Oh the fun I have on social media. Today, I was on twitter. What a blast that always is. My focus today is on the issue of "Straight Pride". It's the time of year for LGBT Pride parades and festivities around the world to take place, sometimes even in defiance of society and governments of the country they are being held. I support Pride events. I see the value in them. It is an opportunity for people to say "Hey, fuck you, I am NOT staying in the closet!" and rightly so. It's a chance to go out, have fun and show support for LGBT's who have faced so much discrimination, persecution and ill treatment all over the world! This concept of Pride seems completely lost on many of those calling for Straight Pride, and that is highly frustrating.
So, in my scrolling through tweets I run across this one guy on twitter, a "hip hop" DJ or rapper or whatever, from Toronto, a dude called Kadeem who appears to goes by the name Madniss, though he is Bruce Wayne on twitter. His comments were, first "Gay float at caribana? I'm not trynna hate on homosexuals but naaaahh bro none ah dat," followed by "If there's gonna be a gay float at caribana then I'm calling for a straight pride parade then. That's what I call #EqualRights". Oh, the whole straight pride thing pisses me off, so I gave it a go. My response was a snarky "One float is devoted to LGBT, and the rest are heterocentric. Congrats, you got a straight pride parade. Idiot". In hindsight, I shouldn't have made the last second decision to add "Idiot" to the end, but it was definitely in my brain, so I added it. His response was "People like you give faggots a bad name." Then he blocked me.
Well, this leaves me angry and feeling far less bad for using the word "Idiot". The use of the word "faggots" suggests that he doesn't exactly get the whole gay pride thing, failing to see that a statement like that is EXACTLY why gay pride is so important. Maybe he could have an "Idiot" pride day, seeing as I used that term, and that was derogatory. That would be interesting.
A follow up tweet read "I don't have anything against homosexuals. Caribana is the one thing that reminds me of back home and the gay stuff just makes it weird." So, basically, YES, you do have a problem with gays. That's like saying "I'm not a racist, but I really hate it when black people show up at basketball games".
Here, clearly, is a kid that doesn't get it. And the impression that I get is that he is a newer Canadian, possibly a first or second generation. I'm not against immigration. I believe in an open Canada that can be home to many people from all over the world. I do, however, hate that ideas such as homophobia are imported into a country where LGBT rights have been fought hard for. In Canada, of course, LGBT's have the right to marry, and I am proud of that, but there are still many issues facing LGBT folks in this nation that need to be tackled. So, more people coming in with homophobic ideas doesn't help the situation. That's not saying this kid doesn't have a place in Canada or that he should go home. I am just saying that we don't need more homophobia, from anyone! We need an inclusive Canada. That includes space everywhere for LGBT's!
Now, his wasn't the only comment denouncing gay pride, using a term like "faggot" or trumpeting this grand need for a "Straight Pride" event. There is no shortage of that. But, our brief interaction left me feeling angry, frustrated and disappointed. It left me feeling that, with all the progress made, there are still people such as him who do see a problem with a float placed in the parade by members of the LGBT community. It leaves me sad that, with so much progress being made within the younger generation who seem to be much more open to understand LGBT issues, there are still young folks with ideas like these. Times are changing, but the fight is still on. Sorry Kadeem, but you ARE part of the problem.
So, in my scrolling through tweets I run across this one guy on twitter, a "hip hop" DJ or rapper or whatever, from Toronto, a dude called Kadeem who appears to goes by the name Madniss, though he is Bruce Wayne on twitter. His comments were, first "Gay float at caribana? I'm not trynna hate on homosexuals but naaaahh bro none ah dat," followed by "If there's gonna be a gay float at caribana then I'm calling for a straight pride parade then. That's what I call #EqualRights". Oh, the whole straight pride thing pisses me off, so I gave it a go. My response was a snarky "One float is devoted to LGBT, and the rest are heterocentric. Congrats, you got a straight pride parade. Idiot". In hindsight, I shouldn't have made the last second decision to add "Idiot" to the end, but it was definitely in my brain, so I added it. His response was "People like you give faggots a bad name." Then he blocked me.
Well, this leaves me angry and feeling far less bad for using the word "Idiot". The use of the word "faggots" suggests that he doesn't exactly get the whole gay pride thing, failing to see that a statement like that is EXACTLY why gay pride is so important. Maybe he could have an "Idiot" pride day, seeing as I used that term, and that was derogatory. That would be interesting.
A follow up tweet read "I don't have anything against homosexuals. Caribana is the one thing that reminds me of back home and the gay stuff just makes it weird." So, basically, YES, you do have a problem with gays. That's like saying "I'm not a racist, but I really hate it when black people show up at basketball games".
Here, clearly, is a kid that doesn't get it. And the impression that I get is that he is a newer Canadian, possibly a first or second generation. I'm not against immigration. I believe in an open Canada that can be home to many people from all over the world. I do, however, hate that ideas such as homophobia are imported into a country where LGBT rights have been fought hard for. In Canada, of course, LGBT's have the right to marry, and I am proud of that, but there are still many issues facing LGBT folks in this nation that need to be tackled. So, more people coming in with homophobic ideas doesn't help the situation. That's not saying this kid doesn't have a place in Canada or that he should go home. I am just saying that we don't need more homophobia, from anyone! We need an inclusive Canada. That includes space everywhere for LGBT's!
Now, his wasn't the only comment denouncing gay pride, using a term like "faggot" or trumpeting this grand need for a "Straight Pride" event. There is no shortage of that. But, our brief interaction left me feeling angry, frustrated and disappointed. It left me feeling that, with all the progress made, there are still people such as him who do see a problem with a float placed in the parade by members of the LGBT community. It leaves me sad that, with so much progress being made within the younger generation who seem to be much more open to understand LGBT issues, there are still young folks with ideas like these. Times are changing, but the fight is still on. Sorry Kadeem, but you ARE part of the problem.
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