Once Upon A Time When Homophobia Was Less Subtle

There doesn't seem to be much going today when it comes to the LGBTQ community and the anti-LGBTQ industry, so 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)

'Starbucks scapegoats trans manager for employee's actions' & other Wed midday news briefs

A Starbucks in Oklahoma fired its transgender manager after a policeman complained about her employee's actions; actions she knew nothing about until it happened and then tried to rectify.

Starbucks fired a trans manager after a cop complained on Facebook about her employee - Not only did she NOT have anything to do with the incident, but as manager, she attempted to rectify the situation. It's ridiculous what happened to her.

Trump's LGBTQ 'pride' merchandise is a hypocritical insult to queer Americans - No shit!   

SHOCKER: Senate confirms Trump nominee as highest-ranking out gay judge - What's the catch?

For LGBTQ Youth, Human Rights Day Has Special Meaning - Wonderful commentary.

Dear Chick-fil-A, welcome to our world

The latest in the religious right's "How dare Chick-fil-A betray us! We are going to grind them into dust!" saga came my way via email from Tim Wildmon, head of  hate group the American Family Association :

On Monday, December 2, I overnighted a letter to Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy. In the letter, I asked him to clarify statements made by the leadership of Chick-fil-A and the Chick-fil-A Foundation. You can read the letter here. 

As you know, Chick-fil-A recently said it would no longer be supporting The Salvation Army and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Moreover, the Chick-fil-A Foundation announced its support of Covenant House, an outreach that affirms homosexual orientation and funds LGBTQ causes. 

At the time I sent this email to you, Mr. Cathy had not responded to my letter. This is disappointing. 

Specifically, I asked Mr. Cathy to answer these two questions: (1) Will Chick-fil-A publicly state that it does not believe The Salvation Army and FCA are hate groups because of the ministries' beliefs about sexuality, marriage, and family? (2) Will you publicly state that Chick-fil-A will not hesitate to fund these two ministries again, should the opportunity arise in the future? 

Along with the letter, I included the signatures of over 100,000 people who want clarification from Chick-fil-A regarding its recent decisions. 

This means that Mr. Cathy has not only snubbed AFA's concerns, he has also chosen not to respond to your concerns.

If Chick-fil-A is truly funding the Covenant House, then it's a good thing and more power to the restaurant. But I still won't be singing its praises any time soon. I'm indifferent about the entire thing mostly because I remember how, in 2012, reasonable attempts to explain the LGBTQ community's problem with the fast food restaurant got overwhelmed by lies generated by Mike Huckabee that Chick-fil-A was supposedly being attacked because its "Christian" values.

'Transgender student bathroom bill back before Kentucky lawmakers in 2020' & other Tue midday news briefs

Transgender student bathroom bill coming back before Kentucky lawmakers in 2020 - Some folks are simply determined to give our transgender children all sorts of problems.

Update: Nearby congregation welcomes judge who was shunned by her lifelong church - This is true morality here.

Meet The Miss Universe Pageant’s First Openly Gay Contestant - She may not have won the crown, but she did achieve a victory. 

Kristin Chenoweth Says Faith, LGBTQ Activism Don't Always Go Together - Love ya, Kristin. And no one can blame you because the Fox News host didn't ask you to elaborate. It's because of people like her that the false LGBTQ rights vs. Christianity narrative exists.

My opening shot in the '2019 War on Christmas' - Trump DID NOT 'bring Christmas back,' you morons

The religious right and other Trump supporters have been trying to establish a narrative that Donald Trump supposedly 'brought Christmas back.' Their subtle dog whistle appealing to racist attitudes make it imperative for us to remind people of the wonderful Christmas greetings and celebrations which took place when Obama was in office.

The religious right and other Trump supporters are not only intent on handing him credit for Obama's policy successes, but they also seem to be determined to craft a narrative that Obama wrecked American traditions and values and that Trump is restoring them.

It's especially annoying during the religious right's annual "War on Christmas" freak out. There has been a vile addition to their yearly bitchfest that the forces of darkness are trying to eliminate "Christ in Christmas."

They are claiming that Donald Trump "brought Christmas" back.

