The next battle - may we win it
I have to hand it to our friend, Peter LaBarbera. The site of his group, American for Truth (in name only) keeps me informed on the issue of the lgbt community. His site is an excellent resource, as long as one ignores the lies and hysteria that comes with it.
For example, this article about a school committee that will forsee whether or not to recommend a video for classrooms:
The district is set to announce today that it has formed a committee that will make a recommendation about a controversial video featuring gay parents, but committee members' names will remain secret to protect them from harassment.
Nine PTA parents will serve on the committee, district spokeswoman Jeanne Smith said, along with a group of teachers.
Just as they did in the recent David Parker controversy, Peter and his posse will try to spin the incorrect idea that talking about same-sex led households constitutes a talk about sexual intercourse.
And that will be the next battle.
Fresh off of their victories in the fight against same-sex marriage, the anti-gay industry will try to further devalue and dehumanize lgbts by giving our families a sort of scarlet letter in classrooms. Oh don't mention the fact that gays and lesbians constitute families and actually raise children in those families. That means we have to talk about nasty gay sex.
What a bunch of lies.
I sincerely hope that the anti-gay industry will not be successful this time. The issue of same-sex marriage was one that they were able to put in simplistic terms:
Marriage has always been between a man and a woman. Gays and lesbians are the invaders trying to change the concept and thereby destroy marriage.
While they were busy pushing this point of view, something interesting was happening. LGBTs were continuing to form relationships and they were continuing to raise children. We didn't stop because of we were being denied marriage rights. The ability to have a family is central to the human existence.
And whether the anti-gay industry likes it or not, the lgbt community are included in this designation.
So in the case of having families, we cannot be seen as outsiders. We have children attending schools and those children have every right to celebrate their families and not be thought of as immoral because their families are not "ideal" in the eyes of some.
The issue of lgbt families is so complex that the anti-gay industry cannot simplify it. People are just not going to buy into so easily as they did with same-sex marriage. People realize that at the end of the day, any action they endorse could eventually harm a child whose only "crime" seems to be in a same sex household.
And this complexity includes how these same-sex families should be talked about in schools.
But that doesn't mean members of the anti-gay industry won't try:
In America there are powers that are hell bent on sexualizing our kids at very early ages, and in perverse ways. The main place this sexualization is happening is in the schools.
This writer includes the lie that David Parker's son's school was talking about gay sexual intercourse. She even infers that gay men want to molest children.
These attempts to make every case that opposes homosexuality one about sexual intercourse underscores a point.
The battle for gay rights is not about sex. To a degree, it's not even about being able to love who your heart tells you to.
The battle for gay rights is a fight for the right to self-determination. Apparently some folks feel that we should conform to their ignorant ideas of lgbts: the hedonistic, irresponsible gay man, the violent manhating lesbian, the cheating bisexual who cannot comprehend monogamy, the transgender always looking to "trick" straight men into thinking that she was born a woman,
God forbid we forge our own identities. God forbid we look to God for approval rather than those who say they are speaking for God. And God forbid that we demand what is ours as taxpaying Americans - that the government look out for our interests.
The anti-gay industry has every right to think that homosexuality is all about sexual intercourse. But we have every right not to live our lives according to their ignorance.
And we have every right to raise hell when they try to hurt our families.
One more thing
So Marine General Peter Pace thinks that homosexuality is immoral, huh?
Well, to channel John Aravois, badly equipping our people to fight the war in Iraq or allowing wounded soldiers to sleep in their own urine when they are lucky enough not to be blown away in cases of friendly fire (i,e, Pat Tillman) is even more immoral.
Are we really winning this so-called war on terror?
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Monday, March 12, 2007
Sorry Harry Jackson, but your mess ain't real
Dear Minister Harry Jackson,
I read with great interest your column asking me to join you in the cultural fight against the gay community.
With all due respect, I am going to have to pass for a myriad of reasons.
In the first place, gay marriage has not contributed to any type of decline in the African-American community. I noticed that you made that claim but didn't give any reasonable degree of proof backing it up.
Secondly, I have heard your rhetoric before. Unfortunately, in the wake of the civil rights movements, there has risen a class of black leadership willing to stab their brothers and sisters in the back for a little face time and some public influence.
