Black and Latino Men: The Powerless Homosexual

Our feet firmly planted into the 21st Century we're now experiencing a shift.  Minorities, once limited in identity options are now literally exploding with variations.  However what we have to consider is does variation translate to power.  And more directly, what is power?

Power is defined as: Noun: The ability to do something or act in a particular way, esp. as a faculty or quality.  Verb: Supply (a device) with mechanical or electrical energy.  Synonyms: noun. might - force - strength - potency - authority - energy verb. actuate - operate.

Let's just creating a sort of running context for the power we might be talking about as social, economic, political/policy, personal power.

Social Power would be defined by the ability to shift the will or minds/opinions of the people, and we'll define the people as the population of North America and other continents where Black and Latino men live.  It would be what can we do and how often do we see positive, dynamic images of men of color within a sexuality framework such as media/entertainment, literature, nd physical or social art.  (This essay was suggested by an article on the presence and lack of Black and Latinos males in a homosexual context on television currently.)

Economic Power would be defined by the ability to not only personally hold money but more importantly to pool it into ways which would move, influence, exert power over social arenas.  What would this look like?  Viable racially focused agencies/projects with budgets exceeding $1 million, $5 million or even $10 million a year that are in existence through private donations, not governmental level agency welfare.  The agency would exist for 10 years, 20 years, 30 years and change and grow with the times.  This might also look like the creation of a Super Pac---there is already one being created specifically by LGBT interests/individuals without racial demarcations but we know that means----White controlled and focused.  

Political/Policy Power would be answered by having political power through vehicles like a Super Pac.  What is a Super Pac?

A PAC (Political Action Committee) to which corporations, unions, and other organizations can donate freely. These did not exist prior to the Citizens United decision, in which the Supreme Court ruled that corporations must be treated as individuals in terms of having "protected speech", including the right to spend money on political causes; and SpeechNow.org v. FEC, a D.C. Circuit Court decision holding that contribution limits could not apply to political committees that do not make direct contributions to or coordinate their activities with federal candidates. Therefore, unlike regular PACs, they cannot coordinate with individual candidates, and unlike 527 organizations, all contributions to and expenditures by these groups must be disclosed publicly just as federal PAC spending is.

Now consider this, the immediate reaction to what many felt was a Supreme Court decision that puts corporations into an unfair positionality of being able to vote, impose onto political decisions/campaigns, was immediately utilized by White LGBT individuals.  They may've been outraged but then they immediately moved their resources to take advantage of the ruling, just as financial institutions, abortion advocates/opposers, individual party supporters did.  More pointedly strategic, as the law of the land gave power to corporations, individuals incorporated.  The cost of incorporating being around $150 if done by one's self dircetly to the state or about $1000 if done by a lawyer.

What about politicians who are out about their sexuality and brown and focused on sexuality issues and themselves are male, Black/Latino, etc.?  Well, so far I only know of one here in NYC.

Personal Power, which would be sex, consumerism and the ability to make a stand for respect/equality as a human being.  Men are having sex constantly so that's not something we lack.  Consumerism---when gym memberships;  Nicki Minaj or Rihanna or Diana Ross or Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey or Madonna or NetFlix or Time Warner Cable or AMC Theaters or Louis Vuitton or Red Bull or True Religion or Tommy Hilfiger or Ralph Lauren or Gucci or Walmart or Lady Gaga are hurting then we'll know that countless (but financially spending) Black and Latino homosexual men suddenly pulled out their money.

The ability to stand, to make a stand to protest, to rally, activism, to marry---that's still a jury out activity.  How are we doing in those areas?  Are we doing anything?  How many rallies have you been to?  How many weddings?  How close to marriage and the economic/social power it brings are you?

When we circle back to the definition of power, has there been movement?  In the 1960s and 1970s there was a level of heavy social activism because we believed that "...absolute power corrupts absolutely..." but what we also have to accept is that "...powerlessness corrupts absolutely...".  When we're allowed to mindlessly entertain ourselves; see barebacking porn as viable entertainment and not examples of fucking each other to illness/death; shop til we drop for every variation Paul Smith can come up with; suffer lack of employment and education with grumbling resentment---as we grudgingly lower our living standards rather than raise our voices (and votes and money or Occupy Main Street); perform raw sex with each other and have the audacity to call each other "brother" or "papi" then we've proven that we're limited people.

And limited people, by definition are: Adjective: Restricted in size, power, amount, or extent; few, small, or short: "a limited number of places are available";(of a monarchy or government) Exercised under limitations of power prescribed by a constitution.  Synonyms: restricted - narrow - finite - confined - scanty-trivial.

Thank you,

Kyle Phoenix

Email: kylephoenixshow@aol.com

http://kylephoenixsite.com/

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