UFC fighter Sean Strickland says a gay son would mean that he failed as a man

UFC fighter Sean Strickland

Some of us have yet to get used to this being 2022 but already we are reminded about the need for LGBTQ visibility and especially the benefits of LGBTQ celebrities coming out.

And it's all thanks to an unbelievably insensitive and rather stupid comment by UFC fighter Sean Strickland in December:

According to the webpage Queerty - and as you can see in the above tweet, Strickland was answering a fan's question. The attention I pay to the homophobia of his comment does not any in way diminish the same degree of eyerolling I commit when it comes to his comment about women. Queerty points out that his comments received a lot of backlash. The site shows that Strickland has a 'knack' for saying stupid and ugly things.

But still, what the hell!!? 

With so many LGBTQ kids going through trauma partly because of their justified fears of coming out to their parents, Strickland is setting an awful example. And spare me the oncoming digs about him being a UFC fighter and the hackneyed lines about him supposedly a being 'punch-drunk meathead.' Strickland's type of ignorance goes beyond UFC. It is worldwide and it is ugly.  Just like when Dave Chappelle came out with his transphobic ugliness and folks were quick to diminish the anger of those he attacked, some will also be quick to claim that  backlash to Strickland's comments is 'cancel culture.'

It is 'cancel culture,' but not to people like Strickland.  Comments like his amplify and reinforce ignorant attitudes and ugly mindsets which leads to the diminishing of the mental and physical health of our children.  Comments like Strickland's strip our babies of their self-worth and security, dragging them down to the path of being thrown out of their homes, physical violence, psychological instability, and worse. LGBTQ kids are the ones being cancelled, not people like Strickland.

And it is a depressingly simple reason why I support LGBTQ celebrities publicly coming out. Some folks see it as a tiresome trend, repeatedly done to death. Perhaps they have a point. But a much better and much more crucial point is maybe newly coming out celebrities  are standing in the gap for kids whose parents should know better and should be better, but steadily refuses to act better.

'Lil Nas X calls out the music industry's treatment of queer artists' & other Wed midday news briefs

Lil Nas X

Lil Nas X Calls Out the Music Industry's Treatment of Queer Artists​ - Be careful Lil Nas, but speak that truth loud.

Netflix launches 'The Gay Agenda,' podcast celebrating LGBTQ community - Oh really? Well that's nice. But you gonna have to do some more to make up for the Dave Chappelle thing. 

15 Celebs Who Came Out As Trans or Nonbinary in 2021 - Yes this is a big deal. A big ole wonderful, glorious big deal (I'm aware that I said 'big' twice)

‘I’d been set up’: the LGBTQ Kenyans ‘catfished’ for money via dating apps - Good Lord . . .

Anti-LGBTQ evangelical Tony Perkins attempts to soft pedal lies about 2020 election and the January 6 insurrection

Family Research Council president Tony Perkins

It shouldn't surprise anyone that anti-LGBTQ hate group the Family Research Council and its president, Tony Perkins, is participating in Republican lies about the 2020 election and the January 6 insurrection which was the direct result of those lies.

But unlike other Republicans, FRC and Perkins aren't outright spinning the lie that the 2020 election was 'stolen' or that the January 6 insurrection is being falsely 'overhyped' by the media. Instead, the group has chosen to walk a thin line and play the passive-aggressive game, as witnessed by a portion of some nonsense found on its webpage. Via this drivel, Perkins and FRC are attacking Associated Press writer Nicholas Riccardi. They are angry at Riccardi for writing a very good article on how the GOP is exploiting Trump's stolen election lie in order to grab the power to control future elections. 

This passage from the FRC piece caught my attention:

The riot at the U.S. Capitol -- a year ago this week -- has provided all the ammunition the media needs to smear anyone working to erase the doubts about the fairness of U.S. elections. In the 12 months since that unruly mob, Democrats have rushed to paint every conservative trying to safeguard elections with the broad brush of treason. "They're laying the groundwork," former Democratic operative Mark Brewer claims in the AP piece, "for a slow-motion insurrection." How? By trying to ensure that everyone's vote is sacred? 

 It's a ludicrous claim -- and yet the AP, in one of the greatest affronts to journalism, is passing it off as fact. To suggest that people who are changing the laws -- or using the process to reinforce the laws that already exist -- are trying to overthrow the government isn't just biased reporting, it's dangerous reporting. Taking the earnest efforts of citizens and wrapping them in a loaded term like "insurrection" is like the AP taking a pitchfork to democracy.

