The Migos, Dave Chappelle, Charlemagne Tha God, and Katy Perry have all reached stardom in different fields. For the most part, these individuals have nothing in common. Except for the fact that they have publicly ridiculed the LGBTQ+ community without any real consequences brought upon them. These things always seem to go through the same cycle. Hateful or ignorant words spew out of the mouth of a famous person, a member of the LGBTQ+ community speaks out, their hurt is silenced by the majority who only see their reaction as an over reaction.
For a while, this confused me. I would often think that maybe I was overreacting, finding a problem in things that were rather miscellaneous. Scrolling through a twitter feed after one of these homophobic or transphobic events begin to trend will have one think there is no real problem. It took me a while to understand that majority doesn’t rule right or wrong. It took me even longer to realize that America could not care less for LGBTQ+ people. If we are not profitable we do not matter.
The reason Charlemagne can laugh and joke about the death of a trans woman on a popular radio show, and not lose his job is simple. Trans issues are not viewed as real, trans issues do not matter because in America trans people do not matter. A society can not place value on something it does not think exist. This is extremely unsettling.
Dave Chappelle has continued to joke about the Trans community. Not to my surprise, people began to defend him. Saying that he jokes about everyone man, woman, straight, or gay. This defense is invaluable and even less substantial. Jokes about straight men don’t ultimately reinforce a rhetoric that ends in them being killed.
America will continue to show us its colors and voice its opinion. As members of the LGBTQ+ community, it is our duty to listen, remain aware, and rely on each other to mend the wounds of our brothers and sisters. Change must be demanded.
