Friday's news posts
Fiery plane crash in upstate NY kills 49 people - No words. Only prayers
Details in gay student's slaying are revealed in prosecution brief - On the first year anniversary of the murder of Lawrence King, details are emerging. And it's about time too. For a while, this was beginning to look like another case of the "gay panic defense." The prosecution's case includes this tidbit:
"Witnesses said King was usually not the aggressor. But after months of teasing by McInerney and other male students who called him "faggot," he had began to retort, according to prosecutors."
Christian TV special being stifled - There they go. You can set your watch to the lies the AFA tells.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Gays and the black church - show some honesty or at least some dignity
In light of what has happened regarding the son of Pastor T.D. Jakes, I think it may be time for the lid to be taken off of something.
Not that I am outing anyone but there is a paradox that must be addressed.
We have seen how the religious right plays the black and lgbt communities against one another. And sometimes their ally has been the black church.
Well to me, that is the height of irony because of one thing.
So many "mainstream" (i.e. white) lgbts say that they cannot find any gays and lesbians of color who will be open.
The reason is that many of them are in the church. Many of them are prominent in the black gospel music scene (Yes that includes BET and the Stellar Awards).
As an lgbt of color, I am privy to many things and I can honestly tell you that the main ones hooping and hollering in church and on the gospel records tend to do so for more than reasons of salvation.
A lot of it is guilt. But I really don't blame them as much as I blame the black community at large for its intentional inability to address the needs of lgbts of color.
So let me throw out a few suggestions:
Stop giving speeches about the evils of homosexuality when you know that you are on the dl or know of someone on the dl.
Stop making comments about not comparing blacks to gays when you are engaging in the same behavior that white racists did to African-Americans - i.e. the stigmatization of an entire group of people based on stereotypes and Biblical interpretations of God's words.
Stop puffing out your chests because you support endeavors to end AIDS/HIV when it isyour lack of support of lgbts of color that is the very thing which can lead to new cases of the disease.
What happened to T.D. Jakes's son may be the subject of juicy gossip amongst "upstanding church folks," but we all know that it is part of a larger problem - the intentional dehumanization of the lgbts of color in the black community.
When is the black community going to get off of its collective asses and work on solving it?
In light of what has happened regarding the son of Pastor T.D. Jakes, I think it may be time for the lid to be taken off of something.
Not that I am outing anyone but there is a paradox that must be addressed.
We have seen how the religious right plays the black and lgbt communities against one another. And sometimes their ally has been the black church.
Well to me, that is the height of irony because of one thing.
So many "mainstream" (i.e. white) lgbts say that they cannot find any gays and lesbians of color who will be open.
The reason is that many of them are in the church. Many of them are prominent in the black gospel music scene (Yes that includes BET and the Stellar Awards).
As an lgbt of color, I am privy to many things and I can honestly tell you that the main ones hooping and hollering in church and on the gospel records tend to do so for more than reasons of salvation.
A lot of it is guilt. But I really don't blame them as much as I blame the black community at large for its intentional inability to address the needs of lgbts of color.
So let me throw out a few suggestions:
Stop giving speeches about the evils of homosexuality when you know that you are on the dl or know of someone on the dl.
Stop making comments about not comparing blacks to gays when you are engaging in the same behavior that white racists did to African-Americans - i.e. the stigmatization of an entire group of people based on stereotypes and Biblical interpretations of God's words.
Stop puffing out your chests because you support endeavors to end AIDS/HIV when it isyour lack of support of lgbts of color that is the very thing which can lead to new cases of the disease.
What happened to T.D. Jakes's son may be the subject of juicy gossip amongst "upstanding church folks," but we all know that it is part of a larger problem - the intentional dehumanization of the lgbts of color in the black community.
When is the black community going to get off of its collective asses and work on solving it?
T.D. Jakes' Son Charged With Indecent Exposure
I post this not as a way to make fun or gloat. If the story turns out to be true, I hope that the African-American community (who will no doubt be talking about this in huge masses) will take it as a hint to address the fact that lgbts of color are marginalized in the black community. Let's face it - folks say the black church opposes homosexuality but if it wasn't for black gays, the black church probably wouldn't exist in the form that it does now.
Jermaine Jakes, son of Dallas pastor T.D. Jakes, was arrested on a charge of indecent exposure in January, 2009.
According to a Dallas Police Department arrest warrant affidavit obtained by CBS 11 News, Jakes exposed himself to two undercover vice detectives at Keist Park on January 3.
