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.
Monday, March 05, 2007
Frustration and Elation
Frustration
I took a break from doing work on my book Saturday and headed to the bookstore.
And got supremely pissed.
I didn't realize just how much the conservatives dominate the current events section of Barnes and Noble. It's as if every conservative commentator has three books each out.
What really pissed me off was a book entitled Conservative Comebacks to Liberal Lies.
I just knew that there was a section in it on the gay and lesbian community so I took a look. And it was as bad as I thought.
All of the cherry picked studies I cover in my book was included, but there was something else. The author freely cited Paul Cameron; in fact he cited about three of Cameron's discredited studies.
Why in 2007 are people still citing Cameron as a correct source? I have talked so many times about the stubborness of people citing headless monsters but now I am convinced that there is something else in play: the Dukakis factor.
In the 1989 election, George Bush played dirty politics, attacking Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis's character; calling him a card-carrying member of the ACLU and the like. Dukakis's inability to hit back fast and aggressively ended up costing him the election.
In that spirit, I have to ask just what are the gay rights organizations doing to attack the right's ability to demonize us. Why haven't those groups who are always calling me or sending me letters for donations taking more of an aggressive role in making the anti-gay industry explain themselves and their studies.
I have enjoyed writing this book and I hope to get people talking, but in all honesty, I should not have been in the situation to write it. I feel as if I am doing the work that HRC or the Gay and Lesbian Task Force should do.
Where is the big expose on Paul Cameron? Where is the truth to the lies that gay men have a short life span or gays molest children at a high rate?
While it is true that the religious right have been lying about our lives, we should ask just how much are we to blame for those lies being told over and over again?
Evil men prosper when good men do nothing.
And it is the same for organizations.
Elation
It's gone.
My manuscript is at the publisher's and and in a few months, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters will be in print. Thank you all for your support and I hope that you continue to support my efforts. In the coming weeks, I will be sending out press releases announcing the findings of my book. For now, like I promised, I am now going to reveal my chapter list. If anyone has any questions at all, please email me at CharleKenghis@aol.com
Introduction -Meeting Robert Knight
Chapter One - From Anita to James
Chapter Two - Paul Cameron
Chapter Three - If you can't prove a point, then generalize
Chapter Four - Then Repeat
Chapter Five - Conspiracy Theory
Chapter Six - Dire Consequences
Chapter Seven - Phony Experts
Chapter Eight - Dehumanizing Semantics
Chapter Nine - Lies About Sexual Health
Chapter Ten - What It All Means
Frustration
I took a break from doing work on my book Saturday and headed to the bookstore.
And got supremely pissed.
I didn't realize just how much the conservatives dominate the current events section of Barnes and Noble. It's as if every conservative commentator has three books each out.
What really pissed me off was a book entitled Conservative Comebacks to Liberal Lies.
I just knew that there was a section in it on the gay and lesbian community so I took a look. And it was as bad as I thought.
All of the cherry picked studies I cover in my book was included, but there was something else. The author freely cited Paul Cameron; in fact he cited about three of Cameron's discredited studies.
Why in 2007 are people still citing Cameron as a correct source? I have talked so many times about the stubborness of people citing headless monsters but now I am convinced that there is something else in play: the Dukakis factor.
In the 1989 election, George Bush played dirty politics, attacking Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis's character; calling him a card-carrying member of the ACLU and the like. Dukakis's inability to hit back fast and aggressively ended up costing him the election.
In that spirit, I have to ask just what are the gay rights organizations doing to attack the right's ability to demonize us. Why haven't those groups who are always calling me or sending me letters for donations taking more of an aggressive role in making the anti-gay industry explain themselves and their studies.
I have enjoyed writing this book and I hope to get people talking, but in all honesty, I should not have been in the situation to write it. I feel as if I am doing the work that HRC or the Gay and Lesbian Task Force should do.
Where is the big expose on Paul Cameron? Where is the truth to the lies that gay men have a short life span or gays molest children at a high rate?
While it is true that the religious right have been lying about our lives, we should ask just how much are we to blame for those lies being told over and over again?
Evil men prosper when good men do nothing.
And it is the same for organizations.
Elation
It's gone.
My manuscript is at the publisher's and and in a few months, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters will be in print. Thank you all for your support and I hope that you continue to support my efforts. In the coming weeks, I will be sending out press releases announcing the findings of my book. For now, like I promised, I am now going to reveal my chapter list. If anyone has any questions at all, please email me at CharleKenghis@aol.com
Introduction -Meeting Robert Knight
Chapter One - From Anita to James
Chapter Two - Paul Cameron
Chapter Three - If you can't prove a point, then generalize
Chapter Four - Then Repeat
Chapter Five - Conspiracy Theory
Chapter Six - Dire Consequences
Chapter Seven - Phony Experts
Chapter Eight - Dehumanizing Semantics
Chapter Nine - Lies About Sexual Health
Chapter Ten - What It All Means
Friday, March 02, 2007
Endgame
After over two years of research and work, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters: Exposing the Lies of the Anti-Gay Industry is finished.
(applause)
I will be sending the manuscript to my publisher Monday morning. Then the work really starts. I am going to promote this book to death.
My goal was to create a document that will accurately show how so-called "pro-family" groups lie about the gay and lesbian community. This purpose of this book is to give gays and lesbians a guide to go by when combatting anti-gay lies as well as provide a testament on what Dobson and company has done to us.
When it is all said and done, history will show that these phony moral groups engaged in tactics worthy of the Nazis in Germany to deny lgbts our right piece of the American pie.
For now, I am going to reveal what I have discovered to be the top lies of the anti-gay industry. My book will demonstrate why these claims are not true:
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 "lifestyle."
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.
After over two years of research and work, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters: Exposing the Lies of the Anti-Gay Industry is finished.
(applause)
I will be sending the manuscript to my publisher Monday morning. Then the work really starts. I am going to promote this book to death.
My goal was to create a document that will accurately show how so-called "pro-family" groups lie about the gay and lesbian community. This purpose of this book is to give gays and lesbians a guide to go by when combatting anti-gay lies as well as provide a testament on what Dobson and company has done to us.
When it is all said and done, history will show that these phony moral groups engaged in tactics worthy of the Nazis in Germany to deny lgbts our right piece of the American pie.
For now, I am going to reveal what I have discovered to be the top lies of the anti-gay industry. My book will demonstrate why these claims are not true:
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 "lifestyle."
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.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Hate Crimes Act Distortions
The anti-gay industry is spooked by the possibility of a federal hate crimes law that will include the gay and lesbian community.
They have already began telling lies and I am sure that their efforts will culminate in a huge effort to either kill the legislation in Congress or get President Bush to veto it should it get to his desk.
The anti-gay industry is going to repeat their lies about how lgbts want to put Christians in jail for speaking out against homosexuality and how we also want to "recruit" children.
To combat these distortions, we must know and expose their tactics as quickly and as frequently as possible.
