Featured Blog Posts - QueerToday.com2018-02-22T01:50:39Zhttp://queertoday.ning.com/profiles/blog/feed?promoted=1&xn_auth=noAMERICAN SPRING: MARRIAGE EQUALITY AND THE ARC TO JUSTICEtag:queertoday.ning.com,2015-06-26:2057108:BlogPost:668712015-06-26T18:41:29.000ZRev. Paul M. Turnerhttp://queertoday.ning.com/profile/RevPaulMTurner
<p>Remember the Arab Spring? Fueled by social media, the people of several Arab nations started taking to the streets five years ago to demand a different way of life, a change in the relationship they have with their governments. Now granted, the Egypt, Libya and Syria of today may not look exactly like what we might have expected as a result of the protests – but if we look at our own history in America we can see that, as Martin Luther King Jr. said, its arc is long but does indeed bend…</p>
<p>Remember the Arab Spring? Fueled by social media, the people of several Arab nations started taking to the streets five years ago to demand a different way of life, a change in the relationship they have with their governments. Now granted, the Egypt, Libya and Syria of today may not look exactly like what we might have expected as a result of the protests – but if we look at our own history in America we can see that, as Martin Luther King Jr. said, its arc is long but does indeed bend towards justice.</p>
<p><br/> So we need the Arab Springs, and the long hot summers of discontent — but they’re just the beginning.</p>
<p><br/> And then there are the moments when that arc towards justice takes a tremendous leap, like today, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that marriage equality will be the law of the land, from sea to shining sea.</p>
<p><br/> But looking at the full breadth of the nation under that arc today, we see a nation that in some corners really struggles with something so basic as the exact place the Confederate battle flag should occupy in the public eye. We see a nation that is morning the deaths of nine churchgoers in Charleston, S.C.</p>
<p><br/> We see a nation that is not only wounded by the deaths of Michael Brown and Freddie Gray, but that has rioted in response.</p>
<p><br/> Freddie Gray, you’ll recall, is the young man in Baltimore who suffered spinal injuries in the back of a police van – a “rough ride” tactic that reminds me of what happened to Stephen Biko when he fell ill in prison. The difference between the two being that Stephen Biko was imprisoned in apartheid South Africa, a regime notorious for its brutality toward black Africans.</p>
<p>A racist regime.</p>
<p><br/> Baltimore may not be struggling with the issue of Confederate battle flag displays, but clearly something is at work in Baltimore that’s hard to characterize as anything but racism.<br/> I bring this up because societal equality for African Americans has been trying to happen for the better part of a century and a half. The truly intentionally legislated and adjudicated version of that equality really took flight five decades ago. Yet the average black person in America is hardly flying, whether it’s socioeconomically or just emotionally. The struggle for equality is just that: A struggle.</p>
<p><br/> Not that it should be. But for us, for some reason, it just is.</p>
<p><br/> For same-gender-loving people, marriage equality marks the real beginning of the end of second-class citizenship. But it’s truly just the beginning. Because those same two men or two women who marry legally can still, in far too many states, be fired just for being who they are. Nor does the adoption landscape look the same state-by-state.</p>
<p><br/> And if either party is transgender, they may very likely live in a state where their true gender is misrepresented on their state-issued identification, or where “potty police” would like to legally dictate what bathrooms they can use. But not being forced to be a legal stranger to your life partner is a nice thing to have in a society where the building of a family is a fundamental building block.</p>
<p><br/> Marriage equality also will not be some sort of magic shield that suddenly obviates gay-bashing or makes coming out in rural America a cakewalk.</p>
<p><br/> And this is to say nothing of backlash, which is a real thing. Or of the really long road that still lies ahead for transgender people, who experience homelessness, desperation, violence and even death at the hands of a society in which gender is clearly the third rail of self-expression.<br/> There have been riots in Ferguson, Baltimore and other cities in America over police mistreatment of people of color.</p>
<p><br/> There was also a riot in New York City; it happened on a hot June night when a group of gay, lesbian and transgender bar patrons decided they’d had enough with police tactics against them – and enough with being a despised minority exploited by the mafia, shamed by the media, and diagnosed mentally ill by the medical profession – and would not go gently into the police paddy wagons as they’d done so many times before.</p>
<p><br/> So they rioted. And the riot went on for several nights, and grew, and attracted allies. The first night of that riot was June 28, 1969 – and the first anniversary of that riot became the first date that LGBT pride parades began happening in cities in America – and then around the world.<br/> In other words, what we now recognize as the modern LGBT rights movement literally started with that night. It started with a riot. It is bookended by the legal and social struggles of African Americans, who now rightly question the official and societal attitudes that are literally costing people their lives.</p>
<p><br/> So we’re apparently on parallel tracks, moving toward that eventual day when we can think about thriving instead of just surviving. We’re on that arc, moving toward justice. We’ve rioted, but separately. And my question to you is, when will we see ourselves as being on the same arc? Could there ever be an American Spring where we connect the dots, join arms and march forward, not in parallel but truly together?</p>
<p><br/> If we want to live out the true meaning of our American creed, I don’t think that’s an option. It’s an imperative.</p>
<p></p>Blog Against Homophobia and Transphobiatag:queertoday.ning.com,2013-05-17:2057108:BlogPost:603902013-05-17T08:00:00.000Zmarygriggshttp://queertoday.ning.com/profile/marygriggs
<p>(c) by Mary Griggs</p>
<p><a href="http://marygriggs.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/idaho.jpg" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="http://marygriggs.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/idaho.jpg?width=180" width="180"></img></a> I want to blog about privilege today. By that I mean the unearned advantage, power or entitlement conferred by membership in the dominant group. For example, some of us receive age advantages, ethnic advantages, physical ability advantages, as well as advantages related to nationality and religion.</p>
<p></p>
<p>These benefits are often times invisible to us. From my own…</p>
<p>(c) by Mary Griggs</p>
<p><a href="http://marygriggs.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/idaho.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://marygriggs.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/idaho.jpg?width=180" width="180" class="align-left"/></a>I want to blog about privilege today. By that I mean the unearned advantage, power or entitlement conferred by membership in the dominant group. For example, some of us receive age advantages, ethnic advantages, physical ability advantages, as well as advantages related to nationality and religion.</p>
<p></p>
<p>These benefits are often times invisible to us. From my own life, I was taught to recognize racism only as individual acts of discrimination and bias by members of my racial group and not to see the institutional racism of the system itself. For many years, I was ignorant of the sometimes subtle and generally unsought racial advantages that were conferred on me because of my skin color. To me, it was normal to never have to worry about being harassed because of my race when shopping or driving. I learned history where people who looked like me made the major contributions and advancements and those who didn’t were usually barbarians, savages and natives who needed my race’s interference in order to develop. I benefited when my race was used by my mortgage and credit card company to determine my credit worthiness – in 2011, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16296146/">Bank of America was fined $335 million</a> for minority discrimination.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Unless we make a conscious effort to see the privilege, those in the dominant group can blithely ignore what our brothers and sisters who are different face everyday.</p>
<p></p>
<p>To raise awareness for <a href="http://dayagainsthomophobia.org//">International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia</a>, I want to focus on straight and cis privilege and why it is important for us to be aware of how taking advantage of this unearned power can harm our interactions with others.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Miroslav Volf, in his book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Exclusion-Embrace-Theological-Exploration-Reconciliation/dp/0687002826/">Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation</a> asks, “Why should I embrace the other?” His answer is: “the others are part of my own true identity. I cannot live authentically without welcoming the others - the other gender, other person or other cultures - into the very structure of my being.”</p>
<p></p>
<p>Many straight people have never really thought too much about the other. They never consider the status, privilege and reputation that they enjoy simply by being in the sexual majority. They can turn on the television or open books and magazines to see role models for romance and relationships in their orientation. They are able to talk openly about their relationships and receive public recognition through engagement congratulations, being allowed to become lawfully wedded across the nation (with all the rights and responsibilities thereof) and even get support when their partner is ill or dies.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Not so with many gays, lesbians and bisexuals.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Beyond the fact that I live in one of the thirty-one states that has a constitutional amendment against marriage equality, did you know that I can also be fired for being a lesbian in more than half of the states of this great nation?</p>
