"A Brave New World... Almost"

A little background: As a kid I loved the "Newlywed Game" as hosted by Bob Eubanks.  I dreamed of someday being part of a couple who loved each other and could answer all those questions about one another.  I also loved the saucy, tongue-in-cheek questions and answers that in their day walked right up to the censorship line.  I often imagined myself on this show, but never thought I would be because I never thought I'd marry (a woman) and I never imagined as a scared closeted gay kid that someday same-sex marriage would be real.

I don't like this latest iteration of the show, mainly because I don't like Sheri Shepherd.  Although she's certainly personable and probably a pretty good actress, I despise her ignorant viewpoints on religion, politics, history, racism and especially marriage equality.  How hypocritical was this episode for her, a famously outspoken critic of same-sex marriage hosting a gay couple who go on to win the game!

But even more disturbing than the hypocrisy on display here are the comments on this YouTube video.  You may or may not notice that the third couple on this episode are black, but you will notice that they were largely edited out of this video.  The person who posted this video appears to be gay and white (see his profile here) and a number of commenters have questioned why the black couple is so conspicuously omitted.  The poster says in the video's description:

"I like Josh. I also recorded the gay couple. The other couple was not recorded and it was NOT because they were African American."

But I find this claim potentially disingenuous (although he does have another excerpt posted featuring an interracial gay couple).  And this brings up another issue... Racism.  We may not like to talk about it, but racism is pervasive in the gay community both among whites and blacks.  This fact came to light and was discussed  briefly after Prop 8 passed in 2008 and polling revealed that it's passage was largely due to higher than average support among African American voters.  Ever since then, a smouldering, and ocasionally spoken hatred has simmered just beneath the surface of the relationship between the black (and religious) community and the GLBT community.  Sheri Sheppard is the "poster child" for anti-equality animus  amongst evangelical christianist, especially those who are also people of color.  And it's for that reason that I despise her views and opinions and call out her hypocrisy here.

Sheri, "Dear, the Earth is round!"  And same gender loving people are just as human as you and they are just as entitled to equal protection under the law!  You are certainly entitled to your ugly and ignorant beliefs about the world and the people in it, and what you think your bible says, including that slavery is approved of and if your christianist friends of the ilk of Paula Dean had their way, you and I would still be on the plantation.

"Fear Eats the Soul"