Morality is not determined by the church you attend nor the faith you embrace. It is determined by the quality of your character and the positive impact you have on those you meet along your journey
Saturday, May 12, 2012
This is the result when a society legislates sexuality.
Me too. Amazing at the hurt I felt when I looked at this picture. I am a 63 year old grandmother and I cannot not fathom sending one of my kiddos hate male.
It is our duty to remove any stigma or shame that others try and place on our children. I believe that President Obama stance will start the closets to be opened. I only hope that they stay open as their are more suicides occurring due to threats and bullying. Meh has the perfect opportunity handed to him now to apologize more sincerely and make amends. But, he won't because he lacks any empathy for others. Mittens + Mutts + Marriage = Duh?
They made me want to cry as well. What's wrong with them? They hate what they fear and that which they have no knowledge or understanding. I'm not sure how to change that without sounding like evangelicals that many of us protest.
They made me want to cry- then they made me want to hit somebody - then they made me want to actively work to elect a President who feels like I do about LGBT Rights - they are civil rights.
BTW, where was this done - at a high school or college? Very powerful.
My fourteen year old son came out to me last year. (I already knew since he was about 5). I just swept him into my arms and let him sob out his relief, and then held his face in my hands and said, "You are PERFECT. This changes NOTHING. I love you and NOTHING is wrong with you. NOTHING".
At that pivotal moment I vowed to emotionally adopt and accept any kid (gay or straight) that has an unsupportive or abusive family. This picture just confirms that need.
You have every reason to be proud of him (and yourself, too!). His display of honesty and courage has already made him a leader for his peer group. But my gut tells me that it's likely the adults like myself who are parents who will learn the most from this "teachable moment".
60 year old mom and stepmom here. my step-daughter is gay and i cannot imagine how someone could hate or hurt anyone based on sexual orientation, let alone their own child or grandchild. there is a special place in hell for parents and grandparents who harbor such hatred!
And sick fuck families like the Heath's and Palin's, a microcosm of the American Bully, smirk at this treatment, thinking, "Good, they deserve it. Shows them for trying to be different then us superior, moral Christian Family and what not."
What I don't understand is, if marriage is so sacrosanct to these homophobes both in and out of political office, where is the law that makes divorce illegal?
These folks have no qualms about stepping on the necks of gays, women and anyone NOT born a heterosexual, land-owning, wealthy, white, conservative, 'Christian' male, but we have yet to see a serious proposal floated to outlaw divorce.
I am a nurse that works in mental health in Georgia. This is my story:
When I first started working as a psych nurse, I was in my early twenties. Amazingly, being gay had just become declassified as a mental illness.
A adolescent male who was depressed with suicidal thoughts was admitted to our unit. He was gay. He was also what might be considered stereotypical of a gay male. He was effeminate. It wasn't something he could hide.
As his nurse, he confided to me that his parents and relatives realized he was probably gay early on. He had a gay uncle whom the family had disowned for that reason. When his parents recognized similar traits in him, they started hammering their Southern Baptist religion at him. How being gay was suppose to be sinful and an abomination. They would read passages out of the Bible about that to him. They had his other family members tell him this, aunts, uncles, cousins.
At the hospital, we were not allowed to challenge religious beliefs. You could be fired for that. But even then, even when I considered myself a Christian, I thought that was bullshit. I wanted to tell him that. I wish I had told him that. I wish I had given him something to hold onto. But I didn't.
I learned later, after he had been discharged, that he hung himself. He hung himself from a tree. He left a note behind that he hung himself from a tree because he considered himself to be as 'vile' as Judas. That he was 'treacherous' and a 'sin' against God and nature.
I think about him a lot as these gay right issues come up. I think about my deep regret that I never told him that I believed that the Bible was completely wrong with regard to homosexuals. I still feel deep shame that I didn't speak my mind, job be damned, when I think about him. I still cry when I try to tell anyone about him.
The world lost an amazing, loving, compassionate young man when he killed himself. He loved poetry and had written some of the most beautiful poems I had ever read. He loved animals. He wanted to become a vet when he grew up. He loved children and old people. He never had a boyfriend, but he had a crush on a boy in his high school. He told me that he knew the boy was straight, but he wasn't mean to him like other boys in school. He wondered if he would ever get up the courage to be able to just talk to him.
And yet, the fundagelicals would tell you that this young man CHOSE to be gay and suffered the consequences of his choice.
