Throwback Thursday- The Ricki Lake Show circa 1994: 'I Hate That My Brother And Sister is Gay'

The Ricki Lake Show was credited as one of the talk show to bring LGBTQ issues into contemporary times in a way which featured us talking about ourselves instead of experts and the like talking about us. This episode is from 1994 and it's titled "I Hate That My Brother and Sister is Gay."

It's over 40 minutes so feel free to skim through. As you do, you will be astounded at how much ignorance and heterosexual privilege existed back then and how some of it hasn't changed. An extra highlight at 17:24 features former anti-LGBTQ talking head Andrea Sheldon debating with a now legendary figure in our community (and I'm proud to say a friend, idol, and mentor of mine) Michelangelo Signorile.  Needless to say the LGBTQ people in this episode hold their own and command respect. Signorile specifically was a firebrand who didn't take any sh!t back then.

'Trans woman wins $50K after she was told she couldn't live 'around children'' & other Thur midday news briefs

Trans woman wins $50K after she was told she couldn’t live “around children” - Now that puts me in a really good mood. Get up OFF the money!

Disney Boss Shuts Down Shareholder Claiming LGBTQ Content Is Hurting the Company - Oop!

Gay & bi teen boys are 5 times more likely to be sexually assaulted - We need to be paying attention to this. 

Greenville County anti-gay resolution a relic of history after council vote - Bye bye piece of junk.

Twitter battle explodes when black Trump supporter attempts to downplay her claim that gays are violent pedophiles

Trump supporter Angela Stanton-King  (seen here with Trump) tried to downplay a homophobic tweet accusing gay men of being violent pedophiles. Nice try, girlfriend.

Earlier this week, I wrote about Angela Stanton-King, a  black Trump supporter and the god daughter of "prominent" black Trump supporter Alveda King. I, and several others, called her out for posting this lying tweet implying that gay men are violent pedophiles:

It's not surprising that when faced with the public backlash for this, Stanton-King attempted to play the victim:

Stanton-King added that she’s “not against LGBTQ rights like same-sex marriage,” because she has a 19-year-old son who identifies as gay and a gay aunt who raised her. She believes, however, that there is a need for legislation that ensures “children are not tied to the LGBTQ community.”

That led me to go to her Twitter feed and read comments she made about the controversy. This one started a war between her and I:

'APA supports trans restroom access and LGBTQ gay parents' & other Wed midday news briefs

Psychologists' Group Supports Trans Restroom Access, LGBTQ Parents - And these resolutions are definitely needed.

Black LGBTQ people of faith have been forced into the shadows for far too long - Amen! Preach!

Canada may soon have the world’s “most progressive and comprehensive” conversion therapy ban - Wonderful! Go Canada! 

Wrestler becomes first openly gay pro athlete in Switzerland - Good for him!

Christian writer issues blistering rebuke to evangelicals who support Trump while ignoring his 'immorality'

Evangelicals have replaced attempting to be 'Christ-like'  for the power that Donald Trump gives them. Christian writer John Fea says because of this, they have lost all moral authority.

Christian writer John Fea just posted a basic rebuke to evangelicals who have supported Trump in spite of his many faults, hypocritical attitude and general incompetence. I doubt folks like Robert Jeffress, Jerry Falwell, Jr, or Paula White will listen. But those of us who've been collecting the "receipts" on how these folks have gotten carried away with power are definitely listening. And taking more notes. 

Part of what Fea wrote reads as follow::

I recently had a long conversation with a Trump supporter and fellow evangelical. We had a lot of differences, but we also found some common ground. We agreed that evangelical leaders who support Donald Trump have failed to rebuke the president’s immorality.  . . .  

When Trump engages in these activities, many of his most ardent evangelical followers —Franklin Graham, Robert Jeffress, Paula White, Eric Metaxas, Jerry Falwell Jr., James Dobson, and Ralph Reed, to name a few — look the other way. They are unable to speak truth to power because Donald Trump and his Republican Party hold them captive. I recently challenged the bipartisan readers of my blog, The Way of Improvement Leads Home, to find five examples of a pro-Trump evangelical leader making a strong public condemnation of the president’s tweets, speeches, behavior, or policies. So far, I have not received any responses. 

 . . . The United States is not a Christian nation. Nor was it founded as such. The Founding Fathers argued over politics and policy just like we do, but they were united in the belief that republics fail without virtue. They believed people must always exercise what they called “political jealousy.” A jealous citizen kept a principled watch on government leaders to guard against vice and corruption. Political jealousy served as a unifying force, a common ideology of resistance to tyranny grounded in a shared morality. By keeping our heads in the sand as Trump proves he is incapable of living according to the most basic standards of decency, evangelicals neglect to do their part in sustaining our republic. 

We have failed to be good citizens. We have become complicit in the president’s nativism, racism, xenophobia, narcissism, and fearmongering. Sadly, Trump-supporting evangelicals have now lost much of their moral authority to speak out on matters related to government corruption, pornography, sex and violence in movies and television shows, racial reconciliation, school bullying, and the decline in civil discourse. 

 . . . The political problems in our community run deeper than just our failure to speak with a prophetic voice. Donald Trump will be gone one day. But the political playbook that evangelicals follow will not go away unless we decide to burn it and start over. There is a very good chance that this playbook will lead evangelicals into the arms of another immoral tyrant who promises conservative Supreme Court justices and offers platitudes about religious liberty. 

We need a new political playbook. We need to replace our lust for political power with heavy doses of humility. We must forge a new kind of politics defined, at its very core, by human dignity. It is imperative that we teach our children and grandchildren a way of engaging the world that offers it a glimpse of a coming kingdom defined by love, justice, mercy, and compassion. We need to offer hope, not fear.

'Trump trying to take away LGBTQ worker protections at the National Labor Relations Board' & other Tue midday news briefs

Trump is trying to rescind LGBTQ worker protections at the National Labor Relations Board - In his three years in office, Trump has declared war on the LGBTQ community and hasn't been asked about it once by the media. It's up to us to make him answer for it. It has always been up to us.

Coming out as gay doesn't absolve you of your anti-LGBTQ+ history - This means YOU, Aaron Schock.

Why Trump-Friendly Christian Leaders Are Feeling Totally Fine About the Coronavirus - Easy to guess how they will pervert it all. 

Israeli Orthodox Leader Blames Virus On Pride Parades - Well gee what took him so long?

Black Trump supporter begins Congressional run by accusing gay men of being violent pedophiles

Alveda King's (left) goddaughter Angela Stanton King (right) has copied her homophobia and embarrassing "tomming" for Donald Trump.

Civil rights icon and Congressman John Lewis has a challenger for his seat in the upcoming election. Angela Stanton-King is a Trump supporter and the god daughter of a "prominent" black Trump supporter, Alveda King. And she has something in common with both Trump and King.

Like King, she practically oozes homophobia, as evidenced by the tweet she recently sent implying that LGBTQ people are violent pedophiles:

It's bad enough that she sent this. The  fascinating part is that it's a much more graphic version of this: