No Homo: The Fall of Bishop Long

Mark your calendars: 10-10-10 approaches. The first year of Stuff Black People Don't Like released in book form.

A major announcement will accompany the release of the book as well. Major. What will that be, you inquire? Stay tuned. Just know that Stuff Black People Don't Like draws the proverbial line on 10-10-10. Prepare yourselves.

Bishop Long with George W. Bush

Speaking of preparing oneself, news of a most shocking nature is shaking the very foundations of a mega-church in Atlanta. Alleged sexual abuse by Bishop Eddie Long, a man who has denounced homosexuality and led marches against gay marriage, is causing his congregation much consternation and contemplation.

No Homo, right? Of course all of the sexual predatory accusations are alleged at this point and Bishop Eddie Long - a man who preaches the gospel of Jesus-Christ with noticeable nod to the charismatic Ric Flair of professional wrestling fame - is presumed innocent at this point.

Nonetheless, the accusations of homosexual, predatory misconduct are piling up against a man who loves form-fitting suits and takes Facebook quality photos of himself with a cellphone wearing Under Armor:

"This man manipulated us from childhood," Parris told WAGA-TV, who interviewed the 23-year-old outside a Colorado grocery store. "This was our father and we loved him."

Parris, who alleged that Long used church funds to lavish him and the other victims with gifts, said he reached out to the bishop privately before filing suit.

"This man turned his back on us when he had no more need for us," Parris told WAGA-TV. "That's not a man. That's a predator."

Attorney B.J. Bernstein, who represents the accusers, said she did not authorize the interview.

In a civil lawsuit filed last Wednesday, Parris, a former member of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church and one of Long's "spiritual sons," claims the charismatic bishop made him call him “Daddy," exploiting his role as a father figure and mentor.

Long has denied the allegations and told his congregation Sunday he will "vigorously" fight the charges against him. He has yet to comment on Parris' interview.

Meanwhile, 32 pastors gathered at the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church on Tuesday evening.

No Homo, right?

Bishop Eddie Long preaches in DeKalb County, renowned as one of the top counties for Black people in America. This lawsuit filed for alleged sexual misconduct with four (thus far) Black male accusers threatens to hit Long where it hurts the most; the pocket book.

You see, Bishop Long is cut from the same cloth of entertainers who have graced the squared circle of professional wrestling. He created a character, a persona, that played well to an audience (25,000 members of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church and countless celebrity Black friends), all the while acting and manipulating them for financial gain.

He became a limosine riding, jet flying, kiss stealing, Rolex wearing, wheeling-dealing son of a gun that Ric Flair has boasted about in promos for years. Bishop Long was the same type of actor, manipulating the passions of the crowd (congregation) for his own economic betterment.

In a way, white professional wrestling grapplers have long influenced Black athletes, singers and entertainers. Bishop Long is first and foremost an entertainer, exciting his flock with verbosity and linguistically charged sermons that resonate with the power of God, but he owes a debt of gratitude to Gorgeous George:

Some fans--and NFL suits--are appalled. They long for the days before the hip-hop-ization of American sports, when you broke the plane and didn't get fancy. Even those who enjoy the end zone antics tend to see them as, Billy White Shoes Johnson's Funky Chicken aside, a new thing and a black thing. But not so: This all goes back some 60 years to one slightly pudgy white man, a wrestler, who's since been largely forgotten. It's a Gorgeous thing.

Wrestlers have long influenced hip hop and been a catalyst for Black people to hone their persona's, creating larger-than-life images of themselves to broadcast out to the world. Funny, that's all they are, though, images of what they want people to believe.

In reality, they play a character for the amusement of others. It appears Bishop Long bought into this idea and has played the character perfectly, all the while amassing popularity, a vast fortune and prestige.Where some wrestlers have catch-phrases to get the crowd fired-up (and to purchase merchandise), Bishop Long implores people to "Cross it up" with much gusto and fanfare.

One can only speculate if he told the alleged accusers to "Cross it up"... No Homo, right?

We wish Bishop Long 'God speed' in his upcoming legal battles against the accusers. DeKalb County hasn't had much positive news of late and the harrowing news that a beloved Bishop is someone who might have not stated "No Homo" is just to much to swallow.

