Living Out Loud with Darian

After only two weeks as a contributor on Concrete Loop the lights have faded to black for B. Scott. I wanted to believe that I didn't see it coming and when I received a phone call from B. Scott on yesterday with the news it was difficult to act surprised. But it still didn't make the pill easier to swallow once the inevitable occurred.

If you visited the site over the past couple of weeks then you're aware of how out of control some of the comments were. It got so bad that I sat in front of my camera and recorded a response. I didn't even have time to think about it, something in my spirit just forced me to speak on it.

The video has received over 7,000 views on YouTube since it was posted and I couldn't even begin to tell you the number of e-mails I've received. Many people argue that it was a waste of my time to defend B. Scott and black gay men against the prevalent attacks from people within our own community. It seems that homophobia is a fact of life and unlike racism and sexism it shouldn't be challenged. To that I say, (and forgive me for not being more eloquent) is bullshit!

One thing I know about hatred is that it's not innate. It's taught and often from a very young age. But we have the opportunity to teach our children and each other as adults to be more tolerant and respectful of those who are different.

I'm not expecting everyone to fall in love with the gay community, that would just be plain dumb and unrealistic. But I do expect people to treat others how they would like to be treated. It's just that simple.

It's disappointing that homophobia won in the end over at Concrete Loop and the creator was unable to keep her commitment to B. Scott and the people who actually enjoyed his work.

But one thing I know about B. Scott and gay men is that many of us are resilient. We've equipped ourselves with survival techniques that our straight counterparts neither need or know how to tap into. When you live in a world where you're constantly being rejected, torn apart, ridiculed, discriminated against and viewed as abominable you have no choice but to learn quickly how to navigate through life in the face of potential danger.

Concrete Loop is not the end but only the beginning of a career that will take my friend's natural ability to entertain and uplift people to the masses. I just regret it was our own people that played a significant role in turning off the lights. We've go to do better.

Read what Sandra Rose is saying here.