<p></p>
<p>I spent time in Baton Rouge this legislative session to fight for protections for LGBT public employees here in Louisiana and we couldn’t even get <a href="http://marygriggs.wordpress.com/2013/05/01/committee-hearing-on-house-bill-85/">House Bill 85</a> out of committee. <a href="http://www.forumforequality.org/">Forum For Equality’s</a> public employee survey indicated more than 60% of them had witnessed bigotry or discrimination because of sexual orientation or gender identity but we were told that protections for LGBT people would lead to discrimination against Christians.</p>
<p></p>
<p>That is of the aspects of heterosexual privilege that absolutely infuriates me. The assumption that homophobia is an acceptable offshoot of faith does a disservice to the many religions which preach love over hate and the many individuals who would never consider forcing their spiritual beliefs on others. One’s faith is not an excuse for bigotry nor should it allow one to oppress or discriminate against non-straight people. Additionally, the conviction that anyone who is lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender cannot also have faith (ie cannot be a ‘real’ Christian, Jew, Muslim, etc) pushes many LGBT people and their allies away from organized religion entirely.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Moving beyond straight privilege there are the advantages conferred upon those whose sex assigned at birth reflects their gender identity and expression. For example, I was sexed female at birth, I experience my sex to be female, I identify as female and, while I tend toward the more butch side of the scale, the expression of my gender identity is generally within the accepted female gender role.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Now, we live in a patriarchy. Male privilege is everywhere. As a feminist, I believe gender is a social construct designed to oppress females as a class. Gendered thinking harms and restricts both women and men by creating a hierarchy based on how well one cleaves to or deviates from the ideal of femininity and masculinity. Only the abolition of gender will end the oppression of women.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Until such time as we can create a society free from gender, however, we need to acknowledge the very real existence of transphobia. My discussion of cis privilege does not any way minimize the negative impact of sexism. The discrimination faced by women is a terrible thing. So, too, are the health, housing, and employment disparities faced by trans people. Violence against women is at epidemic rates. So, too, are the rates of violence faced by trans folks. Rape, assault and murder should never be used as de facto social control but they are and both women and transgender people are terrorized by them.</p>
<p></p>
<p>I grew up with cis privilege. For my entire life, my female identity has been respected by my parents, my teachers, my doctors, my relatives, my classmates, my employers, and most people I interact with on a daily basis. My documentation matches the gender I present to the world, so I don’t have to fear being denied services at a hospital, bank, or emergency shelter because the staff has the power to judge whether the gender marker on my drivers’ license or passport matches my gender identity.</p>
<p></p>
<p>I was a tomboy growing up, with short hair and sporty attire and I experienced plenty of double glances when using public restrooms. At no time, however, have I felt endangered or physically intimidated by those who believed I was in the wrong facilities.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Unfortunately, it is a very real fear for many trans men and women who are subjected to verbal abuse or physical attack when they go to relieve themselves.</p>
<p></p>
<p>And the verbal abuse in not limited to restrooms. Far too many transgender individuals are harassed on the street (many times by police who profile them as sex workers) and on the job. 6,450 transgender and gender non-conforming people participated in the <a href="http://www.thetaskforce.org/reports_and_research/ntds/">2011 National Transgender Discrimination Survey</a> which found widespread employment discrimination and economic insecurity including:</p>
<ul>
<li>Double the rate of unemployment: Survey respondents experienced unemployment at twice the rate of the general population.</li>
<li>Widespread mistreatment at work: Ninety percent (90%) of those surveyed reported experiencing harassment, mistreatment or discrimination on the job</li>
<li>47% said they had experienced an adverse job outcome, such as being fired, not hired or denied a promotion because of being transgender or gender non-conforming.</li>
<li>26% reported that they had lost a job due to being transgender or gender non-conforming.</li>
</ul>
<p><br/> It doesn’t have to be that way.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Put yourself in the shoes of the Other today. Consider the reality they experience on a daily basis. Ask yourself if you really want to live your life or base your morality or gird your marriage with an identity that privileges some and maligns others on the basis of inner desires and feelings.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Now think about what you are willing to do to change things.</p>
<p></p>
<p>The truth is we all benefit when false power through socialized privilege is rooted out. Relinquishing the status of the majority can allow us to build a community together based on equality and justice for all.</p>
<p></p>
<p>**</p>
<p>Originally published on my blog - <a href="http://marygriggs.wordpress.com/2013/05/17/blog-against-homophobia-and-transphobia/">http://marygriggs.wordpress.com/2013/05/17/blog-against-homophobia-and-transphobia/</a></p>TODAY: My Fabulous Hair, Queer Rights & Trans Rights...tag:queertoday.ning.com,2013-05-09:2057108:BlogPost:601342013-05-09T19:46:08.000ZQueerTodayhttp://queertoday.ning.com/profile/queertoday
<p style="text-align: left;">Dear queer activists,</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/guHCS0CwloJeEPWHhWnVKbdpA8RiOEjwv6s6d567Sfy8NzybEc4uZwrvYWeUjVXDKkPrmfuR*3TrGxU0Fjv3op2Sdqb0H1rn/hair.jpg" target="_self"><img class="align-center" height="313" src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/guHCS0CwloJeEPWHhWnVKbdpA8RiOEjwv6s6d567Sfy8NzybEc4uZwrvYWeUjVXDKkPrmfuR*3TrGxU0Fjv3op2Sdqb0H1rn/hair.jpg" style="padding: 5px;" width="224"></img></a> <strong><i>If my fabulous childhood hair doesn't inspire you to throw money at something, I don't know what will! </i></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p>I might look happy in this photo, but the reality behind that smile was…</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Dear queer activists,</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/guHCS0CwloJeEPWHhWnVKbdpA8RiOEjwv6s6d567Sfy8NzybEc4uZwrvYWeUjVXDKkPrmfuR*3TrGxU0Fjv3op2Sdqb0H1rn/hair.jpg" target="_self"><img src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/guHCS0CwloJeEPWHhWnVKbdpA8RiOEjwv6s6d567Sfy8NzybEc4uZwrvYWeUjVXDKkPrmfuR*3TrGxU0Fjv3op2Sdqb0H1rn/hair.jpg" width="224" height="313" style="padding: 5px;" class="align-center"/></a><strong><i>If my fabulous childhood hair doesn't inspire you to throw money at something, I don't know what will! </i></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p>I might look happy in this photo, but the reality behind that smile was much different. In those days other students were relentlessly making my life a living hell because of my feminine gender expression - they carved fag into my locker, gave me black eyes, defaced my public school works, and yelled embarrassing things at me during school functions. </p>
<p></p>
<p>You see, this hair style was made popular by the girls in my hometown who were blow drying their hair really high and then combing down the bangs. I learned how to perfect it from my babysitter.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Today, many years later, I'm proud to work at Transgender Law Center!</p>
<p></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://giveout.razoo.com/story/Fans-Of-Trans" target="_blank">Transgender Law Center is making a difference everyday</a></strong> for transgender and gender non-conforming students and adults, and we are on the verge of becoming the #1 organization with the most unique donations on this, the first annual Give OUT Day. Also, <strong>donations count as triple today</strong> thanks to some generous matching donors. <strong><a href="http://giveout.razoo.com/story/Fans-Of-Trans" target="_blank">We need your support. Please give now.</a></strong></p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>Today we also passed two groundbreaking bills in the California Assembly, one that would ensure transgender students are able to participate in the programs and use the facilities that match their gender identity, and one that would streamline the process of legally changing your name and gender.</strong> </p>
<p></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://giveout.razoo.com/story/Fans-Of-Trans" target="_blank">Please celebrate these victories with a gift - even $5 counts. Remember, it's tripled!</a></strong></p>
<p></p>
<p>Look, less than 5% of LGBT people give to LGBT organizations. We as a community must do better. <strong><a href="http://giveout.razoo.com/story/Fans-Of-Trans" target="_blank">And today, I'm asking you to join me in fundraising for an organization the seriously gets shit done.</a></strong> Just in the past year, TLC has achieved federal employment protections for gender non-conforming and transgender people, impacted national health care reforms, removed transgender exclusions from California health insurance plans, answered thousands of legal help line calls...the list of achievements goes on and on and on! </p>
<p></p>
<p>How cool will it be to see a transgender rights organization be the #1 fundraiser for the day?! That's a statement we need to send.</p>
<p></p>
<p>With great pride, </p>
<p>Mark Daniel Snyder</p>
<p>Founder, QueerToday.com</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>Sitting Through The Liestag:queertoday.ning.com,2013-05-06:2057108:BlogPost:602942013-05-06T16:00:00.000Zmarygriggshttp://queertoday.ning.com/profile/marygriggs
<p>(c) by Mary Griggs<br></br> <a href="http://marygriggs.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/homophoes-change-lightbulb.jpg"><img alt="homophoes change lightbulb" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-979" height="240" src="http://marygriggs.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/homophoes-change-lightbulb.jpg?w=300" width="300"></img></a></p>
