Tag: gay-issues

civil rights, get involved, show the love, that is so gay

1969-2019: 50 years of Pride

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50 years of Pride… and it all started with a riot.

Thanks to queer women and men, transgender women and drag queens, we can now celebrate who we are, who we love, and can do so openly because they started the fight. That is what Pride really, and truly means. We are proud and can celebrate openly because they stood up and started the fight.

On June 28, 1969, the cops came to the Stonewall to shut down a known gay establishment, and shit hit the fan; activists like Marsha P Johnson and Sylvia Rivera resisted, and the gay rights movement began.

It’s hard to believe that it has only been 50 years ago that a gay rights movement started, and to think; it has only been 4 years since we were granted gay marriage rights nationwide.

This shows that we have come a long way, but the current political climate indicates we have a long way to go to full acceptance and equality.
Today, I want to acknowledge those that came before me, threw the first punches, and stood up and said, I will not be punished, silenced, or mistreated because of who I love, and who I am.

Thank you Marsha P, Sylvia, and the rest of those that stood up for my rights; I salute you as pioneers of the gay rights movement, and I appreciate your hard work and sacrifices.

THAT is truly something to be proud of!

civil rights, get over it!, hmm interesting, is it just me?, politics, public health, that is so gay, venting, well?, wtf?!

why is gay marriage an issue?

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I keep hearing all of this stuff about trying to find each presidential candidate’s position on gay marriage, and I have ask… why is gay marriage an issue that should be the concern of a president? Seriously? The issue is not gay marriage; it is civil rights. Marriage is the word that the use to describe the religious procedure of getting bound to another person for life. The only thing that could make it an issue, is that it is currently recognized by the government as a legal union, and there are privileges that come with its status. However, it is not the issue, and I don’t get why we are so concerned with that word; marriage.

I would happily take a civil union any day; so long as it afforded me EQUAL rights. I don’t give two shits about calling my partnership a “marriage” vs. calling it a “civil union”; so long as we are treated equally under the law of our government. I personally think that should be more of the focus, as this issue will always be used as more of a wedge than anything, and no person in their right mind is going to go up against the juggernaut that is the Christian church. Also, isn’t there supposed to be a separation of church and state? So again, why not stop calling it “gay marriage” as an issue?

I think that if you get married, good for you; you should also have to file for a civil union, which should be the only union the government officially recognizes. Make it standard for everyone, and make it available for gays and lesbians as well. Keep marriage in the churches, take religion out of the equation, and things can be more acceptable for everyone, right? Perhaps this is too simple of a concept, but it boggles my mind that gay marriage is all anyone ever asks about when it comes to gay and lesbian rights and a presidential candidate. (what about gay civil rights of other people throughout the world? I think that should be a huge concern of ours as well; but that is a more lengthy conversation).

I realized this more fully when I was reading what Obama said, and the “reaction” from some of the gays that he was against gay marriage. We don’t need to fight for religious justification; we need to fight for equality. Sure, the fight for gay marriage is a fight for equality, but it isn’t necessarily the same thing; take religious practice out of the picture officially. These church driven people are NEVER going to give us the “right” to take their “sacred” practice (now with a 50+% failure-rate!) for ourselves, so we should just drop the shit already. I am tired of continually giving it back to them so they can wedge it between what’s really important and this dance that we have been stuck in forever. I am for equality; nothing less, nothing more. Doesn’t that sound like a more fruitful fight?

Unrelated link: This is quite fascinating if it is true; apparently, the first AIDS case was in 1969 in the US. This makes me wonder; why didn’t it spread to the epic proportions that it has today? What was the factor that caused it to spread so rapidly in the 1980s that was different 11 years earlier? If this man was the first documented case of AIDS, how many people had it before him; and who infected him? It really turns the notion of epidemiology on its head, because it really did occur in a seemingly singular incident. Weird.

hmm interesting, is it just me?, listen up!, mixed media, politics, that is so gay, venting, well?, wtf?!

where’s the “news”?

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Seriously, I want to know where the “news” is… This is the second day in a row that I have gone to CNN, and have found them headlining something that has been circulating on the internet for months now! Not only that, but when you have to link out to a site called “that is not news”, perhaps you should dig a little deeper and find something worth reporting, right?