In that spirit, I am going to post something I found online. The following has to do with how the Family Research Council lied in its attempts to kill the 1999 Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Trust me when I say that the following tactics will be used again by the anti-gay industry. That is if they aren't already being used:
The Family Research Council, in an effort to shift public focus away from the tragedy of hate crimes in America, has issued an "action alert" to its members in which it fabricates six myths about the Hate Crimes PreventionAct of 1999. These myths -- and a short refutation -- are as follows:
FRC lie 1: "Hate crimes legislation could severely restrict Americans' freedom of speech, freedom of thought and freedom of religion. This legislation would give the government the power to interpret and classify certain speech, thought, theology, and moral belief as unlawful or contributing to crime. Will pastors, priests, rabbis, and other religious leaders who preach and teach against homosexual conduct be prosecuted for inciting a hate crime?"
The truth: The Hate Crimes Prevention Act would only prohibit acts of violence, not speech. The Act would notinfringe upon anyone's First Amendment rights. In this manner, the Hate Crimes Prevention Act would operate justlike the current hate crimes statute, which does not punish protected speech because it requires that any coveredincident include criminal acts involving force. The changes to the statute proposed by the Hate Crimes Prevention Act would only apply to cases involving death or bodily injury; in other words, they would only come into play when violent crimes have been committed -- not in matters involving speech protected by the First Amendment.
FRC lie 2: "President Clinton stated that he would include words perceived as inciting an act of violence - without proof of direct correlation - as evidence of a hate crime."
The truth: Again, the legislation does not target speech.Organizations such as the FRC would remain free to condemn homosexuality. Only when a crime victim is targetedfor a violent act because of his or her sexual orientation, gender or disability status could the law be applied.
FRC lie 3: "Talk radio, religious broadcasting and television programs could be subject to censorship."
The truth: The Hate Crimes Prevention Act would not restrict the media. Again, it would come into play only whensomeone commits a violent crime on the basis of someone else's race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or disability.
FRC lie 4: "Hate crimes legislation could give priority to homosexuals as being more protected victims than other victims of crime."
The truth: The Hate Crimes Prevention Act does not create a category of "more protected victims." It simply addresses the fact that state and local authorities sometimes cannot or will not prosecute violent crimes committed against gays and lesbians. Under current law, the federal government is often unable to intervene in these cases. The Hate Crimes Prevention Act would permit federal authorities to bring the perpetrators of these horrible crimes to justice.
FRC lie 5: "Hate crimes legislation, accompanied by the President's 'tolerance education' crusade, will hinder parents who seek to protect their children from a lifestyle that is unhealthy and which they recognize to be morally and spiritually wrong."
The truth: The Hate Crimes Prevention Act would not interfere with the rights of parents to teach their children according to their own sets of values. The Act would merely prohibit acts of violence against individuals on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or disability. It would not preclude parents from teaching their own values to their children.
FRC lie 6: "Students could be forced to learn homosexual diversity training in public schools."
The truth: This legislation has nothing to do with school curriculum.
The anti-gay industry is spooked by the possibility of a federal hate crimes law that will include the gay and lesbian community.
They have already began telling lies and I am sure that their efforts will culminate in a huge effort to either kill the legislation in Congress or get President Bush to veto it should it get to his desk.
The anti-gay industry is going to repeat their lies about how lgbts want to put Christians in jail for speaking out against homosexuality and how we also want to "recruit" children.
To combat these distortions, we must know and expose their tactics as quickly and as frequently as possible.
In that spirit, I am going to post something I found online. The following has to do with how the Family Research Council lied in its attempts to kill the 1999 Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Trust me when I say that the following tactics will be used again by the anti-gay industry. That is if they aren't already being used:
BEARING FALSE WITNESS: THE FRC'S SIX BIG LIES ABOUT THE HATE CRIMES PREVENTION ACT
The Family Research Council, in an effort to shift public focus away from the tragedy of hate crimes in America, has issued an "action alert" to its members in which it fabricates six myths about the Hate Crimes PreventionAct of 1999. These myths -- and a short refutation -- are as follows:
FRC lie 1: "Hate crimes legislation could severely restrict Americans' freedom of speech, freedom of thought and freedom of religion. This legislation would give the government the power to interpret and classify certain speech, thought, theology, and moral belief as unlawful or contributing to crime. Will pastors, priests, rabbis, and other religious leaders who preach and teach against homosexual conduct be prosecuted for inciting a hate crime?"
The truth: The Hate Crimes Prevention Act would only prohibit acts of violence, not speech. The Act would notinfringe upon anyone's First Amendment rights. In this manner, the Hate Crimes Prevention Act would operate justlike the current hate crimes statute, which does not punish protected speech because it requires that any coveredincident include criminal acts involving force. The changes to the statute proposed by the Hate Crimes Prevention Act would only apply to cases involving death or bodily injury; in other words, they would only come into play when violent crimes have been committed -- not in matters involving speech protected by the First Amendment.
FRC lie 2: "President Clinton stated that he would include words perceived as inciting an act of violence - without proof of direct correlation - as evidence of a hate crime."
The truth: Again, the legislation does not target speech.Organizations such as the FRC would remain free to condemn homosexuality. Only when a crime victim is targetedfor a violent act because of his or her sexual orientation, gender or disability status could the law be applied.
FRC lie 3: "Talk radio, religious broadcasting and television programs could be subject to censorship."
The truth: The Hate Crimes Prevention Act would not restrict the media. Again, it would come into play only whensomeone commits a violent crime on the basis of someone else's race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or disability.
FRC lie 4: "Hate crimes legislation could give priority to homosexuals as being more protected victims than other victims of crime."
The truth: The Hate Crimes Prevention Act does not create a category of "more protected victims." It simply addresses the fact that state and local authorities sometimes cannot or will not prosecute violent crimes committed against gays and lesbians. Under current law, the federal government is often unable to intervene in these cases. The Hate Crimes Prevention Act would permit federal authorities to bring the perpetrators of these horrible crimes to justice.
FRC lie 5: "Hate crimes legislation, accompanied by the President's 'tolerance education' crusade, will hinder parents who seek to protect their children from a lifestyle that is unhealthy and which they recognize to be morally and spiritually wrong."
The truth: The Hate Crimes Prevention Act would not interfere with the rights of parents to teach their children according to their own sets of values. The Act would merely prohibit acts of violence against individuals on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or disability. It would not preclude parents from teaching their own values to their children.
FRC lie 6: "Students could be forced to learn homosexual diversity training in public schools."
The truth: This legislation has nothing to do with school curriculum.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Tuesday musings . . . .
I see that some bloggers still can't let go of the fact that David Parker lost his case.
I can't help but feeling a little concerned as to how many of these so-called people of faith are allowing themselves to be taken in by the anti-gay industry propaganda machines. Many blogs that I have read are claiming that all sorts of calamities will happen, including:
Elementary school children will be taught homosexuality, including having tests complete with connect-the-dots,
High schoolers will be forced to memorize parts from Mildred Pierce, All About Eve, and (gasp) songs from Cher albums,
Whitney Houston may go back to Bobby Brown,
Britney Spears will win an Oscar,
Ann Coulter will win a Pulitzer Prize - Okay that last one scares even me!
As you can tell, I am in a light mood today. But I really shouldn't be because I have yet another reason to despise the gay community.
Today I went to the local library to look up a bit of information for my book. To find what I was looking for, I had to go to the third floor, via an escalator. It wouldn't be too bad except for the fact that I have a bad case of vertigo and whoever built my public library obviously liked those movies with single bridges overlapping huge valleys of land.
