I could be wrong, but people of any color do not leave by the thousands because they are being treated right. However, to better illustrate my point, I will use world news events of the treatment of homosexuals and how San Francisco politicians have responded.
Rush Limbaugh made headlines when he mocked the speaking of visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao in January 2011. On behave of all Chinese people, Supervisor Eric Mar introduced a resolution condemning Limbaugh, which passed unanimously.
In April of 2012, Uganda president Yoweri Museveni said there is no persecution of gays in his country at the same time the Ugandan parliament was considering passing the so-called, “Kill the Gays bill.” Did Supervisor Mar or any other supervisor suddenly forget how to introduce a resolution?
Former president of Poland Lech Walesa suggested, gay Polish politicians should “sit behind a wall” in the country’s parliament in March 2013. Supervisor Jane Kim immediately fired off her response by suggesting San Francisco reverse back to using the original street name that bares the name of this former Poland president.
A month prior, Gambian President Yahya Jammeh speaking at the United Nations general assembly suggested that “Gays were a threat to human existence.” Where was this straight politician sitting that she could not introduce an official city statement against this African head of state?
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law against “Gay propaganda” in August 2013. Board of Supervisor President David Chiu offered to host a protest against the Russian president in his district as a response.
November 2013 Aljazeera America reported that 38 of the 54 African countries still have laws against homosexuality. Not surprising there is no African embassy or consulate in San Francisco. Nevertheless, I still cannot imagine Supervisor Chiu protesting in front of an African consulate in Russian Hill.
I understand that City Hall cannot respond to all immature or uneducated statements spewed from the mouths of these heads of state. However, when reprehensible life and death statements are made by leaders of African countries concerning their homosexual community, City Hall loses interest in human suffering.
HRC commissioners and City Hall use the tools of respect, dignity and inclusion to help so many of the LGBT community. One would be hard pressed to find city leaders treating the Black community with similar respect, dignity or inclusion.
Why would a Black homosexual want to identify as being African when it oppresses its homosexual community? And why would a Black American want to identify as American if he is marginalized and disrespected in of all places, “Everyone’s favorite city?” In other words, African American my foot! I’m Black and that’s that!
To stem the tide of the Black out-migration —50,000 plus since 1970— City Hall should first, take the official position of, no longer referring to Blacks as African American, but rather Black(s).
At an August 2013 protest against the Russian “Gay propaganda law”, Board of Supervisors President David Chiu from said, “Where there is hate against some, there is hate against us all.”