I am constantly frustrated with people calling the media “liberal”, and constantly highlighting what they call a liberal bias, when it is clear that it isn’t liberal at all; in fact, it isn’t even news anymore!! What is going on? It is sad when you have to rely on “underground” sources to find out what is going on in the world around you; and I, for one, really think that it shouldn’t be that way.

I think that this is one of the main reasons why we were duped as a country into electing these manipulative sickos back into office; people aren’t paying attention, and when they are, they being distracted by things that are being reported in the place of the actual stuff that is news-worthy.

Gah. I am just frustrated with the whole lot of it, really. I mean, I don’t care about republican closet cases; I care about what is going on in the world, and what is going on in our country that really AFFECTS us. Stop with the BS, and give us information that will enlighten us, and shed some perspective on our lives; something that we can use! Is that really too much to ask? I would think not, but apparently, it may be. (and dave, save anything you have to say about Fox “news”… most of what they “report” can only be described as pure fiction).

Another frustration: Senator Isakson sent James and I both letters in the mail describing why he isn’t supporting the hate crimes legislation that is currently circulating up on the hill, and the letter was complete bullshit. First of all, I just wonder why in the world someone would NOT support something such as hate crimes legislation? Isn’t it a good thing to punish people more severely for crimes that are committed out of sheer hate for someone?

Also, the letter was completely contradictory to itself; he stated that he believed in things like “dedication to the safety and well being of all US citizens” and whatnot, yet he doesn’t support actual legislation that would ensure that people are punished for committing the very crimes that would threaten the safety of certain US citizens!?? That doesn’t make sense, Mr Isakson! (maybe it is more of that whole “love the fetus, hate the child mentality that many republicans so blindly embrace).

It just frustrates me that gay and lesbian safety and for that matter, our downright freedom, is so low on so many of these old fucker’s radar; so low that they just shrug their shoulders and vote no, when we try our best to do something about it. This is a fucked up country we live in, especially when you examine who really is “protected”, and step back to see who really should have reason to fear the few nut jobs out there that hate their “kind”. All that considered, I am not surprised it doesn’t make the “news”, though… that again, would be too much, right? To actually get some useful information from the news?

Gah. I’m going to study anatomy… It’ll take my mind off of the fuckery that exists in this country every bleeding day.

is it just me?, music musings, near and dear, that is so gay, tragic, venting, well?

do you know who really IS suicidal, Mr Kingston?

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I am sure that you may have heard that insufferable song, Beautiful Girls by Sean Kingston by now. It has rocketed to the top of the Billboard charts, and I keep hearing it creep up on the radio. What I don’t like about this song (other than the annoying way it gets stuck in your head), is that it, at best, makes light on something as serious as suicide.

I just wish that people that write songs like this, and create such things that have massive “appeal”, would consider the issue that they choose to make light of. In this case, teenage suicide is considered to be the number 2 or 3 (depending on which study you look at) killer of teenagers in the US. To me, that says that it is a serious issue that one shouldn’t make light of in a frivolous song about “beautiful girls”, and how they leave one suicidal because they don’t return affection.

I would hope that people like Sean Kingston, being a teenager himself, would realize that gay and lesbian youth are extremely disproportionately affected by suicide. Additionally, in my opinion, by making light of something as serious as depression and suicide, by relating it to being simply turned down or broken up with, is ignorant and shameful. People suffer from real issues that lead them to take their own lives, and with regards to gay youth, it comes down to a lot more than a rejection from a “beautiful girl”. I personally don’t appreciate what this song portrays, regardless of the lack of intention, because frankly, people should know better.

Yet another example of how our society lacks the ability, or even the compassion, to identify with the severity of mental health, and the repercussions of repression and hate. Yes, it is just a stupid song, but I am sure that I am not the only one that is somewhat taken aback by the manner in which Kingston throws around something as serious as suicide, like it were no big deal. Perhaps he should think about the many youth out there that not only consider it, but succumb to this each year; maybe the “beautiful girls” wouldn’t be so much of a let down for him.