<p>Most of us, even masochists, surround ourselves with people who respect us and support us. Not all of them will be like-minded but they will, generally, not denigrate us to our faces.</p>
<p></p>
<p>That’s why it can be such a shock to hear the voices of our enemies, as they spout lies in their testimony against laws that would protect lesbian, gay, bisexual,…</p>
<p>(c) by Mary Griggs<br/> <a href="http://marygriggs.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/homophoes-change-lightbulb.jpg"><img src="http://marygriggs.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/homophoes-change-lightbulb.jpg?w=300" alt="homophoes change lightbulb" width="300" height="240" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-979"/></a></p>
<p>Most of us, even masochists, surround ourselves with people who respect us and support us. Not all of them will be like-minded but they will, generally, not denigrate us to our faces.</p>
<p></p>
<p>That’s why it can be such a shock to hear the voices of our enemies, as they spout lies in their testimony against laws that would protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and gender non-conforming adults from bias and discrimination.</p>
<p></p>
<p>It is a slap in the face when they don’t bother to sugar coat their hate. If you want to hear them in their own words, pull up the footage of the House and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing in House Bill 85 (The Louisiana Fair Employment Act). Click <a href="http://house.louisiana.gov/H_Video/2013/May2013.htm">here</a> for the video archive for the May 1st hearing of House and Governmental Affairs. House Bill 85 was the last item on the agenda, so listen to the end.</p>
<p></p>
<p>The representatives from the Louisiana Family Forum and Jefferson Baptist Church, who had nothing to say about why or how our society is made better when a portion of the people are bullied or fired at work, talked a lot about how LGBT activists were seeking special rights that, if passed, would lead to laws discriminating against Christians. They spoke passionately to justify their morality and patriotism and to denigrate ours.</p>
<p></p>
<p>At heart, their argument was one of loss – if the LGBT community was no longer discriminated against, then someone else would have to be. To them it is a zero sum game – for every winner, there is a loser.</p>
<p></p>
<p>That is the main difference between our positions. We understand that equality is not a scarcity and that rights for the LGBT community does not mean less rights for them. For LGBT people to gain the power of having employment decisions based on their skills, qualifications and capacity to contribute, straight people will not lose any power whatsoever (other than the power to discriminate).</p>
<p></p>
<p>We are emphatically not fighting for special rights. The right to work is not a “special” right and that is why our nation already has laws protecting against many forms of discrimination including race, religion, gender, disability and national origin. Employment non-discrimination simply puts LGBT workers on the same footing as everyone else, so they don’t have to live in fear that they can be legally fired for reasons that have nothing to do with their job performance.</p>
<p></p>
<p>The other side seems unable to make their case without resorting to lies. As an example, the Louisiana Family Forum sent out an eblast claiming that passing the law would create a “target rich environment for lawsuits.” Experience has shown that there simply has not been a notable increase in litigation in states with laws which protect LGBT workers.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Inequality carries a price, not just to the people prevented from reaching their full potential but also a cost in lost production and wasted human capital. Economic growth is best promoted by making full use of the country’s considerable workforce, not just the straight, gender conforming ones.</p>
<p></p>
<p>But the biggest thing you learn from listening to our opponents?</p>
<p></p>
<p>That they do not have a single, credible reason to deny equal rights to LGBT people.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Someday soon, our elected officials will realize that, too.</p>
<p></p>
<p>First published at my blog: <a href="http://marygriggs.wordpress.com/2013/05/04/sitting-through-the-lies/">http://marygriggs.wordpress.com/2013/05/04/sitting-through-the-lies/</a></p>HRC, The Little Baby On The Blocktag:queertoday.ning.com,2013-03-29:2057108:BlogPost:598022013-03-29T10:30:00.000ZJanice Covingtonhttp://queertoday.ning.com/profile/JaniceCovington
<p>It is apparent that the Human Rights Campaign [The Queens Club] got caught again with their pants down specifically at the Supreme Court Hearing in DC this past Wednesday. One of the many witness such as Jerame Davis director of the National Stonewall Demarcates saw HRC staff members harass a transgender group who displayed the Transgender Flag during the demonstrations in DC in support of marriage equality to make them remove it, not once but several times and then made the statement that…</p>
<p>It is apparent that the Human Rights Campaign [The Queens Club] got caught again with their pants down specifically at the Supreme Court Hearing in DC this past Wednesday. One of the many witness such as Jerame Davis director of the National Stonewall Demarcates saw HRC staff members harass a transgender group who displayed the Transgender Flag during the demonstrations in DC in support of marriage equality to make them remove it, not once but several times and then made the statement that marriage equality was not a transgender issue.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>HRC has consistently made moves to exclude transgender inclusion in its history, like during the 2007 negotiations of the Employment Non Discrimination Act, [ENDA] and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell [DADT]. The staff member of HRC also stated during this Strong Arm Tactic during the demonstration in DC, that Transgenders are not included in Marriage equality. Read the article posted below for more detailed information.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I am calling on all transgender board members, steering committee member and volunteers to resign from HRC and cease all of its activity’s. I am calling for all LGBT allies to stop giving money to this bigoted organization and to stop supporting any fund raising activity’s for HRC. Also I am calling on all of my brothers and sisters of the Transgender community and LGB allies to start organizing demonstrations against HRC at all future Gala’s Like in 2007-2008. Also as the old saying goes, the buck stops at the top. I am calling for the resignation of Chad Griffin the HRC director</p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://goqnotes.com/21794/hrc-denies-wrongdoing-in-alleged-transgender-flag-incident-at-supreme-court/" target="_blank">http://goqnotes.com/21794/hrc-denies-wrongdoing-in-alleged-transgender-flag-incident-at-supreme-court/</a></p>My Gay Dad...tag:queertoday.ning.com,2013-01-31:2057108:BlogPost:582862013-01-31T09:26:26.000ZMark Daniel Snyderhttp://queertoday.ning.com/profile/MarkDSnyder
<p>My father had been missing for days, and I had begun to accept that he was likely dead, when I discovered that he had been arrested at a fast food restaurant for agreeing to pay for sex with an undercover cop and a fictitious minor. I know now that he gave a bondsman a bad check and ran. He ran far.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Paranoid and malnourished, he began to lose his mind while fleeing from Pennsylvania to South Florida. A young woman called my grieving mother to tell her that a man had given her…</p>
<p>My father had been missing for days, and I had begun to accept that he was likely dead, when I discovered that he had been arrested at a fast food restaurant for agreeing to pay for sex with an undercover cop and a fictitious minor. I know now that he gave a bondsman a bad check and ran. He ran far.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Paranoid and malnourished, he began to lose his mind while fleeing from Pennsylvania to South Florida. A young woman called my grieving mother to tell her that a man had given her his checkbook and told her to spend it. The police found him unclothed and delusional, swimming in a canal. They transported him to a Miami-Dade hospital.</p>
<p></p>
<p>It was then, after days of restless worry, that, thanks to a compassionate nurse, I was able to connect with him for just a few seconds. "I've always known you were gay," I said. "Please don't kill yourself." I could hear him weep. He said, "OK," and hung up.</p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-daniel-snyder/my-gay-dad-is-a-registered-sex-offender-and-i-still-love-him_b_2546304.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices" target="_blank">Read more on HuffingtonPost></a></p>Sticks, Stones, Wordstag:queertoday.ning.com,2013-02-09:2057108:BlogPost:580102013-02-09T07:16:33.000Zmarygriggshttp://queertoday.ning.com/profile/marygriggs
<p>by Mary Griggs</p>
<p><a href="http://forumforequality.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/rainbow-pencils.jpg" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="http://forumforequality.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/rainbow-pencils.jpg?w=300&width=300" width="300"></img></a> I recently witnessed a respected member of the LGBTQ community hectoring a respected member of the trans community on a Facebook forum.</p>
<p></p>
<p>She had posted a link about finding a t-shirt company that markets with the slogan of “tranny grannies” to be offensive. His response was that words have no power, that only actions hurt. He demanded that she…</p>
<p>by Mary Griggs</p>
<p><a href="http://forumforequality.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/rainbow-pencils.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://forumforequality.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/rainbow-pencils.jpg?w=300&width=300" width="300" class="align-left"/></a>I recently witnessed a respected member of the LGBTQ community hectoring a respected member of the trans community on a Facebook forum.</p>
<p></p>
