via Transracial
Two and one-half years ago we watched as blogger Perez Hilton almost single-handidly destroyed the career of Grey’s Anatomy Star Isaiah Washington after the actor called cast-member T.R. Knight a “faggott”. Cloaked behind a banner of political correctness, Hilton led the choir in demanding the near media-execution that resulted in Washington — a rare Black male face on primetime TV — losing his job, being publically chastized and attending “sensitivity” training. So be it.
Washington’s behavior was certainly uncool — and it’s likely his long-time bad-itude on set was one reason the Grey’s cast was so quick to see him go. Flash forward to this week and Perez is now the one calling folks “faggot” — and it’s resulted in a bitch-slap! Obviously, Perez’s beat-up was way out of line — but equally out of line is his insistence that his use of derogatory and anti-Gay language is no big deal. Well, according to GLBT rights group GLAAD — it is a big deal and Perez needs to account for it. They’ve asked the blogger to apologize for his bad behavior — which they say “feeds a climate of hatred and intolerance toward our community.” And how.
Perez has unsurprisingly refused — claiming GLAAD’s actions on further victimize his victimhood. Not really. More problematic for us is Perez’s dissing double-standard. According to his logic, it’s OK to call people “faggot” if those people (such as Will.I.Am) are Black. But when a Black man — such as Washington — uses the term, it’s time to prep the lynching. What gives. No one should be using anti-Gay slurs — especially mass-media types who’ve built their career aggressively and churlishly targeting homophobes. Perhaps, more importantly, Perez has learned a lesson. Call a down brother a faggot — and the faggot might just end up being you! Right on!
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