Analyzing and refuting the inaccuracies lodged against the lgbt community by religious conservative organizations. Lies in the name of God are still lies.
Even yours truly can take time out from blogging, truth telling, and religious right spanking to note special occasions.
February is Black History Month and I love all celebrations with regards to my racial heritage . . . except for the fact that lgbts of color who have made positive historical marks are always omitted from mainstream Black History Month mentions.
Therefore, from time to time this month, I will be presenting videos, old blog posts of note, and various other things which will remind folks that lgbts of color played a huge role in the survival and progression of African Americans:
Unfortunately, as the video above demonstrates, even marginalized groups of people can accidentally practice the tactics which led to their own omission. I am aware and saddened by the fact that the video includes no African-American transgender brothers and sisters.
However, rather than apologize about it, I thought I would improvise and include a few myself. My apologies to folks I may omit and please note that those below are only a very small representation of the wide variety of talent, intellect, and dignity African-American transgender brothers and sisters have brought to America:
Lucy Hicks Anderson - marriage equality pioneer
Kylar Broadus - Activist, attorney, professor
Monica Roberts - journalist, activist, good friend (I call her Cleopatra Jones behind her back).
Miss Major Griffin Gracy - participant at Stonewall
Tiq Milan - Senior Media Strategist of National News, GLAAD
Nancy Reagan Turned Down Rock Hudson’s Plea For Help Nine Weeks Before He Died - Easily one of the best, saddest, and most thorough stories I have ever read. And know this - regardless of your opinion after reading it, this is only the beginning. There will be more stories like this coming out. Whether or not HIV/AIDS is cured (and I hope that it is), future generations will view it in the same light as racism - an ugly physical manifestation brought to life by our egos, religious exploitations and ignorance; a ghost which will never be fully exorcised; an undying ravenous minotaur in a labyrinth which can never be destroyed. And the actions of those who could have slayed the beast in its infancy, but chose not to, will be put in the spotlight .
Churches in Mountain Home, Ark. refuse funeral for gay man - There will more on this story in the Dallas Voice on Friday. When I hear about things like this, I don't get angry. I get sad because these folks will answer to God for their judgment.
Folks who claim that we lgbts are too pushy and or can't handle "disagreement" with our supposed lifestyle don't know what we know and they certainly don't hear what we hear.
And most of all, they don't take into account how certain things which are said affects our lgbt children.
What I am talking about is this awful video below from January in which a Montana pastor spoke to lawmakers in opposition of a non-discrimination bill:
Partial Transcript:
“I am here primarily as representative of myself and my family, most specifically my children, and that wouldn’t change if one of my children were to come forward and announce themselves as homosexual,” Steve Boettger of the First Baptist Church of Cascade said at the hearing.
“I firmly believe I do not have to agree with someone’s behavior in order to continue loving them.”
“We do, as a culture and as a people, discriminate against behavior, and whether it is voluntary, innate, in-born, a choice, it is really not relevant to the point that it is indeed behavior,” he explained.
“For instance, we discriminate against incest. We discriminate against child molestation. We discriminate against a long list of behaviors that have long been believed to be wrong.”
“I don’t understand how it is we could possibly disagree with what
thousands of years have said, that most people have agreed is wrong. I
think it is easy to understand that every advancement of this agenda…
comes at the expense of what our founders, who I believe were right, set
forth as our first right, and that is the right of religious
expression.”
Mr. Boettger seems to forget that historically, segregation and the second-class status of women was thought to be a part of correct "religious expression." As for the rest of his speech, it always amazes me when folks reduce lgbts to their fevered sexual imaginations or compare us to pedophiles and then act all shocked when we take offense.
Saying you love someone before ripping away their humanity is merely a facade. It's no different than expressing love before you proceed to punch out of your partner.
Lgbts don't need nor do we want love like that and personally if I DID want love like that, I would pay my mother to pistol whip me (apologies to Suzanne Sugarbaker).
By the way,the bill was voted down 7-5 thanks to the Republicans who were against it.
