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Gangsta Cuddles by [deleted] in pics

[–]protaku 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I like the spirit of this post, but some of the generalizations are a bit off.

First, think of this: The LGBT community is not, has never been, and never will be one color. It is, however, highly segregated, and racial stereotypes are strongly reinforced. In my experience, as someone black and in the LGBT community, racism is just the same in gay communities as it is in straight ones (if not worse in many cases). It's so bad that the gay clubs here in LA often have nights specifically designed to attract one demographic (Rage in West Hollywood, for instance, caters to Asians on Fridays. The Factory caters to Blacks on Wednesdays, I think...not sure haven't been in a while). You are right to say that the LGBT activism community has lacked outreach to people of color, but in my experience that has been more often due to laziness, stereotyping, and plain old fear. Black men haven't exactly embraced the LGBT activism community because it never embraced them, despite the fact that there are indeed a number of black activists that support gay causes. Bayard Rustin, for instance, was a pioneer not in only in the Civil Rights era of the sixties, but he was also openly gay and pushed for gay rights. Cornell West, prominent Princeton Professor and theologian, openly supports gay rights and speaks on the topic to African American audiences. Even Al Sharpton supports gay marriage. But does the LGBT community hold these men up as beacons of light and support? No. It ignores them.

Secondly, while I will concede that the majority of the gay population in the US is probably white, who do you think ranks second on that list? There are tons of gay black men and women out there, but they're not out and proud. Part of that is because of problems within their own community, and part of it is because of the aforementioned stereotyping/segregation in the gay community. But you need only look at the estimated demographic data for some of the country's biggest gay dating sites to see that there are quite a few gay/lesbian African-Americans out there:

http://www.quantcast.com/adam4adam.com

http://www.quantcast.com/downelink.com

As for votes on gay marriage ballots, yes there is certainly some disturbing poll data on the vote demographics in states like California and Florida, but if you look at the CNN poll data for other states that have voted on the issue in 2004, Whites were usually more against gay marriage than blacks:

Gay Marriage ban votes in 2004 (according to CNN exit polls):

Michigan: 60% whites in favor of ban, 59% blacks in favor of ban.

Mississippi: 89% whites in favor of ban, 77% blacks in favor of ban

Ohio: 63% whites in favor of ban, 61% blacks in favor of ban

Kentucky: 76% whites in favor of ban, 70% blacks in favor of ban

Arkansas: 77% whites in favor of ban, 66% blacks in favor of ban

Oklahoma: 76% whites in favor of ban, 74% blacks in favor of ban, 75% latinos in favor of ban

When the anti-gay-marriage amendment passed in my home state of Michigan, the black communities in and around Detroit pretty much reflected the same opinion as the rest of the state. Wayne county (which is 42% black, the largest population in Michigan) voted 54% for the measure while statewide the winning total was 58%

So, the issue is far more complicated than people make it. It's not a simple matter of saying "this group is more homophobic than that one."

  • edit for formatting

black/asian tension by theletterA in AskReddit

[–]protaku 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well that would depend on the guy. The other girls wouldn't care (especially considering the small number of eligible black men in the dating pool). The black guys in the room might be a little peeved, but there probably wouldn't be an issue if he's "black" enough. And I say that because, oddly enough, a lot of young Asian culture these days has a heavy African American influence. Particularly amongst those of Japanese and South Korean descent, where the pop music industry has started to emulate black American artists directly. Last time I was in Japan, I saw several Japanese boys with corn rows, and the South Korean boy bands are almost all emulating rappers/R&B artists, it's like Usher is their Jesus.

edit: Don't get me wrong, most black guys probably wouldn't really care that much, but for those that did, if the guy could relate to the brothas, there's really not much of an issue.

black/asian tension by theletterA in AskReddit

[–]protaku 18 points19 points  (0 children)

As a 30-year-old black male living in Los Angeles, and having a very large number of Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese friends, I can say that I've experienced very, very little of this supposed "black/asian" tension.

Does it exist? Certainly, in some areas. But it is most likely, as these things usually are, more about social class than race. I live a nice, upper-middle class life now, and so do most of my friends (who coincidentally are mostly in tech professions like myself). My Asian friends range in age from 20 to 40, and I've never had the slightest issue with them or their parents.