Let's just say that I dug my nails in the handles of the escalator so hard that I went through the rubber and hit metal.
And when it was over, I had to sit down for 10 minutes.
Not to worry though because I did find what I was looking for. The ironic thing is that it will probably add up to at least two or three sentences in my book. But they are an important two or three sentences.
It will be another example in my book of how the anti-gay industry cherry picks information in order to harm our community.
And speaking of my book, I hope to send it to the publisher on Monday. Not exactly March 1, but my index is a killer. I want to make sure that I include all of my sources.
When I send it off, I hope to list the chapters by name on this blog. Keep your fingers crossed!
I see that some bloggers still can't let go of the fact that David Parker lost his case.
I can't help but feeling a little concerned as to how many of these so-called people of faith are allowing themselves to be taken in by the anti-gay industry propaganda machines. Many blogs that I have read are claiming that all sorts of calamities will happen, including:
Elementary school children will be taught homosexuality, including having tests complete with connect-the-dots,
High schoolers will be forced to memorize parts from Mildred Pierce, All About Eve, and (gasp) songs from Cher albums,
Whitney Houston may go back to Bobby Brown,
Britney Spears will win an Oscar,
Ann Coulter will win a Pulitzer Prize - Okay that last one scares even me!
As you can tell, I am in a light mood today. But I really shouldn't be because I have yet another reason to despise the gay community.
Today I went to the local library to look up a bit of information for my book. To find what I was looking for, I had to go to the third floor, via an escalator. It wouldn't be too bad except for the fact that I have a bad case of vertigo and whoever built my public library obviously liked those movies with single bridges overlapping huge valleys of land.
Let's just say that I dug my nails in the handles of the escalator so hard that I went through the rubber and hit metal.
And when it was over, I had to sit down for 10 minutes.
Not to worry though because I did find what I was looking for. The ironic thing is that it will probably add up to at least two or three sentences in my book. But they are an important two or three sentences.
It will be another example in my book of how the anti-gay industry cherry picks information in order to harm our community.
And speaking of my book, I hope to send it to the publisher on Monday. Not exactly March 1, but my index is a killer. I want to make sure that I include all of my sources.
When I send it off, I hope to list the chapters by name on this blog. Keep your fingers crossed!
Monday, February 26, 2007
Clarification thanks to Joe Brummer
Yesterday, I mentioned that I did not know that much about the American College of Pediatricians (the group that wrote a junk science study trashing gay parenting. See yesterday's blog entry.) Thanks to my friend Joe Brummer, I know a little about this group:
The American Collage of Pediatricians are a small group of conservative, religious pediatricians whose research is not rigorously tested and reviewed by peers.
The Boston Globe writes:
“Created as counterpoints to large, well-established medical organizations whose work is subject to rigorous review and who assert no political agenda, the tiny think tanks with names often mimicking those of established medical authorities have sought to dispute the notion of a medical consensus on social issues such as gay rights, the right to die, abortion, and birth control.”
“The tiny American College of Pediatricians has a single employee, yet it has been quoted as a counterpoint to the 60,000-member American Academy of Pediatrics."
This goes beyond anti-gay distortions. We are dealing with organizations who, when they don't like the conclusions of certain studies, create their own scientific bodies with political agendas.
I am curious as to just how many people of faith have been fooled by this chicanery. It's very scary when propaganda machines are masquerading as credible and objective scientific bodies.
Maybe a solution to this problem
Wayne Besen has done it again and I have to give him his props:
Truth Wins Out unveiled a new campaign today encouraging scientists to report right wing distortions of their research on the website www.RespectMyResearch.org.
Truth Wins Out will also join the gay right's group SoulForce today in a media conference call featuring a panel of experts who will discuss how groups, such as Focus on the Family, manipulate social science to help justify discrimination.
"This website is a powerful response to the brazen and outrageous manner in which the far right has hijacked science to support their discriminatory aims," said Truth Wins Out's Executive Director Wayne Besen. "Our goal is to make it easier for legitimate researchers to fight back and demand their work be respected and not co-opted for an extreme political agenda."
This is something that should have been done a long time ago. I personally think that all major gay rights groups should make exposing anti-gay industry distortions a goal in the future. We can't win hearts and minds when we are being blocked by lies.
Yesterday, I mentioned that I did not know that much about the American College of Pediatricians (the group that wrote a junk science study trashing gay parenting. See yesterday's blog entry.) Thanks to my friend Joe Brummer, I know a little about this group:
The American Collage of Pediatricians are a small group of conservative, religious pediatricians whose research is not rigorously tested and reviewed by peers.
The Boston Globe writes:
“Created as counterpoints to large, well-established medical organizations whose work is subject to rigorous review and who assert no political agenda, the tiny think tanks with names often mimicking those of established medical authorities have sought to dispute the notion of a medical consensus on social issues such as gay rights, the right to die, abortion, and birth control.”
“The tiny American College of Pediatricians has a single employee, yet it has been quoted as a counterpoint to the 60,000-member American Academy of Pediatrics."
This goes beyond anti-gay distortions. We are dealing with organizations who, when they don't like the conclusions of certain studies, create their own scientific bodies with political agendas.
I am curious as to just how many people of faith have been fooled by this chicanery. It's very scary when propaganda machines are masquerading as credible and objective scientific bodies.
Maybe a solution to this problem
Wayne Besen has done it again and I have to give him his props:
Truth Wins Out unveiled a new campaign today encouraging scientists to report right wing distortions of their research on the website www.RespectMyResearch.org.
Truth Wins Out will also join the gay right's group SoulForce today in a media conference call featuring a panel of experts who will discuss how groups, such as Focus on the Family, manipulate social science to help justify discrimination.
"This website is a powerful response to the brazen and outrageous manner in which the far right has hijacked science to support their discriminatory aims," said Truth Wins Out's Executive Director Wayne Besen. "Our goal is to make it easier for legitimate researchers to fight back and demand their work be respected and not co-opted for an extreme political agenda."
This is something that should have been done a long time ago. I personally think that all major gay rights groups should make exposing anti-gay industry distortions a goal in the future. We can't win hearts and minds when we are being blocked by lies.
So I am a 'sodomy advocate" now? Unbelievable nonsense
Apparently I am getting a little infamous. A blogger wrote an entry about me.
It began when I posted a comment to his blog in response to his entry about the David Parker situation.
This is what he said:
Recently a sodomite advocate with a screen name of Black Tsunami (AKA A. McEwen) sent a comment to the latest entry on this blog.I went to his blog, called "Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters" and saw that he has lost all contact with reality.
Look at what his description says:
For two years, I have studied "so-called" pro family "research" regarding the gay community and have found a disturbing pattern of deception. In 2007, my book, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters will be published, detailing all of my findings. The purpose of this blog is to give updates of my work and to show some of my findings.McEwen wants to see deception to document in his book? Here's some for him!
So what was the deception he had for me? Why nothing. He then goes on a tangent about the same-sex marriage situation in Wisconsin.
Which confuses me because my post was about the David Parker case.
I would like to think that he looked at my blog and couldn't refute anything on it.
When some people go on a tangent, it's always better to sit back and let them go. On some occasions, it can be funny.
Apparently I am getting a little infamous. A blogger wrote an entry about me.
It began when I posted a comment to his blog in response to his entry about the David Parker situation.
