I’ve heard the saying, that “Gay is the New Black“, and I understand that it’s in reference to the blossoming civil rights fight that the GLBT community is undertaking.  It makes sense to me, and in my opinion it doesn’t denigrate the efforts by the black community to continue the fight for their own civil rights, which although given by law are still begrudged by the majority whites, in many places.  It’s a long damned struggle, and being a Caucasian I haven’t had to experience the horrors, but I do give my support to the efforts to reduce racism.

Similarly, the gay community is experiencing a long damned struggle, albeit for them, the ability for some to hide who they were/are differentiates them from the black community’s struggles in both good and bad ways.  As a straight woman I have always been vocal in my support of GLBT civil rights, and again, I never experienced the horrors first hand, only through observances of my friends’ lives and struggles.

There’s a young man’s commentary on CNN that feels to me to be more from a black point of view than a gay point of view, but it’s interesting and well articulated.   It’s mostly about the need to support Obama, but I found his statements to be direct and frank and whether I agree with him or not, I appreciated his willingness to express his viewpoint in a way that didn’t feel antagonistic to me.

The really sad thing to me is that even within a community of people who are routinely discriminated against, prejudice for another type of difference still exists.  I guess people are people, but damn! it just seems self-defeating to not see how one fits into the bigger picture.