Bleach Blond Bad Built Booyah

There’s an interesting divide on the Rep. Jasmine Crockett rebuttal to the unprovoked attack on her by Rep Marjorie Taylor Green, and it’s one that like most issues in America is divided by race.

Black women and men side with Rep Crockett, especially Black women who are sick of attacks from everyone on their bodies.

Attacks by everyone but especially by white women.

The co-opting of Black women’s thickness, lips, hips, hair and makeup, while simultaneously denigrating the same features in Black women.

The laws against Black women’s hair that necessitated the Crown Act. Think about that for a moment. America hates Black women so much that many businesses and schools specifically prohibt Black women’s natural hair. The issue is so pervasive that congress had to pass a law prohibiting racists from targeting Black women’s hair.

This is one reason why Black women latching on the popular topic of who would women choose to be in the forest with, man or bear. Followed up with who would Black women chose to be in the forest or in work meeting with, bear, white men or white women? Black women loudly chose the bear and the white man.

Black women choose the bear and white men for all the reasons we know and we saw happen in the aftermath of the Crockett/Taylor Green dustup.

But now add what some white gay folk to believe is a homophobic element to Rep Crockett’s clapback, the word “Butch” and the complexity of the disagreement deepens for some white gay folk.

For *me, I haven’t seen any similar concerns from Black/POC gay folks, and in fact what I have seen is support for Crockett and reminders that “butch” is used by Black gay men and women, differently than how white lesbians may use the word. I’ve also seen Black LGBTQI+ folk highlight the fact that the issue is another in which white voices drown out Black voices while supporting someone as vile as Marjorie Taylor Green despite her homophobia, racism, attending white nationalist rallies, and her support for January 6th insurrectionists.

It is truly remarkable but sadly predictable.

I’ve written before how Black language is sharper, more direct, and extra cutting, and will spare no one. Whether in humor or anger or in what we call “The dozens.”

It’s familiar, its church, it’s street, it’s salon and barbershop all combined, and it’s understood within our community.

It’s not for the faint of heart. Generally speaking white Americans are the faint of heart who speak in a different, less direct and specific way.

Black people understand Will Smith saying, “Don’t start nothing won’t be nothing.” That’s a promise, a threat, a joke, a warning.

White people have “Bless your heart” as one example that conveys similar ideas but less directly.

Rep Crockett didn’t start it but she finished it.

That’s Black.

Marge started it but then leaned on the “Rules of (white) decorum” and (white) power to shut down Rep Jasmine.

Then Marge sat back and watched more people run to her protection than to support Rep. Jasmine from standing her ground. White men especially came to her defense and, as American history tells us, when white women cry, Black people die.

And it wasn’t only conservative white men coming to Marjorie’s rescue. Looking at you, sloppy Rep John Fetterman, who had the audacity to invoke Jerry Springer and decorum when he shows up to congress in a hoodie and sweatpants every day.

And now some white gay folk are not happy with “Butch” being used -I’m of the thought as many have said, that Rep. Crockett wanted to use the word “Bytch” but white America would have imploded and she knew that.

I’ve written before that we know that every ally has a line with Black folk. White gay men side with white supremacy with depressing frequency. White gay women less so, but still too often.

Black LGBTQI+ are on an island of brutal isolation from the community they love and support but which too often won’t protect them.

I know a straight person using “butch” can be homophobic in some context, and I’ll respect folk who take issue with its usage in that way.

I don’t take issue with Rep. Crockett protecting herself from a vile attack by a white woman while she was at work and on camera. The ongoing attacks on Rep. Crockett about her hair, eyelashes, looks, language, show that when a Black woman stands up for herself, she will be newly attacked with overwhelming frequency by enemies and so-called allies.

I don’t believe Rep. Crockett is homophobic, and she has a track record to back up her support for the community. Yet still, she’s smart so she offered an apology…while Marjorie just goes on about her racist and homophobic life without apologizing for her attack.

Rep. Crockett is smart enough to know words matter. She’s smart enough to know her worth and the worth of Black women and girls watching her who are enduring much worse everyday at home, school, work, and online where they are the most attacked demographic in the world.

I’ll end with this. LGBTQI+ folks are necessarily sensitive about government officials uttering a word some consider insensitive.

Give them grace.

Black women -including LGBTQI+ Black women are necessarily sensitive, defensive, and ready to “GO IN” if anyone wants to “Go there.”

Give them grace.

And, Don’t start nothing, won’t be nothing.