In what universe does homophobia have anything in common with white supremacy?
Only the one conservative writer Michael Brown inhabits.
While he says in the opening paragraph of his article in the Christian Post that he doesn’t intend to compare the two concepts — “My purpose in this article is not to compare ‘white supremacy’ to ‘homophobia'” — he ends up doing exactly that everywhere else, including with the headline “‘White supremacy’ is the new ‘homophobia.’”
His argument here is that “homophobe” is a word liberals (a.k.a. people who support civil rights) use against conservatives who oppose LGBTQ rights even though the person who coined the term only meant it to mean a literal phobia. (Brown will be shocked to learn that the meaning of words can change over time.)
Brown may not believe himself to be literally fearful of gay people, and therefore not a literal homophobe, but his career is built on a foundation of stoking anti-LGBTQ fear in his audience, including denying the existence of trans people and perpetuating false stereotypes.
And that’s when he brings up “white supremacist,” which he claims has basically become synonymous with anyone who doesn’t support the current anti-racism movement.
What fair-minded, decent person would want to be described like that? And who wants to have a phobia?
It’s the same today with the terms “white supremacy” and “white supremacist.”
…
White supremacy is ugly and bad, and no decent, fair-minded person would want to be called a white supremacist.
That’s why these terms, just like homophobia and homophobe, have been weaponized today.
If you are a Trump supporter, then you are a white supremacist.
If you differ with any part of the BLM movement, you are a white supremacist.
I guess we should give him credit for admitting white supremacy is even a thing, unlike some of his peers…?
But heated rhetoric shouldn’t be confused with what’s actually happening. Trump’s supporters may not walk around thinking people of color are inferior to white people, but they don’t care when he stokes racial fires, praises White Nationalists, and refers to African nations as “shithole” countries. At least it’s not enough to make them reconsider their votes. Ignoring Trump’s racism isn’t the same as actively endorsing white supremacy, sure, but looking the other way when Republican racism plays out right in front of you makes you complicit in spreading it.
That’s the real problem, whether or not Brown cares to admit it. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter if Brown says he’s neither homophobic nor a white supremacist if he can’t stop voting for people who are.