<p>She had posted a link about finding a t-shirt company that markets with the slogan of “tranny grannies” to be offensive. His response was that words have no power, that only actions hurt. He demanded that she explain why this word was a problem when other people are using it.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Despite her quoting from the <a href="http://www.glaad.org/transgender">Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamatio</a>n (GLAAD) statement that the term is “usually considered offensive and/or defamatory” by members of the transgender community, he continued to press her on the issue.</p>
<p></p>
<p>The dialogue reminded me of the recent issue with <a href="http://www.dailydot.com/society/suzanne-moore-julie-burchill-transphobia/">Suzanne Moore</a> and the resulting internet firestorm between some members of the radical feminist community and trans folks and their allies.</p>
<p></p>
<p>I certainly don’t agree with all my enemies or my allies. There are plenty who I wouldn’t piss on if they were burning. That being said, if someone has stated that they find a particular word or phrase offensive, I try to offer them the basic courtesy of acknowledging that and dig deep into my mental thesaurus to find another way to express myself.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Doing so doesn’t damage me but it does allow for the dialogue to stay focused on the issue and not on how we’ve made each other feel.</p>
<p></p>
<p>I don’t use the T word, even though RuPaul might say he’s fine with it because I know it distresses those who are facing bias and discrimination because of their gender identity or expression.</p>
<p></p>
<p>There is a need for us to be inclusive of all those who fit under our rainbow umbrella. We should also understand that just because we’ve faced discrimination doesn’t mean we understand every form of discrimination or are immune from being discriminatory ourselves. We all have some form of privilege, and acknowledging our privilege when it comes to gender means acknowledging the unconscious ways in which we can also be transphobic.</p>
<p></p>
<p>How about this - if you are asking yourself, “Is this offensive?” assume the answer is yes, and then decide how you want to behave. Sometimes, you want to offend. Sometimes you are doing something with irony, or satire, or you might be edgy or trying to make a point.</p>
<p></p>
<p>The rest of the time, you might remember when you’ve been hurt or angered by someone else marginalizing you or your experiences and so you decide you don’t want to make anyone feel that way.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Either way, you are free to think, support, and practice all sorts of behaviors. Despite the fears of the politically incorrect there will be no thought police coming to your home or office with a warrant for your arrest.</p>
<p></p>
<p>However you decide to act, though, you better own the responses to your decision. You should be prepared to handle the pain and harm your unwillingness to recognize the basic humanity of your adversary causes. You also need to be willing to face the consequences when their friends and allies come to challenge you on your hate speech.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Transphobia has no place in our movement. We are on the same team and we should be working together. Please don’t be part of the problem we must tackle to create a society free from discrimination.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Originally posted at: <a href="http://marygriggs.wordpress.com/2013/02/08/sticks-stones-and-words/" target="_blank">http://marygriggs.wordpress.com/2013/02/08/sticks-stones-and-words/</a></p>This Valentine's Day Fortune 500 Companies Are In the Spirittag:queertoday.ning.com,2013-01-28:2057108:BlogPost:579982013-01-28T20:18:44.000ZGrace Wrighthttp://queertoday.ning.com/profile/GraceWright
<div><font color="black" size="2"><i>Out and Equal at Work</i>, releasing this Valentine's Day, provides a new perspective on the issue of LGBT rights with an insider’s look at LGBT culture at some the most successful Fortune 500 companies.</font></div>
<div><div><font color="black" size="2"> </font></div>
</div>
<div>The anthology delivers 36 personal stories from the lives of LGBT and ally executives. Heartwarming as well as educational, their stories detail the struggles and dangers as well…</div>
<div><font size="2" color="black"><i>Out and Equal at Work</i>, releasing this Valentine's Day, provides a new perspective on the issue of LGBT rights with an insider’s look at LGBT culture at some the most successful Fortune 500 companies.</font></div>
<div><div><font size="2" color="black"> </font></div>
</div>
<div>The anthology delivers 36 personal stories from the lives of LGBT and ally executives. Heartwarming as well as educational, their stories detail the struggles and dangers as well as the sometimes overwhelming acceptance present in the workplace for the LGBT community.</div>
<p></p>
<p>For anyone in San Francisco, Out & Equal Workplace Advocates will be hosting a release party at Book Passage in the Ferry Building on February 12th at 6:00 p.m. We would love to have anyone come out and celebrate this beautiful collection. The more the merrier! </p>
<p></p>
<p>Contact Grace Wright, grace@jkscommunications.com, with any questions! </p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/oIJo9yl7j55PYqoJnH0Mr1-U1spnEYx5r2pHEK1JYyR34n62GxuVnuas6RIo8HS1CzqfsaxrK4d9GDxvCxU2zyAlb95nJIf0/OutEqualatWork_bookcover_full.jpg" target="_self">Out%26EqualatWork_bookcover_full.jpg</a></p>
<p></p>
<div align="center"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><font size="2" color="black" face="Verdana">ANTHOLOGY SHOWCASES HOW EQUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE ADVANCES COMPANIES</font></span></strong></div>
<div align="center"><i><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><font size="2" color="black" face="Verdana">‘Out & Equal at Work’ shares stories from 36 LGBT and ally executives</font></span></i></div>
<div><div><font size="2" color="black" face="Verdana"> </font></div>
</div>
<div></div>
<div><font size="2" color="black" face="Verdana">SAN FRANCISCO, CA – December 1, 2012</font><font size="2" color="black" face="Verdana"> – Thirty-six never-been-published stories from lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and allied business leaders make up the groundbreaking anthology <a href="http://outandequal.myshopify.com/collections/frontpage/products/out-equal-at-work-from-closet-to-corner-office" target="_blank"><i>Out & Equal at Work: From Closet to Corner Office</i></a><i> </i>releasing on Valentine’s Day 2013 from the world’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to creating workplace equality for LGBT people.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" color="black" face="Verdana"> </font></div>
<div><font size="2" color="black" face="Verdana">Out & Equal Workplace Advocates founding executive director Selisse Berry, who edited the anthology, said the book is a reminder that “it really does get better. <i>Out & Equal at Work</i> is the first time that business leaders, including C-Suite executives from Fortune 500 Companies, have come together to share their personal stories of facing discrimination and forwarding LGBT equality in the workplace.” Some of these contributors lost their jobs, family, friends and some even nearly their lives. But by being their authentic selves at work, many saw their careers – and companies – blossom.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" color="black" face="Verdana"> </font></div>
<div><font size="2" color="black" face="Verdana">The anthology shows how advancing LGBT rights in the workplace helped advance Kayla Shell to her current role of Legal Director at Dell, how Maggie Stumpp found support as an executive at Prudential during her transition from male to female, how George Kalogridis bravely came out and worked his way to President of Disneyland Resort, and how some contributors dealt with multiple diversity issues like Rosalyn Taylor O’Neale, Chief Diversity Officer of Campbell Soup, as an African American woman and lesbian. Deborah Dagit, Chief Diversity Officer of Merck, shares her experience of being part of the differently-abled community and an ally to the LGBT community.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" color="black" face="Verdana"> </font></div>
<div><font size="2" color="black" face="Verdana">Readers will cheer on the many other contributors who were bullied as a youth but persevered to become wildly successful adults. Pioneers from the United Kingdom, France, Hungary, and across the United States provide unique perspectives on the state of workplace equality around the world.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" color="black" face="Verdana"> </font></div>
<div><font size="2" color="black" face="Verdana">“While some countries have better protections than the U.S., many more still have laws criminalizing homosexuality,” Berry said, adding, “Policies are only one step towards true inclusion. True change occurs when equality is no longer a piece of legislation, but the experience of real people in the workplace.”</font></div>
<div><font size="2" color="black" face="Verdana"> </font></div>
<div><font size="2" color="black" face="Verdana">Xerox Corporate Vice President Sophie Vandebroek raves “these are the stories that executives around the world should hear, coming from the brave voices of smart, successful executives who are making important contributions in business, in government and in the ways they conduct their lives with dignity and integrity.” Senator Tammy Baldwin called <a href="http://outandequal.myshopify.com/collections/frontpage/products/out-equal-at-work-from-closet-to-corner-office" target="_blank"><i>Out & Equal at Work</i></a> “educational and inspirational,” and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was proud to share a quote in the foreword of the book.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" color="black" face="Verdana"> </font></div>
<div><font size="2" color="black" face="Verdana">Pre-release copies of the book are available online <a href="http://outandequal.myshopify.com/collections/frontpage/products/out-equal-at-work-from-closet-to-corner-office" target="_blank">here</a>.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" color="black" face="Verdana"> </font></div>
<div><font size="2" color="black" face="Verdana">###ENDS###</font></div>
<div><font size="2" color="black" face="Verdana"> </font></div>
<div><font size="2" color="black" face="Verdana">ABOUT OUT & EQUAL:</font></div>