THAT'S why I loathe those sanctimonious asshat holier-than-thou prigs.
I hope that we can FINALLY crush the homophobes to the point that children don't feel compelled to take their own lives because they feel so marginalized by the bigotry and the hate.
Next Chapter, What you did then, and what you are doing now, is bear witness to his struggles and to his spirit. You cannot change what is in your heart, and you cannot hide it either. I'm sure your presence, your appreciation for his ambitions and his poetry, were a gift he needed so much at the time. How sad that his own family never saw in him what you were able to see. Pain is the price we pay for our compassion.
It makes me want to scream when the fundagelicals claim that being GLBT is a choice. Who the hell would make such a choice when it results in the kind of scenarios depicted on those signs above?
In a country where being gay can cost you your job, your home, your loved ones, or your life, WHY would anyone choose to be gay?
I am REALLY enjoying watching the GOP come to the realization that their seething homophobia might actually be proving a problem for them. There is no way that they can dissuade their most ardent homophobes from spewing intolerance and hate and their is no way in hell that the public will long sustain the GOP's devotion to injustice. In my wildest dreams I could not imagine that it might be the issue of gay marriage that would crush the GOP. It seems FABULOUSLY iron, nest-ce pas?
Absolutely heartbreaking...it makes me want to cry. Forget about Mittens (a/k/a Meh) even comprehending the message. If it's not about him, money or Mormonism, there is no need for an opinion of even a second thought. Does he actually have thoughts or just talking points?
Our wonderful President has indeed started a most urgent discussion. The contrast between Obama and Romney could not be more striking. One serves and leads while one is simply a narcissistic liar who can never serve nor lead this great country. Bain and being the leader of ALL the people of the USA are not the same. The Salt Lake City Olympic Games and being a leader of ALL the people of the USA are not the same. Being a Deacon of the exclusive and secretive Mormon Church and being a leader of ALL the people of the USA is not the same. Mitt, why don't you go home to MA, CA, NH, CO and wherever the hell else you have homes.
While I am by no means a religious person, one cannot help but speculate that Christ would be furious with such outcomes as precipitated by some ill-conceived ideological war waged on his behalf. And I've no doubt that he would pull down the temple politic on his own head if only to stem the tide of sorrow and hurt as exemplified by these young people...be they here or not.
Beautifully stated! Very well-done in that it evokes a great deal of emotion as you read left to right until you hit the one that has no one behind it. Stark reality. Sad.
I am so fucking weary of these assholes hating on anyone who is a little different than themselves. I'm at a loss for words other than to say that no one should feel ashamed of who they are and that every human being deserves respect from one another.
But I am sick and tired of being sick and tired about these bullies showing their ignorant asses and running their mouths.
I WILL NOT take a pass on any opportunity to point out (and yes, ridicule also, too, if necessary) ANYONE who shows ANY disrespect for my fellow citizens for reasons of gender, race, sexual orientation, or any other goddam excuse that these dickweeds might use to belittle others in order to make themselves feel bigger or better than they really are.
I am a hetero white male, not that any of that makes a difference, and I have reached the limit of my patience. I also happen to live in a fairly densely populated area of these bigots here in the South, where I'm known in the community for being a sane, reasonable, thoughtful liberal with the boards I've served on and the groups I belong to, but I am no longer going to play mediator for these fucking knuckleheads in order to keep from absolutely crushing their ignorant, low self-esteemed, fragile psyches whenever they display ANY disdain for ANYONE different, whether intentional or otherwise. Most often it's very subtle or passive-aggressive behavior, and to date, I have counseled these idiots one-on-one in a private setting to keep from humiliating them, but I'm over it. I plan to exhaust every bit of political capital that I have earned, plus all that I can leverage through other like-minded folks who feel likewise but just haven't reached their boiling point, in order to push back HARD against these feeble minded bigots. The jig is up.
BTW, here's a link to our old pal, Allen West, doing what he does best, talking out of his ass, as always:
Me too. I used to be all polite and social correct. Now I call it out. Don't pull any punches. When someone says something blatantly absurd, wrong, or racist/homophobic I call them on it. Or I just laugh right in their face.
Cheers from another liberal in a sorry red state of hate. It's going to be a very long six months, and a long trudge to civility and equality, but we WILL move Forward. Obama/Biden 2016!