I might remind you, before you leaf through your Bible to the verses that supposedly speak against homosexuality, the Word of God has been pervered to justify slavery and segregation. It always amazes me that folks like you always seem to forget that.
There seems to be this claim that the African-American civil rights movement and the movement for lgbt self-determination cannot be thought of as similar. You may have a point there. As a matter of fact, let me further make more points as to how the two are different:
No, gay people have not been beaten and murdered because of their orientation. Sakia Gunn accidentally slipped on that knife belonging to that young black man. And those parademics who should have been helping Tyra Hunter after her car accident rather than laughing at her for being transngender were just doing their jobs.
No, gay people have not had our lives devalued by the fear and ignorance of others. It is rather fun to be judged by someone's fevered imagination of how I have sex.
No, gay people have never been made to sit on the back of the bus. That being the case, legislation created to devalue us and our families is no big deal.
No, gay people have not been insulted and spiritually beaten down by name-calling like African-Americans have. I rather think that the "f" word is a term of endearment, especially when it is said by a group of young men carrying baseball bats or boards with nails in them.
You are so right, Minister Harry Jackson, the fight for self-respect and your God-given rights cannot be seen as universal. Some people deserve rights more than others. And those who have the rights should get to judge the lives of those aren't so lucky.
But let me tell you what is universal, Minister Harry Jackson.
Presumption is universal,
Ignorance is universal,
Self-righteousness is universal.
And you have just proven that these things also know no color.
Dear Minister Harry Jackson,
I read with great interest your column asking me to join you in the cultural fight against the gay community.
With all due respect, I am going to have to pass for a myriad of reasons.
In the first place, gay marriage has not contributed to any type of decline in the African-American community. I noticed that you made that claim but didn't give any reasonable degree of proof backing it up.
Secondly, I have heard your rhetoric before. Unfortunately, in the wake of the civil rights movements, there has risen a class of black leadership willing to stab their brothers and sisters in the back for a little face time and some public influence.
I might remind you, before you leaf through your Bible to the verses that supposedly speak against homosexuality, the Word of God has been pervered to justify slavery and segregation. It always amazes me that folks like you always seem to forget that.
There seems to be this claim that the African-American civil rights movement and the movement for lgbt self-determination cannot be thought of as similar. You may have a point there. As a matter of fact, let me further make more points as to how the two are different:
No, gay people have not been beaten and murdered because of their orientation. Sakia Gunn accidentally slipped on that knife belonging to that young black man. And those parademics who should have been helping Tyra Hunter after her car accident rather than laughing at her for being transngender were just doing their jobs.
No, gay people have not had our lives devalued by the fear and ignorance of others. It is rather fun to be judged by someone's fevered imagination of how I have sex.
No, gay people have never been made to sit on the back of the bus. That being the case, legislation created to devalue us and our families is no big deal.
No, gay people have not been insulted and spiritually beaten down by name-calling like African-Americans have. I rather think that the "f" word is a term of endearment, especially when it is said by a group of young men carrying baseball bats or boards with nails in them.
You are so right, Minister Harry Jackson, the fight for self-respect and your God-given rights cannot be seen as universal. Some people deserve rights more than others. And those who have the rights should get to judge the lives of those aren't so lucky.
But let me tell you what is universal, Minister Harry Jackson.
Presumption is universal,
Ignorance is universal,
Self-righteousness is universal.
And you have just proven that these things also know no color.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Reiteration and Recap
It's Friday and this week has been a killer. Rather than do an original post, I want to recap the points that my upcoming book will make. Repeating correct information is always positive. Feel free to post this anywhere:
2. Repetition
3. Conspiracy Theory
4. Dire Consequences
5. Phony Experts
6. Dehumanizing Semantics
Top Anti-Gay Industry Lies
2. Gay men have a short life span
3. The gay and lesbian community have a high rate of domestic violence
4. Unhealthy behaviors (i.e. substance abuse, promiscuous sexual behavior) is indicative of the gay or lesbian orientation.
