Friday, July 01, 2011

NOM sinks into 'Porno Pete' territory

How desperate is the National Organization for Marriage to put up some of defense after its loss in New York?

This desperate.

 On its blog, NOM features a video from Jon Stewart's The Daily Show showing scenes from a New York gay pride parade.

The point of the clip is to laugh at stereotypes, but NOM tries desperately to wring some serious negative social commentary from the clip:

We warn you that you may not want your kids to see this gay pride parade. But of course Jon Stewart has a huge audience of young people:


The irony is that NOM is now heading directly into the crazy territory of long-time homophobe and anti-gay activist Peter LaBarbera, or as he is affectionately known by many of us in the community - Porno Pete.

LaBarbera got his nickname for his penchant of going to subcultural events, such as leather conventions, and going into detail about the alleged acts of gay men there while pretty much ignoring the behaviors of heterosexuals attending the same events.

If NOM keeps doing stuff like this, then nicknames may be order for its leaders.

How about "Brown-Eye Brian Brown" for starters?



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Know Your LGBT History - urban African-American movies

Tyler Perry gets much hell from some folks because his movies seem too formulaic.

But when one considers what USED to pass for the urban African-American movie, one gets a great appreciation for what Perry is doing.

I will never forget the one summer in which I saw several urban African-American  movies. I don't remember the year, but I remember that they were all awful.

Pitiful.

Pathetic.

And the worse was how the lgbtq community were portrayed in these movies. It was embarrassing enough how African-Americans in general were portrayed, but the makers of a few of these pictures seemed to go out of their way to portray lgbtqs of color as freaks.

Take for example the motion picture, Woo.  

Woo starred Jada Pinkett (before she married Will Smith, got more successful and obviously gained more sense) as a woman looking for romance. That's the plot. The movie didn't make a lick of sense. And the following scene which disrespects the transgender community was enough alone for Woo to be a bomb - which I am glad to say that it was. In spite of its title, this is NOT a funny scene:



And then there was Sprung, which was extremely disappointing because it was actually hilarious in some scenes and starred several of my favorite actors and actresses (who REALLY should have known better). The scene here is of bad quality and it shows how one of the characters gets revenge on another by making him humiliate himself in a police line-up by stripping half naked and saying some sexually suggestive comments.

It's not funny and what makes the scene even worse is the fact that the makers of Sprung just HAD to add a flamboyant gay man (in panties no less) to the scene.

Seeing stuff like this makes you want to fight somebody. It starts at 2:25 and if you to see a better quality of the scene, go here:



Just a reminder to folks. We won a huge victory last week, but we still have a HELL of a way to go.

I'm still trying to find out where the hell was GLAAD when all of this stuff went down.

Past Know Your LGBT History Posts:

Family Research Council accidentally honors LGBT Pride Month and other Friday midday news briefs


I love it when anti-gay groups get so caught up in their homophobia that they accidentally do things which benefit the lgbtq community. This graphic is from the Family Research Council as it complains (yet again) that the Obama White House is too lgbtq-friendly. Is this graphic supposed to be scary? Eat your heart out, Batman. Our symbol is cooler than yours.

Hat tip to Jeremy Hooper

And in other news:


Audio: NOM"s Jennifer Roback Morse is 'hopping mad'; hops right around inconvenient truths - I am loving the fact that NOM still can't get over its loss in New York.

NC: Repub. House Speaker promotes amendment, says same-sex marriages not as 'stable and nurturing'
- This is what happens when folks are reduced to mean-spirited lies.

Same-Sex Couples Raising Children At Consistent Rates Across 12 States
- An appropriate news flash in response to the drivel of the above post.

New York Republican Dismisses NOM’s Threats: ‘Go Ahead And Do What You’ve Got To Do’ - The man is bold. I like him even more.


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Eddie Long scandal underscores failure of the black church

The pictures which may have cost Eddie Long millions.
My friend Rod McCollum from Rod 2.0 Beta has written an incredible piece on the recent controversy regarding disgraced Georgia pastor Eddie Long. Long, head of the megachurch New Birth Missionary Baptist Church and a critic of homosexuality and marriage equality, has recently settled a lawsuit with four young men who claimed that he coerced them into sexual relationships.

McCollum's piece the controversy and reveals the sad fact that while it may have seemed tantalizing, neither the black church nor the black community used it as a chance to have crucial dialogues on the subjects of lgbtqs of color, HIV/AIDS, or even sexual abuse in the church.

Some of the best parts of McCollum's piece:

“This could have been a beautifully brilliant opportunity for the Black Church to talk about molestation, our youth and young adults and how they must be protected,” says the Rev. Kevin E. Taylor, the openly gay New Jersey-based senior pastor of Unity Fellowship Church of New Brusnwick, a predominately black LGBT denomination. “It could have been a galvanizing moment to separate the wolves from the lions. All of those opportunities were missed.”

“The church has been pummeled by fondling, fear and secrets for generations,” says Taylor, who is also an author, activist and a veteran BET producer. “And now with Eddie Long, the Black Church is doing what it’s always done: ‘Don’t Ask and Don’t Tell.’ “

It’s an apt comparison. But at the same time the military is dismantling DADT and moving toward open service, the informal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policies of many black congregations remain more entrenched than ever.

 . . .  In the weeks and months after the Long case broke, denial became the standard operating procedure for many leaders within the church community. The disgraced pastor even covered the November/December 2010 issue of “Gospel Today.” A number of subscribers complained, and critics slammed the magazine for not reporting that Long is the chairman of its board of advisers, reported the Belief Blog of Time.com.
The Catholic Church has attracted global scrutiny for the many cases of sexual predators within its ranks. But it’s also a problem within many traditional black churches. One example: The Church of God in Christ. COGIC is the largest Pentecostal denomination in the U.S. and the second largest African-American denomination. COGIC has become embroiled in numerous criminal investigations around clergy sexual abuse. There is even a clergy abuse micro-site on the Church website.

  . . . As news began leaking in May that Long settled the four lawsuits, few, if any, high profile black pastors were willing to publicly criticize the pastor. Instead, Long was defended or even praised. Creflo Dollar, another Atlanta-based mega-church pastor who preaches so-called “prosperity gospel,” criticized the new members of his congregation who had left Long’s church.

“I can’t believe people would leave their preacher because he had a wreck instead of praying for him,” Dollar told his congregation.

 . . . Others also found the hypocrisy unsettling. Twitter became a venting outlet for frustration over the way mega-church leaders rallied around Long. In early June, Afro-Austro actor Boris Kodjoe sent a fantastic series of pro-LGBT tweets, slamming Eddie Long and his defenders’ hypocrisy on gays. “Too bad that the real Eddie Long issue was covered up again,” tweeted the actor. “Missed opportunity to address, grow and heal ourselves.”

Kodjoe’s tweets kick started a larger conversation on sexuality among straight allies and some homophobic black youth. The actor also engaged in a Twitter debate with CNN’s Roland Martin, who had previously defended homophobic pastors. “Being gay is NOT a choice,” Kodjoe told Martin, who suggested that people “chose” the gay “lifestyle.”

Related post:

Eddie Long scandal - Chronology of what has happened and where we are now


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