The affidavit says Jakes walked up to one of the detectives at the park with his pants unzipped. Jakes then began to masturbate while making eye contact with the detective, according to the affidavit.
The detectives arrested Jakes on a charge of indecent exposure.
Late Wednesday evening, CBS 11 News received a statement from Faith Johnson, an attorney for Jermaine Jakes. The statement read:
"We are aware of potential allegations involving Jermaine Jakes and are undertaking our own investigation of these allegations at this time. Given an apparent government investigation, we have no further comment at this time."
More here.
I post this not as a way to make fun or gloat. If the story turns out to be true, I hope that the African-American community (who will no doubt be talking about this in huge masses) will take it as a hint to address the fact that lgbts of color are marginalized in the black community. Let's face it - folks say the black church opposes homosexuality but if it wasn't for black gays, the black church probably wouldn't exist in the form that it does now.
Jermaine Jakes, son of Dallas pastor T.D. Jakes, was arrested on a charge of indecent exposure in January, 2009.
According to a Dallas Police Department arrest warrant affidavit obtained by CBS 11 News, Jakes exposed himself to two undercover vice detectives at Keist Park on January 3.
The affidavit says Jakes walked up to one of the detectives at the park with his pants unzipped. Jakes then began to masturbate while making eye contact with the detective, according to the affidavit.
The detectives arrested Jakes on a charge of indecent exposure.
Late Wednesday evening, CBS 11 News received a statement from Faith Johnson, an attorney for Jermaine Jakes. The statement read:
"We are aware of potential allegations involving Jermaine Jakes and are undertaking our own investigation of these allegations at this time. Given an apparent government investigation, we have no further comment at this time."
More here.
The American Family Association's fascination with fradulent documentaries
I haven't seen in yet but I'm sure the American Family Association is cooking up a response to a Michigan TV station putting the kibosh on the showing of Speechless: Silencing Christians, a one-hour piece of propaganda pushing the usual inaccurate talking points of an anti-Christian conspiracy on the part of lgbts.
I find the entire thing interesting because Speechless was made over a year ago and had been shown on "Christian" stations. In addition, it is offered on youtube and also on the AFA's webpage .
I guess it speaks to the audacity of the organization. And it fills me with dread.
How many other stations have been asked to run this mess? And how many of them will comply?
And then I am bothered by something else. On the AFA's webpage is the video It's Not Gay.
This video supposedly tells the story of "ex-gays" or people who feel that they have been delivered from the alleged "homosexual lifestyle" through the power of God. Featured in the video (and he is on the front cover) is a man named Michael Johnston.
Johnston was a prominent ex-gay spokesperson who claimed that he was delivered by God after catching HIV. However, in 2003 it was discovered that he was having clandestine sexual encounters with men in hotel rooms.
Since that time he has been been sequestered out of the limelight.
This isn't the first time Johnston has come up. Wayne Besen exposed the story. Box Turtle Bulletin exposed the story. Countless bloggers have continued to talk about the Michael Johnston story from time to time.
But the AFA continues to sell the tape even after its errors have been pointed out.
So this organization, which seems to have no problem selling a fradulent dvd, is complaining that the are being silenced because they are Christians.
Well if this is the way the AFA spreads the Gospel of Jesus, they have bigger problems than so-called "radical homosexuals." And maybe any resistance they are running up against is God's way of telling them to stop their nonsense.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Silencing Christians? Hardly
Apparently there was a controversy over that American Family Association video, Speechless: Silencing Christians, I talked about earlier this week.
It was set to air on Monday in Grand Rapids, MI right before President Obama's press conference. However the television station wanted to reset the airing to another time. Since they received no word from the producers, the station decided to rescind the offer.
The silence you are aware of now stems from the AFA in closed door meetings with other religious right groups as they plot to turn this into another phony case of "Christians being discriminated against."
First of all, the station did not refuse to air tthe program, although I think it would have more than enough reason to. It merely wanted to set the program for another time.
And for the record, Speechless: Silencing Christians, is a one-sided piece of garbage that pushes the usual religious right propaganda against the lgbt community with the usual cast of characters - Matt Barber, Robert Knight, Concerned Women for America, Janet Parshall, etc.
It's possible airing received a strong response. The Human Rights Campaign said the following:
Make no mistake: this is the opening salvo in a coming battle over pro-equality legislation.
Just as we are on the cusp of historic change – a federal hate crimes law, protections for LGBT workers against job discrimination – extremist groups like the AFA are launching a well-funded national campaign of hatred and fear to halt our progress.
This program recycles familiar lies: that hate crime laws will "do away with our freedom of speech," or that pastors will be "criminalized for sharing the love of Jesus Christ." (In fact, the proposed federal hate crimes law explicitly states that it only applies to violent acts – not speech.)
The "anchor" of this faux-news program, which may have already aired in smaller markets, is controversial talk show host Janet Parshall, who in 2006 suggested Matthew Shepard's lifestyle was responsible for his murder and called gay adoption "state-sanctioned child abuse."
We cannot let this bigotry go unanswered. We can't let it scare voters, force LGBT people back into a place of shame and hiding, or create an atmosphere of intolerance or hate.
Before the AFA starts their nonsense, let me say that this is not a case of silencing Christians. And what Speechless was going to do is par for the course for the religious right - present a bunch of unchallenged lies, anecdotes and misconceptions about the lgbt community. They never really want to debate us on their lies. They seem to want to present them in an arena where the rules have been predestined to be in their favor.
I just can't believe that they had the temerity to attempt to it on a regular network.
No doubt the Obama regime has gotten them desperate and scared.
Folks, this is a headless monster in the making. Let's kill it before the religious right can gain traction from it.
The problem with Speechless is that it exploits the feeling of entitlement that some Christians have in this country. They have had their minds filled by James Dobson and company with the idea that America is their country and the rest of us are here by their will and pleasure.
That idea of entitlement makes them susceptible to any anecdote or lie that comes down the pike about them being silenced. We have seen this so many times with the religious right taking incidents and manipulating them to claim that lgbts are out to get Christians. A perfect example is the Ocean Grove Pavilion. The religious right claimed that the church who owned this pavilion was "forced" to allow gays to have marriage ceremonies there. However the true story was that the church was getting tax breaks for the pavilion and a requirement of those tax breaks was that the facility should be open to all.
The program that was to air is filled with half truths like this. If I were a Christian, I would be less worried about being "silenced by lgbts" and more worried about the untruths put out by those who claim to also be Christians.
Apparently there was a controversy over that American Family Association video, Speechless: Silencing Christians, I talked about earlier this week.
It was set to air on Monday in Grand Rapids, MI right before President Obama's press conference. However the television station wanted to reset the airing to another time. Since they received no word from the producers, the station decided to rescind the offer.
The silence you are aware of now stems from the AFA in closed door meetings with other religious right groups as they plot to turn this into another phony case of "Christians being discriminated against."
First of all, the station did not refuse to air tthe program, although I think it would have more than enough reason to. It merely wanted to set the program for another time.
And for the record, Speechless: Silencing Christians, is a one-sided piece of garbage that pushes the usual religious right propaganda against the lgbt community with the usual cast of characters - Matt Barber, Robert Knight, Concerned Women for America, Janet Parshall, etc.
It's possible airing received a strong response. The Human Rights Campaign said the following:
Make no mistake: this is the opening salvo in a coming battle over pro-equality legislation.
Just as we are on the cusp of historic change – a federal hate crimes law, protections for LGBT workers against job discrimination – extremist groups like the AFA are launching a well-funded national campaign of hatred and fear to halt our progress.
This program recycles familiar lies: that hate crime laws will "do away with our freedom of speech," or that pastors will be "criminalized for sharing the love of Jesus Christ." (In fact, the proposed federal hate crimes law explicitly states that it only applies to violent acts – not speech.)
The "anchor" of this faux-news program, which may have already aired in smaller markets, is controversial talk show host Janet Parshall, who in 2006 suggested Matthew Shepard's lifestyle was responsible for his murder and called gay adoption "state-sanctioned child abuse."
We cannot let this bigotry go unanswered. We can't let it scare voters, force LGBT people back into a place of shame and hiding, or create an atmosphere of intolerance or hate.
Before the AFA starts their nonsense, let me say that this is not a case of silencing Christians. And what Speechless was going to do is par for the course for the religious right - present a bunch of unchallenged lies, anecdotes and misconceptions about the lgbt community. They never really want to debate us on their lies. They seem to want to present them in an arena where the rules have been predestined to be in their favor.
I just can't believe that they had the temerity to attempt to it on a regular network.
No doubt the Obama regime has gotten them desperate and scared.
Folks, this is a headless monster in the making. Let's kill it before the religious right can gain traction from it.
