LGBTQ+ & POC Under Attack!

The impeachment inquiry continues to be the hot topic of the day, but now we can add the Supreme Court trying to decide what to do with us LGBTQ+ people because we want to work. I get so tired of trying to defend my very existence to people that honestly if they were minding their own business, could truly care less about what I do. However the Trumpsters are still beating their drums, and their varied supporters continue to astound me.

The LGBT Republican political action group, that never gets invited to the big table yet still supports the GOP, had been quiet since 2016 when they had refused to endorse then-presidential candidate, Donald Trump. It was actually newsworthy. In the last few years of this unprecedented administration, Log Cabin Republicans have somehow justified being able to support him in the 2020 election. Are they serious? When you get a moment, please watch the justifications.

I won’t go into the specifics of their blood-boiling support argument, because honestly, it mystifies me. You truly have to read or watch it for yourself, because many of us within the LGBT population are taking a Tylenol for all of the head shaking that has happened since that opinion piece dropped. It did leave me thinking. As much as I want to come from a place of total shade, I would like to know how can anyone choose to align with anything that truly does not have your best interest at heart? My mother used to tell me that if people don’t like you, then stay the hell away from them. As a Gay, Black, Latino, I would find it almost staggering that any of those parts of myself could consciously choose the GOP or Donald Trump on the down low, much less publicly.

Poor people and folks of all colors from some of the most disenfranchised communities in this country are the same people getting shafted the most by this administration, yet many of them STILL show up for Trump. It’s the best con game ever. Of course, those supporters will say that they are making this choice for a myriad of reasons. Most of whom when pressed about those reasons, have nothing but unsubstantiated and long-winded Fox News talking points as a rebuttal. Of course, those conversations usually dissolve into a shouting match, which is why I simply choose to no longer engage with the other side of the aisle.

Some women are celebrating 100 years of being able to vote in this country and choose to not notice or are downright complicit with the way the GOP is returning them to the Dark Ages. It makes Women for Trump seem oxymoronic. Doesn’t it? The fact that anyone with the checkered moral past of the current president can sign the Bible as if they were the author and still have fans within that Evangelical community is astounding. Not being a woman nor an evangelical, I can only speak from my shady heart about the irony of the supporters who look like me, share a similar background to me, and live like me.

My parents were immigrants from Honduras. If you do not know where that is, please take a minute to find it on a map. I can trace 3 generations of my Honduran family history, and it does not have slavery in it directly. My family owned and still own land in Honduras. Although thanks to the African Diaspora, I do know that black folks did not just show up there being all free and stuff. The boat coming from Africa that probably had my relatives on it just went further south. This all makes me a first-generation American, and also Latino or Latinx (this is me trying to stay hip). I also get to own African-American and Gay. So you can imagine how the Log Cabin Republicans, Diamond and Silk, and Latinos for Trump sit with me.

Who are Diamond and Silk? I often ask myself that question when I see them. They are two African-American women, who have made a name and a business for themselves as Trump Supporters. They have gone as far as to record a song, “Trump Yo President”, available where you can download music. If you go to their merchandising page, you can buy other things, like coffee mugs, T-shirts, “Flip It Red” bumper stickers and yard signs, and even a blinged-out pin that says TRUMP.

Meanwhile, if the tchotchkes were not enough, you can also join Diamond and Silk on their Chit Chat Live Tour. For ridiculous sums of money, you can get VIP treatment which includes meeting Diamond and Silk, taking a photo with Diamond and Silk, and RSVP Seating to Chit Chat Live with light hors d’oeuvres. From the moment these women hit the scene, they have taken an unpopular stance amongst many African-Americans by supporting Trump and turned it into invitations to GOP events, the White House, and now a speaking tour with light hors d’oeuvres.

They are also big proponents of the DITCH AND SWITCH movement. This movement is actively getting people to leave the Democratic Party, become
Republicans, and vote for Trump. You can even make a video of yourself making the switch. Send it to them, and permit them to post it. With all of that, you can be as fabulous as Diamond and Silk, too. However, is that really your end game? I guess Diamond and Silk are okay with shit hole country references, or calling African American journalists and congresspersons, especially the women, stupid and not intelligent.

After all of the craziness at the Southern Border coupled with the insane rhetoric from the White House about Latino immigrants, Latinos For Trump is another group that really confounds me. He has called our folks rapist, thieves, and murderers, yet there is an entire Latino-based organization who beckons convincingly that…

“Your membership will enable us to meet our goals and help educate Latinos/Hispanic/Mexican America across the nation on Pro-God, Pro-Life, Pro-Family, Pro-Economy, Education and National Security policies.”
– Latinos for Trump

Of course, I bristle at their mission statement, but again, I cannot resist the call of the tchotchkes. On their website, in addition to the usual fare ( T-shirts, signs, mugs, and stickers), you can also get an iPhone case and yoga pants. Yes, I said yoga pants . Namaste in the GOP seems so counterproductive, just like their support. And before you find yourself in a border conversation with someone, remember that Texas, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona belonged to Mexico first, and then ask yourself exactly who are we keeping from crossing the border?

As I said before, the Log Cabin Republicans fight so hard for acceptance in the ranks of the GOP, but the only thing the GOP accepts from them is their money, their votes, and any public mentions of their support. They do not get invited to the adult table. Hell, they don’t even get to sit at the kids’ table, and they still support the GOP. After reading that piece in the Washington Post, I think the Log Cabin Republicans took a page from the Kremlin and North Korea by complementing the president for his immeasurable support to the LGBT population. Public flattery and straight-up ass-kissing can get one noticed quickly by 45. Hmm, maybe the editorial piece in the Washington Post is the beg for attention that needs to happen now to be a part of the GOP’s 2020 reelection coverage? It will be fun and sad watching them continue to beg for Daddy GOP’s love. Thank goodness someone on their board finally broke away from the cult. Of course, if we do not have the right to work, what will the Log Cabin Republicans do.

In my mind, I would really love to believe that these marginalized “Groups for Trump” are run by decent people, who have decided to take all of the money from the actual hateful and misinformed people in the world and use the money to secretly fund the organizations that are really fighting those ridiculous people. That is a pipe dream that so far only rock legend, Grace Slick, fulfilled. But as every day unfolds in this administration, I am constantly gobsmacked at how many of these disenfranchised people can support
“President Loco” (a nickname coined by Latinx political pundit and talk show host, Ana Navarro*).

It is clear to see that there is notoriety to be gained and profits to be made by being a special kind of Trump Supporter. I know that the Democratic Party does assume that Blacks, Gays, Latinos, and every other group will be in their base, but they SHOULD cater more to make us feel included. They need to be held accountable if they want our votes. However, is it really worth being a cheerleader to someone whose personal and professional track records show that he and his administration are not really friendly to any of these groups? Well, if you look on the merchandise pages of their sites, or happen to catch them on tour, or send money to support their political agenda, then the answer is yes. Don’t hate the player. Hate the game, no matter how much it kills your soul. God help us all.

* Side Note: Ms. Navarro is serving some of the best shade EVER . It’s even more fun when she is on The View. Revisit some of her tweets or talking head moments on TV as of late, and you will see some shade throwing realness. She is a Republican speaking up fearlessly against President Loco and his administration.