Tag: horrible

flickr, happenings, tragic

atlanta flood 2009

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I, like many of you, heard lots of reports of how bad the flooding was out there yesterday, and I don’t think I really realized it until I was driving home and saw this:
Ok I believe it's bad.
While I know my personal observation was relatively minor compared to everything else that went down, I have to say that the whole thing is rather scary. Also, it has me reliving when hurricane Floyd came through Greenville, NC, and the whole town was practically underwater because of the surge of the Tar River. I was in college at the time, and luckily, I lived in the dorms, so I personally was relatively “untouched” by the storm (well, except for being out of school for 2 weeks, and being forced out of the dorm because of water contamination). Well, that, and a lot of my friends lost their homes, cars, and most of their possessions, and it was horrible. I remember the aftermath of the storm, and the times after the flooding were almost worse than the actual flooding, so I know there are many Atlanta residents that have a long journey ahead of them.

My heart goes out to anyone that was touched by this unusually heavy storm; I hope that everyone is safe and their homes are safe as well. Luckily for us, we just lost power for a few hours, and that was the worst of it. I just hope that things don’t continue to escalate for those that have already suffered. If you are still out there facing the flooding, please, stay safe. I only hope that the coming days of forcasted rain don’t make this dire situation even worse.

blog on blog, civil rights, is it just me?, listen up!, near and dear, politics, that is so gay, tragic, venting, well?, wtf?!

with a “role model” like this…

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Who needs enemies? ESPECIALLY when this particular “role model” is nothing but a non-celebrity that is using his crass, bitchy, and bitter attitude to do nothing but bring the rest of us down to his level. Unfortunately, the person I am speaking of, is faux-celebrity blogger, Perez Hilton, and his latest stunt that is bringing even more shame on the gay community.

Yes, the dumb ass got punched in the face by someone he refers to as a “thug”, and I will go on record as saying that I personally do not approve of anyone being assaulted for any reason. However, one must account for the fact that he has made a career out of exploiting and making stuff up about other people (as well as continued betrayal of our community from within), and in this instance, he escalated the situation himself, even though he claims he would never resort to violence (Um, Perez, dear, violence can definitely be verbal; perhaps you need some education on that subject?). While I may not think that it was right for him to get assaulted, I hope that this incident can give him some foresight into just what he is doing to the gay community as one of its representatives (even though I am sure I am not alone in saying that we don’t want him).

With people like Perez Hilton being just one of the many faces of the gay community, we are completely going backwards in helping our struggle of gaining acceptance and credibility in this world. We can never expect to be taken serious about equal rights, especially with regards to the diminished use of hate speech, when loud mouthed hypocrites like Perez continually throw around the very hate speech that we are fighting to stop.

So I say:

Perez, from one gay person to another, can you PLEASE SHUT THE FUCK UP and go away, for the sake of the VERY community that you SAY you are so concerned about? Your incredibly long 15 minutes of fame has done nothing but shine a bad light on our community, and your continued self defamation has not been, nor will no longer be, welcome; especially from me.

Do I need to remind you that this month marks the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots; which is rightly regarded as the first time gays and lesbians took a stand and fought back, which in turn, became a symbol of the beginning of the fight for gay rights? Do I need to point out that 40 years in, and representatives of our community, such as yourself, are continuing to bring us down? Is this how you honor the fight, and the anniversary of our struggle this month?

I’m not glad that you got punched in the face, but the fact that you, a gay man, got punched in the face because you antagonized someone (whose sexuality is irrelevant), by calling him a faggot is beyond reprehension. You should be deeply ashamed of yourself. If you truly care for your community, as you say that you do, why not be a good example, instead of continuing to be a thorn in our paw? Your behavior has consequences, and continuing down the road of ignorance you so willingly travel just is not acceptable.

YOU are causing harm to our community, and YOU need to stop it. Calling out others, like Ms. California, was a “nice gesture”, but you are doing far more damage by continuing to fan the flames of your incredibly self-unaware hypocrisy.

I want equal rights, Perez, I really do. I believe in my heart that you do to. So why not be a voice for the gay community that is anything but utterly destructive? Do you have it in you to be anything other than hypocritical and bitter? For the sake of our public image, I certainly hope so.

listen up!, near and dear, that is so gay, tragic, wtf?!

another, this time local, victim of hate

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This completely breaks my heart: 11 year old boy named Jaheem Herrera, commits suicide to escape bullying and taunting from fellow classmates (h/t to my friend Joey who posted the link earlier this afternoon).

I don’t know if anyone even read the piece that I wrote last week about this EXACT thing happening to another 11 year old boy, Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, but I will not let this go silently either.

This is sickening. This is outrageous. This is infuriating. This specifically made my already upset stomach turn: Jaheem’s mother, concerned, had talked to Jaheem’s best friend the prior week, who said,

Yes ma’am. He told me that he’s tired of everybody always messing with him in school. He is tired of telling the teachers and the staff, and they never do anything about the problems. So, the only way out is by killing himself.

I’ll say it again; DO SOMETHING if you see this happening. You CAN stop your children from being bigots. EVERYONE must stop the “playful” use of faggot and gay as derogatory terms; it isn’t a joke. ANOTHER 11 year old child is dead because people take this issue so flippantly. Taunting and teasing is not just “kids being kids”, and EVERY time this happens, it adds to the problem.

Our society of “subversive” hate and the fervent anti-homosexuality campaign in this country must stop. This should be a country were an 11 year old child can go to school without fear of being taunted, teased, and bullied to the point that the only way he feels he can escape is to kill himself. It just isn’t right, and I can’t believe that less than a week after writing about a horrible case of this happening, it shows up again, practically at my doorstep.

My heart goes out to Jaheem’s family. Jaheem, I am so sorry for what they put you through, and I am even more sorry that no one with the power to stop them stood up for you. They should be thoroughly ashamed.

Clearly, there is a major problem with anti-gay sentiment and outright hatred for gays in this country. I have to wonder how many children we need to lose before we start doing something about it? Sadly, many have gone before Carl and Jaheem, and many more will go before the judgment and hatred subside. What’s the WORST, is that it doesn’t even matter if these two boys were gay or not; their peers used the hatred and disgust behind words like ‘faggot’ to hurt them so badly, that they couldn’t take it anymore. It disgusts me that people continue to let this happen around them.

A final thought: I will never understand how the very people that stand there, pointing their fingers in our faces, saying that they are morally superior, pass the judgment that causes things like this to happen. Shame on you all. Your “feelings” about homosexuality are far more dangerous than homosexuality itself could ever be.

civil rights, near and dear, that is so gay

a concrete example of how the anti-gay movement in this country is so dangerous

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“Hey Faggot”.
“You are such a little pussy”.
“Look, he’s not even a boy, he’s definitely a sissy little girl”.
“You’re gay”.

These are all phrases that I despise hearing, but I heard them, and several other colorful variations, MANY times all throughout my 12 years of public school. There were many times I would come home and just be so upset that I couldn’t even speak to anyone, because of the taunts that I received pretty much every day from other students. I dared not tell my parents, because of how embarrassed I felt that I was continually labeled in this way; I honestly didn’t want this seemingly horrible thing to be true about me. As I look back, I honestly don’t know how I made it, but I did. However, I did not escape completely unscathed. The damage was done, and I didn’t come out until I was 22; all because I feared being the very thing that I was accused of, and was convinced was so bad when I was younger because of the taunting and teasing that I received. I consider myself one of the lucky ones, because despite it all, I did make it, and it has, in part, made me who I am today.

My point in writing this is not to preach or even elicit sympathy; as I said, I am a grown man who made it through that hell and I am stronger for it. However, there are thousands of kids out there that are going through this same torture right now, and unfortunately, a bunch of them won’t make it. The torture of being taunted and teased by your peers day in and day out is enough for many gay (as well as kids that aren’t even gay, but are just different, and therefore labeled as such) kids to desire so strongly to escape that hell that they take their own lives.

Recently, this very thing tragically happened to Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover. He was taunted and teased, and in order to escape it, he only saw suicide as his way out. Suicide rates amongst gay youth is staggeringly high, and I honestly believe that if our society wasn’t so dismissive of the hateful way in which we are treated, it could be significantly lowered. Carl didn’t have to die in vain; we can change. We can teach our children that hate and bullying is extremely harmful, and that by doing so, you are emotionally scarring someone. Teachers and administrators can also take a huge role in this change by suppressing this behavior as it is seen and reported; unfortunately in this case, Carl’s mother complained to the school and no action was taken.

I am extremely saddened, and I feel horrible for Carl’s entire family. This young boy should not have had to endure the torture that he did, and no other child should have to endure it either. If you or someone you know is close-minded about homosexuality, and perpetuates any level of the hatred and bigotry that this form of torture stems from, tell them about Carl, and how he was an innocent 11 year old boy who was taken from this world far too soon. Tell them that the very hate that they feel inside themselves for homosexuals, or homosexuality, is what drove Carl to take his own life. The time for this mindset is over, and it has got to change.

Perhaps if we all stopped being so hateful with one another, and stopped pointing fingers and judging those around us, less kids will feel like they have to end it all to escape the torture. I for one, hope that with gay rights laws passing in many states recently, and the potential for it to continue to gain momentum ensues, that we will hopefully grow as a society, and stories like this can be a thing of the past. Carl deserves that, and nothing less. We all do. I’m so sorry Carl.