One Idea: let's change the conversation. Let's vow to stop using the phrase "Gay Marriage" and use "Equal Marriage". May seem like a small thing but I truly believe it is the right thing to do. Gay people want Equal rights, not special treatment. I would also point out to any Tea Party members or Southern Voters that you may vote to ban Equal Marriage this week. What are you going to do in a few years when a political party wants to ban YOUR marriage? You may have to pass an IQ test to marry in the future. You may have to prove your financially stable. Pay attention to your own marriage and stop worrying about who others marry. I am married over thirty years so I feel qualified to address the subject.
"our prosperity depends on you" translated to mean:
"The Palin's prosperity depends upon the 1%-ers to continue to financially support Sarah as she continues to fulfill the Faux News contract, public speaking jobs at right wing nut job conferences and gatherings, and to continue to spout their talking points to promote the rich people's political agendas, the Palin's personal prosperity depends upon you."
I was a lonely overweight latch key kid living in Houston, Texas in the 1970's. I was alone most of the time, my Mom had two jobs. We lived in the only apartment complex in a wealthy area of town. This was the complex where the maids and service people lived. My two next door neighbors were a gay couple. They were discrete, but we knew. On my twelth birthday these two gay men bought me a ten speed, bright yellow bike. I had never had such a nice gift. They somehow knew what I needed. I lost a little weight. Was able to ride the bike to gain a little freedom. I even got a part time job using the bike to deliver floral arrangements. They were my angels. I will fight for their rights until I die. I hope you take comfort in the fact that as a nurse, you surely comforted the poor boy before he lost all hope.
That's a wonderful story. And I'm sure that there are lots of them out there. I was once asked to sign a petition against gay marriage (this was at least eight years ago in Michigan) and I refused. I told the woman that I had been married for over 30 years and did not feel threatened one bit by people who loved one another and wanted to make their relationship official. I still feel the same way. Life is too short for all of the hatred that too many people espouse. Beaglemom
Sorry to O/T , but I just read this at the pee pond (I refuse to actually swim, but it's amusing to watch the flailers from the shore: Some folks wear their heritage on their sleeve......as if it makes up who they are as an individual....and others just see it as where the family lived ......and do not try to use it to further an idea that their heritage entitles them to something that the rest of everyday Americans are not entitled to.
Polarbearpapa said: ..I think from observing the Palin's.....that they do not see their heritage as something to grasp at or try to recapture .....it is simply where they came from....not where they are going...
..there are a lot of Americans that left their Native/American heritage behind and just became.....
..Americans... --------------------- Gee, did somebody forget that IHS that Bristol 1/16 th admits she gets for herself and kid (1/32) - even though she has more than enough cash to buy health insurance? And aren't some of Todd's fishing licenses/rights based on his Native heritage?
And these idiots are p'oed because Elizabeth Warren said she had some Native American Heritage (family narratives said she did) on an inconsequential, unofficial for any perqs bio? WTF?
"I hate to be the guy who says "this" in a comment, but damn it... this. These people in the picture are from an area in our nation where feeling like this is something they encounter because society isn't comfortable letting them express themselves sexually and be open. Legislating Sexuality isn't the reason they are ostracized but it doesn't help. It creates an environment that legitimizes other people feeling the way they do about the LGBT community."
I had prepared the response below to a hateful comment that was deleted, I guess, because I don't see it anymore. I hope the person who wrote it will read this and at least give it some thought.
I was born in the Deep South during the period of integration, and I can assure you that NONE of the legislation regarding integration, civil rights, reproductive rights, or any other progressive legislation would have been approved by voters at the ballot box. There will always be push back and resistance by those who so (self-) righteously want to cling to the past, but they will come around. And of course, all of the religious leaders (historically, the most bigoted) will resist and stamp their feet because this issue about the "queers and faggots and Sodom & Gomorrah, and blah blah blah..." might not be good for their "business". But they did exactly that to no avail when "the Southern Way of Life" was threatened by integration in the 50's and 60's.
The states can piss around all they want to but the Supreme Court will be the deciders, if necessary. Public opinion is already at 52% favorable to EQUAL RIGHTS for everyone, regardless of sexual orientation. Justice will come through the courts---just as it did in 1954 (Brown v Bd of Education re integration) as well as 1964(Civil Rights Act) and 1965 (Voting Rights Act AND Griswold v CT re Reproductive Rights)--- not through legislation in Congress or through the individual states.
