VIDEO: The Daily Show asks, “Would LGBTQ Voters elect Mayor Pete?” and our Rebuttal
By Lawrence Pfeil, Jr.
Since the start of Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaign, the LGBTQ media has been asking, “Is Mayor Pete gay enough?” “Is Mayor Pete the right kind of Gay?” Despite the obvious facts, Pete is and has always been openly gay and is married to his husband, Chasten,the questions keep coming up.
Now that primary season is here, voters are getting their say and the LGBTQ Community is asking the same perplexing questions. Not perplexing in that they are hard to answer but perplexing as in “why are you asking such ridiculous questions?”
The Daily Show’s Jaboukie Young-White sat down with some LGBTQ voters to discuss voting for Mayor Pete.
The lack of support in our Community for the first gay president candidate in history has really been shocking; even more so the acrimony towards him at times. Can we breakdown what we just saw?
Right up front, let’s be clear, not for a second does anyone think every LGBTQ should automatically vote for the “gay guy” anymore than every African American should have voted for Obama because he was Black. (Obama was just straight up brilliant.)
- White gay men have marginalized contributions of trans people and people of color.
Fair point but to hold that against Pete Buttigieg because he’s a white gay male is itself a form of sexist, homophobia in our Community, like the prejudice of colorism in the Black Community. While white gay males have mistakes to answer for, they also deserve credit and respect for founding organization like Lambda Legal, GMHC, ACTUP, and countless LGBT Centers which serve everyone in our Community.
- “Cis gay presidential candidate doesn’t make my life safer”/Trust Pete to represent you
As opposed to who? The hetero candidates? Pete is at the very least one us, part of our Community. He’s certainly going to have our issues higher on his agenda and more in focus, than anyone else running. It’s time to stop blaming Pete because a trans person or gay person of color isn’t running for president; blame the ones who didn’t step up and run.
- “He’s gay enough if we can hold his feet to the fire…”
Pete Buttigieg is running to be President of the entire United State of America, not LGBTQ America, any more than Obama was President of Black America. The next President has enormous challenges facing them which concerns all the country first.
- “A disappointingly sanitized version of what it means to be gay.”
Who died and left her to decide what gay means or to sit in judgement of someone else’s authentic life? In case she hasn’t noticed, our Community’s symbol is the rainbow, a spectrum of diversity and inclusivity. No one image or version of gay is better or more representative. To think that there is, is marginalizing someone else’s authentic truth. Maybe she should stop judging Pete Buttigieg on his appearance/identity and try listening to what he’s saying.
There is no right or wrong way to be a member of the LGBTQ+ community. You belong. #EqualityTownHall pic.twitter.com/D9hKD2K97L
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) October 11, 2019
- “Can you imagine how *FUN* it would be to watch a gay midwestern mayor destroy Donald Trump?”
ABSOLUTELY!!! It would be delicious! Pete Buttigieg is a brilliant man, a subject that didn’t come up yet again. It never seems to come up in LGBTQ discussions that he is a veteran, speaks seven languages, plays several instruments, has a moral character, or any of his other qualifications.
No, we’d rather dish about his Dockers.
Learn more about Pete For America and/or Support his campaign HERE
Follow Pete on Twitter @PeteButtigieg @PeteForAmerica #PeteForAmerica #Pete2020
Chasten @Chas10Buttigieg #Hilarious
Truman and Buddy @firstdogsSB #DogsLife
