'Queer' Activists Disrupt Buttigieg Event, Accuse Him of Ignoring LGBT 'Oppression'
Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg faced protests Friday at a fundraiser in San Francisco, where a number of gay and gender-identity activists complained he is apparently not diverse enough for them.
The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who is openly gay, was speaking to supporters at a $250-per-person event when he was disrupted by shouting from a number of attendees described as “queer.”
The activists were escorted out of the building and interviewed by a reporter for The Guardian. Their biggest complaint? Despite being gay and married to another man, Buttigieg is not representative enough of the overall LGBT community and he’s too white and too male.
Prior to the fundraiser, one of the activists told The Guardian, “I’m definitely proud of the fact that a gay candidate has made it thus far, but it’s hard to enjoy or appreciate when his stances are so middle-of-the-road and speak to a predominantly white, upper-class audience.”
After shouting at Buttigieg and being escorted out of the event, the activists got into a shouting match with supporters of the candidate. During the argument, supporters of Buttigieg accused the queer activists of being “homophobes” and “deplorable.” The queer activists responded, telling the candidate’s supporters they were “horrible.”
“We’re allowed to want the gay candidate who is running to do better and be better for queer communities of color. There’s nothing homophobic about that,” one activist told the paper.
“Pete Buttigieg represents a very small percentage of the experiences of queer and trans people in this country, being white and being cisgender and being a man, being someone who is highly educated.
“We know queer and trans folks of color, especially black queer and trans folks, live at the intersection of so many systems of oppression in this country. This run for president could have been a really unique opportunity to lift up those experiences and talk about all the different ways we are criminalized and our safety is constantly threatened and we are shut out of institutions on the regular. But this campaign has not been about that.”
Buttigieg reportedly responded to the drama during the event, saying, “I respect your activism, but this is a gathering for supporters of our campaign and I just got a question about my husband and I’m really excited to answer it.”
All of the infighting within the alphabet community raises a question: What do they want at this point? The LBGT movement traditionally fought for issues such as same-sex marriage.
Now, with that battle in the past, the movement seems to be cannibalizing itself with no clear direction or agenda other than embracing a culture of victimhood.
The overall climate seems to award victimhood points to people based on traits such as gender, race and sexual orientation. While Buttigieg might be awarded points for being gay, young and a Democrat, he is penalized for being white, male and educated.
Mirroring the current state of the Democratic Party, which is obsessed with identity politics, the alphabet movement puts people such as Buttigieg, who at one point would have been a dream candidate for the LGBT community, in a no-win situation.
The obsession with the politics of identity has created warring tribes within the same movement, and as a result, has become itself discriminatory. It is an example of inclusion gone too far.
This is not the first time Buttigieg has been attacked by activists in the LGBT movement.
In an article for BET, activist Ernest Owens wrote that as a gay black voter, he is frustrated by Buttigieg because, “white gay men who share one part of my identity, still don’t share my experience — and shouldn’t pretend they can.”
While many in the LGBT community might feel that Buttigieg is not gay enough for them, at least one Democrat is still grappling with the candidate’s sexuality.
A Democratic voter in rural Iowa was caught on video earlier this month at the Iowa caucuses asking if she could change her vote after she learned that Buttigieg was not only gay but married to another man.
“Are you saying that he has the same-sex partner?” the woman asked a precinct captain. “Are you kidding? Then I don’t want anybody like that in the White House. So can I have my card back?”
#PeteButtigieg precinct captain in rural Iowa responds to a caucus-goer flipping out upon learning that he has a same-sex partner. It’s a masterclass in patience, persistence, and love. Bravo @nikkiheever #IowaCaucuses #cresco #howardcountyiowa pic.twitter.com/PhX7vRFh8X
— Annabel Park (@annabelpark) February 4, 2020
While the alphabet movement fights over Buttigieg’s degree of wokeness in regards to their issues, they have not even won over some Democrats who remain cold to the idea of voting for a gay candidate.
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