It's okay. Just like our wives and daughters were not stolen from us by the black men who were allowed to be educated in the same schools as us and to vote alongside us, no one who is gay is going to try to make you have sex with them just because they have the same rights as an U.S. citizen as you.
It may take one year, two years or ten years, but justice will come. Believe me, I know the lessons of history. Some of my relatives were involved with the Klan, but almost all of them were involved with the (White) Citizens' Councils of the late 50's through 1970, and ALMOST ALL of the preachers were members of those groups, which look and sound so similar to the bigoted haters who hide behind misinterpreted scripture. All it took to accept the change was time, love, and the support of the law, along with many of those of us in the majority who had to learn to respect the "others" who had been historically excluded from participating in "our" society.
We are on the right side of history. And you ought to join us. Come on... you'll feel better later once you realize you did the right thing.
I cannot believe these people call themselves christians! Hatred is the exact opposite of the Jesus I loved before I became atheist.
I choose only to keep the best parts of the religion I grew up with: love, compassion and inclusion.
How many of the gay-haters "cuz it's in the bible" follow the rest of the archaic laws from the bible?
The eating of fat is prohibited forever ~Leviticus 3:17
If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, he shall pay the girl's father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives ~Deuteronomy 22:28-29
Any person who curseth his father or mother must be killed ~Leviticus 20:9
If a man has sex with a woman on her period, they are both to be cut off from their people ~Leviticus 20:18
People who have flat noses, or are blind or lame, cannot go to an altar of God ~Leviticus 21:17-18
It's high time we became part of our modern world and leave the mythology behind.
Almost every post is a queer post now. I'm controlling you the same way the right is now controlling the agenda. Obama will be toast, thanks to the queers.
So when God said judge not, lest ye be judged and to love thy neighbor... I guess you're just too self-righteous to think that Jesus' word applies to you, huh?
This type of silent protest speaks volumes. I had to pause after reading each and put myself in their place, and it just saddens me to think someone is hurting so bad every second of every day, for no logical reason. The second from the left and the one on the easel really got to me.
This image brought tears to my eyes....Yes it is our duty and I feel I have not done enough.
ReplyDeleteMe too. Amazing at the hurt I felt when I looked at this picture. I am a 63 year old grandmother and I cannot not fathom sending one of my kiddos hate male.
DeleteOne two many nots. How could you say you love a child and treat them cruelly. Maybe, in my life time, this will no longer be an issue.
DeleteIt is our duty to remove any stigma or shame that others try and place on our children. I believe that President Obama stance will start the closets to be opened. I only hope that they stay open as their are more suicides occurring due to threats and bullying. Meh has the perfect opportunity handed to him now to apologize more sincerely and make amends. But, he won't because he lacks any empathy for others. Mittens + Mutts + Marriage = Duh?
ReplyDeleteI'm a 58 year-old man and those signs make me want to cry.
ReplyDeleteWhat's wrong with people?
Randall,
DeleteThey made me want to cry as well. What's wrong with them? They hate what they fear and that which they have no knowledge or understanding. I'm not sure how to change that without sounding like evangelicals that many of us protest.
They made me want to cry- then they made me want to hit somebody - then they made me want to actively work to elect a President who feels like I do about LGBT Rights - they are civil rights.
DeleteBTW, where was this done - at a high school or college? Very powerful.
To the beautiful young person second from the right:
ReplyDeleteI AM SO PROUD OF YOU.
"I AM SO PROUD OF YOU."
DeleteYes. So many times, yes.
Heartbreaking . . .
ReplyDeleteWhat the Bible really says.
ReplyDeletehttps://upworthy-production.s3.amazonaws.com/nugget/4fad667a42542a00030018ba/attachments/biblemarriage.jpg
And screw the bible anyway. It and its believers and its interpretations have caused more trouble in the world than good.
DeleteMy fourteen year old son came out to me last year. (I already knew since he was about 5). I just swept him into my arms and let him sob out his relief, and then held his face in my hands and said, "You are PERFECT. This changes NOTHING. I love you and NOTHING is wrong with you. NOTHING".
ReplyDeleteAt that pivotal moment I vowed to emotionally adopt and accept any kid (gay or straight) that has an unsupportive or abusive family. This picture just confirms that need.
I am so proud of my son.