The problem with Speechless is that it exploits the feeling of entitlement that some Christians have in this country. They have had their minds filled by James Dobson and company with the idea that America is their country and the rest of us are here by their will and pleasure.
That idea of entitlement makes them susceptible to any anecdote or lie that comes down the pike about them being silenced. We have seen this so many times with the religious right taking incidents and manipulating them to claim that lgbts are out to get Christians. A perfect example is the Ocean Grove Pavilion. The religious right claimed that the church who owned this pavilion was "forced" to allow gays to have marriage ceremonies there. However the true story was that the church was getting tax breaks for the pavilion and a requirement of those tax breaks was that the facility should be open to all.
The program that was to air is filled with half truths like this. If I were a Christian, I would be less worried about being "silenced by lgbts" and more worried about the untruths put out by those who claim to also be Christians.
Parole DENIED for murderer of gay man
Not necessarily a victory but still not a bad thing
I have just received word via email that Stephen Moller, the man who murdered Sean Kennedy in 2007, has been denied early parole.
Here are the facts:
Sean William Kennedy, 20, was attacked in the early morning of May 17, 2007 outside the former Brew's Bar in Greenville, South Carolina. His assailant, Stephen Andrew Moller, pulled up in a car, threw one punch after reportedly yelling anti-gay slurs, and fled. Kennedy died about 17 hours later from the brain injury he sustained, and friends and family believe he was targeted at least in part due to his sexual orientation.
Since South Carolina has no hate crime statute, no enhancement was available for Moller's June 2008 sentence of five years in prison on a reduced charge of involuntary manslaughter. The judge reduced the sentence to three years with credit for seven months' time served and ordered Moller to seek help to manage anger and substance abuse.
There was a huge possibility that Moller could have gotten out on parole this month. Elke Kennedy, the mother of Stephen, and the SC Progressive Network organized a letter drive geared to persuading the parole board not to let Moller out early.
Yesterday (and I did mention this as the event I had attended), there was a candlelight vigil held at the State House:
Friends and family of Kennedy met at the State House at 5:30pm to protest an early release for Stephen Moller and to hold a candlelight memorial for Kennedy.
There are no hate crime laws in this state, and Kennedy's family is working to change that.
It was just the kind of night Sean's mom says her son would have lived for.
"He always said, 'when I get older, I'm gonna change this, make sure people are treated equally,'" says Elke Kennedy.
But the fact is, Sean Kennedy's death brought many people together.
"This is my mission. Sean's death, in order for it not to be in vain, my job is to do whatever I can to change things so it doesn't happen again," says Kennedy.
Sean's death in Greenville was never deemed a hate crime, because hate crimes aren't recognized in this state.
But if you ask the folks at the rally, they happen.
"In high school, I was accosted constantly, dragged into a bathroom, had my face beat up and lost three teeth from it," said one person.
"We're not here to get revenge," said Kennedy. "This is about social justice, every citizen in South Carolina deserves protection."
Kennedy wants her son's killer to stay in prison. She took her concern to the parole board, asking for him to stay longer than eight months.
Whether it was a hate crime or not, she says its a light sentence for a heavy loss.
"As a matter of fact he is here, he is with us tonight. Maybe that's why we have such a beautiful evening," she said.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center there are 45 listed hate groups in the state, one of the highest numbers in the US.
In addition, over 400 letters were written to the parole board asking that Moller not be paroled.
This isn't a victory per se. Sean won't be coming back and nothing can take away Elke's pain. She lost her child due to a senseless act.
But since the time of Sean's death, Elke has been speaking out around the state in efforts to bring attention to the need for hate crimes legislation as well as the need to stop the violence that plague lgbt youth.
She should be commended for all that she has done. And although this isn't a victory per se, I hope that she takes solace in the fact that so many are listening to her message.
Not necessarily a victory but still not a bad thing
I have just received word via email that Stephen Moller, the man who murdered Sean Kennedy in 2007, has been denied early parole.
Here are the facts:
Sean William Kennedy, 20, was attacked in the early morning of May 17, 2007 outside the former Brew's Bar in Greenville, South Carolina. His assailant, Stephen Andrew Moller, pulled up in a car, threw one punch after reportedly yelling anti-gay slurs, and fled. Kennedy died about 17 hours later from the brain injury he sustained, and friends and family believe he was targeted at least in part due to his sexual orientation.