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council -  "America isn't the only thing making a comeback under President Trump -- so is Christmas! The candidate who vowed, "We're gonna be saying Merry Christmas again," delivered on that promise again in a big way Thursday night. Thirty-feet of big, to be exact. In front of the giant spruce, the president made it very clear that this event wasn't about illuminating the tree -- but shining a light on the real reason for the season." 

Robert Jeffress, prominent Trump supporting pastor - “President Trump celebrates Christmas, has brought it back to the forefront of our country, and that means bringing Christ back as well.”

We've gone through this every year since Trump has been in office.

'Conservatives flip out over possible Hallmark gay Christmas movie' & other Mon midday news briefs

We asked Hallmark for a gay Christmas movie. Conservatives were scared and created a fake petition. - I don't even like Hallmark Christmas movies in general (when they are on, 'Murder She Wrote' takes a hiatus), but I am enjoying this.

Republicans are introducing a new compromise LGBTQ rights bill. But everyone already hates it. - Yep. I loath it as well. 

Tucker Carlson calls transgender rights “an issue for rich people” - Huh?

Ex-judicial panelists: Abbott ousted them over gay marriage - TX Gov. Greg Abbot is a mega jerk.

Trump campaign selling 'LGBTQ for Trump' merchandise while Trump tries to strip away LGBTQ rights

Selling merchandise claiming that the LGBTQ community supports him in spite of his constant stabs in our back. Only Donald Trump would do something like that.

The most annoying thing about Donald Trump and his Administration is how they will simply lie in your face. No, more than that. They will lie in your face in spite of the fact that you know that they are lying and they know that you know that they are lying. It's as if they think that they have some type of Jedi mind trick which will beat you down if they repeat the lie enough times.

Why am I on this tangent? Because of this madness, courtesy of NBC News:

President Donald Trump’s campaign has introduced new LGBTQ Pride merchandise through its website, sparking criticism that the offerings appear to be at odds with his administration’s policy track record. 

The merchandise, which was first reported by NewNowNext, includes a white T-shirt that reads “Make America Great Again” in rainbow letters. The product description reads, “Show your support for the LGBT community and the 45th President with this exclusive Make America Great Again T-Shirt.” The site is also selling a rainbow "Make America Great Again" hat, which is currently sold out. 

“Trump selling ‘Pride’ t-shirts when his very administration attacks LGBTQ people on the daily,” one person tweeted. “It’s like we are all in the damn Twilight Zone.”

And speaking of NewNowNext being the one who broke the story, the news site had this to say:

In addition to being grammatically incorrect and seemingly designed by your Uncle Barney on his 1998 Apple iMac, the shirt was at odds with every policy move made by Trump with regards to LGBTQ people. Less than two hours after taking office, Trump wiped all mentions of LGBTQ people from the White House webpage. He went on to ban trans people from the military and systematically dismantle LGBTQ health care protections.

While we're at it, let's not forget how his Administration is trying to award  tax dollars to religiously based adoption and foster care agencies while also allowing them to discriminate against us. Also, there was recent rebuke of his homophobic healthcare conscience rule by three courts; a rule his Administration attempted to enforce via blatant lie.

And the kicker is this -it isn't the first time the Trump campaign has attempted to sell LGBTQ merchandise while he put figurative knife wounds in our backs. NBC News points out that the campaign was selling "LGBTQ for Trump" t-shirts earlier this year.

Unbelievable . . . but then again maybe not.

As infuriating that it is, I 'm not completely mad at Trump for this. He is a user and a bloodsucker. And you can always trust users and bloodsuckers to be themselves.

When Trump ran, he said he would be a friend to the LGBTQ community. Before he even sat his undeserving fat ass into the Oval Office, he stabbed us in the back and then throughout his first term decided to snip our equality away bit by bit. And no one in the media interviewing him or asking him general questions has ever mentioned his two-faced behavior to his face.

Seriously, how hard can it be to ask "Mr. Trump, when you want for office, you said that you support the LGBT community. You even sent out a tweet saying that you support the community more than Clinton would. But since you were elected, your actions have been totally opposite to what you promised. Would you please comment about?"

Trump has lied to the LGBTQ community, tried to chip away at our rights and our safety, and finally is presently working to create narrative that we support him in spite of all of this. The fact that media has been silent about it all only sends a message to him that he can get away with it.

Related post - Trump's betrayal of the LGBTQ community is central to the dishonesty of his joke of a presidency