5. Gay men molest children at a high rate.
6. Gays and lesbians want to silence Christians .
7. Gays and lesbians recruit people, particularly children, to their "life style."
8. Gays and lesbians are following a six-point plan to take over America.
9. Any judge who rules in favor of the gay and lesbian community in a case is an "activist judge."
10. Anal sex is "homosexual behavior."
11. Robert Spitzer’s study confirms that gays and lesbians can change their orientation.
12. Gays and lesbians want to force acceptance.
13. Gay bowel syndrome is a legitimate medical term.
14. A man who molests a boy or a woman who molests a girl is automatically homosexual.
15. A convenience sample or out-of-date study can be used to generalize about an entire community.
It's Friday and this week has been a killer. Rather than do an original post, I want to recap the points that my upcoming book will make. Repeating correct information is always positive. Feel free to post this anywhere:
Six Distortion Techniques of the Anti-Gay Industry
1. Using nonrepresentative or out of date studies to make generalizations, or distorting legitimate studies to give misleading conclusions
2. Repetition
3. Conspiracy Theory
4. Dire Consequences
5. Phony Experts
6. Dehumanizing Semantics
Top Anti-Gay Industry Lies
1. Homosexuality is a lifestyle more harmful than cigarette smoking
2. Gay men have a short life span
3. The gay and lesbian community have a high rate of domestic violence
4. Unhealthy behaviors (i.e. substance abuse, promiscuous sexual behavior) is indicative of the gay or lesbian orientation.
5. Gay men molest children at a high rate.
6. Gays and lesbians want to silence Christians .
7. Gays and lesbians recruit people, particularly children, to their "life style."
8. Gays and lesbians are following a six-point plan to take over America.
9. Any judge who rules in favor of the gay and lesbian community in a case is an "activist judge."
10. Anal sex is "homosexual behavior."
11. Robert Spitzer’s study confirms that gays and lesbians can change their orientation.
12. Gays and lesbians want to force acceptance.
13. Gay bowel syndrome is a legitimate medical term.
14. A man who molests a boy or a woman who molests a girl is automatically homosexual.
15. A convenience sample or out-of-date study can be used to generalize about an entire community.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Controlling the semantics
While everyone seems to be talking about the gay porn star who spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference, I will ignore it.
I will also purposefully ignore the Ann Coulter/John Edwards controversy. Every time I see or hear Ann Coulter, a part of me tunes her out because I know that what comes out of her mouth is designed to shock, not progress dialogue.
I find her boring.
I would prefer to talk about something more important and vital to our community. Earlier today, I mentioned an upcoming anti-gay fest in Illinois. This is why that event is going to take place:
Several parents are claiming that mandatory freshman orientation class at Deerfield High School in Illinois which includes a segment where teens from the Straight and Gay Alliance, a school club, speak about there experiences as gay high school is encouraging homosexuality.
The classes are designed to help students adjust to high school; parents who object to the content can have their children excused.
However, a resident of Deerfield, Lora Sue Hauser, wants the panel discontinued. Hauser, the leader of a group called North Shore Student Advocacy, says that parents and trained counselors are better equipped to handle the issues brought up in the classes.
Gay issues is only one part of this orientation, but it is the only part that parents object to.
Hence our friend Peter LaBarbera will be paying a visit to the area to spin all of his conspiracy theories and lies about the lgbt community.
What is happening in Illinois is something that the anti-gay industry is attempting in various places in the country. If schools or any other entity don't approach discussions of gay people using their narrow-minded interpretations, then somehow the discussions are actually indoctrinations.
And please note the semantics here. In the mouths of the anti-gay industry (be they Concerned Women for American, Americans for Truth (in name only), the American Family Association, etc.), the use of words and phrases like "promoting homosexuality" or "indoctrinating children into the homosexual lifestyle" are designed to pull the emotional strings of people, and thereby motivate them through a combination of fear and their religious beliefs rather than truth.
To call this a skilled technique in huge plan to portray the lgbt community as angry alien outsiders is not paranoia on my part.
How is it when these folks try to define who we are based on their lies, they are telling the truth, but when we are explaining our lives, we are trying to "recruit."
I find it ironic that they spin tales of gay people trying to silence Christians because in this case, just who is trying to silence who?
While everyone seems to be talking about the gay porn star who spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference, I will ignore it.