This is what he said:
Recently a sodomite advocate with a screen name of Black Tsunami (AKA A. McEwen) sent a comment to the latest entry on this blog.I went to his blog, called "Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters" and saw that he has lost all contact with reality.
Look at what his description says:
For two years, I have studied "so-called" pro family "research" regarding the gay community and have found a disturbing pattern of deception. In 2007, my book, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters will be published, detailing all of my findings. The purpose of this blog is to give updates of my work and to show some of my findings.McEwen wants to see deception to document in his book? Here's some for him!
So what was the deception he had for me? Why nothing. He then goes on a tangent about the same-sex marriage situation in Wisconsin.
Which confuses me because my post was about the David Parker case.
I would like to think that he looked at my blog and couldn't refute anything on it.
When some people go on a tangent, it's always better to sit back and let them go. On some occasions, it can be funny.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Just want to point something else out about the Parker case
I have been online looking through the blogs and many of them are reporting the David Parker case verbatim via World Net Daily with the headline:
Judge orders 'gay' agenda taught to Christian students
World Net Daily is not exactly a pro-gay, objective, or fair online newspaper.
It is things like this that make it so difficult to fight the lies of the anti-gay industry. They have so many people either wrapped up in their own egos as "true Christians" or scared because of their claims of a "gay conspiracy" that these folks are becoming like zombies; repeating all of their lies verbatim and without the courtesy of dissent.
The worst thing is that so many of these blogs are by people who consider themselves as Christian, even quoting the Bible.
I guess to some, the ends justify the means even in the Body of Christ.
It is so sad.
I have been online looking through the blogs and many of them are reporting the David Parker case verbatim via World Net Daily with the headline:
Judge orders 'gay' agenda taught to Christian students
World Net Daily is not exactly a pro-gay, objective, or fair online newspaper.
It is things like this that make it so difficult to fight the lies of the anti-gay industry. They have so many people either wrapped up in their own egos as "true Christians" or scared because of their claims of a "gay conspiracy" that these folks are becoming like zombies; repeating all of their lies verbatim and without the courtesy of dissent.
The worst thing is that so many of these blogs are by people who consider themselves as Christian, even quoting the Bible.
I guess to some, the ends justify the means even in the Body of Christ.
It is so sad.
Headless Monsters Galore!!!
Leave it to my friend Peter LaBarbera to give me something to write about today. On his web page is a report by the American College of Pediatricians that criticizes gay parenting.
Now I don't know who encompasses this group but I will find out in the future. I do know that if they write position papers like the one criticizing gay parenting, then they are a bunch of quacks.
When I read it, I laughed out loud because I noticed several distortions. The piece, Homosexual Parenting, Is It Time for a Change follows two anti-gay industry tactics - 1. distort a legitimate study to prove something negative about the lgbt community, 2. repeat that distortion on several fronts.
In relation to the second principle, I found several of these claims in other anti-gay industry studies about the gay and lesbian community. I cover these lies in detail in my upcoming book. I am now going to show just a few of the distorted studies and then give the proof of the matter. In some cases, I am revealing parts of my book that many are not aware of:
Distortion 1: The report distorts the following studies to claim that gays and lesbians have a high rate of domestic violence in their households:
Gwat Yong Lie and Sabrina Gentlewarrier, “Intimate Violence in Lesbian Relationships: Discussion of Survey Findings and Practice Implications,” Journal of Social Service Research 15 (1991): 41-59.
Truth - The original study was conducted in 1985 at a Michigan Women’s Music Festival. According to a reviewer of the study, Suzana Rose, Ph.D., of the 1099 lesbians participants, most were white and between the ages of 20-45. She also said: "Questions concerning perpetrating abuse need to distinguish between actions taken in self-defense and actions initiated by the aggressor. This point was not assessed here. Findings are limited by the selective recruiting of participants."
D. Island and P. Letellier, Men Who Beat the Men Who Love Them: Battered Gay Men and Domestic Violence (New York: Haworth Press, 1991), p. 14.
Truth - Patrick Letellier went on record in 2001 declaring that his book was being misused and cherry picked
Lettie L. Lockhart et al., “Letting out the Secret: Violence in Lesbian Relationships,” Journal of Interpersonal Violence 9 (1994): 469-492.
Truth - The Journal of Interpersonal Violence offers the most up-to-date information on domestic violence, rape, child sexual abuse and other violent crimes. . . Focusing on both victims and perpetrators, the journal examines theoretical links between all types of interpersonal violence, exploring the similarities and differences between these types of crimes.
In other words, the Journal of Interpersonal Violence tracks domestic violence, as well as other violent crimes. Of course those surveyed in it had been recipients of violence, verbal or otherwise, because this is what the journal is designed to track. The study in it about lesbians cannot be used to represent the entire lesbian community.
Distortion 2: The report distorts a 1997 study to make a claim that gay men have a short life span:
Robert S. Hogg et al., “Modeling the Impact of HIV Disease on Mortality in Gay and Bisexual Men,” International Journal of Epidemiology 26 (1997): 657.
Truth - But in 2001, all of the six researchers wrote a letter to the International Journal of Epidemiology claiming that the anti-gay industry was distorting their work. They said they were speaking of a hypothetical situation that could take place if there were not better safe sex practices put in place in a particular place.
Distortion 3 : The report distorts a Netherlands study by Maria Xiridou:
Maria Xiridoui, et al., “The Contribution of Steady and Casual Partnerships to the Incidence of HIV Infection among Homosexual Men in Amsterdam,” AIDS 17 (2003): 1029-1038. [Note: one of the findings of this recent study is that those classified as being in “steady relationships” reported an average of 8 casual partners a year in addition to their partner (p. 1032)]
Truth - There are so many errors in how this was used but the biggest error is the fact that the study had no questions about children in same-sex households. To use it to measure children in same-sex households is wrong.
In this post, I did not include references because I don't want to reveal too much. But TRUST me, I talk about these studies used by the anti-gay industry in MUCH detail. And I have proof of all my claims.
Finally, I would like to thank Peter because he has strengthened my resolve. While I was in church today, I was going over in my head all the things that had to be completed before I send my manuscript off to the publisher. It overwhelmed me.
But not anymore. I am determined to get this book done and finished, now more than ever so that everyone can see how Peter and his cohorts lie about lgbt lives.
Leave it to my friend Peter LaBarbera to give me something to write about today. On his web page is a report by the American College of Pediatricians that criticizes gay parenting.
Now I don't know who encompasses this group but I will find out in the future. I do know that if they write position papers like the one criticizing gay parenting, then they are a bunch of quacks.
When I read it, I laughed out loud because I noticed several distortions. The piece, Homosexual Parenting, Is It Time for a Change follows two anti-gay industry tactics - 1. distort a legitimate study to prove something negative about the lgbt community, 2. repeat that distortion on several fronts.
In relation to the second principle, I found several of these claims in other anti-gay industry studies about the gay and lesbian community. I cover these lies in detail in my upcoming book. I am now going to show just a few of the distorted studies and then give the proof of the matter. In some cases, I am revealing parts of my book that many are not aware of:
Distortion 1: The report distorts the following studies to claim that gays and lesbians have a high rate of domestic violence in their households:
Gwat Yong Lie and Sabrina Gentlewarrier, “Intimate Violence in Lesbian Relationships: Discussion of Survey Findings and Practice Implications,” Journal of Social Service Research 15 (1991): 41-59.