<div><font size="2" color="black" face="Verdana">Founded by Executive Director Selisse Berry, <a href="http://www.outandequal.org/" target="_blank">Out & Equal Workplace Advocates</a> (commonly known as “Out & Equal”) is an international 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in San Francisco, California. Out & Equal is committed to ending employment discrimination for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender employees. Out & Equal believes that people should be judged by the work they do, not by their sexual orientation or gender identity.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" color="black" face="Verdana"> </font></div>
<div><font size="2" color="black" face="Verdana">ABOUT OUT & EQUAL AT WORK:</font></div>
<div><font size="2" color="black" face="Verdana">A major change is underway in today’s workplace. <a href="http://outandequal.myshopify.com/collections/frontpage/products/out-equal-at-work-from-closet-to-corner-office" target="_blank"><i>Out & Equal at Work: From Closet to Corner Office</i></a> is a groundbreaking anthology which chronicles personal narratives from straight allies and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) executives and workplace leaders who have conquered adversity and ushered in policies that affirm and support the LGBT community in the workplace. The book profiles an advocacy organization located at the intersection of the private sector and a broader social movement—Out & Equal Workplace Advocates—and its visionary Founding Executive Director, Selisse Berry.</font></div>
<p><font size="2" color="black" face="Verdana"> </font></p>HUD Settles Discrimination Claim Against Lesbian Coupletag:queertoday.ning.com,2013-01-10:2057108:BlogPost:580802013-01-10T18:19:42.000ZQueerTodayhttp://queertoday.ning.com/profile/queertoday
<p align="center"> <b>HUD ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT WITH BANK OF AMERICA TO SETTLE LGBT DISCRIMINATION CLAIM</b> <br></br><br></br><i>BOA agrees to pay $7,500, correct practices for alleged discrimination against lesbian couple</i></p>
<p align="center"> </p>
<p>WASHINGTON – The <a href="http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD">U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development</a> announced on Jan. 2, 2013 an…</p>
<p align="center"> <b>HUD ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT WITH BANK OF AMERICA TO SETTLE LGBT DISCRIMINATION CLAIM</b> <br/><br/><i>BOA agrees to pay $7,500, correct practices for alleged discrimination against lesbian couple</i></p>
<p align="center"> </p>
<p>WASHINGTON – The <a href="http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD">U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development</a> announced on Jan. 2, 2013 an <a href="http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=13boasettlement.pdf">agreement</a> with Bank of America (BOA) to settle a claim that the mortgage lender refused to provide financing to a lesbian couple. The agreement is the first enforcement action taken against a lender involving HUD’s recent rule ensuring that the Department’s core housing programs be open to all eligible persons, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>HUD’s rule, <a href="http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=5359-F-02EqAccessFinalRule.pdf"><b><i>Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity</i></b></a> prohibits lenders from basing eligibility determinations for mortgage loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) on actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status. HUD’s <i>Equal Access</i> rule applies to all housing programs administered by the Department.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“This agreement demonstrates that HUD will vigorously enforce its <i>Equal Access</i> rule and pursue lenders that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status,” said Helen Kanovsky, HUD’s General Counsel. “By the same token, BOA should be commended for stepping up and taking immediate corrective action after HUD notified BOA of the violation.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/Assistant-Secretary">John Trasviña</a>, HUD’s Assistant Secretary for <a href="http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp">Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity</a>, added, “The HUD Equal Access Rule means just what it says: one’s sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status is not a legitimate basis on which to deny a mortgage. Members of the housing industry should take note of this settlement agreement. HUD will enforce its regulations to make sure its programs are truly open to all qualified families.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>HUD claimed BOA denied a loan to a Florida couple seeking to obtain an FHA-insured mortgage because of their sexual orientation and marital status. Because one partner was not employed, the applicant enlisted her partner’s mother as a co-applicant on the loan. The couple worked with BOA for several weeks to provide all of the necessary loan application documents and the couple was assured by BOA that they were likely to receive a mortgage. One business day prior to closing, BOA denied the mortgage because it did not consider the loan applicant and the co-applicant directly related because the applicant and her partner were not married. As a result of BOA’s actions, the couple was not able to close on the loan.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Under the terms of the agreement, BOA agrees to pay HUD $7,500 and to notify its residential mortgage loan originators, processors and underwriters of its Settlement Agreement with HUD. In addition, BOA will remind its employees that they are prohibited from discriminating against FHA-loan applicants on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status. BOA will also update its fair lending training program to include information on HUD’s rule.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>If you believe you have experienced housing discrimination, you should contact HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity for help at (800) 669-9777. You may also <a href="http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/topics/housing_discrimination">file a housing discrimination complaint online</a>. Additionally you should contact your <a href="http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/localoffices">local HUD office</a>for assistance regarding alleged violations of HUD programs regulations. </p>Just Some Passing Thoughts Entering 2013tag:queertoday.ning.com,2013-01-01:2057108:BlogPost:579782013-01-01T16:19:17.000ZRev. Paul M. Turnerhttp://queertoday.ning.com/profile/RevPaulMTurner
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8loFfWhak_A/UOMBeiTkwMI/AAAAAAAAAfM/2stBtpEtajs/s1600/2012-10-19_11-47-34_231.jpg" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8loFfWhak_A/UOMBeiTkwMI/AAAAAAAAAfM/2stBtpEtajs/s1600/2012-10-19_11-47-34_231.jpg?width=750" width="750"></img></a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">July 2012 was the last time I wrote. Did I go on vacation? Quit writing blogs? Run out of things to…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8loFfWhak_A/UOMBeiTkwMI/AAAAAAAAAfM/2stBtpEtajs/s1600/2012-10-19_11-47-34_231.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8loFfWhak_A/UOMBeiTkwMI/AAAAAAAAAfM/2stBtpEtajs/s1600/2012-10-19_11-47-34_231.jpg?width=750" width="750" class="align-center"/></a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">July 2012 was the last time I wrote. Did I go on vacation? Quit writing blogs? Run out of things to write about or say?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">No, No, and God knows No!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Simply put, I just got tired of having to write about the crap the religious and political right keeps lying about. How many times does one have to prove something is a lie before people begin to understand the game that is being played?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">I realize one of the many reasons “stupidity” rules is because most people are like lightening. That is they take the path of least resistance. Most, <b>(not all folks)</b> are too lazy or too trusting to really check out information coming their way and so people who are looking to have power and control get it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> Maybe one day we will really take hold of the old sayings: <span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Trust Allah … but tie up your Camel” or today's translation “Trust But Verify”.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">So as we go into 2013 I thought I would do something which will allow me to write about more interesting things and to help the reader not be bored to death with repetitive stuff.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">With the next couple of blogs I am going to cover the most obscene lies and un-truths the religious and political right continue to say, write<span style="color: black;">,</span> and shout out on almost a daily basis.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">This way, you the reader get to read the truth<span style="color: black;">,</span> once. We deal with the fact it is a lie and why<span style="color: black;">,</span> once<span style="color: black;">,</span> and when they bring it up again I can simply refer back to this blog. Sweet!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">So without further delay here are the lies listed in bold type and my answers or thoughts concerning each.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">All the shootings and really bad weather is because God is punishing the country for its acceptance of homosexuality, marriage equality, lack of God in the public square, drug use, prostitution, long hair, short skirts etc.</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">For all those out there living your lives as if God is some kind of puppet master, controlling our every thought and deed<span style="color: black;">,</span> please stop. God as part of the process of creation gave humanity a <b>free will</b>, the ability to choose.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">This means that most of the crisis in the world is our own making and or because we are ill prepared to deal with whatever naturally occurring thing has just happened.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">For those who think they know the Bible as an explanation for everything…remember after the great flood God said God was not going to do that again. Then there <span style="color: black;">is,</span> at least for the Christian<span style="color: black;">,</span> this Jesus fella who if we follow his teaching we avoid a whole lot of the crap we do to each other.