I am so glad that your son has such a loving family
DeleteLittle Rabbit
Love to beautiful you and your beautiful son!
DeleteBeing a good, loving parent - you're doing it right!
DeleteRural Juror,
DeleteYou have every reason to be proud of him (and yourself, too!). His display of honesty and courage has already made him a leader for his peer group. But my gut tells me that it's likely the adults like myself who are parents who will learn the most from this "teachable moment".
Thanks so much for sharing.
O fuck,
DeleteRural Juror is hilarious!!
You're an awesome mom,
lucky boy. :)
Happy Mother's Day!
DeleteI'm proud of you and your son!
60 year old mom and stepmom here. my step-daughter is gay and i cannot imagine how someone could hate or hurt anyone based on sexual orientation, let alone their own child or grandchild. there is a special place in hell for parents and grandparents who harbor such hatred!
ReplyDeleteWe should not support gay marriage, just as we don't support straight marriage, support people getting married, period.
ReplyDeleteSigh.
Do you have ANY idea what the FUCK WE are TALKING about????
DeleteGAY MARRIAGE is NOT a reality!!
THAT is the point!
I see what you *may* be trying to say, but *we* DO support BOTH types of marriage.
you seem utterly
clueless..
And sick fuck families like the Heath's and Palin's, a microcosm of the American Bully, smirk at this treatment, thinking, "Good, they deserve it. Shows them for trying to be different then us superior, moral Christian Family and what not."
ReplyDeleteI watched the movie Red State last night, it's a must see.
DeleteWhat I don't understand is, if marriage is so sacrosanct to these homophobes both in and out of political office, where is the law that makes divorce illegal?
ReplyDeleteThese folks have no qualms about stepping on the necks of gays, women and anyone NOT born a heterosexual, land-owning, wealthy, white, conservative, 'Christian' male, but we have yet to see a serious proposal floated to outlaw divorce.
How curious.
I am a nurse that works in mental health in Georgia. This is my story:
ReplyDeleteWhen I first started working as a psych nurse, I was in my early twenties. Amazingly, being gay had just become declassified as a mental illness.
A adolescent male who was depressed with suicidal thoughts was admitted to our unit. He was gay. He was also what might be considered stereotypical of a gay male. He was effeminate. It wasn't something he could hide.
As his nurse, he confided to me that his parents and relatives realized he was probably gay early on. He had a gay uncle whom the family had disowned for that reason. When his parents recognized similar traits in him, they started hammering their Southern Baptist religion at him. How being gay was suppose to be sinful and an abomination. They would read passages out of the Bible about that to him. They had his other family members tell him this, aunts, uncles, cousins.
At the hospital, we were not allowed to challenge religious beliefs. You could be fired for that. But even then, even when I considered myself a Christian, I thought that was bullshit. I wanted to tell him that. I wish I had told him that. I wish I had given him something to hold onto. But I didn't.
I learned later, after he had been discharged, that he hung himself. He hung himself from a tree. He left a note behind that he hung himself from a tree because he considered himself to be as 'vile' as Judas. That he was 'treacherous' and a 'sin' against God and nature.
I think about him a lot as these gay right issues come up. I think about my deep regret that I never told him that I believed that the Bible was completely wrong with regard to homosexuals. I still feel deep shame that I didn't speak my mind, job be damned, when I think about him. I still cry when I try to tell anyone about him.
The world lost an amazing, loving, compassionate young man when he killed himself. He loved poetry and had written some of the most beautiful poems I had ever read. He loved animals. He wanted to become a vet when he grew up. He loved children and old people. He never had a boyfriend, but he had a crush on a boy in his high school. He told me that he knew the boy was straight, but he wasn't mean to him like other boys in school. He wondered if he would ever get up the courage to be able to just talk to him.
I wonder if he ever did.
And yet, the fundagelicals would tell you that this young man CHOSE to be gay and suffered the consequences of his choice.
DeleteTHAT'S why I loathe those sanctimonious asshat holier-than-thou prigs.
I hope that we can FINALLY crush the homophobes to the point that children don't feel compelled to take their own lives because they feel so marginalized by the bigotry and the hate.
Next Chapter,
DeleteWhat you did then, and what you are doing now, is bear witness to his struggles and to his spirit. You cannot change what is in your heart, and you cannot hide it either. I'm sure your presence, your appreciation for his ambitions and his poetry, were a gift he needed so much at the time. How sad that his own family never saw in him what you were able to see. Pain is the price we pay for our compassion.
