Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters

Friday, August 06, 2010

Know Your LGBT History - Don't be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood

The Wayans family is the first African-American film family of Hollywood and they got this monicker through their brand of blue humor comedy movies.

Some are funny, others areastupid and in a few of them, the lgbt community have been made fun of. But to be honest, so have a lot of other groups and nationalities.

Now their first movie to hit it big, Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood, (1996) was a takeoff of the annoying plethora of movies which featured black men in danger of being murdered through gang activity and neighborhood violence.

I hate to say it but this movie grows on you and there are some serious laugh out loud scenes.

But I had a discussion with a friend of mine involving two scenes which didn't necessarily talk about the lgbt community per se but is still of some interest to us . . . maybe.

The first scene is a take off of the cookout scene from the movie Boys N Da Hood. In it, the head villain is bragging about how he is not afraid to go back to jail. And his sentiments are echoed by members of the cast, until the last part:

'Porno Pete' LaBarbera's 'Truth Academy' flopping big time and other Friday midday news briefs

Bulletin: Porno Pete’s ‘Truth Academy’ a Poorly Attended Dud - And we should be surprised by this lovely turn of events?

This is not a parody - But mercy, I wish it was. The GOP gay group GOProud is inviting (wait for it) Ann Coulter to speak. Coulter hasn't exactly been verbally nice to the lgbt community. I still am in the Twilight Zone about the flyer in this link calling Ann Coulter the "right wing Judy Garland." That had BETTER be a parody.

Martin Ssempa didn’t like the article on gays in Uganda - Dr. Poo Poo doesn't like it when others tell facts about the lgbt community.

Hospital Responds to Discrimination Trans Flap - So it admits the wrong done to members of our community. Good. Now fix it.

Religious right blame game continues over Prop 8 decision

In two separate interviews, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council and Wendy Wright of Concerned Women for America continued to place game on the Prop 8 decision - which they lost big time - on other reasons. Never mind their side just couldn't defend its mess.

It was the classic religious right strategy of using talking points to evade the question. I don't think the hosts (Rick Sanchez or Chris Matthews) were having any of it though:

Thursday, August 05, 2010

Maggie Gallagher is another reason why we won yesterday in Prop 8 decision

Another reason why the Prop 8 side lost yesterday is demonstrated by the above video which features Maggie Gallagher of the National Organization for Marriage and Evan Wolfson of Freedom to Marry.

Maybe it's just me but Gallagher came across as rude and shrill. She didn't seem to want to answer the questions at hand and at times talked over host Anderson Cooper.

Isn't it a shame that her cohorts couldn't act the same way in court. Maybe they would have gained a little ground.

One more thing - her "waaaaaa, stop calling me a bigot" routine could easily disappeared is someone would ask her about her associations to folks like the Traditional Values Coalition and Louis Marinelli.

Related posts:

Phony disclaimer won't help National Organization for Marriage

National Organization for Marriage needs to address hate in its own ranks

National Organization for Marriage tries to cover up ugly comments with pitiful lies

National Organization for Marriage - gays were never hunted down and murdered like 'Jews, Christians, and blacks'

Message to Maggie Gallagher: associating with bigots does make you a bigot

How George Rekers is connected to the Prop 8 supporters and other Thursday midday news briefs

An incredible breakdown by Rachel Maddow as to how the Prop 8 side is connected with the discredited George Rekers. And this is a point in which I hope to touch upon in my speech at SC Pride on Sept. 4 - just how connected the religious right is to junk science. The Prop 8 decision should be a lesson to us all. In the face of logic, the dubious claims of the religious right always collapses.

And in other news:

Gary Cass on Prop 8 Ruling: What Do You Expect From the Debased Mind of a Pervert? - Well what else can we expect from a man who defends a church which tried to exorcise "a gay demon" out of a child.

Prop 8: Cable news roundup - And for you news junkies is the roundup of cable news reactions to the Prop 8 decision.

Schadenfreude Alert: Liberty Counsel Blames ADF For Prop 8 Decision - Finally, one of the sweetest tastes from the Prop 8 decision - religious right groups attacking each other.