I will also purposefully ignore the Ann Coulter/John Edwards controversy. Every time I see or hear Ann Coulter, a part of me tunes her out because I know that what comes out of her mouth is designed to shock, not progress dialogue.
I find her boring.
I would prefer to talk about something more important and vital to our community. Earlier today, I mentioned an upcoming anti-gay fest in Illinois. This is why that event is going to take place:
Several parents are claiming that mandatory freshman orientation class at Deerfield High School in Illinois which includes a segment where teens from the Straight and Gay Alliance, a school club, speak about there experiences as gay high school is encouraging homosexuality.
The classes are designed to help students adjust to high school; parents who object to the content can have their children excused.
However, a resident of Deerfield, Lora Sue Hauser, wants the panel discontinued. Hauser, the leader of a group called North Shore Student Advocacy, says that parents and trained counselors are better equipped to handle the issues brought up in the classes.
Gay issues is only one part of this orientation, but it is the only part that parents object to.
Hence our friend Peter LaBarbera will be paying a visit to the area to spin all of his conspiracy theories and lies about the lgbt community.
What is happening in Illinois is something that the anti-gay industry is attempting in various places in the country. If schools or any other entity don't approach discussions of gay people using their narrow-minded interpretations, then somehow the discussions are actually indoctrinations.
And please note the semantics here. In the mouths of the anti-gay industry (be they Concerned Women for American, Americans for Truth (in name only), the American Family Association, etc.), the use of words and phrases like "promoting homosexuality" or "indoctrinating children into the homosexual lifestyle" are designed to pull the emotional strings of people, and thereby motivate them through a combination of fear and their religious beliefs rather than truth.
To call this a skilled technique in huge plan to portray the lgbt community as angry alien outsiders is not paranoia on my part.
How is it when these folks try to define who we are based on their lies, they are telling the truth, but when we are explaining our lives, we are trying to "recruit."
I find it ironic that they spin tales of gay people trying to silence Christians because in this case, just who is trying to silence who?
Old Tactic, New Method
or
The Ghost of Anita Bryant
Special Event!
Culture Campaign hosts God, Sex, and the Culture War
featuring Peter LaBarbera, Lora Sue Hauser, and Laurie Higgins
The Gay Agenda: No Child Left Behind…
Sunday, Mar 11, at 7:15 pm
at College Church in Wheaton, IL
Apparently our friend Peter LaBarbera is intent on taking Robert Knight's place when it comes to spouting anti-gay hysteria.
My guess is that Matt Barber is soon going to be overshadowed. Since getting Robert Knight's old job with Concerned Women for America, he has been extremely light weight.
Peter, on the other hand, has been trying to shoot out of the gate with his group Americans for Truth (in name only). as witnessed by the event that will take place in Illinois on March 11.
I see he is using the old "gays wants to recruit children" tactic that served Anita Bryant so well in the 70s and that other so-called "pro-family" groups continue to hint upon.
This is from the group aiding Americans for Truth (in name only) to put on the event:
Who is going to be there? A panel comprised of the following:A Christian teacher [from] a school district whose administration is peppered with gays and lesbians, so that the school very intensely promotes homosexual lifestyles… A parent who [will explain] how to find out exactly what is being taught [in your local school] and how to respectfully dissent… The leader of Americans for Truth who will inform you about legal issues and situations that have or will impact you, your family and your parental authority….
In other words, a bunch of hysterical adults and Peter LaBarbera, who will act as the puppet master, molding the ignorance and the fear of said hysterical adults to his liking. The idea of a secret gay cabal controlling interests in public schools is silly, but it will no doubt be the idea folks putting on this event will try to spin.
It may seem funny but don't be so quick to laugh. Ignorant people can do a lot of damage when they are manipulated. It's up to us to make sure that the truth comes out.
And let's not forget what exactly is the truth is: Gay students and parents of gay students are tired of getting pushed around and marginalized. They are educating each other and the population at large on their needs and interests. They are not allowing anyone to define them by ignorance and they are not taking a backseat to anyone's religious beliefs.
They are standing up for themselves and their God-given right to self-determination, in accordance to the spirit to which this country was founded upon.
Sorry Peter and the puppets. No conspiracy here. Just good old fashioned American values.
or
The Ghost of Anita Bryant
Special Event!