Truth - The original study was conducted in 1985 at a Michigan Women’s Music Festival. According to a reviewer of the study, Suzana Rose, Ph.D., of the 1099 lesbians participants, most were white and between the ages of 20-45. She also said: "Questions concerning perpetrating abuse need to distinguish between actions taken in self-defense and actions initiated by the aggressor. This point was not assessed here. Findings are limited by the selective recruiting of participants."
D. Island and P. Letellier, Men Who Beat the Men Who Love Them: Battered Gay Men and Domestic Violence (New York: Haworth Press, 1991), p. 14.
Truth - Patrick Letellier went on record in 2001 declaring that his book was being misused and cherry picked
Lettie L. Lockhart et al., “Letting out the Secret: Violence in Lesbian Relationships,” Journal of Interpersonal Violence 9 (1994): 469-492.
Truth - The Journal of Interpersonal Violence offers the most up-to-date information on domestic violence, rape, child sexual abuse and other violent crimes. . . Focusing on both victims and perpetrators, the journal examines theoretical links between all types of interpersonal violence, exploring the similarities and differences between these types of crimes.
In other words, the Journal of Interpersonal Violence tracks domestic violence, as well as other violent crimes. Of course those surveyed in it had been recipients of violence, verbal or otherwise, because this is what the journal is designed to track. The study in it about lesbians cannot be used to represent the entire lesbian community.
Distortion 2: The report distorts a 1997 study to make a claim that gay men have a short life span:
Robert S. Hogg et al., “Modeling the Impact of HIV Disease on Mortality in Gay and Bisexual Men,” International Journal of Epidemiology 26 (1997): 657.
Truth - But in 2001, all of the six researchers wrote a letter to the International Journal of Epidemiology claiming that the anti-gay industry was distorting their work. They said they were speaking of a hypothetical situation that could take place if there were not better safe sex practices put in place in a particular place.
Distortion 3 : The report distorts a Netherlands study by Maria Xiridou:
Maria Xiridoui, et al., “The Contribution of Steady and Casual Partnerships to the Incidence of HIV Infection among Homosexual Men in Amsterdam,” AIDS 17 (2003): 1029-1038. [Note: one of the findings of this recent study is that those classified as being in “steady relationships” reported an average of 8 casual partners a year in addition to their partner (p. 1032)]
Truth - There are so many errors in how this was used but the biggest error is the fact that the study had no questions about children in same-sex households. To use it to measure children in same-sex households is wrong.
In this post, I did not include references because I don't want to reveal too much. But TRUST me, I talk about these studies used by the anti-gay industry in MUCH detail. And I have proof of all my claims.
Finally, I would like to thank Peter because he has strengthened my resolve. While I was in church today, I was going over in my head all the things that had to be completed before I send my manuscript off to the publisher. It overwhelmed me.
But not anymore. I am determined to get this book done and finished, now more than ever so that everyone can see how Peter and his cohorts lie about lgbt lives.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
David Parker ruling reveals something very interesting . . .
When not working to finish my book, I have been trolling through various blogs and web pages to gather information about the David Parker case.
Yesterday, a federal judge threw out Parker's lawsuit against his son's elementary school for "daring" to mention same-sex households.
Of course all of the pro-Parker sites have been screaming bloody murder and calling the ruling a travesty. They have also been distorting the case. Check out two various headlines:
MASS. FORCE FEEDING of HOMO AGENDA
Judge orders 'gay' agenda taught to Christian children
But that's not the only questionable thing I found today. I looked on the webpage of Mass Resistance, the group behind Parker's lawsuit and various other anti-gay industry endeavors in Massachusetts. Naturally, the group isn't exactly happy over the ruling. It even gives an "analysis" of the ruling. By "analysis," the group means ways to whine about how evil the ruling is.
I found this interesting comment on the page. It may not mean anything, but you be the judge:
(Federal Judge Mark) Wolf also makes the point that must NOT be allowed to opt out! He echoes the homosexual movement's propaganda, that allowing religious freedom would send a bad "message" to children whose parents engage in homosexual behavior, so therefore schools must teach homosexuality in a positive light to EVERY student:
An exodus from class when issues of homosexuality or same-sex marriage are to be discussed could send the message that gays, lesbians, and the children of same-sex parents are inferior and, therefore, have a damaging effect on those students. Cf. Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483, 494 (1954).2 It might also undermine the defendants' efforts to educate the remaining other students to understand and respect differences in sexual orientation. [p. 7]
Wolf claims that the flawed and badly argued Brown decision is now the "law" of the United States. Did Congress pass this? No, it didn't. It's merely a ruling in a case. This ruling is full of use of "case law" from obscure decisions, as if it were real law:
Brown not only remains the law of the First Circuit, it has also been found to be persuasive in every other circuit that has discussed it in defining the scope of a parent's right to raise his or her children. [p. 18]
Is it just me or did this anti-gay industry group just claim that the Supreme Court decision in the case of Brown vs. the Board of Education (the case that led to the desegregation of American public schools) is "flawed" and "badly argued?"
Just food for thought.
When not working to finish my book, I have been trolling through various blogs and web pages to gather information about the David Parker case.
Yesterday, a federal judge threw out Parker's lawsuit against his son's elementary school for "daring" to mention same-sex households.
Of course all of the pro-Parker sites have been screaming bloody murder and calling the ruling a travesty. They have also been distorting the case. Check out two various headlines:
MASS. FORCE FEEDING of HOMO AGENDA
Judge orders 'gay' agenda taught to Christian children
But that's not the only questionable thing I found today. I looked on the webpage of Mass Resistance, the group behind Parker's lawsuit and various other anti-gay industry endeavors in Massachusetts. Naturally, the group isn't exactly happy over the ruling. It even gives an "analysis" of the ruling. By "analysis," the group means ways to whine about how evil the ruling is.
I found this interesting comment on the page. It may not mean anything, but you be the judge:
(Federal Judge Mark) Wolf also makes the point that must NOT be allowed to opt out! He echoes the homosexual movement's propaganda, that allowing religious freedom would send a bad "message" to children whose parents engage in homosexual behavior, so therefore schools must teach homosexuality in a positive light to EVERY student:
An exodus from class when issues of homosexuality or same-sex marriage are to be discussed could send the message that gays, lesbians, and the children of same-sex parents are inferior and, therefore, have a damaging effect on those students. Cf. Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483, 494 (1954).2 It might also undermine the defendants' efforts to educate the remaining other students to understand and respect differences in sexual orientation. [p. 7]
Wolf claims that the flawed and badly argued Brown decision is now the "law" of the United States. Did Congress pass this? No, it didn't. It's merely a ruling in a case. This ruling is full of use of "case law" from obscure decisions, as if it were real law:
Brown not only remains the law of the First Circuit, it has also been found to be persuasive in every other circuit that has discussed it in defining the scope of a parent's right to raise his or her children. [p. 18]
Is it just me or did this anti-gay industry group just claim that the Supreme Court decision in the case of Brown vs. the Board of Education (the case that led to the desegregation of American public schools) is "flawed" and "badly argued?"
Just food for thought.