More on Proposition 8's pitiful court defense

Again I reiterate the position that Proposition 8 lost yesterday not because of "activist judges" or because of a "secret plot," but because those defending Proposition 8 blew it. They had the chance to defend the vote and failed miserably. I pulled out a number of pieces which proves my point:

Prop. 8 Supporters: We Don't Need Evidence - this is Judge Vaughn Walker's summary of the evidence by those supporting Proposition 8:

At oral argument on proponents' motion for summary judgment, the court posed to proponents' counsel the assumption that "the state's interest in marriage is procreative" and inquired how permitting same-sex marriage impairs or adversely affects that interest. Counsel replied that the inquiry was "not the legally relevant question," but when pressed for an answer, counsel replied: "Your honor, my answer is: I don’t know. I don't know."…

Despite this response, proponents in their trial brief promised to "demonstrate that redefining marriage to encompass same-sex relationships" would effect some twenty-three specific harmful consequences. At trial, however, proponents presented only one witness, David Blankenhorn, to address the government interest in marriage. Blankenhorn’s testimony…provided no credible evidence to support any of the claimed adverse effects proponents promised to demonstrate. During closing arguments, proponents again focused on the contention that "responsible procreation is really at the heart of society's interest in regulating marriage." When asked to identify the evidence at trial that supported this contention, proponents' counsel replied, "you don't have to have evidence of this point."

Pro-Prop 8 Witness Laments Reaction - David Blankenhorn, the only pro-Proposition 8 witness has not had a good experience. I do feel sorry for him. His testimony was probably a huge reason why lgbts won yesterday.

Does Miles McPherson want to hide his gay = pedophilia belief from the Proposition 8 trial? - This piece of mine from earlier this year talks about how there could have been other witnesses for Proposition 8. But they chose not to testify.

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Dear Proposition 8 supporters - You lost because you lied

Dear supporters of Proposition 8,

Please do not take my words as gloating but rather a clear and concise analysis of why you may be feeling dejected now over the overturning of Proposition 8.

In 2008, when you won, many of you stood with your arms raised in defiance of the bitter tears you caused in the lgbt community.

What a difference two years makes indeed.

But let me explain to you why you lost today. It’s not complicated, but rather simple.

Your side lost because you lied.

Oh I know that folks on your side will whine about “activist judges who make laws rather than interpret them,” but let’s be real here.

Your entire narrative has been a lie from the beginning.

Folks on your side, such as Maggie Gallagher of the National Organization for Marriage, the Family Research Council, and the rest of the pseudo defenders of morality will probably whine about how you all have been unfairly labeled as “bigots.” And I am sure that they will point out that every time there has been a public vote on marriage equality, the lgbt community has always lost.

But they will conveniently omit how these victories were attained. You won’t hear about how they invoked images of gay boogeymen molesting children in false ads nor will they admit to telling lies about children supposedly being taught about gay sex.

You won’t hear them admit to exploiting people’s unconscious fears and ignorance of the lgbt community in order to spin outrageous scenarios of what could happen should lgbts be allowed to marry.

And don’t be surprised by this. Those like Gallagher will never admit to the depths they stooped to win not only in California but other places like Maine.

But there is a reason why this country has checks and balances. And there is a reason why people can’t arbitrarily vote on the rights of others without having to defend this vote in the logical arena of courts, where you can’t invoke panic by proverbially yelling fire in a crowded theatre.

In the courts, you must defend your position. And in the long run, you couldn’t. Or rather many of you wouldn’t. Again, the specters of gay bogeymen were invoked as your leaders spun false images of avenging hordes for their reluctance to be questioned in the courts about the unprovoked lies they said in pulpits, in speeches, and on commercials.

This time, it didn’t work. The court saw through the phony claims and realized something, which I hope that many of you now do - you have no logical reason to either deny us the right to love or to deny us the ability to protect the ones whom we love.

But please don’t think that even though we are celebrating, the lgbt community is naive to think that this ends the struggle for marriage equality.

We know this is just the beginning of a long fight to attain something that should have been ours from the beginning.

But that’s okay.

We are a community who learn from our past mistakes. At times we lose, but we learn to adapt and we eventually win.

So bring it on. We are not afraid.

Related post:

Message to the religious right - this isn't just about marriage, it's about history