Culture Campaign hosts God, Sex, and the Culture War
featuring Peter LaBarbera, Lora Sue Hauser, and Laurie Higgins
The Gay Agenda: No Child Left Behind…
Sunday, Mar 11, at 7:15 pm
at College Church in Wheaton, IL
Apparently our friend Peter LaBarbera is intent on taking Robert Knight's place when it comes to spouting anti-gay hysteria.
My guess is that Matt Barber is soon going to be overshadowed. Since getting Robert Knight's old job with Concerned Women for America, he has been extremely light weight.
Peter, on the other hand, has been trying to shoot out of the gate with his group Americans for Truth (in name only). as witnessed by the event that will take place in Illinois on March 11.
I see he is using the old "gays wants to recruit children" tactic that served Anita Bryant so well in the 70s and that other so-called "pro-family" groups continue to hint upon.
This is from the group aiding Americans for Truth (in name only) to put on the event:
Who is going to be there? A panel comprised of the following:A Christian teacher [from] a school district whose administration is peppered with gays and lesbians, so that the school very intensely promotes homosexual lifestyles… A parent who [will explain] how to find out exactly what is being taught [in your local school] and how to respectfully dissent… The leader of Americans for Truth who will inform you about legal issues and situations that have or will impact you, your family and your parental authority….
In other words, a bunch of hysterical adults and Peter LaBarbera, who will act as the puppet master, molding the ignorance and the fear of said hysterical adults to his liking. The idea of a secret gay cabal controlling interests in public schools is silly, but it will no doubt be the idea folks putting on this event will try to spin.
It may seem funny but don't be so quick to laugh. Ignorant people can do a lot of damage when they are manipulated. It's up to us to make sure that the truth comes out.
And let's not forget what exactly is the truth is: Gay students and parents of gay students are tired of getting pushed around and marginalized. They are educating each other and the population at large on their needs and interests. They are not allowing anyone to define them by ignorance and they are not taking a backseat to anyone's religious beliefs.
They are standing up for themselves and their God-given right to self-determination, in accordance to the spirit to which this country was founded upon.
Sorry Peter and the puppets. No conspiracy here. Just good old fashioned American values.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
You mean I can't disrespect gay people? That is an insult to my religion! I'm suing!!
Some members of the anti-gay industry are all up in arms over a court decision.
The city of Oakland won a lawsuit today against employees who was angry because their flyer advertising their Christian group was pulled down when it was posted.
They claim that flyers advertising a gay group did not get the same treatment.
Now the employees are correct but do not be fooled because their case is not so simple. The anti-gay industry will probably spin it as "another" case of Christians being persecuted for their beliefs. But here is the true story:
After other workers founded a Gay and Lesbian Employees Association in 2002, Regerford and Christy formed the Good News Employee Association and displayed a flier promoting the group as a "forum for people of faith" to express their views "with respect for the natural family, marriage and family values."
A supervisor removed the flier six weeks later after an employee complained it contained homophobic statements and violated the city's anti-harassment policy.
The flyer was not pulled because they were Christians, but because of the intent behind the words of the flyer.
The employees orginally lost the lawsuit in 2005 because the court ruled that they had other avenues to state their views and the city of Oakland had a right to protect gay and lesbian employees from harrassment.
The 9th Circuit Court reinforced this ruling.
This the headline from a so-called "pro-family" press release:
Ninth Circuit Declares Right of Government to Censor the Terms 'Natural Family,' 'Marriage' and 'Family Values'
Of course the press release misses the point. Their group was formed in response to the gay and lesbian group and this is okay. But the flyer they sent out can be considered as a degree of harrassment. When the employees included the part about "natural family" and the like, they were attacking the gay and lesbian employees. They can claim that they weren't but why then include that part? Who were they talking about?
Words are dangerous if used in an attacking manner. The case reminds me of the following recent incident:
A Catholic school principal has organized sensitivity training for students who shouted "We love Jesus" during a basketball game against a school with Jewish students.
The word "Jew" also was painted on a gym wall behind the seats of Bishop Sullivan Catholic High School students attending the Feb. 2 game at Norfolk Academy, said Dennis W. Price, principal of the Virginia Beach school.