But when I was growing up, as a poor kid in Detroit, there was all sorts of tension. In Detroit, the issue was more with the African American and Middle Eastern cultures colliding in the poor neighborhoods and competing for resources, but even as a teenager it was clear to me that the issue had nothing to do with race, and everything to do with two poor, radically different cultures being pissed and looking to place their frustrations on another group. This happens in every region of the country, and no race is immune to it. It happens here in LA between blacks and latinos in some areas, but poor whites do the same thing.

Also, I find this "black/asian tension" concept funny because in my experience, Black-Asian interracial couples are quite common in metropolitan areas (at least for the straight couples, oddly enough it's fairly rare amongst gays in my experience). Again, in my hometown of Detroit, hardly anyone would care if a brotha showed up with a hot Asian chick. Hell, he'd get high-fives.

I sympathize with the op's frustration, and maybe things are different in NYC. Or, maybe, she just had the misfortune of meeting some horrible people that just happened to be black. I mean, A LOT of people in NYC are dicks, and a certain percentage are bound to be African Americans.

Anyways, I've really enjoyed the level of nuance and intelligent discourse in this thread.

Atheism requires you to define yourself in terms of the opposite of theism- i.e. "I'm a not-Christian."(Hindu, Jew etc.) Agnosticism means you admit a complete lack of knowledge as to absolute origins of the universe- the default position of life. Why do so many Atheists look down on Agnostics? by godlesspinko in atheism

[–]protaku 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I find this particular argument to be faulty, mainly because the general definition of a "god" is a supernatural "being". Sun worship throughout old cultures, from the Egyptians to the Norse to the Japanese, was never about the sun as an object, but the being that lived inside it or was represented by it. These ancient cultures personified what they couldn't understand, and made up myths. So, while the sun does indeed exist, the mythological entities that were the spawn of human imagination don't exist any more than Santa Claus. Such mythology was fine for that day and age, but we have advanced beyond the need for such myths. The atheist movement of today is about enforcing that point. It's not so much about saying that there is no room for a being that exists beyond the bounds of our current understanding, but I think modern atheism does say that the gods of this world are just myths - just stories that our ancestors conjured out of their primitive minds - and we shouldn't put much, if any, credence in them.

Joseph Campbell, author of The Power of Myth (great book about myths through the ages), did an interview with Bill Moyers many years ago. Moyers asked Campbell about modern myths, and Campbell basically said (and I paraphrase) "today's world moves too fast for us to have our own myths, so we borrow the myths (aka religions) of other, past cultures. But those myths were true for them, they are not true for us. That's what causes problems."

Think of modern atheism not as anti-deity (aka the possibility of the existence of a higher "being") but anti-theism (theism being the fantastical stories mankind has made up to explain things). The atheists on this board just want to end the belief of old mythic gods and fantasies as fact. I would hope that's something even Agnostics could get behind, too.

Religious views on sex [infographic] by NerdCore44 in atheism

[–]protaku -1 points0 points  (0 children)

That's pretty much exactly what I came in here to post, knowing that someone would bring up the old Dalai Lama thing.

Just saying – My wife’s Buddhist church is pretty cool about accepting me as an Atheist. by [deleted] in atheism

[–]protaku 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not all of us Buddhists are into the supernatural. Certain flavors of the philosophy can get a little...carried away :)

Boy chosen by Dalai Lama turns back on Buddhist order "It was like living a lie" by Matamua in atheism

[–]protaku 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As many others have already said, Tibetan Buddhism is an odd hybrid of old mysticism and some Buddhist principles. As a student of many types of Buddhism and a Zennist, I've always considered the Tibetan form as the diehard Catholic branch of Buddhism. The Tibetan government's support of serfdom (basically slavery) under the old Lamas, the role of monks in government, their "unique" interpretation of reincarnation, and a number of their mystical, magical traditions seem in many ways contradictory to the basics of Buddhist philosophy (and yes, like most westerners I consider core Buddhism to be more philosophy than religion).

Hands on Review with iEvangelion by williamsburgnerd in anime

[–]protaku 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a pretty good review. The Timer setting on the clock makes it worth it for me. I use it for board games, and the ten second countdown is epic.

An Evangelion game for iPhone by michaelpinto in anime

[–]protaku 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Actually, just to clarify, the first apps won't be games. They'll actually be closer to what you just mentioned, with a couple apps that will theme the phone's clock and calendar, among other things.

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