"pointless", is it just me?, music musings, tragic, venting

a random list: music artists I can’t stand

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I’m in a random mood, and unfortunately, I am constantly thinking of/compiling a list of music artists that I can’t stand, so I thought I would make a blog post out of it. It could be the voice, it could be the music, but most likely, it is a combo of the two that send me over the edge. If you like ’em, more power to you, but please don’t play ’em when I’m around; after all, I hate them.

The list of music artists I can’t stand (for record’s sake, I guess):

  • Nickelback: not only do all of their songs sound alike, they aren’t good. Additionally, Chad Kroeger’s voice makes me never want to hear again (not to mention the fact that he is a complete and utter tool).
  • M.I.A.: I still think that she is fucking with all of us. The music is annoying at best, and her vocals are like cats trapped in a plastic bag, being beaten with reeds. I don’t get how she is nominated for an Oscar.
  • U2: If I could use one word to describe U2, it would be arrogant. Or pompous. Either way, it is the self-righteousness that Bono practically sweats that gives me a physical reaction similar to nauseousness whenever I hear their music.
  • Matchbox Twenty/Rob Thomas: bleck. Overproduced rock pop at its worst. AND it’s played on the radio practically non-stop. I wish that someone, anyone, would MAKE it stop.
  • Gwen Stefani: Hollaback Girl is one of the worst songs of the century. Yes, I said that, and stand behind it, and you need to deal with it.
  • Fergie/Black Eyed Peas: Another extremely annoying addition to this list. It’s not that Fergie CAN’T sing, is just that when she does, it is the stupidest thing imaginable. No, I do not want to know anything about her humps.
  • Old Dirty Bastard/Big Baby Jesus: One of the worst, most raspy, and drunk sounding voices in rap. At least his name is fitting; well, the first one anyway.
  • Norah Jones: Zzzzzzzzzzzzz… I’m sorry, I’m sleeping.
  • Bob Dylan/Jacob Dylan/The Wallflowers: Bob and Jacob’s voices are so similar, that they get lumped together. Their voices are like nails on a chalkboard to me, which is unfortunate, because I actually think Bob Dylan is quite a brilliant song writer. I wish he would have just stuck with writing.
  • Linda Perry/4 Non-Blondes: They only really had one hit with What’s Up, but it is one of the worst songs that has ever been made. It’s almost like a knife in my heart when I hear it on the radio, because of the massive amount of ANYTHING else that could have been played. Definitely one of my least favorite songs ever. Another case of great song writer using their voice to torture the masses.
  • Natalie Merchant/10,000 Maniacs: If I ever hear Because the Night or Carnival, it will be far, far too soon. I think that they play both of those over the PA in the elevator to hell.
  • Sonic Youth: Not music. Noise. Lots of random, chaotic, annoying noise.
  • Kid Rock: Trailer trash that somehow got lucky enough to get money, and is still, wait for it… trailer trash. Seriously, I bet he smells like an ashtray. Add that to the recent raping of an American rock classic, and there you go.
  • T-Pain: Swallow that goddamned vocoder already. Seriously. SWALLOW IT.
  • Jack Johnson: I am sitting, waiting, and wishing that he would stop making music. He falls in the same boat with Norah Jones; music in the genre that I love that is so boring that it puts me to sleep faster than a handful of Quaaludes.
  • KATY PERRY: she’s a bigot who makes no apologies for being so. Fuck her.
  • TV on the Radio: This isn’t music, it, like Sonic Youth’s “material” is just strange noise with very, very annoying vocals. Seriously, it sounds like the aforementioned cats in a bag.
  • Eddie Vedder/Pearl Jam: whenever I hear Pearl Jam, one word always pops in my head: douche. Seriously Eddie Vedder sounds like he is trying to be as much like Bob Dylan as he can, and with regards to annoying me, he does it very, very well. There is only one song of their’s I like, because it is the only one that doesn’t sound like every other one they’ve ever done.

WOW! That list is longer than I thought it would be!! Well, I may add to it at a later date, but it’s a good start. If any of these artist’s songs come on anywhere around me, I do the best I can to get away from them, and if I cannot escape, I usually complain about them while it is on. I know that I am not alone here; let me know about those out there making music, that are like nails on a chalkboard to you.

civil rights, is it just me?, that is so gay, tragic

Atrocity in Iran: Two boys killed for being gay

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I am sure that by now, everyone has heard about (and probably written about) the two teenaged boys that were hanged in Iran for being gay. Not only does writing this and thinking about this actually happening make my physically ill, it makes me wonder: what is it about being gay that is so wrong, that it would warrant such behavior or action? It also makes me question, and really being to look deeper at, the stance and direction the southern Baptist convention is taking in our American struggle for equality and civil rights. That�s when I begin to have scary thoughts like: Could it ever get this bad here in the USA? Could there come a time when people are hanging for being gay?

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