Price who also watched the game, said the rivals exchanged chants, "Then, at some point, our students were chanting, 'We love Jesus.'""It was obviously in reference to the Jewish population of Norfolk Academy; that's the only way you can take that," he added.
"We love Jesus" is not a dirty or harmful phrase. But the way it was used was a clear slap in the face to Jewish students.
Respecting each other's beliefs is a two way street. We lgbts respect the fact that not everyone is going to love us and some people think we are going to hell. But there is a difference between respecting that opinion and some people thinking that their religion gives them carte blanche to disrespect us and our families.
Pride parades
Some people are trying to keep a charter school out of a gay pride parade in San Diego.
And strangely, none of these people have children attending the charter school:
A San Diego, California, school district has rebuffed efforts by 12 Christian men and women to prevent minor children from being exposed to the city's 33rd annual homosexual pride parade. This group, dubbed the "San Diego Twelve," is calling on the district school board to bar a K-8 charter school from once again marching its students under the school's banner in this summer's "San Diego LGBT Pride" parade.
Despite these objections, however, the San Diego School Board has chosen to take the side of the San Diego Cooperative Charter School and not intervene in the matter. The city's annual homosexual pride parade is scheduled to take place July 21 and is being touted as San Diego's largest civic event, with more than 200 floats and with participants from a diverse contingency of the community, including local political leaders, businesses, and even churches.
The charter school has participated in past parades and the parents seem not to have any problems with it.
So if that is the case, then why are these folks pushing the issue? I thought that many on the so-called "pro-family" side considered parents to be the final and official word as to right and wrong for their children.
I guess this is a special case.
The ringleader of this group, James Hartline, is a case by himself. He claims to be an ex-gay who was afflicted with HIV while he was "in the lifestyle."
I will not make any crass comments about his condition, but I will say that Hartline reminds me of a Washington pastor, Ken Hutcherson, in that he has never met a self aggrandizement that he didn't like:
James Hartline is the least likely man to change a city, but that is exactly what he is doing. From fighting illegal porn stores to exposing the corruption within the radical homosexual agenda, James is being used to confront the powers of darkness in San Diego, California.
Leaders of the leftist homosexual agenda named James Hartline as its San Diego Menace of the Year in 2005 for exposing the pedophile network within the San Diego Gay Pride organization.
Many Christian and secular media sources have taken note of the stand James Hartline has made for righteousness in southern California and have reported on his exploits. James is regularly interviewed on XETV Fox Channel 6, the Paul McGuire Show on KBRT 740am Radio, KUSI Channel 9, the San Diego Reader, San Diego NewsNotes, American Family Radio, and Night Lights Christian Talk TV with James L. Lambert.
Hartline omitted the part where he got the sun to stand still. He didn't want to seem pretentious.
He also seems to have E.S.P. because this is what he says about an event that hasn't even happened yet:
. . . Hartline says children should not be exposed to the kind of homosexual pornography that typically characterizes events like the San Diego LGBT Pride parade. "Many of these people in the parade are women who try to flash their breasts without any top on [and] men doing all kinds of filthy things," he contends. "There are men who dress up as Catholic nuns and do mock sexual acts."
I need to move because the pride parades in Columbia, SC definitely aren't like that. But really, Hartline is plugging into a stereotype that we have helped create.
Gay pride parades do have a negative image of bare-chested, bare-butted gays and lesbians losing all leave of their senses.
And this is not how it is
Personally, I like gay pride parades and festivals, but we need to emphasize a new dynamic. Gay pride is not about hedonism. It should be a time for self-love, self-celebration, spiritual growth, and education.
Don't get me wrong, however, because I love my drag queens and feel that they should be included just as they are. They are arguably the most popular and unfairly maligned part of our community. No caste systems are allowed in my vision of the gay and lesbian community. If we all can't get fairness, then none of us should get it.
All I am saying is that let's not get caught up with the cliques and staring at the "hotties' that we don't use the time of gay pride to plan and organize and to assess our individual selves.
Our lgbts identities are what we make of them, not what society or the anti-gay industry tells us they are.
So let's be more assertive in defining them.
Some members of the anti-gay industry are all up in arms over a court decision.