I got teary-eyed as well.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me want to scream when the fundagelicals claim that being GLBT is a choice. Who the hell would make such a choice when it results in the kind of scenarios depicted on those signs above?
ReplyDeleteIn a country where being gay can cost you your job, your home, your loved ones, or your life, WHY would anyone choose to be gay?
I am REALLY enjoying watching the GOP come to the realization that their seething homophobia might actually be proving a problem for them. There is no way that they can dissuade their most ardent homophobes from spewing intolerance and hate and their is no way in hell that the public will long sustain the GOP's devotion to injustice. In my wildest dreams I could not imagine that it might be the issue of gay marriage that would crush the GOP. It seems FABULOUSLY iron, nest-ce pas?
Nothing like getting crushed by a rainbow.
Wanna shut them up, ask them when they chose to be straight. I am talking dead silence. They got nothin' when you ask them this.
DeleteLove your last sentence. It's perfect.
DeleteAbsolutely heartbreaking...it makes me want to cry. Forget about Mittens (a/k/a Meh) even comprehending the message. If it's not about him, money or Mormonism, there is no need for an opinion of even a second thought. Does he actually have thoughts or just talking points?
ReplyDeleteOur wonderful President has indeed started a most urgent discussion. The contrast between Obama and Romney could not be more striking. One serves and leads while one is simply a narcissistic liar who can never serve nor lead this great country. Bain and being the leader of ALL the people of the USA are not the same. The Salt Lake City Olympic Games and being a leader of ALL the people of the USA are not the same. Being a Deacon of the exclusive and secretive Mormon Church and being a leader of ALL the people of the USA is not the same. Mitt, why don't you go home to MA, CA, NH, CO and wherever the hell else you have homes.
Very interesting item from Andrew Sullivan:
ReplyDeleteTop GOP Pollster to GOP: Reverse on Gay Issues
http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/05/top-gop-pollster-to-gop-reverse-on-gay-issues.html
Thanks
DeleteAndrew's had so many good posts since President Obama's interview.
"I am not here anymore."
ReplyDeleteWhile I am by no means a religious person, one cannot help but speculate that Christ would be furious with such outcomes as precipitated by some ill-conceived ideological war waged on his behalf.
And I've no doubt that he would pull down the temple politic on his own head if only to stem the tide of sorrow and hurt as exemplified by these young people...be they here or not.
Beautifully stated! Very well-done in that it evokes a great deal of emotion as you read left to right until you hit the one that has no one behind it. Stark reality. Sad.
ReplyDeleteI am so fucking weary of these assholes hating on anyone who is a little different than themselves. I'm at a loss for words other than to say that no one should feel ashamed of who they are and that every human being deserves respect from one another.
ReplyDeleteBut I am sick and tired of being sick and tired about these bullies showing their ignorant asses and running their mouths.
I WILL NOT take a pass on any opportunity to point out (and yes, ridicule also, too, if necessary) ANYONE who shows ANY disrespect for my fellow citizens for reasons of gender, race, sexual orientation, or any other goddam excuse that these dickweeds might use to belittle others in order to make themselves feel bigger or better than they really are.
I am a hetero white male, not that any of that makes a difference, and I have reached the limit of my patience. I also happen to live in a fairly densely populated area of these bigots here in the South, where I'm known in the community for being a sane, reasonable, thoughtful liberal with the boards I've served on and the groups I belong to, but I am no longer going to play mediator for these fucking knuckleheads in order to keep from absolutely crushing their ignorant, low self-esteemed, fragile psyches whenever they display ANY disdain for ANYONE different, whether intentional or otherwise. Most often it's very subtle or passive-aggressive behavior, and to date, I have counseled these idiots one-on-one in a private setting to keep from humiliating them, but I'm over it. I plan to exhaust every bit of political capital that I have earned, plus all that I can leverage through other like-minded folks who feel likewise but just haven't reached their boiling point, in order to push back HARD against these feeble minded bigots. The jig is up.
BTW, here's a link to our old pal, Allen West, doing what he does best, talking out of his ass, as always:
http://www.mediaite.com/online/rep-allen-west-
lgbt-workplace-discrimination-dont-happen-out-
here-in-america/
Thanks for the post, G. The timing was perfect---It's exactly what I needed to read this morning.
