Commentary: The LGBTQ community’s #Epicfail on Donald Trump’s Islamophobia

Another day, another Trump-tacular distortion of the truth. What is it now you ask? Why it’s the Donald’s first TV spot that promises, among other fantastical ideas, to bar all Muslims from entering the country – with a simple are-you-or-are-you-not a Muslim – erecting a Chinese-like wall across the 1989 mile stretch of border we share with Mexico – Canada gets toll lanes – and a promise to make America great again by wearing hats (for a mere ‘patriotic’ $30 dollars) with that very slogan. I’m sure he’ll promise other things as the campaign progresses like, I don’t know, building a ladder to the moon or erecting a bust of the Donald so large it can be seen from space.

But at least one group of people he needn’t fear piling on is the LGBTQ community. Much to their shame, the people you’d think would be particularly attuned to cultural scapegoating have been noticeably and, from this gay man’s perspective, embarrassingly silent. But first, let’s take a trip back in time.

When Donald Trump first announced that he would bar all Muslims from entering the United States until some unspecified time when he could “figure out what’s going on,” the world dropped their collective jaws. In fact, the only people who seemed to think he was right were his loyal followers which essentially gave him the green light to continue espousing such views. It didn’t matter that 99% of Muslims come here for the freedoms this country has to offer. They are not terrorists secretly plotting the destruction of our people, our electrical grids or internet personality Ryan Higa. They are basically peace-loving, family-centered and devout human beings who want what we all want out of life. Are there some loons in the lot? Of course there are. But I don’t recall any Muslims sending envelopes of white powder to anyone, murdering innocent people in Oklahoma City or holing themselves up in Oregon.

Now, granted, we as gay folk have a certain aural sensitivity to anything that smacks of homophobia and Islamic teaching isn’t exactly charitable to our peeps. But that strikes me as wildly irrelevant. We know what it’s like to be scapegoated; we’ve been blamed for everything from natural disasters, to the fall of the Twin Towers to Honey Boo Boo. But to sit on our hands while innocent people are targeted by a demagogue? Well, as the saying goes, words do have meaning.

Let’s start with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a stalwart pillar of the LGBTQ community. They have, for the record, done an outstanding job providing resources for gay Muslims on their site. But after that December 7 speech? Not a single tweet or mention on their website. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)? Well, as Patrick Swayze memorably remarked in Ghost: Ditto. (Although, in all fairness, they did wish everyone a Happy Hanukah.)  The Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN)? Nope. (But you can get 25% off their hoodies with a special code.) Much to their credit, the National LGBTQ Task Force did tweet on December 10 that, “Call upon politicians & media 2 stop spread of racism, hate & division: https://wearebetterthanthis.com/  #WeAreBetterThanThis.” But given the size and scope of LGBTQ organizations that exist, one tweet is metaphorically but a grain of sand.

Now, I’m sure someone will (gladly) point out to me that the National Order of Bisexual Donut Lovers (NOBDL) marched on Trump Towers demanding a retraction. But the fact remains, our community as a whole needs to raise both awareness of and our voices against this particularly invidious strain of phobia. Remember: “First they came for the Socialists and I did nothing for I am not a Socialist.”