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">People we need to wake up and take responsibility for the stupid stuff we choose to do and stop blaming God because we choose <span style="color: black;">(That 'Free Will' thing again!)</span> to be mean and evil to folks.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Do we need a concrete example here? How about the idiot who chooses to have one last drink before leaving the bar? He or she gets in the car and leaves the bar. Before long they are left of center killing 5 people in an awful collision. It was the idiot’s drinking that caused those deaths, not God. In fact I am sure God received those killed into God’s arms with love and compassion for their sudden transition.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Next lie: Guns do not kill people, people kill people.</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Let’s get this straight, “People with guns, kill people”. Guns have one main function, which is to kill. So when this conversation starts I really wish those on the right would quit trying to convince me and others they have their gun for target practice, hunting and protection. They have a gun because they are willing to use it to kill, period.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> Don’t respond, just let that float in your head for a second.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">For those who say it is our 2<sup>nd</sup> amendment right, here is the exact wording of the amendment:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a Free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">According to Wikipedia, “In 2008 and 2010, the Supreme Court issued two landmark decisions concerning the Second Amendment. In District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008), the Court ruled that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to possess a firearm, unconnected to service in a militia[1][2] and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home. In dicta, the Court listed many longstanding prohibitions and restrictions on firearms possession as being consistent with the Second Amendment.[3] In McDonald v. Chicago, 561 U.S. 3025 (2010), the Court ruled that the Second Amendment limits state and local governments to the same extent that it limits the federal government.[4]”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">I put this here hoping to force the reader to read for themselves the actual amendment and then read what the Supreme Court said. After you have read for yourself the amendment and the court rulings, I will just raise with you the real issue. The main function of a gun is to kill something, most of the time it is another human being.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">For those of who claim to be Christian and follow the teachings of Jesus we are not given the option of being able to kill another human being only and unless we are sin free. So Christians why do you own that gun again?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> Don’t respond, just think on that.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Next lie:</span></b> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">“<b>There is a full scale war on Christmas”</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">The only people in the world who believe this crap are Fox News, and followers of the Evangelical TV shows who simply need ratings and donations. How Bill O’Rielly was able to get the attention of the public around this fraud is beyond me.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">If there is a war on Christmas, why pray tell do all the Christmas decorations come out in the stores right after Halloween is finished. Why do Churches everywhere begin planning special services and special programs as of the first week in November?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">By the way, just for fun let’s do a little truth telling. The vast majority of scholars and historians agree on these facts: Jesus was not born on December 25<sup>th</sup>. Jesus was born in a cave to an un-wed couple. No inn, no manger, no animals and we wonder why the religious right needed to invent the “war on Christmas”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Also, here is a full explanation for this lie:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; color: blue;"><a href="http://www.reverendbitchsir.blogspot.com/2011/12/wag-dog-of-christmas.html">http://www.reverendbitchsir.blogspot.com/2011/12/wag-dog-of-christmas.html</a></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Next lie:</span></b> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">“<b>Financial blessing is the will of God for Christians, and that faith, positive speech, and donations to Christian ministries will always increase one's material wealth.”</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Of course this is the lie that is told by those of the Mega church variety especially those espousing the new prosperity theology.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Of course a close reading of the gospel finds that Jesus never used the words prosper or prosperity. In fact, he taught the exact opposite.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">To follow and believe this lie is too allow only one person to get rich and it will not be you.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Next lie: The Bible is the inerrant word of God.</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="http://record.americanbible.org/content/bible-qa/number-english-translations-bible">http://record.americanbible.org/content/bible-qa/number-english-translations-bible</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Of the 900 English versions which is the Word of God without error? Please don’t try to make the case for the “King James” version, as there are more translation errors in this version then holes found in Swiss cheese.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Couple other facts to consider before one believes this lie: We have <b>no original</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">copies</b> of the bible.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; color: black;">In addition the Bible is, and always has been, a selected collection of historical writings by many different people, in many different languages.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; color: black;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; color: black;">Then</span> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">there are books or writings that were left out of what we call canon starting in 310 AD, “<b>just because”.</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Bible is sacred, it is good for teaching our faith, it is holy and that does not change just because there might be an error or two.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">And lastly for this blog, this lie: America is the best thing that has happened in world history as we have brought peace to the world. Or I guess this has to do with the lie of American exceptionalism.</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Really?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Our Country is 236 years old. Of those 236 years we have been in a war of one kind or another or some kind of military action for a total of 165 years and still counting. In case you think my count is off here is the history:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">War of Independence 1775-1783</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Northwest Indian War 1785-1795</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Quasi-War 1798-1800</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Barbary</span> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Wars 1801-1815</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">War of 1812 1812-1815</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">1st Seminole War 1817-1818</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">2nd Seminole War 1835-1842</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Mexican-American War 1846-1848</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">3rd Seminole War 1855-1858</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Civil War 1861-1865</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Indian Wars 1865-1898</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Spanish-American War 1898</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Philippine War 1898-1902</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Boxer Rebellion 1900-1901</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Mexican Revolution 1914-1919</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Haiti</span> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Occupation 1915-1934</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">World War 1 1917-1918</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">World War 2 1941-1945</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Korean War 1950-1953</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Vietnam War 1964-1973</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">El Salvador</span> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">1980-1992</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Beirut</span> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">1982-1984</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Persian Gulf</span> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">"Support" 1987-1988</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Invasion of Grenada 1983</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Invasion of Panama 1989</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Persian Gulf War 1991</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Somalia</span> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">1992-1993</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Bosnia</span> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">1995</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Afghanistan 2002-supposedly set to end in 2014</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Iraq 2003-2011</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">1,317,348 Americans have died in these 30 conflicts. I could not find reliable figures for the number of people who were causalities at our hands, but suffice it to say I am sure it is far greater than 1.3 million.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Just since 1976 the United States have executed 3,260 of its citizens.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Killing people seems to be what we do best. We glorify killing, we put it up in the bright lights of Hollywood, we sprinkle it all through our theology and we justify it as “free speech”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">We call a movie with two people “making love” pornography and call it immoral. We make movies showing people being blown to bits and we give them academy awards.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">We are anything but peaceful and if we are exceptional it is because we have become very efficient at killing people and making it look like it is every bodies else’s fault.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">Well, this is enough for y’all to digest for a couple of weeks. Imagine how different the world, and this country might be if we hadn’t bought into these 6 lies.</span></p>Queer Words (An Advanced Degree in Queerology)tag:queertoday.ning.com,2012-11-21:2057108:BlogPost:576232012-11-21T22:30:00.000Zzeraphhttp://queertoday.ning.com/profile/zeraph