Friday, February 23, 2007
So many things to be happy and upset about on this Friday . . .
Shirley Q. Liquor is not funny
I began the day highly pissed.
Or as the late comedia Robin Harris would say, "pissed off to the highest level of pissivity." And it wasn't the anti-gay industry that got me angry. It was my own community.
GLAAD gets a lot of flack for their stances. Some of it may be deserved, but I have to give the group credit for standing up for lgbts.
One stance they took seems to have gotten some gays upset. The group spoke out against comedian Charles Knipp.
Knipp, or as he is known, Shirley Q. Liquor, has an act where he puts on blackface and pretends to be a welfare mother with 19 children. Subsequently, many lgbts of color have protested clubs where he performs and he is beginning to lose bookings. GLAAD recently spoke out against him.
An editorial today in the New York Blade asked what in the world is GLAAD doing in this fight:
We commend GLAAD for condemning racism, but we question whether the organization’s goal is best attained by joining this particular fight.
It sounds like to me that the Blade feels that GLAAD shouldn't be in this fight because Knipp isn't insulting gays.
But yes he is. The editorial said glossed over the fact that many lgbts of color find him offensive. The editorial also made it a point to say that RuPaul (described as an icon) thought his act was funny.
I hope you all can see why I was upset. I have heard Knipp's act and as a black gay man, I am insulted. And I am not alone in this mindset. Many lgbts of color don't find Knipp to be funny. A white man in black face disrespecting black women with children (this includes lesbians because lesbians of color have children) is not satire. He is perpetuating the same type of nonsense that has kept black folks, Jewish people and gay people in bondage.
Just like some black heterosexuals want lgbts of color to ignore our homosexual orientation, some lgbts want us to ignore the fact that we are black. The New York Blade's stance on this issue just goes to prove how so many in the gay community can't seem to get with the fact that not all of us are club hopping, skinny white men with fashionable clothing. Some of us are fat, some of us are skinny, some of us are black, some of us are white, some of us are young, some of us are old.
But all of us deserve dignity and if we can't get it from within our own community, then lgbts in America has bigger problems than the anti-gay industry.
My 'friend' writes another letter
I received another comment from the guy I wrote about last night. This was about the anti-gay lecture series in Charlotte. He continues to assert that the lecture series is a dialogue. He also asked me:
Is everyone a gay basher who respectfully questions the homosexual movement?
Let me expand on what I told him because it illustrates how the so many people of faith are taken in by the anti-gay industry.
I don't think opposition to homosexuality makes one a bigot. I respect people who don't agree with or understand homosexuality. The commentator's question is flawed because the lecture series is not about "respectfully questioning the homosexual movement" nor is it about establishing a dialogue. I showed the press release and an article that quoted one of the organizers of the lecture series. The language in those two news items clearly showed that establishing a dialogue was the last thing the organizers in the lecture series want to do, right next to "respectfully questioning the homosexual movement."
And just because they are talking out of both sides of their mouths doesn't mean that I have to listen.
David Parker loses
This item brought my glee factor up. A year ago, David Parker caused a controversy in Massachusetts. His son brought home a "diversity bookbag" that contained a book showing a same-sex family.
Parker got upset and demanded that his son be taken out of class when someone mentioned a same-sex family situation, even if it happens spontaneously. The school tried to assure Parker that "learning about homosexuality" was not a part of the kindergarten curriculum. The school also told Parker that the state opt-out policy was not relevant because talking about different families didn't constitute a talk of human sexuality.
Parker persisted until he got himself arrested. He and the anti-gay industry tried to frame the case as a parent just trying to raise his child according to his values.
Parker's actions led to a lawsuit. Today, the federal judge threw it out.
Of course the anti-gay industry is going to try to frame the issue as schools teaching kindergarteners about homosexuality. According to some of their web pages, they have already begun.
Just par for the course.
By the way, I go into detail about the David Parker situation in my upcoming book.
Shirley Q. Liquor is not funny
I began the day highly pissed.
Or as the late comedia Robin Harris would say, "pissed off to the highest level of pissivity." And it wasn't the anti-gay industry that got me angry. It was my own community.
GLAAD gets a lot of flack for their stances. Some of it may be deserved, but I have to give the group credit for standing up for lgbts.
One stance they took seems to have gotten some gays upset. The group spoke out against comedian Charles Knipp.
Knipp, or as he is known, Shirley Q. Liquor, has an act where he puts on blackface and pretends to be a welfare mother with 19 children. Subsequently, many lgbts of color have protested clubs where he performs and he is beginning to lose bookings. GLAAD recently spoke out against him.
An editorial today in the New York Blade asked what in the world is GLAAD doing in this fight:
We commend GLAAD for condemning racism, but we question whether the organization’s goal is best attained by joining this particular fight.
It sounds like to me that the Blade feels that GLAAD shouldn't be in this fight because Knipp isn't insulting gays.
But yes he is. The editorial said glossed over the fact that many lgbts of color find him offensive. The editorial also made it a point to say that RuPaul (described as an icon) thought his act was funny.
I hope you all can see why I was upset. I have heard Knipp's act and as a black gay man, I am insulted. And I am not alone in this mindset. Many lgbts of color don't find Knipp to be funny. A white man in black face disrespecting black women with children (this includes lesbians because lesbians of color have children) is not satire. He is perpetuating the same type of nonsense that has kept black folks, Jewish people and gay people in bondage.
Just like some black heterosexuals want lgbts of color to ignore our homosexual orientation, some lgbts want us to ignore the fact that we are black. The New York Blade's stance on this issue just goes to prove how so many in the gay community can't seem to get with the fact that not all of us are club hopping, skinny white men with fashionable clothing. Some of us are fat, some of us are skinny, some of us are black, some of us are white, some of us are young, some of us are old.
But all of us deserve dignity and if we can't get it from within our own community, then lgbts in America has bigger problems than the anti-gay industry.
My 'friend' writes another letter
I received another comment from the guy I wrote about last night. This was about the anti-gay lecture series in Charlotte. He continues to assert that the lecture series is a dialogue. He also asked me:
Is everyone a gay basher who respectfully questions the homosexual movement?
Let me expand on what I told him because it illustrates how the so many people of faith are taken in by the anti-gay industry.
I don't think opposition to homosexuality makes one a bigot. I respect people who don't agree with or understand homosexuality. The commentator's question is flawed because the lecture series is not about "respectfully questioning the homosexual movement" nor is it about establishing a dialogue. I showed the press release and an article that quoted one of the organizers of the lecture series. The language in those two news items clearly showed that establishing a dialogue was the last thing the organizers in the lecture series want to do, right next to "respectfully questioning the homosexual movement."
And just because they are talking out of both sides of their mouths doesn't mean that I have to listen.
David Parker loses
This item brought my glee factor up. A year ago, David Parker caused a controversy in Massachusetts. His son brought home a "diversity bookbag" that contained a book showing a same-sex family.
Parker got upset and demanded that his son be taken out of class when someone mentioned a same-sex family situation, even if it happens spontaneously. The school tried to assure Parker that "learning about homosexuality" was not a part of the kindergarten curriculum. The school also told Parker that the state opt-out policy was not relevant because talking about different families didn't constitute a talk of human sexuality.
