Call Out

This is a repost from 2019. The discourse is not any better today. … @gaywonk “The worst part of Pride month is realizing how many of your new gay friends would’ve criticized the Stonewall riots for not being “strategic.” ~ There’s no use arguing with Andrew Sullivan gays you just have to drag them kicking and screaming into a better future. ~ Don’t let your queer rage be shaken by white gays lecturing about “tactics” or “respectability.” They were wrong yesterday, they’re wrong today, they’ll be wrong tomorrow. And eventually, they’ll be toasting you at a fancy HRC gala, swearing they were behind you the whole time.”
A facebook friend posted a screenshot of this mini-rant the other day. Otherwise, I would have missed it. @gaywonk is in the middle of his fifteen minute glory hole. A few weeks ago, this status made him/her/they a star. @gaywonk, aka Carlos Maza, works queer identity for all it is worth. At some point in this procedure, a *comedian,* StevenCrowder, made some unfortunate remarks. @gaywonk went full scale tattletale, and got the Mr. Crowder in trouble.
@gaywonk “Wow. @YouTube now profiting off of ads for Steven Crowder, which include a reference to the “Socialism Is For Fags” shirt he sells to his audience. This platform is unbelievable.” The punishment Mr. Crowder received was not sufficient. The latest salvo has a group of googlers sending out An Open Petition to the San Francisco Pride Board of Directors. “We, the undersigned, employees of Google … urge you to revoke Google’s sponsorship of Pride 2019, and exclude Google from representation in the San Francisco Pride Parade on June 30th, 2019. … We have spent countless hours advocating for our company to improve policies and practices regarding … harassment and hate speech directed at LGBTQ+ persons. …” ICYMI, YouTube is owned by Google.
@chamblee54 “enjoy your fifteen minutes while it lasts” @chamblee54 “but when someone calls @gaywonk out, he/she/they goes screaming to mommy/google, demanding that those mean youtubers be punished.”
When writing that second tweet, I could have used a lot of phrases to describe Mr. Crowder’s tacky remarks. The phrase “calls @gaywonk out” fell into place, without much thought. Then I thought about it. Maybe what Mr. Crowder said was calling out @gaywonk.
Call out culture is a big thing now. Sometimes, it is appropriate. If someone does something wrong, or offensive, criticism is called for. Unfortunately, many times calling out is closer to playground insults, than constructive criticism. Some people think calling someone racist, and making a KKK joke, makes a difference in fighting racism. The truth is, they are just fifth graders, calling someone a poopyhead. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.