Professional wrestling is fake, the wrestlers merely acting. Sadly, it appears Bishop Long bought into this character and the "Big Man" persona he had created.

#295. Disturbances at Black Gay Pride Events

Black people love block parties, as they offer one of the ultimate chances for community building and interacting with fellow Black people in a congenial environment. Having multiple generations of Black people congregating together and sharing stories with one another helps educate the young about the dangers of "The Man".

Sadly, as SBPDL has chronicled, Black people haven't had a great record of peaceful block parties as of late, and another event that attracted large numbers of Black people into a "block party" environment recently ended in tragedy and confusion. Strangely, Kanye West was nowhere to be found as were cries of "no homo".

You see, Atlanta is not only the Black Mecca of America, it is also the Black Gay Mecca of the world. And like all Gay people, Black Gay people (BGP) in Atlanta love to march in unison - as skimpily clad as possible - to the tune of Black Gay pride.

Atlanta, which already has one of the highest concentrations of Gay people in America, is beginning to see its Black Gay population come out of the closest and assert themselves as a powerful bloc.

Black Gay people in Atlanta are not content with just being Gay with those faggy white people, so they have formed another celebration of Gayness as part of Black Gay Pride Week. Meeting at Piedmont Park in Atlanta, Gay Black people have come together to out-Gay each other in a celebration of their:a. Blackness; and, b. Gayness.

Sadly, block parties with Black people involved all have the same tragic ending written in advance as these happy Black Gay people in Atlanta were deprived of a Cinderella, fairytale ending:

"The Atlanta Police Department said people with guns were fighting in Piedmont Park at about 9 p.m. today causing hundreds of people to "stampede."

There were no initial reports of injuries and police said the scene was deemed safe after the crowd was dispersed. The park closes at 11 p.m. and most people were leaving the park at about 9:30 p.m.

Several arrests were made and two people was possibly maced, said APD LGBT liaison Officer Dani Lee Harris.

"The APD got a call about an unruly crowd at the park and responded to the scene. There were two Code 20s [use of mace] and several arrests were made, but it's not known yet how many," Harris said at about 10:15 p.m. "The crowd is dispersed and the scene is secure." She added there were no reports of any injuries.

Hundreds of people were gathered in the park today as part of an unofficial gathering of Black Gay Pride, with DJs playing music and numerous cookouts taking place. Sundays in the park is part of a long standing tradition at Black Gay Pride"

Atlanta is undergoing massive budget cuts, which is resulting in police being let go, and a horrible wave of crime is washing the city worse than any rain storm could hope to accomplish, yet the city still is tolerant enough to pay for an officer dedicated to LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender) affairs... even in the face of economic collapse, tolerance is king!

However, the event was downplayed as being the result of an errant firecracker and any correlation of Black Gay people and gun violence was quelled:

"Initial reports by the Atlanta Police Department of people fighting with guns Sept. 6 in Piedmont Park were incorrect, according to new information released by the APD.

Lt. J. Little of the dispatch unit of Zone 5, which supervises Piedmont Park, said Tuesday that police responded to an unruly crowd at the park at about 9 p.m. Sunday after someone threw firecrackers causing many people to run.

No arrests were made and no injuries were reported, Little added. He also said police did not close down the park.

“There were no guns involved. Someone had thrown firecrackers and some of the crowd ran and caused a little bit of a panic,” Little said. “We dispatched units, but there were no arrests made and no injuries.”

Hundreds of people gather in the park each Sunday during Labor Day weekend as part of celebrating Black Gay Pride.

"There were people fighting with guns and that caused people to stampede," an APD officer told Ryan Lee at the scene on Sunday as officers set up barricades around the park refusing to allow people in the park and clearing people out. Lee is David Atlanta magazine editor and Southern Voice senior reporter and was at the park at about 9:30 p.m. when people began running."

Interesting, this large collection of Gay Black people organizing to celebrate Black Gay Pride (BGP) in Atlanta, comes on the heels of the revelation that Black People don't listen to the CDC, especially Gay Black People:

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released statistics that revealed gay and bisexual Black men, between the ages of 23 to 29, become infected with the AIDS virus at the rate of nearly 15 percent a year-four times more than Latinos and Whites."