Parker persisted until he got himself arrested. He and the anti-gay industry tried to frame the case as a parent just trying to raise his child according to his values.
Parker's actions led to a lawsuit. Today, the federal judge threw it out.
Of course the anti-gay industry is going to try to frame the issue as schools teaching kindergarteners about homosexuality. According to some of their web pages, they have already begun.
Just par for the course.
By the way, I go into detail about the David Parker situation in my upcoming book.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
It's all about presentation and language
I very rarely get comments opposing my blog so I was surprised when I got this one today:
You write: "These lectures are not about establishing a dialogue. These lectures are about scaring people, people who are ready and willing to be scared..."
Have you been to the lectures? I think you should come to at least one of the lectures before you make such a statement... These lectures are ALL about dialogue! And so far we have had some good ones... Come tonight (thursday) at 7 or tomorrow (Friday) at 7 :)
The commentator was talking about a post I wrote on February 14th about a group of Charlotte church leaders getting together for a lecture series about the Human Rights Campaign.
Now in all honesty, he did have me at a miniscule point. I hadn't been to any of the lectures, but I have a good reason to believe that they are not about establishing a dialogue due to the press release issued about them:
Charlotte Church Leaders to Discuss the Radical Agenda of Homosexual Activists at Weeklong Lecture Series
News Conference: Thursday, February 15, at 10:00 AM in front of the Booth Playhouse at the corner of Trade and Tryon
Contact: Kris Bennett, Coalition of Conscience, 704-782-3760CHARLOTTE, Feb. 14 /Standard Newswire/ -- Three years ago, the Human Rights Campaign, the world's largest homosexual advocacy organization, moved its annual Carolina's dinner to Charlotte. While local gay activists have applauded the HRC's presence in Charlotte, not everyone is pleased with this development.
Dr. Michael L. Brown, director of the Coalition of Conscience and a nationally known Christian leader and best-selling author, is convinced that now is the time to speak up."We have no desire to enter in a rhetorical battle with the HRC. We simply want to raise public awareness about who the HRC really is and what the HRC really stands for, demonstrating that they cannot legitimately be called the 'Human Rights' Campaign."
Does this sound like an attempt to establish a dialogue? Hardly. Seems to me if you are trying to establish a dialogue, you would approach the party you want to dialogue with rather than issuing a vitriolic press release.
Also, in new issue of One News Now (the publication taking the place of Agape Press) is the following article:
The director of a pro-family group says it's time for Christians in America to stop being complacent when it comes to threats posed by homosexual activists, and stop tolerating what he calls the "moral freefall" taking place in the U.S.
Michael Brown is director of the Coalition of Conscience, a network of churches, pastors, and business leaders who work for moral and cultural change through the gospel. He says homosexual activists are gearing up for a major assault on pro-family values this year.
"It's already happened in limited form here in America," says Brown. "[As Christians] we're to simply speak what the Bible speaks is true, without attacking people or calling for violence against people or without being bigoted hatemongers -- simply speaking the truth of the Word." But he cautions that one could "potentially go to jail for that."
While he acknowledges that Christians should be willing to risk everything for their faith, Brown says they do not have to be silent about efforts to silence believers' voices. "There's no reason for us to tolerate what's happening in society -- except that we have preached a man-serving, complacent gospel for so many years," says the Coalition leader. That, he contends, has resulted in self-centered believers, a barely existent call to commitment and sacrifice in the Church, and an attitude that says "we just don't believe things are going to get any worse."
Brown is hosting a weeklong series of lectures in Charlotte, North Carolina, about the true agenda of homosexual activists. The Coalition of Conscience is based in Charlotte.
Again I ask the question, does that sound like an attempt to establish a dialogue?
I stand by my comments in the February 14th post. The lecture series in Charleston is not about establishing a dialogue. It's about gay bashing.
And I find that comment from Mr. Brown about being thought of as a bigot as very ironic as well as Freudian.
A word to the wise, Mr. Brown, if you don't want gay people to think of you as a bigot, then you shouldn't make phony claims about gay people.
I very rarely get comments opposing my blog so I was surprised when I got this one today:
You write: "These lectures are not about establishing a dialogue. These lectures are about scaring people, people who are ready and willing to be scared..."
Have you been to the lectures? I think you should come to at least one of the lectures before you make such a statement... These lectures are ALL about dialogue! And so far we have had some good ones... Come tonight (thursday) at 7 or tomorrow (Friday) at 7 :)
The commentator was talking about a post I wrote on February 14th about a group of Charlotte church leaders getting together for a lecture series about the Human Rights Campaign.
Now in all honesty, he did have me at a miniscule point. I hadn't been to any of the lectures, but I have a good reason to believe that they are not about establishing a dialogue due to the press release issued about them:
Charlotte Church Leaders to Discuss the Radical Agenda of Homosexual Activists at Weeklong Lecture Series
News Conference: Thursday, February 15, at 10:00 AM in front of the Booth Playhouse at the corner of Trade and Tryon
Contact: Kris Bennett, Coalition of Conscience, 704-782-3760CHARLOTTE, Feb. 14 /Standard Newswire/ -- Three years ago, the Human Rights Campaign, the world's largest homosexual advocacy organization, moved its annual Carolina's dinner to Charlotte. While local gay activists have applauded the HRC's presence in Charlotte, not everyone is pleased with this development.
Dr. Michael L. Brown, director of the Coalition of Conscience and a nationally known Christian leader and best-selling author, is convinced that now is the time to speak up."We have no desire to enter in a rhetorical battle with the HRC. We simply want to raise public awareness about who the HRC really is and what the HRC really stands for, demonstrating that they cannot legitimately be called the 'Human Rights' Campaign."
Does this sound like an attempt to establish a dialogue? Hardly. Seems to me if you are trying to establish a dialogue, you would approach the party you want to dialogue with rather than issuing a vitriolic press release.
Also, in new issue of One News Now (the publication taking the place of Agape Press) is the following article:
The director of a pro-family group says it's time for Christians in America to stop being complacent when it comes to threats posed by homosexual activists, and stop tolerating what he calls the "moral freefall" taking place in the U.S.
Michael Brown is director of the Coalition of Conscience, a network of churches, pastors, and business leaders who work for moral and cultural change through the gospel. He says homosexual activists are gearing up for a major assault on pro-family values this year.
"It's already happened in limited form here in America," says Brown. "[As Christians] we're to simply speak what the Bible speaks is true, without attacking people or calling for violence against people or without being bigoted hatemongers -- simply speaking the truth of the Word." But he cautions that one could "potentially go to jail for that."
While he acknowledges that Christians should be willing to risk everything for their faith, Brown says they do not have to be silent about efforts to silence believers' voices. "There's no reason for us to tolerate what's happening in society -- except that we have preached a man-serving, complacent gospel for so many years," says the Coalition leader. That, he contends, has resulted in self-centered believers, a barely existent call to commitment and sacrifice in the Church, and an attitude that says "we just don't believe things are going to get any worse."
Brown is hosting a weeklong series of lectures in Charlotte, North Carolina, about the true agenda of homosexual activists. The Coalition of Conscience is based in Charlotte.
Again I ask the question, does that sound like an attempt to establish a dialogue?
I stand by my comments in the February 14th post. The lecture series in Charleston is not about establishing a dialogue. It's about gay bashing.