The city of Oakland won a lawsuit today against employees who was angry because their flyer advertising their Christian group was pulled down when it was posted.
They claim that flyers advertising a gay group did not get the same treatment.
Now the employees are correct but do not be fooled because their case is not so simple. The anti-gay industry will probably spin it as "another" case of Christians being persecuted for their beliefs. But here is the true story:
After other workers founded a Gay and Lesbian Employees Association in 2002, Regerford and Christy formed the Good News Employee Association and displayed a flier promoting the group as a "forum for people of faith" to express their views "with respect for the natural family, marriage and family values."
A supervisor removed the flier six weeks later after an employee complained it contained homophobic statements and violated the city's anti-harassment policy.
The flyer was not pulled because they were Christians, but because of the intent behind the words of the flyer.
The employees orginally lost the lawsuit in 2005 because the court ruled that they had other avenues to state their views and the city of Oakland had a right to protect gay and lesbian employees from harrassment.
The 9th Circuit Court reinforced this ruling.
This the headline from a so-called "pro-family" press release:
Ninth Circuit Declares Right of Government to Censor the Terms 'Natural Family,' 'Marriage' and 'Family Values'
Of course the press release misses the point. Their group was formed in response to the gay and lesbian group and this is okay. But the flyer they sent out can be considered as a degree of harrassment. When the employees included the part about "natural family" and the like, they were attacking the gay and lesbian employees. They can claim that they weren't but why then include that part? Who were they talking about?
Words are dangerous if used in an attacking manner. The case reminds me of the following recent incident:
A Catholic school principal has organized sensitivity training for students who shouted "We love Jesus" during a basketball game against a school with Jewish students.
The word "Jew" also was painted on a gym wall behind the seats of Bishop Sullivan Catholic High School students attending the Feb. 2 game at Norfolk Academy, said Dennis W. Price, principal of the Virginia Beach school.
Price who also watched the game, said the rivals exchanged chants, "Then, at some point, our students were chanting, 'We love Jesus.'""It was obviously in reference to the Jewish population of Norfolk Academy; that's the only way you can take that," he added.
"We love Jesus" is not a dirty or harmful phrase. But the way it was used was a clear slap in the face to Jewish students.
Respecting each other's beliefs is a two way street. We lgbts respect the fact that not everyone is going to love us and some people think we are going to hell. But there is a difference between respecting that opinion and some people thinking that their religion gives them carte blanche to disrespect us and our families.
Pride parades
Some people are trying to keep a charter school out of a gay pride parade in San Diego.
And strangely, none of these people have children attending the charter school:
A San Diego, California, school district has rebuffed efforts by 12 Christian men and women to prevent minor children from being exposed to the city's 33rd annual homosexual pride parade. This group, dubbed the "San Diego Twelve," is calling on the district school board to bar a K-8 charter school from once again marching its students under the school's banner in this summer's "San Diego LGBT Pride" parade.
Despite these objections, however, the San Diego School Board has chosen to take the side of the San Diego Cooperative Charter School and not intervene in the matter. The city's annual homosexual pride parade is scheduled to take place July 21 and is being touted as San Diego's largest civic event, with more than 200 floats and with participants from a diverse contingency of the community, including local political leaders, businesses, and even churches.
The charter school has participated in past parades and the parents seem not to have any problems with it.
So if that is the case, then why are these folks pushing the issue? I thought that many on the so-called "pro-family" side considered parents to be the final and official word as to right and wrong for their children.
I guess this is a special case.
The ringleader of this group, James Hartline, is a case by himself. He claims to be an ex-gay who was afflicted with HIV while he was "in the lifestyle."
I will not make any crass comments about his condition, but I will say that Hartline reminds me of a Washington pastor, Ken Hutcherson, in that he has never met a self aggrandizement that he didn't like:
James Hartline is the least likely man to change a city, but that is exactly what he is doing. From fighting illegal porn stores to exposing the corruption within the radical homosexual agenda, James is being used to confront the powers of darkness in San Diego, California.
Leaders of the leftist homosexual agenda named James Hartline as its San Diego Menace of the Year in 2005 for exposing the pedophile network within the San Diego Gay Pride organization.
