When he complained, rightwingers sent him homophobic taunts online. Black gay
Republican podcaster Rob Smith has claimed that “white supremacist” members of
his political party called him “fa**ot” and the n-word during his Sunday night
attendance of Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest event in Phoenix, Arizona. Though
Smith posted a video of his brief interaction with the aggressors, commenters on
X (formerly Twitter) noted that the video didn’t feature the n-word and mocked
Smith his membership in an anti-gay political party. “Last night in Phoenix, I
was confronted and surrounded by some White Supremacists that don’t like gays or
blacks in the Republican Party,” Smith wrote in a December 18 post on X. “They
shouted ‘nr’ and ‘ft’ at me to make their point. However, I served in Iraq. I
never back down. Ever.”
The right wing exists to preserve existing power structures. It’s all inclusive to those who accept their place in it or fear disrupting too many of those structures. A black preacher may very well be a Republican because while he may not like racism he dislikes women’s liberation and queer liberation more.
It’s popular to reference the Johnson quote “If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you.” But it’s important to remember that it doesn’t just apply to poor white people choosing racism over economic solidarity with poor black people. It also applies to some rich black people choosing economic solidarity over racial solidarity with poor black people. It applies to straight people choosing homophobia against their best interests (hell look at Blaire White).
The right wing exists to preserve existing power structures. It’s all inclusive to those who accept their place in it or fear disrupting too many of those structures. A black preacher may very well be a Republican because while he may not like racism he dislikes women’s liberation and queer liberation more.
It’s popular to reference the Johnson quote “If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you.” But it’s important to remember that it doesn’t just apply to poor white people choosing racism over economic solidarity with poor black people. It also applies to some rich black people choosing economic solidarity over racial solidarity with poor black people. It applies to straight people choosing homophobia against their best interests (hell look at Blaire White).