General: January 2007 Archives

The network Thursday rebuked co-star Isaiah Washington for an anti-gay comment made during a backstage interview Monday at the Golden Globes regarding his co-star T.R. Knight. [...]

In an apology Thursday, Washington acknowledged “repeating the word Monday night.” He said “I can neither defend nor explain my behavior.”

Washington also said that “there are issues I obviously need to examine within my own soul, and I’ve asked for help.”

He said that he welcomes the chance to meet with gay and lesbian community leaders “to apologize in person and to talk about what I can do to heal the wounds I’ve opened.” (source)

I’ve been watching this drama from Grey’s Anatomy along with the rest of America. First, there was the spat between Washington and Dempsey on the set where Washington told Dempsey they he wasn’t his little “faggot”, with the implication that co-star T.R. Knight was the “faggot” in question.

Later T.R. came out as gay to everyone. Washington, at the time, apologized. Now, he’s done it again. You know, he said it in a joking way, saying, “I’m not a faggot...”, and laughing about it. He doesn’t get it. Would it still be funny if one of the white stars on the series went to the microphone and blurted out, “I’m no nigger!”. See where I’m going with this?

And as long as I’m on the topic, I’m tired of people referring to “nigger” as “the N word” when they don’t refer to “faggot” as the “the F word” (yes, I know... they are often referring to another “F word”). Both are just as hurtful and are on the same playing field.

Bottom line, two things need to happen. We, and Mr. Washington both need to come to the realization that Mr. Washington is simply a bigot. Second, there is no need to apologize to “gay and lesbian community leaders” for this because he had his chance the first time.

Mr. Washington should be a man and simply admit, “I’m no faggot, but I am a bigot.” He’d be happier, and I know I’d be happier because we could move on to the next drama on T.V. I swear, Hollywood lives in it’s own world of reality. Everyday, gay people are called faggots. I hear it quite often. I simply move on, and let them be as long as they let me be. No big deal. They make assumptions about me, and I make assumptions about them, and we move on. I’m not sure why the truth is so difficult for some to handle.

This entry is not politically correct, but there are times when I think political correctness is a load of crap. We should just call a spade (no pun intended), a spade, without regard to whom we might hurt. Right Mr. Washington? That seems to work for you.

He (Martin Luther King, Jr.) had been jailed in Birmingham, Alabama because of his civil rights leadership. Eight white clergy placed an ad in one of Birmingham’s newspapers questioning his right to be in their city, and suggesting strongly that he and ‘The Movement’ become more moderate in their approach.

In his letter he wrote: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

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If we who are black are unable to be in an ally/advocate relationship with our GLBT sisters and brothers of every race in their struggle, our commitment to the black justice struggle loses a bit of its integrity. The negative attitudes of black persons and other persons of color toward the rights of gay persons, suggests that we have forgotten our own struggles that continue to this day.

I cannot comprehend nor understand their theology nor their understanding of justice of many African churchmen who seem to be more ’worked up’ about a gay Episcopal bishop than they are about the legacy of colonialism that is still present in their nations and their churches, the tragedy of the deaths of millions because of HIV/AIDS, the poverty that exists all around them and in places, the appearance that black totalitarianism is valid when white totalitarianism was not.

As a clergyman, I believe Dr. King would vigorously oppose those in religion who use Scripture to justify their denial of human rights in the church and beyond of those who love someone of the same-sex. He would remind religious leaders of how historically, the Bible has been used to oppress persons, only in time to reverse their resistance.

Source