As stated, "No Homo" is not welcome at Black Gay Pride week in Atlanta, and neither is any derisive press regarding gun violence at Black pride events. According to the data, guns don't kill Gay Black People, only fellow Gay Black people do.

So, now gun shots at the festival of Gay Black pride, only Black people stampeding. Nothing new.

Sadly, the love for Gay Black people in America is not something that all Black people have, as Black people are the one group that is adamantly opposed to Gay marriage.

Stuff Black People Don't Like includes disturbances at Black Gay Pride events, for anytime that Black people are negatively depicted in the media is horrible, but for Black Gay people to be seen as bad is unimaginable.

Then again, no Atlanta-area McDonald's had any problems with transvestites attacking, so all was well in the end.

#345. Gay Marriage

Tolerance. Acceptance. Not judging others by the content of their character nor the color of the skin. Sadly, St. Martin Luther King Jr. - who, with Mein Obama and Jackie Robinson will one day adorn the Black Mount Rushmore - never said anything in his Sermon on the Mount about Gay people and, more specifically, Gay Marriage.

The virtues of tolerance and inclusion are bedrocks of white people's upbringing and how they are expected to live, as they are constantly told not be judgmental, intolerant, prejudicial nor racist toward any race, homophobic to different sexual orientations or intolerant to disabled people

Racism and homophobia are twin diseases in Post-Obama America and will be deemed psychological disorders that require heavy medication in the near future. Of course, only white people can be homophobic or racist and they will be heavily sedated so as to eradicate the only source of evil left on the planet that could disrupt THE AGE OF OBAMA.

Black people however, can do no wrong when it comes to racism nor homophobia. So 96 percent of Black people voted for Obama in the 2008 election? So what? Black people just wanted to feel proud and ensure that they could see the day they never thought they would in their lifetime!

That's not racist! It's racist to even point out that 96 percent of Black people voted for Mein Obama! Black people are immune from being called as a racist, for only white people can be racist.

And, only white people can be homophobic, even though 70 percent of Black people voted to defeat Gay Marriage in California:

"...one of an overwhelming number – 70 percent – of black voters in California who voted for Proposition 8 and helped secure its passage, according to exit polling conducted by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International.

African Americans, energized by Barack Obama's presidential bid, boosted their numbers at the polls this year to 10 percent of the state's electorate, up from 6 percent in 2004.

"The Obama people were thrilled to turn out high percentages of African Americans, but (Proposition 8) literally wouldn't have passed without those voters," said Gary Dietrich, president of Citizen Voice, a nonpartisan voter awareness organization."

But that's not homophobic! Black people were just excited about Mein Obama and his imminent coronation and in their jubilation, accidentally voted 70 percent of the time for keeping homosexuals from getting married.

It's obvious that Black people believe that "queering doesn't make the world work," and are shocked that such a proposition could be put forth at a time when the Black family is making a triumphant return from its recent nosedive into the 70 percent of Black babies born out of wedlock.

Family values, after all, are the bedrock of the Black community.

Why Black people against Gay Marriage, when the rest of the enlightened United States is for it?:

"The NBJC report ... cites surveys showing that "65% of African-Americans are opposed to marriage equality compared to 53% of Whites" and that blacks are "less than half as likely to support marriage equality and legal recognition of same-sex civil unions as Whites." It concludes: "African-Americans are virtually the only constituency in the country that has not become more supportive over the last dozen years, falling from a high of 65% support for gay rights in 1996 to only 40% in 2004." Nor is the problem dying out: "Among African-American youth, 55% believed that homosexuality is always wrong, compared to 36% of Latino youth and 35% of White youth."

Why the gap?

The answer is: They think sexual orientation is different from race. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of a nation in which individuals would be judged not "by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Whites, on balance, have come to believe that sexual orientation, like color, is immutable. Blacks, on balance, haven't. They see homosexuality as a matter of character."

Black people can't be homophobic. The intolerant and racist coat can only be worn by white people. It doesn't fit Black people well and they can easily shed its uncomfortable fabric.

However, Stuff Black People Don't Like includes Gay Marriage and yet, their disapproval of homosexuals exchanging wedding vows isn't based on hate, intolerance, bigotry or homophobia, but merely family values.

Only white people can be hateful. Black people, especially in the AGE OF OBAMA are immune from any negativity.