So-cute-you-could-eat-her Irene Monroe, a woman who knows what she's talking about, is a key voice in the Proposition 8 debate - particularly on the subject of its descent into racial blame-mongering. "The same-sex marriage debate [has been] hijacked by a white upper class queer universality that not only renders these marginalized queer communities invisible, but - as it is presently framed - also renders them speechless," she says in her
latest article. I largely agree with that; there's a yawning chasm between
them and
us. But just
who is us and them? Even enlightened souls like
Ms Monroe insist on casually using the term "white" to generalise Caucasians. Well - newsflash! - not all white people are the same. I assume Ms. Monroe is referring to financially comfortable WASPS (the Bad Guys) and not "minority" Caucasians (Irish, Poles et cetera). Minority, or ethnic, Caucasians have historically been victimised by WASPS just as much as other ethnic minorities. In fact, my own immediate family suffered violence and discrimination at the hands of WASPS in Northern Ireland over the last several decades; I personally suffered the indignity of racial abuse as an immigrant in Australia. So it's particularly galling to hear "white this, white that" as if the suffering of Afro-Caribbean’s is so unique and acute that license is granted to lump all Caucasians together and denigrate them wholesale. Two wrongs make a right in the world these people inhabit. Now don't get me wrong, I don't count Ms. Monroe as one of those people; the woman needs to be heard by us all. I'm just calling her on the use of the term white. (As an aside, it's definitely worth looking at the devastatingly beautiful
Qaadir Howard's incisive, razor sharp argument, below, against the use of the term black in reference to people of Afro-Caribbean descent).
Ultimately, the gay community is dominated and controlled by exactly the same people as the mainstream: monied, White Anglo-Saxon Protestants. The difference is, in our community, they're gay. But let's allow Ms Monroe the last word - she's smarter than me and much, much cuter: "[It's] not surprising because the larger queer movement has distorted, if not erased, its own history when it come to the Stonewall Riot of June 27-29, 1969 in Greenwich Village, New York City, which started on the backs of working-class African-American and Latino transgender patrons of the bar. Those brown and black queer people are not only absent from the photos of that historic night, but they are also bleached from the annals of queer history and gay pride events."
Back in August, the BBC screened an expose on the disturbing tactics employed by pedigree dog breeders in Britain, and the part played by the Kennel Club and Crufts, the world famous pedigree dog show. Check out the original story here.
The BBC has announced that it won't screen next year's show, the first time it's missed covering the event in forty years. The decision follows a collapse in talks over what to do about those breeds at risk of serious health problems - brought on by decades of inbreeding.
"We need to be confident the measures being taken now and planned for the future are effective in addressing the issues raised about the health of some pedigree dogs before we return to broadcasting the event," said George Entwistle, controller of BBC Knowledge.
The Kennel Club had this to say: "The Kennel Club regrettably had to refuse to comply with the unreasonable demands insisted on by the BBC, to exclude certain breeds of dog from the group competition at the show. These demands took no account of the measures the Kennel Club has in place to improve the health of pedigree dogs."
All a bit late in the day - if the Kennel Club were at all concerned about the health of the dogs, then they wouldn't have waited until their obscene practises (such as the mating of mothers and sons, and brothers with sisters et cetera) had been exposed on national television before taking action. And how, exactly, do you reverse the effect of decades of inbreeding anyway? Remember, there's around 10,000 pugs in Great Britain, but they only have the equivalent gene pool of 50 individuals. Pugs are susceptible to serious eye damage simply from bumping into things - and that's just one example of a breed in trouble.
Pet food brand Pedigree has withdrawn its sponsorship; the RSPCA and the Dogs Trust have both cut their association with the show.
So with all that in mind, here's to a thoroughly doom laden, depressing, wallow in misery on Christmas Day - bring on the tears, the shouting, and the catfights!
Dear God, Cathy... Yes, it's Marcus Lloyd again, shot by Karl Simone.
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