And I find that comment from Mr. Brown about being thought of as a bigot as very ironic as well as Freudian.
A word to the wise, Mr. Brown, if you don't want gay people to think of you as a bigot, then you shouldn't make phony claims about gay people.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Seven days . . . .
My post is going to be short today mainly because of my work on my book, hence the title.
In seven days, I will finally go to press. After over two years of research, I will send my book to the publisher. And what I hope to be one of the definitive books on the lies of the anti-gay industry will be in motion to be published.
For years, I have wanted to see something like this; a book that analyzes the deceptions of the religious right as they pertain to the gay and lesbian community.
This book will not be a fast food, cookie cutter deciphering of homophobia. We know that when people like James Dobson and Peter LaBarbera speak against our community, they are masking their homophobia behind slick language and propaganda techniques.
I intend to prove it.
There is nothing (except for two brief comments) in this book about Mr. God Hates Fags Fred Phelps. He is too easy a target. His stridency makes him p0werless.
The ones who give us trouble are people like a concerned mother who hears about a gay/straight alliance forming in her child's school. She has a personal fear and disagreement about homosexuality, so she looks up data about it.
And she goes to the Focus on the Family web page or the Family Research Council web page or the Traditional Values Coalition web page. It doesn't matter where she goes because in all of these locations she will find "scientific proof" for her opposition to the gay/straight club forming in her child's school. The fact that what she will find is junk science is not known to her.
She will take what she finds and use it to rally other parents against the gay/straight alliance. She will stand in front the school board and repeat the lies she has read. She will solicit the advice and help of the anti-gay industry groups whose web pages she got her information from.
Calling this woman homophobic is wrong. Saying and proving that she and so many others like her are misinformed will be what wins this battle for us.
I really hope that my upcoming book will be the first step in this process.
My post is going to be short today mainly because of my work on my book, hence the title.
In seven days, I will finally go to press. After over two years of research, I will send my book to the publisher. And what I hope to be one of the definitive books on the lies of the anti-gay industry will be in motion to be published.
For years, I have wanted to see something like this; a book that analyzes the deceptions of the religious right as they pertain to the gay and lesbian community.
This book will not be a fast food, cookie cutter deciphering of homophobia. We know that when people like James Dobson and Peter LaBarbera speak against our community, they are masking their homophobia behind slick language and propaganda techniques.
I intend to prove it.
There is nothing (except for two brief comments) in this book about Mr. God Hates Fags Fred Phelps. He is too easy a target. His stridency makes him p0werless.
The ones who give us trouble are people like a concerned mother who hears about a gay/straight alliance forming in her child's school. She has a personal fear and disagreement about homosexuality, so she looks up data about it.
And she goes to the Focus on the Family web page or the Family Research Council web page or the Traditional Values Coalition web page. It doesn't matter where she goes because in all of these locations she will find "scientific proof" for her opposition to the gay/straight club forming in her child's school. The fact that what she will find is junk science is not known to her.
She will take what she finds and use it to rally other parents against the gay/straight alliance. She will stand in front the school board and repeat the lies she has read. She will solicit the advice and help of the anti-gay industry groups whose web pages she got her information from.
Calling this woman homophobic is wrong. Saying and proving that she and so many others like her are misinformed will be what wins this battle for us.
I really hope that my upcoming book will be the first step in this process.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Are we finally catching on?
I'm not one for direct action campaigns. I respect the need for them but I don't like to participate in them.
And I don't believe they should be undertaken if the only goal is to "get attention." Trying to get attention without any idea as to what will be done with the attention is wrong. Too many times, I think that my lgbt brothers and sisters invest too much time and effort in direct action campaigns, enjoying the transitory empowerment. In the long run, direct action campaigns can be counterproductive if there is no cohesive plan as to what is to be done when one gets the attention.
What's the use of shutting down a business or getting arrested if all you get are outrageous pictures or given 30 second soundbites that no one pays attention to because they are too transfixed by the wildness of your actions.
Having said all of that, I would like to commend SoulForce for their recent actions at Focus on the Family headquarters. It was exactly what a direct action campaign should be. Two members of the group were arrested for not leaving the headquarters and demanding that Focus on the Family stop giving out misleading information regarding gay families.
I liked the fact that the two women didn't do anything outrageous that would take attention away from the reason why they were at Focus on Family headquarters. They were focused on why they were there.
I especially liked this part of the article:
Dobson and other Focus spokespeople frequently discredit LGBT parenting with references to "more than 10,000 studies that have showed that children do best when they have a mom and a dad."
Last year the American Psychological Association said that such claims rely on "studies that simply do not address gay and lesbian parents and their children." The APA also said that "no credible evidence shows that children raised by lesbian or gay parents differ in any important respects from those raised by heterosexual parents."
My question is why hasn't this fact been trumpeted by our side from day one? I may be wrong in saying this, but reading the article today was the first time I ever saw our press going into detail about the anti-gay industry distortion of gay families.
And I want to see more of it. I want to see it everywhere. I want to see it posted on as many blogs as possible. I want lgbts to be encouraged to write letters to the editor about the distortion. I want it to be a cover story in The Advocate.
I love you Ellen Degeneres, but this is more important. Tammy Lynn, you are my girl, but you have been on too many covers.
Is my community finally focused on what we need to bring attention to? I certainly hope so.
I'm not one for direct action campaigns. I respect the need for them but I don't like to participate in them.
And I don't believe they should be undertaken if the only goal is to "get attention." Trying to get attention without any idea as to what will be done with the attention is wrong. Too many times, I think that my lgbt brothers and sisters invest too much time and effort in direct action campaigns, enjoying the transitory empowerment. In the long run, direct action campaigns can be counterproductive if there is no cohesive plan as to what is to be done when one gets the attention.
What's the use of shutting down a business or getting arrested if all you get are outrageous pictures or given 30 second soundbites that no one pays attention to because they are too transfixed by the wildness of your actions.
Having said all of that, I would like to commend SoulForce for their recent actions at Focus on the Family headquarters. It was exactly what a direct action campaign should be. Two members of the group were arrested for not leaving the headquarters and demanding that Focus on the Family stop giving out misleading information regarding gay families.
I liked the fact that the two women didn't do anything outrageous that would take attention away from the reason why they were at Focus on Family headquarters. They were focused on why they were there.
I especially liked this part of the article:
Dobson and other Focus spokespeople frequently discredit LGBT parenting with references to "more than 10,000 studies that have showed that children do best when they have a mom and a dad."
Last year the American Psychological Association said that such claims rely on "studies that simply do not address gay and lesbian parents and their children." The APA also said that "no credible evidence shows that children raised by lesbian or gay parents differ in any important respects from those raised by heterosexual parents."
My question is why hasn't this fact been trumpeted by our side from day one? I may be wrong in saying this, but reading the article today was the first time I ever saw our press going into detail about the anti-gay industry distortion of gay families.
And I want to see more of it. I want to see it everywhere. I want to see it posted on as many blogs as possible. I want lgbts to be encouraged to write letters to the editor about the distortion. I want it to be a cover story in The Advocate.
I love you Ellen Degeneres, but this is more important. Tammy Lynn, you are my girl, but you have been on too many covers.
Is my community finally focused on what we need to bring attention to? I certainly hope so.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)