in the top 100 or even top 1000. In fact, gay people really don’t have much to worry about from Pastor Warren, he’s a non-entity in your universe.
Lemme explain some shit real quick…
I’m black, and I’ve been black for about 30 years now and I’ve gotten quite good at it. One of the things I’ve come to know as a common experience of my blackness and the blackness of others is discrimination. It comes in all kinds of forms, it comes from all kinds of people, and it comes at all kinds of times, but there’s never a time when someone tells me to my face that they don’t like black people and I get upset. Hell, when someone tells me to my face that they don’t like me, its really a weight off my shoulders because I no longer have to worry about them discriminating against me… They won’t. And do you know why? Because once someone admits to being a racist, I know the exact nature of our relationship.
I won’t ask them for shit. They won’t give me shit. We’ll call it even at that.
And then I move on.
Back to the gay people.
So what if the muthafucka that Barack Obama asked to say grace at his inauguration don’t like homosexuals? I mean, what were y’all planning on asking him for anyway? It isn’t like there are gay people lined up outside the Saddleback Church waiting for a job or a sandwich. Its not like his edification is the key to your happiness. Hell, he doesn’t even know you or your boyfriend/girlfriend. He’s just one less muthafucka you gotta worry about.
Rick Warren isn’t your enemy because Rick Warren can’t do anything to you or for you. He’s just another guy who has an opinion that you don’t share. Get over it, move on.
Your real enemies are the people who you don’t know. Your real enemies are the ones who silently went into the voting booth and voted YES on Prop 8, then returned to work, had a cup of coffee with you and asked you if the jeans they were wearing made their butt look big. Your real enemy isn’t the person who would speak his mind against you, your real enemy is the person who would conspire their thoughts to harm you and say nothing of it.
Its not the white person who calls me a nigger to my face that I’m worried about. Its the white person who acts like my friend while they think I’m a nigger that I got an issue with.
So instead of throwing your well manicured and gay hands in the air in protest, be cool. You know who Rick Warren is and what he’s about and there’s nothing you can do to change him or that fact.
And for those who want to get mad at Barack Obama for asking him to deliver the invocation, I got some bad news for you too. A lot of people voted for Obama and a lot of the folks who voted for him aren’t down with gay marriage either. That’s why Prop 8 passed. It’s called democracy, the people vote and sometimes they make choices you don’t like (see President George W. Bush 2000/2004). That’s what being a minority is about sometimes, not getting your way… Black folks know the deal, we dealt with that slavery shit for a minute.
All that said, be cool. Be happy that you got a muhfucka in office who’s on your side and stop sweating who he prays with, plays ball with, gets money from, or cuts his hair because if you start going on a homophobic witch hunt, you might start turning up some of your friends.
14 responses so far ↓
Vee // December 19, 2008 at 2:12 am |
…very well said. I mean seriously, you are not going to agree with every decision the President makes. In the grand scheme if things, this IS NOT a major decision. Sit down somewhere!
Chenna // December 19, 2008 at 2:41 am |
Corey,
I gotta disagree. No, this is not a Cabinet position. I’ll leave alone the aspect of why we feel the need to have a pastor deliver the invocation & our political treatment of Christianity in this country. But it is a big deal that President-elect Obama has invited a man with known position of believing that being gay is morally wrong to deliver the invocation for the nation. I don’t really care about his support of Prop 8, but I do care that he thinks being gay is morally wrong & equivalent to incest & pedophilia. It’s about having principles. The person selected for the invocation should speak to the highest ideals of the nation, & I’m sorry but if you really think that homosexuality is “wrong,” you’re not the right person to give the invocation. Period.
No, we’re not going to agree with every decision Obama makes. But when we do disagree, we better stand up & say something. That’s why the country has been held captive by nonsense for the past 8 years. People being told to STFU. I’m not down with that.
{S.T.U.F.F.} // December 19, 2008 at 5:26 pm |
Corey,
I luv your blog!!! It’s a big dose of reality, peppered with a heaping scoop of insight, a dash of humor and endless flava!!
Great food for thought — this post is no exception.
miko // December 20, 2008 at 5:18 am |
history will absolve obama’s decision. the pastor choice is really not that serious in the end. quite often there is very little historical correlation, in ideology, between the pastor choice at the inaugural event and the decisions the president-elect will make during his term(s). the president’s choice is personal and it should be his own damn business who he chooses to bless his ass. but the decisions he will make afterward are all about the people.
let the man say his damn prayer!!!