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KJnmHHT16P0/UK1TPw4pMRI/AAAAAAAABjU/KqnYZWpPugw/s1600/book-cake.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KJnmHHT16P0/UK1TPw4pMRI/AAAAAAAABjU/KqnYZWpPugw/s320/book-cake.jpg" width="240"></img></a></span> <span style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva;">There are plenty of queer "glossaries" and "Trans 101" documents out there on the internet. But interacting in the…</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KJnmHHT16P0/UK1TPw4pMRI/AAAAAAAABjU/KqnYZWpPugw/s1600/book-cake.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KJnmHHT16P0/UK1TPw4pMRI/AAAAAAAABjU/KqnYZWpPugw/s320/book-cake.jpg" border="0" height="320" width="240"/></a></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva;">There are plenty of queer "glossaries" and "Trans 101" documents out there on the internet. But interacting in the online queer world as a member, rather than just as an ally, requires more than Trans 101. At times it requires being able navigate a field of linguistics, theory, terminology and queer studies that can be baffling to newcomers and frustrating to lots of people.</span></span></div>
<p><br/> <span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva;">Unfortunately, while many people are kind and willing to lend a kind hand to newcomers and those who have had less access to the information, others are too hair-trigger about such things, and newbies can get a bad taste in their mouth from interacting with other radical queers online.</span><br/> <br/> <span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva;">We badly need new words to crack the oppressive code of language, which would often times seem to erase our identities and lives. We already know that words like 'man' and 'woman' aren't enough for the spectrum of beings on this planet. But does the average newbie know that words like "cisgender" can help us to normalize trans-ness and stop centering the experiences of non-trans people? Wouldn't it be helpful if we could explain these things a bit better, a bit more often? Or that CAMAB meant "coercively assigned male at birth," and that this reference to "assignment" of sex is supported by some fascinating ideas about how sex is a constructed, social category?</span><br/> <br/> <span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva;">I came out in 2003, and it was years before I learned about the existence of the genderqueer identity. I had no idea I could formulate my own identity outside the binary AND find a community who thought that was neat. I socially transitioned from being a teenage girl to being a gay man without knowing that I had any other options. I lied to get testosterone, as many of us have had to do. I only half knew I was lying-- the lack of language had made me obscure even to myself.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d8XptPRwlZ0/UK1ULAXoC7I/AAAAAAAABjc/KJf9WUdNb0w/s1600/IMG_3669.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d8XptPRwlZ0/UK1ULAXoC7I/AAAAAAAABjc/KJf9WUdNb0w/s320/IMG_3669.JPG" border="0" height="320" width="240"/></a></span></span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva;">So I know the value of words, and the spaces of possibility they can open up. But I also know that when I did finally start participating in the online trans/genderqueer community (I've never lived anywhere where there was much of a live, in-person GQ group) I didn't know what to make of the words being used. A flurry of acronyms and terms were being hotly debated, and everyone was pretty touchy and quick to judge.</span><br/> <br/> <span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva;">It was very difficult-- I felt that the college kids who'd had the privilege, many of them, to come out into a preexisting queer community, who had the benefit of being able to pay for queer and trans studies classes, were unwilling to allow an ounce of patience or kindness for me. And I'd come out in rural and small town Maine. I'd fought to lay a little of the groundwork for the community that now existed-- by being out, out, out, and visible, even when it was dangerous and terrifying for me. I don't mean to take any major credit-- I'm one person, but I did fight with my own body and breath in places where it wasn't easy. I did fight for this before there were people, online or otherwise, who had my back.</span><br/> <br/> <span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva;">I understand Rocko Bulldagger, who says: "I read increasingly narrow definitions of the concept [of genderqueer], and hear from folks who have no sympathy for those who do not "get it." Is my participation in creating the meaning of genderqueer over? I used to feel that this was my word, my subculture, my movement."</span><br/> <br/> <span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva;">Is my participation over, too? Well, no. But I'm not entirely comfortable telling you why. I didn't confront the academic privilege of the queers who keep their knowledge close and look down on those trans folk who don't yet know their words, or get the theory. I became part of it. I went to college.</span><br/> <br/> <span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva;">As I gained fluency in the terminology as it evolves, and began to understand its theoretical basis, I become better able to garner respect (and avoid poisonous, painful backlash) within online trans circles. And as I do so, I am aware that <b>it is my privilege which is allowing me to hold my own in these discussions.</b></span></p>
<table class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;" cellspacing="0">
<tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K_jLX7RcvHc/UK1WSfYqJlI/AAAAAAAABjk/Muyod7rfXfQ/s1600/bookish.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K_jLX7RcvHc/UK1WSfYqJlI/AAAAAAAABjk/Muyod7rfXfQ/s320/bookish.jpg" border="0" height="201" width="320"/></a></span></td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva;">Art by john lee bird</span><br/> <span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva;"><a href="http://beforeencore.wordpress.com/">http://beforeencore.wordpress.com/</a></span></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva;">Without access to a college education, and without the mental and physical ability to read long complex texts and navigate the web effectively to find other information that I need, I would quite possibly be attacked for making blunders or deviating from the accepted philosophy.</span></p>
<div dir="ltr" id="internal-source-marker_0.685254184363538" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="internal-source-marker_0.685254184363538" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="font-size-3" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It has only been through the privilege of my college education that I’ve been able to <i>really</i> understand some of the theoretical basis for using terms like CAMAB. It was through my women’s studies course that I finally grasped Judith Butler’s assertion that sex, like gender, was socially constructed. It is through that same education that I have gained some of the tools to communicate these ideas fluently to other college-educated people, and to engage critically, not emotionally, with some of the tense dialogue appearing online. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="internal-source-marker_0.685254184363538" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="internal-source-marker_0.685254184363538" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="font-size-3" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So where does this leave us? Are we content to use only words that everyone will get right away, for the purposes of accessibility and challenging classism and other privileges? On the other hand, how can we accept that poorer queers, those without access to college courses, those without time or energy or mental or physical ability to do certain intensive research, will be always one step behind, rarely becoming leaders?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="internal-source-marker_0.685254184363538" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br/></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="internal-source-marker_0.685254184363538" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Il9mXTt3POk/UK1Y8lvGWSI/AAAAAAAABj0/iGcWhYy2_2A/s1600/from-the-undertow.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Il9mXTt3POk/UK1Y8lvGWSI/AAAAAAAABj0/iGcWhYy2_2A/s320/from-the-undertow.png" border="0" height="320" width="307"/></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Neither of these are acceptable to me. And the solutions are both complex and simple. They're complex</span> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">because our world is so complex, and because navigating it is always a matter of using humility, discernment, compassion, fierceness and love in various combinations. And it's also simple, because without the blinders of anger, defensiveness and fear, the path is often clearer than we'd imagined. Us folks who have, or are working on, our advanced degrees in Queerology need to make it our business, every day and in every way we can, to spread our knowledge <i>and the knowledge of the queer and gender theory that backs it up.