And then there was this passage:

What 2020 taught us is that there are major vulnerabilities in our election system -- many of which were exploited, thanks to COVID. And anyone who doubts that these issues exist can check out Heritage's new election integrity scorecard and read the detailed ratings of every state. "[We look at it] from the standpoint of do they protect security and integrity? And you'll find, boy, there [are] a lot of states around the country that have serious problems in their election systems."

It's stuff like this by Perkins and FRC which is as dangerous as the firebrand nonsense spewed by Trump and his most rabid supporters. Probably more dangerous. It's concern trolling at its worse; psychological manipulation created to sow doubt about a situation in which there should be no doubt.

'National movement seeking to ban LGBTQ books, online materials from school libraries trying to gain traction in Georgia' & other Tue midday news briefs.

Movement would ban LGBTQ books, online materials from school libraries - Oh it's on now, bi!tches. And at the beginning of a new year when I'm just ready for a good fight.

Conservatives flip out as Amy Schneider becomes top female earner in Jeopardy! history​ - Be mad. Stay mad. LOL 

'Jeopardy!' champion responds to transphobic Twitter trolls - And Amy is the epitome of class. 

South Carolina Man Convicted of Sodomy Sues Over Sex Offender Status - And I hope he wins. Just a mess. 

Lesbian moms get hateful Christmas card from neighbor seething over their Pride flags - Speaking of messes, the card was simply unhinged. Joe the Rapist?

Video: Top 20 Betty White Moments

 Let's ease into 2022 by honoring a legend. So many things have been said about Betty White since her passing on December 31 at the age of 99. She was one of those rare celebrities who everyone liked. Her loving nature, immense talent, and extreme longevity will always be remembered.  But most importantly is that her career was all about making us laugh, which she was remarkably good at. The world is so much better because she was here. I can only hope that people will say that about me  after I'm gone. It is a desire that I think we all share.

'Transphobic author trying to get two teachers fired for supporting LGBTQ students' & other Thur midday news briefs

Discredited, transphobic author Abigail Shrier goes the extra mile to make life hell for LGBTQ kids.

Anti-trans author is petitioning to have two teachers fired for supporting LGBTQ students. - That vulgar Abigail Shrier is going too far with this mess. If she succeeds, it would send an ugly message to teachers supporting LGBTQ students. To say nothing of the attempt to strip our kids of the allies they would need in schools. 

 Who is Abigail Shrier? - My mother raised me right so I won't publicly give my opinion of who/what I think she is, but these past postings should give you the info you need: 

Podcaster Joe Rogan & right-wing author team up to equate trans people with a cult and 'demonic possession' 

Anti-transgender book called out for numerous errors months before author testified in front of Senate committee

YouTube allowing discredited anti-trans author and Prager U to fundraise off encouraging parents to reject their transgender children 

Transphobic author Abigail Shrier reveals her true face with tweet about serial killer 

 In other news: 

LGBTQ youth in the South report poor mental health, study says - Probably because of people like Miss Thang above giving them all sorts of hell. 

21 most popular LGBTQ news stories of 2021 - As we do with every year, LGBTQ folks rocked 2021.

Repost: Once Upon A Time When Homophobia Was Less Subtle

Editor's note - In light of all of the nonsense going on with school districts attempting to censor books dealing with sexuality and gender, it's important to realize what it's all about. Those behind these actions may claim they are attempting to protect the children, but that's what they always say .It's their eternal mantra. 

The post below was published last year, but it is still relevant. Nursed in the mind of every liar attempting to render LGBTQ people invisible because of  'the children'  are hysterically bad notions about LGBTQ lives. Even if they don't publicly admit it. Also, while these images may seem comical, it's important to remember the present day damage done by those who believe them to be fact.

 . . . I thought I would take a jaunt through the history of homophobic images via a publication I have used on many occasions.

Homosexuality: Legitimate, Alternate Deathstyle was created and published in the mid 1980s by a man named Dick Hafer. As you can see below, it spotlit all of the anti-LGBTQ stereotypes of the day and presented them as facts. And as you can also see by the second image, several noted public figures at the time (including a Congressman who died this year), endorsed it as fact. There really is no need to refute this booklet because it basically refutes itself.  But it's important for that things like it be remembered for two reason:

1. It is a wonderful, albeit nauseatingly foul, historical resource on homophobia in the United States.

2. If you took a look at the images, you would see that the religious right/anti-LGBTQ industry are saying pretty much the same things about our community as this book, but with more subtlety and less shock.  It's not that hard to go from "homosexuality is a dangerous lifestyle" to "Christians need religious liberty to protect their rights from the homosexual agenda."

(Click on the images to make them larger)

Finally,  my favorite image from this book:

Editor's note - I own a copy of  Deathstyle  but you can here and here to see excerpts from it.