Me too. I used to be all polite and social correct. Now I call it out. Don't pull any punches. When someone says something blatantly absurd, wrong, or racist/homophobic I call them on it. Or I just laugh right in their face.
DeleteCheers from another liberal in a sorry red state of hate. It's going to be a very long six months, and a long trudge to civility and equality, but we WILL move Forward. Obama/Biden 2016!
DeleteOh, my bad...Obama/Biden 2012! Biden/Clinton 2016.. :)
Deletethrough tears - I am PROUD of these beautiful young people! I stand with you for equal rights.
ReplyDeleteOne Idea: let's change the conversation. Let's vow to stop using the phrase "Gay Marriage" and use "Equal Marriage". May seem like a small thing but I truly believe it is the right thing to do. Gay people want Equal rights, not special treatment.
ReplyDeleteI would also point out to any Tea Party members or Southern Voters that you may vote to ban Equal Marriage this week. What are you going to do in a few years when a political party wants to ban YOUR marriage? You may have to pass an IQ test to marry in the future. You may have to prove your financially stable. Pay attention to your own marriage and stop worrying about who others marry. I am married over thirty years so I feel qualified to address the subject.
That's a great point! I love "Equal Marriage"
DeleteWouldn't it be great if,maybe someday we can all just use the word "Marriage", without any qualifiers?
O/T
ReplyDeleteSarah Palin at #SALT2012: "Hello one percent! More power to ya!" #hedgefund
"You are the unsung heroes of American greatness...our prosperity depends on you" - Palin at #SALT2012
http://twitter.com/#!/ldelevingne
Palin speaks to the folks who are the "too big to fail"...
DeletePalin compares Titanic to out of control US spending - "there is no such thing as an unsinkable ship or too big to fail" at #SALT2012
http://read.bi/JnbZPi
"our prosperity depends on you" translated to mean:
Delete"The Palin's prosperity depends upon the 1%-ers to continue to financially support Sarah as she continues to fulfill the Faux News contract, public speaking jobs at right wing nut job conferences and gatherings, and to continue to spout their talking points to promote the rich people's political agendas, the Palin's personal prosperity depends upon you."
I was a lonely overweight latch key kid living in Houston, Texas in the 1970's. I was alone most of the time, my Mom had two jobs. We lived in the only apartment complex in a wealthy area of town. This was the complex where the maids and service people lived. My two next door neighbors were a gay couple. They were discrete, but we knew. On my twelth birthday these two gay men bought me a ten speed, bright yellow bike. I had never had such a nice gift. They somehow knew what I needed. I lost a little weight. Was able to ride the bike to gain a little freedom. I even got a part time job using the bike to deliver floral arrangements. They were my angels. I will fight for their rights until I die. I hope you take comfort in the fact that as a nurse, you surely comforted the poor boy before he lost all hope.
ReplyDeleteThat's a wonderful story. And I'm sure that there are lots of them out there. I was once asked to sign a petition against gay marriage (this was at least eight years ago in Michigan) and I refused. I told the woman that I had been married for over 30 years and did not feel threatened one bit by people who loved one another and wanted to make their relationship official. I still feel the same way. Life is too short for all of the hatred that too many people espouse.
DeleteBeaglemom
Sorry to O/T , but I just read this at the pee pond (I refuse to actually swim, but it's amusing to watch the flailers from the shore:
ReplyDeleteSome folks wear their heritage on their sleeve......as if it makes up who they are as an individual....and others just see it as where the family lived ......and do not try to use it to further an idea that their heritage entitles them to something that the rest of everyday Americans are not entitled to.
Polarbearpapa said:
..I think from observing the Palin's.....that they do not see their heritage as something to grasp at or try to recapture .....it is simply where they came from....not where they are going...
..there are a lot of Americans that left their Native/American heritage behind and just became.....
..Americans...
---------------------
Gee, did somebody forget that IHS that Bristol 1/16 th admits she gets for herself and kid (1/32) - even though she has more than enough cash to buy health insurance? And aren't some of Todd's fishing licenses/rights based on his Native heritage?
And these idiots are p'oed because Elizabeth Warren said she had some Native American Heritage (family narratives said she did) on an inconsequential, unofficial for any perqs bio? WTF?
Thanks for posting this, Jesse. I clicked on the source and read the comments there. Those are pretty powerful, and I recommend reading them.
ReplyDeleteOMG! Knock me over with a feather...