Aida // December 20, 2008 at 5:35 am |
Bravo. Like he said there is no one definition of America. He’s not the president of the ones who voted for him, but he is the president of all of America. Black. White. Asian. Indian. ETC. Gay. Straight. Bi. Women. Men. EVERYBODY. Get over it and embrace the fact that he’s not governing to one small segment of the country, like the rich or the rednecks who have no clue.
Nina // December 20, 2008 at 3:28 pm |
What people tend to forget is that Obama is very spiritual and religious and has never supported gay marriage…civil unions yes but marriage no. So I do know why everyone is all up in and arms and acting so surprised! You knew who Obama was and what he stood for when you voted for him. What happened was liberals fell for the right wing’s portrayal of Obama as this extreme left, extremely liberal politician when he never was or will be. Obama’s record has been center-left and this is no exception. And for the record I support Obama’s decision. People need to get over the fact that Rick Warren will be there. The man is entitled to his opinion.
Nina // December 20, 2008 at 3:29 pm |
Meant to say I do NOT know why everyone is all up in arms…
RNB // December 20, 2008 at 11:42 pm |
No. Let him have his opinion but keep it in HIS church. Should I ever want to hear his opinion, I’ll go there. Otherwise, his opinion means dick to me. He’s supposed to bless some food? I don’t think the food is gay so it really shouldn’t be an issue… The POINT is that there are MANY pastors whom I’m sure are capable of saying a prayer. Why Obama chose to pick such a controversial one is the issue. Who cares if dude is anti-gay, anti-abortion, anti-whatever. What he’s NOT is pro-unity and that’s what Obama SAID he stood for when we voted for him. Now, Obama chose a man who is open about his hatred, put dude in the spotlight as a figure who will BLESS his entry into the White House and we’re supposed to be pleased about that? Corey is right–this is not about Idiot Warren who has an opinion based on European-derived puritanical self-righteousness bullshit. This is about OUR incoming president looking very shady on the issues. He tried to distance himself from Pastor Wright, whose opinions were factual if roughly delivered, but he’s embracing THIS guy? That’s fucked.
Reiko // December 21, 2008 at 2:33 am |
I couldn’t say it any better than Chenna has. . . and wanted to lend my support to her comment.
Rinehart // December 21, 2008 at 6:20 pm |
It would have been soooo easy to choose someone else. And I know Obama, clever as he is knew what he was doing. So maybe there’s some underlying strategy. Like dividing the right?
I’m no fan of preachers and especially pop/celebrity-preachers. I’ll bet if you performed one of those personality/trait test, you’d find preacher & pimp almost identical.
This just shows that the change I was hoping for: reliance on our reasoning faculties and less on 7th century superstition, will take a back seat as we continue this post-modern crusade.
All this shit (pro & con) over a word: ‘marriage’
Here’s a word more important than marriage, that many ‘married’ people should concentrate on is: relationship.
set // December 23, 2008 at 6:35 am |
If people did go on a homophobic witch hunt, I’m sure they would find a lot of homophobes in their lives. But then wouldn’t that be better than not knowing?
Your own argument in the initial posting states that it is better to know where someone really stands, so you fully comprehend the nature of your relationship with them.
If more people speak out and express their true feelings and perspectives- be it opposition to a policy initiative deemed to be unconstitutional by many or support for those in the LGBT community- the voice and power of a group deemed a “minority” can grow.
My thanks to Chenna for her thoughtful comments and I am intrigued very much by Rineharts suggestion of a strategy to divide the right…very interesting.
christian // January 8, 2009 at 9:48 pm |
gay people should be very pissed off.
just look into Warren’s patronage of religious leaders in Uganda who are collecting LISTS of gay people and their addresses, publishing them on websites and in public forums, and urging the government to arrest them.
as always, its much more real in the field…..
Dominick Brady // January 10, 2009 at 8:41 am |
We can’t have a meaningful dialouge until we start lisenting to each other. Preaching to the crowd is so…daft.
I don’t agree with many of the man’s ramblings, BUT I want to hear what he has to say. I want to critique his ideas, and I want for there to be an on-going, repsect dialouge about issues from as many POV’s as possible.
There are many reasons to be upset with this man speaking on the stage he’s been given. There are just as many to be thankful that despite his politics, morals and teachings that he is still afforded that stage.
He’s not Pat Roberton.
There isn’t a saint among us that wouldn’t draw the ire of SOME group.
That said, I understand the angst. I totally get it.
Dominick Brady // January 10, 2009 at 8:41 am |
I meant preaching to the choir, btw.