A Long Damn Time

It has been, a long damn time since I have written. I keep meaning for that not to happen, the long space of time.
Today I am wrapped up in the ugliness that has surrounded the health care vote here in the United States.
The language of hate that met legislators, African Americans and gay. I feel certain the hate existed for all time,
it never went away, it was under the surface and the bigotry in practice without claiming.
Now however, a mob mentality of unleashing hatred rhetoric, and perhaps movement toward a violence that
embraces the words ... many of us watch appalled. In my mind the mob scene of screaming hate emerged anew
with Sarah Palin's political rallies ... there was an urging toward a fevered pitch of anger at anyone other than
straight white christian conservatives.
But earlier today there was a connection made of hate language and calling women lesbians. I understand well
the impact of homophobia, but I question the comparison. If an African American is called an African American
I try to imagine the exchange ... it might go something like this, " yeah, that's right." "damn right and I am proud of
it, a proud black woman" .... if a lesbian is called a lesbian then something else happens often, it is seen a hate
language. I get confused here.
More often that not in the past several years of fighting for marriage equality lgbt folks run a rather constant
comparison of civil rights' work toward equality between African Americans and homosexual communities.
However, in the language example of hate speech given above there are apparent enormous differences .... the black
man on the street cannot hide his blackness, to call a black man black is to state the obvious. Hate speech is
hurled when the bigot uses other words to describe the blackness ... "n&&&&er" for example. But to call a black man
black is not hate speech. If the bigot called a group of white people "African Americans" it would recognized that in
all probability the individual had issues, but it would probably still be considered misidentification and blantantly stupid.
However if you call a lesbian a "lesbian" it is considered extreme hate speech by many and if you call a straight woman
a lesbian then it is considered hate speech.
The fact that we can pass affects our discrimination. The fact that most in Maine are white and can pass as straight certainly affects most of our vision in understanding oppression that cannot be denied. But if calling me lesbian is hate speech it is time to rethink the whole lgbt race comparison and it is time to redefine hate speech and no mistake hate speech with homophobia.
So the pride I feel as a lesbian, the pride I feel for "my people" is impossible, but to speak my name is to commit an
act of hate speech.
I wrote a little to that affect, that often strong women are called lesbian ... and one response was that strong women are not defined by sexual orientation .... imagine for a moment, the black man stating that not only was he black but that he was a
proud black man and the response being that color does not affect the strength of a man ... yes he might say, but I am strong in my blackness and my pride in who I am gives me strength.
And I say, I am strong in my lesbianism and my pride in who I am gives me strength.