This past week I encountered something a little strange involving gay rights on Facebook. As most people know, gay rights has been a hot issue for many people in the United States for the past few years, so it was not really strange that I saw someone speaking out about it on Facebook. The strange part was that this person was actually speaking out against the preachings of hip-hop star Macklemore on his now well-known song “Same Love,” a song that advocates equality for all sexual orientations. This might not sound strange either, but this person was speaking out against something one might not expect.
This specific person found it appalling that so many people are buying in to the fact that it is a white, heterosexual male speaking out on this issue which, according to him, means nothing as Macklemore has no place to identify whether being homosexual is OK or not.
This really made me think. Should someone that has very little to do with a specific culture speak out for or against whatever the culture is in question? I considered this for maybe a few seconds before I realized that with an issue such as gay rights, why not? The biggest issue I took with this specific individual’s status was that he actually seemed to believe that Macklemore, being heralded by many people as the musical messiah for homosexuals, is actually a detriment to the message that he is trying to convey. I have no idea how he came to this conclusion, but there seemed to be a horde of other eager Facebookers who happily agreed.
Another point that was made was that there are a lot of homosexual individuals who have been trying to do the same thing as Macklemore for a very long time and that they have more of a right and a better message to spread. While I agree that he should not be praised for being an innovative, forward thinker, I do believe that it doesn’t matter if Macklemore’s message is a little skewed. The fact of the matter is that this message is now being played daily on radio airwaves, which means millions of people will be hearing it.
It’s a sad truth, but the people that gay rights activists are trying to persuade are mostly straight, white men and that demographic, much like any other, is likely to not even listen if the message is coming from someone that leads a lifestyle that is difficult for them to understand. When the message comes from a wealthy, hetero, white man, then those people are more likely to pay attention.
So consider this a bit of a message to those people rallying against Macklemore on Facebook or anyone else who feels this way: Stop being so cynical. In today’s generation, the LGBTQ community has become much more accepted among the general public, but let me ask you this: What kind of general archetype is normally opposed to anything concerning gay rights? If you are thinking “white, heterosexual men” then you are probably right! And guess who is also a white, heterosexual man: Macklemore. The fact that Macklemorefits under that umbrella and is speaking out for homosexuals is absolutely a step forward and should never be perceived as regression.