Many Christian and secular media sources have taken note of the stand James Hartline has made for righteousness in southern California and have reported on his exploits. James is regularly interviewed on XETV Fox Channel 6, the Paul McGuire Show on KBRT 740am Radio, KUSI Channel 9, the San Diego Reader, San Diego NewsNotes, American Family Radio, and Night Lights Christian Talk TV with James L. Lambert.
Hartline omitted the part where he got the sun to stand still. He didn't want to seem pretentious.
He also seems to have E.S.P. because this is what he says about an event that hasn't even happened yet:
. . . Hartline says children should not be exposed to the kind of homosexual pornography that typically characterizes events like the San Diego LGBT Pride parade. "Many of these people in the parade are women who try to flash their breasts without any top on [and] men doing all kinds of filthy things," he contends. "There are men who dress up as Catholic nuns and do mock sexual acts."
I need to move because the pride parades in Columbia, SC definitely aren't like that. But really, Hartline is plugging into a stereotype that we have helped create.
Gay pride parades do have a negative image of bare-chested, bare-butted gays and lesbians losing all leave of their senses.
And this is not how it is
Personally, I like gay pride parades and festivals, but we need to emphasize a new dynamic. Gay pride is not about hedonism. It should be a time for self-love, self-celebration, spiritual growth, and education.
Don't get me wrong, however, because I love my drag queens and feel that they should be included just as they are. They are arguably the most popular and unfairly maligned part of our community. No caste systems are allowed in my vision of the gay and lesbian community. If we all can't get fairness, then none of us should get it.
All I am saying is that let's not get caught up with the cliques and staring at the "hotties' that we don't use the time of gay pride to plan and organize and to assess our individual selves.
Our lgbts identities are what we make of them, not what society or the anti-gay industry tells us they are.
So let's be more assertive in defining them.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Bombardment!
I thought I could take a day off and obviously I was wrong.
I've noticed that our friend Peter LaBarbera is engaging in a new tactic: listing new entries on his page in rapid succession. These entries are articles from so-called "pro-family" sites, which means they are biased, claiming that Christans are being persecuted.
Ususally the articles are about incidents that have not gotten much notice in the mainstream press, meaning that Peter and company can twist the articles around to suit their lies before the truth comes out.
Peter's latest entries are no different:
Sex Worker “Art” Show Hosted by College of William and Mary
UK Religious Schools Must Not Teach that Homosexuality Is Sinful or Morally Wrong
Deerfield High School Uses GLSEN’s “Lunchbox” Series — What’s in the Box?
Irish Boy, 14, Arranges Sex with Adult Men Using Gaydar
Peter received these articles from Lifesite, an anti-gay industry online publication from Canada. Other online sites are going to be repeating these articles verbatim from Lifesite and other so-called "pro-family" news sources, i.e. OneNewsNow and WorldNetDaily.
This is how lies and rumors are started. And these sites doing just like Peter, heaping all of these stories one after the other all at once so that it is almost impossible to respond.
An excellent communication tactic, but not very Christian.
I thought I could take a day off and obviously I was wrong.
I've noticed that our friend Peter LaBarbera is engaging in a new tactic: listing new entries on his page in rapid succession. These entries are articles from so-called "pro-family" sites, which means they are biased, claiming that Christans are being persecuted.
Ususally the articles are about incidents that have not gotten much notice in the mainstream press, meaning that Peter and company can twist the articles around to suit their lies before the truth comes out.
Peter's latest entries are no different:
Sex Worker “Art” Show Hosted by College of William and Mary
UK Religious Schools Must Not Teach that Homosexuality Is Sinful or Morally Wrong
Deerfield High School Uses GLSEN’s “Lunchbox” Series — What’s in the Box?
Irish Boy, 14, Arranges Sex with Adult Men Using Gaydar
Peter received these articles from Lifesite, an anti-gay industry online publication from Canada. Other online sites are going to be repeating these articles verbatim from Lifesite and other so-called "pro-family" news sources, i.e. OneNewsNow and WorldNetDaily.
This is how lies and rumors are started. And these sites doing just like Peter, heaping all of these stories one after the other all at once so that it is almost impossible to respond.
An excellent communication tactic, but not very Christian.
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