ReplyDeleteI thought i recognized that stage. It's at the beloved World's Fair Park in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Wow... a reason to be proud to be of Tennesseans!
Here's a comment from the reddit site:
ReplyDelete"I hate to be the guy who says "this" in a comment, but damn it... this. These people in the picture are from an area in our nation where feeling like this is something they encounter because society isn't comfortable letting them express themselves sexually and be open. Legislating Sexuality isn't the reason they are ostracized but it doesn't help. It creates an environment that legitimizes other people feeling the way they do about the LGBT community."
The Log Cabin Republicans believe that Lincoln was gay.
ReplyDeleteIf Lincoln did prefer men, oh how that must have contributed to his loneliness.
And it means there would be absolutely no place for him at all in the GOP tent today.
DeleteI had prepared the response below to a hateful comment that was deleted, I guess, because I don't see it anymore. I hope the person who wrote it will read this and at least give it some thought.
ReplyDeleteI was born in the Deep South during the period of integration, and I can assure you that NONE of the legislation regarding integration, civil rights, reproductive rights, or any other progressive legislation would have been approved by voters at the ballot box. There will always be push back and resistance by those who so (self-) righteously want to cling to the past, but they will come around. And of course, all of the religious leaders (historically, the most bigoted) will resist and stamp their feet because this issue about the "queers and faggots and Sodom & Gomorrah, and blah blah blah..." might not be good for their "business". But they did exactly that to no avail when "the Southern Way of Life" was threatened by integration in the 50's and 60's.
The states can piss around all they want to but the Supreme Court will be the deciders, if necessary. Public opinion is already at 52% favorable to EQUAL RIGHTS for everyone, regardless of sexual orientation. Justice will come through the courts---just as it did in 1954 (Brown v Bd of Education re integration) as well as 1964(Civil Rights Act) and 1965 (Voting Rights Act AND Griswold v CT re Reproductive Rights)--- not through legislation in Congress or through the individual states.
It's okay. Just like our wives and daughters were not stolen from us by the black men who were allowed to be educated in the same schools as us and to vote alongside us, no one who is gay is going to try to make you have sex with them just because they have the same rights as an U.S. citizen as you.
It may take one year, two years or ten years, but justice will come. Believe me, I know the lessons of history. Some of my relatives were involved with the Klan, but almost all of them were involved with the (White) Citizens' Councils of the late 50's through 1970, and ALMOST ALL of the preachers were members of those groups, which look and sound so similar to the bigoted haters who hide behind misinterpreted scripture. All it took to accept the change was time, love, and the support of the law, along with many of those of us in the majority who had to learn to respect the "others" who had been historically excluded from participating in "our" society.
We are on the right side of history. And you ought to join us. Come on... you'll feel better later once you realize you did the right thing.
I cannot believe these people call themselves christians! Hatred is the exact opposite of the Jesus I loved before I became atheist.
ReplyDeleteI choose only to keep the best parts of the religion I grew up with: love, compassion and inclusion.
How many of the gay-haters "cuz it's in the bible" follow the rest of the archaic laws from the bible?
The eating of fat is prohibited forever
~Leviticus 3:17
If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, he shall pay the girl's father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives
~Deuteronomy 22:28-29
Any person who curseth his father or mother must be killed
~Leviticus 20:9
If a man has sex with a woman on her period, they are both to be cut off from their people
~Leviticus 20:18
People who have flat noses, or are blind or lame, cannot go to an altar of God
~Leviticus 21:17-18
It's high time we became part of our modern world and leave the mythology behind.
Almost every post is a queer post now. I'm controlling you the same way the right is now controlling the agenda. Obama will be toast, thanks to the queers.
ReplyDeleteYou're a deluded asshat.
DeleteAnonymous12:14 PM
DeleteHello Wallow! How's Danada?
So when God said judge not, lest ye be judged and to love thy neighbor... I guess you're just too self-righteous to think that Jesus' word applies to you, huh?
DeleteLet's also remember how Prissy Brissy called people FAGS and HOMOS.
ReplyDeleteThis type of silent protest speaks volumes. I had to pause after reading each and put myself in their place, and it just saddens me to think someone is hurting so bad every second of every day, for no logical reason. The second from the left and the one on the easel really got to me.
ReplyDeletePowerful.
Oh, Gryph, that picture broke my heart.
ReplyDelete