Since South Carolina has no hate crime statute, no enhancement was available for Moller's June 2008 sentence of five years in prison on a reduced charge of involuntary manslaughter. The judge reduced the sentence to three years with credit for seven months' time served and ordered Moller to seek help to manage anger and substance abuse.
There was a huge possibility that Moller could have gotten out on parole this month. Elke Kennedy, the mother of Stephen, and the SC Progressive Network organized a letter drive geared to persuading the parole board not to let Moller out early.
Yesterday (and I did mention this as the event I had attended), there was a candlelight vigil held at the State House:
Friends and family of Kennedy met at the State House at 5:30pm to protest an early release for Stephen Moller and to hold a candlelight memorial for Kennedy.
There are no hate crime laws in this state, and Kennedy's family is working to change that.
It was just the kind of night Sean's mom says her son would have lived for.
"He always said, 'when I get older, I'm gonna change this, make sure people are treated equally,'" says Elke Kennedy.
But the fact is, Sean Kennedy's death brought many people together.
"This is my mission. Sean's death, in order for it not to be in vain, my job is to do whatever I can to change things so it doesn't happen again," says Kennedy.
Sean's death in Greenville was never deemed a hate crime, because hate crimes aren't recognized in this state.
But if you ask the folks at the rally, they happen.
"In high school, I was accosted constantly, dragged into a bathroom, had my face beat up and lost three teeth from it," said one person.
"We're not here to get revenge," said Kennedy. "This is about social justice, every citizen in South Carolina deserves protection."
Kennedy wants her son's killer to stay in prison. She took her concern to the parole board, asking for him to stay longer than eight months.
Whether it was a hate crime or not, she says its a light sentence for a heavy loss.
"As a matter of fact he is here, he is with us tonight. Maybe that's why we have such a beautiful evening," she said.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center there are 45 listed hate groups in the state, one of the highest numbers in the US.
In addition, over 400 letters were written to the parole board asking that Moller not be paroled.
This isn't a victory per se. Sean won't be coming back and nothing can take away Elke's pain. She lost her child due to a senseless act.
But since the time of Sean's death, Elke has been speaking out around the state in efforts to bring attention to the need for hate crimes legislation as well as the need to stop the violence that plague lgbt youth.
She should be commended for all that she has done. And although this isn't a victory per se, I hope that she takes solace in the fact that so many are listening to her message.
And continuing the "they hate us and are out to get us" lie - Mike Huckabee
Huckabee: Stimulus is 'anti-religious' - All I can say is thank goodness this man never got anywhere near the White House.
To me, Huckabee is one of the worst propaganda spreaders out there, particularly how he addresses the lgbt community.
"They want tolerance, but they won't show tolerance" meme seems to be his main point in talking about our community. That tactic works when he is on shows like The View and can take an anecdotal incident out of context with no one to challenge him on it. (i.e. Phyllis Burgess)
Or if he ever got around to inviting an lgbt spokesperson on his talk show, I suspect he would pull the "I'm just trying to be compassionate" nonsense.
For those who are not familiar with that tactic - it would comprise of interrupting the guest when he or she is trying to make their point, speaking in a pseudo calm and reassuring manner with a tone that infers that you are addressing an irrational person, and steering the conversation from the needs of the lgbt community to "why does the lgbt community think that everyone hates them."
The tactic is designed to unnerve the guest with a phony sort of kindness and put him or her on the defensive.
That tone is more insulting than that of Peter LaBarbera and Matt Barber. At least with those two, you know where you stand.
Huckabee: Stimulus is 'anti-religious' - All I can say is thank goodness this man never got anywhere near the White House.
To me, Huckabee is one of the worst propaganda spreaders out there, particularly how he addresses the lgbt community.
"They want tolerance, but they won't show tolerance" meme seems to be his main point in talking about our community. That tactic works when he is on shows like The View and can take an anecdotal incident out of context with no one to challenge him on it. (i.e. Phyllis Burgess)
Or if he ever got around to inviting an lgbt spokesperson on his talk show, I suspect he would pull the "I'm just trying to be compassionate" nonsense.
For those who are not familiar with that tactic - it would comprise of interrupting the guest when he or she is trying to make their point, speaking in a pseudo calm and reassuring manner with a tone that infers that you are addressing an irrational person, and steering the conversation from the needs of the lgbt community to "why does the lgbt community think that everyone hates them."
The tactic is designed to unnerve the guest with a phony sort of kindness and put him or her on the defensive.
That tone is more insulting than that of Peter LaBarbera and Matt Barber. At least with those two, you know where you stand.
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