I do not intend to comment any further on the Barack Obama debacle with Donnie McClurkin other than to recommend this column by my friend, Wayne Besen (http://www.365gay.com/opinion/besen/besen.htm). The larger message that Wayne makes, and with which I fully agree is as follows:However, this imbroglio is really not about Obama's missed opportunity - it is about starting a conversation on the expectations GLBT voters have for our "friends." We are five percent of the electorate (much higher in the Democratic primaries) and give generously with our time and money. Just as it was no longer acceptable for candidates to speak at the once-segregated Bob Jones University in 2000, times have changed and it is no longer suitable for "gay-friendly" politicians to court homophobes in southern states.
If McClurkin's bilious statements were directed towards any other minority, he would not be let within a mile of any campaign. The GLBT community will no longer sit by idly and be the exception to the basic rules of decency and common sense. Our votes will not be taken for granted, but earned - and Obama and the rest of the pack can take that as the gospel.
Stated another way, if politicians and others want the time, talent and treasure of the LBGT community, then they need to be willing to be our friends ALL of the time, not just when it's expedient or they want money.
2 comments:
Every single Democratic campaign courts African-American ministers who share McClurkin's views. If you want to build a coalition to fight for LGBT rights, then you have to include some people who disagree.
Many may share McClurkin's anti-gay views since Black evangelicals are the most homophobic of any religious group, but McClurkin's ex-gay diatribes and own "cure" claim put him in a different league than most.
I suspect McClurkin's "cure" has a lot to do with his church taking in $100,000 per month by one report. $1.2 million a year for claiming to be cured? Many would stoop to McClurkin's level for that kind of money.
I have done a great deal of research on the ex-gay crowd and their cure claims and they are bogus. One is about as likely to be cured from homosexuality as one is to pray away their skin color. It does not work.
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