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Ta-Nehisi Coates

Ta-Nehisi Coates - Ta-Nehisi Coates is a senior editor for The Atlantic, where he writes about culture, politics, and social issues for TheAtlantic.com and the magazine. He is the author of the memoir The Beautiful Struggle. More

Born in 1975, the product of two beautiful parents. Raised in West Baltimore—not quite The Wire, but sometimes ill all the same. Studied at the Mecca for some years in the mid-’90s. Emerged with a purpose, if not a degree. Slowly migrated up the East Coast with a baby and my beloved, until I reached the shores of Harlem. Wrote some stuff along the way.

This Is How We Lost To The Straight Man

By Ta-Nehisi Coates
Apr 17 2008, 7:00 PM ET Comment

Here is a fascinating take on Cosby by a gay conservative cat:

I think that gays should be more concerned over their own lives than being marshaled by Rosie O’Donnell  into a spectacle waiting to be exploited by Fox News. Bill Cosby complains that “No longer is a person embarrassed because they’re pregnant without a husband,” and that “No longer is a boy considered an embarrassment if he tries to run away from being the father of the unmarried child.” The modern ‘gay’ community is fraught with drug abuse and disease. While there is little obvious violence, the self-destruction is quite clear.

Our people, too, are sick. Gays have few civic inistitutions, save a Pride Parade, modeled after St. Patrick’s. Most have little resource, but to go to bars, if they expect to meet anyone like themselves. But, even gay bars are fading fast in favor of internet havens like Craigslist and Gay.com, which speeds up the cycle. At least at gay bar someone is witnessing how ridiculously pathetic you are acting.

As a flamin' lefty, of course I'm gonna disagree with this. But it's fascinating how this idea crops up amongst all sorts of demographics. It ain't just a black thing, I guess.



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