</i> </span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="internal-source-marker_0.685254184363538" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="internal-source-marker_0.685254184363538" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="font-size-3" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">If we don't, it's not a living theory, it's a dead ideology, and <b>we're defending a corpse.</b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="font-size-3" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b> </b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="internal-source-marker_0.685254184363538" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="internal-source-marker_0.685254184363538" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="font-size-3" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Eco-feminist author Susan Griffin notes:</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="internal-source-marker_0.685254184363538" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="font-size-3" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“When a theory is transformed into an ideology, it begins to destroy the self and self-knowledge...</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br/> “Originally born of feeling, [ideology] pretends to float above and around feeling. Above sensation. It organizes experience according to itself […] To invoke the name of this ideology is to confer truthfulness. No one can tell it anything new. Experience ceases to surprise it, inform it, transform it. It is annoyed by any detail which does not fit into its world view.</span> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Begun as a cry against the denial of truth, now it denies any truth which does not fit into its scheme.</span> Begun as a way to restore one’s sense of reality, now it attempts to disciple real people […] All that it fails to explain it records as its enemy” [Emphasis mine].</span></div>
<p></p>
<div dir="ltr" id="internal-source-marker_0.685254184363538" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="internal-source-marker_0.685254184363538" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="font-size-3" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We've gotta talk about what words we use, and why we use them, and why we think it's worthwhile to rework language. We have to honor those who would learn this particular kind of information that we've got, by not asking them to swallow and regurgitate it blindly, but by engaging in critical, respectful discussion with them. <i>We must never record them as the enemy.</i></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="internal-source-marker_0.685254184363538" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="internal-source-marker_0.685254184363538" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="font-size-3" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We've got to honor people's personal experiences, their struggles and fights for our collective freedom, whether they do it by writing papers or by surviving the streets. </span><br/> <br/> <span class="font-size-3" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We all have something to learn and something to teach. </span></div>Vote for the Greater Good, Instead of the Lesser Eviltag:queertoday.ning.com,2012-10-23:2057108:BlogPost:576012012-10-23T19:38:38.000ZRichardhttp://queertoday.ning.com/profile/Richard
<h2 class="subhead">Open Letter on the November 6, 2012 California General Election (Bay Area)</h2>
<p></p>
<h2 class="headline">Vote for the Greater Good—Write in Stephen Durham and Christina López for U.S. President and Vice-President</h2>
<p><i>For Los Angeles letter, click <a href="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/2046">here</a></i>.</p>
<p>Everyday people think: <i>the U.S. is way overdue for change.</i> So when they encounter the Freedom Socialist Party Durham/ López campaign,…</p>
<h2 class="subhead">Open Letter on the November 6, 2012 California General Election (Bay Area)</h2>
<p></p>
<h2 class="headline">Vote for the Greater Good—Write in Stephen Durham and Christina López for U.S. President and Vice-President</h2>
<p><i>For Los Angeles letter, click <a href="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/2046">here</a></i>.</p>
<p>Everyday people think: <i>the U.S. is way overdue for change.</i> So when they encounter the Freedom Socialist Party Durham/ López campaign, they are energized—whether it’s appreciation for concrete solutions, delight at a way to protest sham elections, or interest in an anti-capitalist perspective. Outside big-box stores, on campuses and picket lines, in barrios and at rallies, socialist feminist candidates Stephen Durham and Christina López have been cheered and welcomed. For more about their exciting campaign go to <a href="http://www.VoteSocialism.com" title="www.VoteSocialism.com">www.VoteSocialism.com</a></p>
<p>Durham has been a radical since his student days at Berkeley and is a pioneer queer activist. Today he heads the Harlem branch of the party. He’s been a strike leader, a Marxist educator and traveled widely in Latin America making alliances with unionists and radicals. López is President of Seattle Radical Women and a hardworking grassroots organizer with a passion for fighting on behalf of the most oppressed—women, immigrants, people of color, young people and the poor.</p>
<p>Their campaign is an optimistic antidote to the grim austerity measures levied against the working class from Chicago to Los Angeles and South Africa to Greece. Workers and the oppressed are the vast majority worldwide and are fighting back in inspiring ways. But these forces need support and encouragement—<i><b>your</b></i> support. So step onto the righteous side of the global class war by voting for a concrete socialist alternative! The full platform of the Durham/López campaign can be found at <a href="http://www.VoteSocialism.com" title="www.VoteSocialism.com">www.VoteSocialism.com</a></p>
<p>The Presidential election finds California with <i><b>real</b></i> problems that need <i><b>real</b></i> solutions. Our state is in the top ten in foreclosures, unemployment and homelessness, and we’re number one in incarcerations. Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans offer any substantial answers in their tit-for-tat campaigns. Obama fills our airways and email inboxes with scare stories about Mitt Romney. But both parties support war, bank bailouts, union busting, and the privatization of education. <i>So why vote for them?</i></p>
<p>Unfortunately, California’s only socialist electoral party, the Peace and Freedom Party (PFP), turned their 2012 opportunity into a farce by selecting comedian Roseanne Barr as their presidential candidate. The Party for Socialism and Liberation ensured that no serious socialist got the PFP nomination by throwing their support at the last minute to Barr. A month later, Barr’s VP running mate, antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan, resigned from the ticket (even though her name still appears on the ballot). Sheehan pointed to political differences and Barr’s failure to come through with promised financial or canvassing support.</p>
<p>Also on the ballot for president is the Green Party’s Jill Stein. While she has been stronger on workers’ rights than past Green candidates, she is still an advocate of capitalism. Her Green New Deal calls for an unattainable gentler form of capitalism via a reprogrammed financial sector that serves everyday people. But the very nature of the profit system is the problem.</p>
<p>Registering a protest vote against this rotten and rigged system is the most powerful thing you can do in the upcoming elections. <b>On your ballot, you’ll find a line under the list of the corporate parties’ candidates where you can write in Stephen Durham and Christina López. Be sure to spell their names correctly or your vote will not count!</b></p>
<p>We live in contradictory times, and the ballot reflects this with several, mostly bad, tax propositions plus an entreaty to eliminate the death penalty.</p>
<p><b><u>California Ballot Measures</u></b></p>
<p>We live in contradictory times, and the ballot reflects this with several, mostly bad, tax propositions plus an entreaty to eliminate the death penalty.</p>
<ul>
<li>Proposition 30: Temporary Tax Increases for Education and other Needs— <b>Vote Your Conscience</b> <br/>If passed, this measure would increase the state sales tax by .25% for four years, and increase modestly graduated income tax rates on individuals making at least $250,000 a year for seven years. This measure is on the ballot because Governor Brown convinced the California Federation of Teachers to abandon their popular grassroots-initiated Millionaires Tax, which exclusively targeted the 1% with permanent tax increases but frightened Brown’s big business allies.<p>There is no winning side to this compromise initiative. A YES vote adds to the burden on the poor via an increase in the regressive sales tax that already represents 29% of the state’s funding. Even though the bulk of the revenue would come from the wealthy via the income tax, the toll on the under-privileged is harsh. On the other hand, a NO vote means immediate “trigger” cuts of $6 billion to public education, already crippled by previous cutbacks. The heavy-handed bullying by Democrats and labor bureaucrats to pass this measure is disgusting, and there are no safeguards ensuring that the revenue will go to education, as claimed.</p>
<p>The only way out of these lose-lose election dilemmas is for education workers, students, and the community to demand fully-funded public schools paid for by taxing the ultra-rich and corporations.</p>
<p></p>
</li>
<li>Proposition 31: State Budget Restrictions—<b>Vote NO</b> <br/>This complex constitutional amendment would require “performance review” of all state programs, budget cuts to balance all new expenditures and give the governor power to make unilateral cuts in times of a “fiscal emergency.”<p></p>
</li>
<li>Proposition 32: Limits Political Contributions by Payroll Deduction—<b>Vote NO</b>This measure pretends to get big money out of politics, but exempts big business and their PACs. The real targets are public and private sector unions who would be forbidden to use members’ dues for any political purpose without express, yearly, written permission for individual members. It’s an attack on labor’s ability to fight for working-class issues.<p></p>
</li>
<li>Proposition 33: Car Insurance Increases based on Prior History—<b>Vote NO</b> <br/>This is another attempt by the insurance industry, particularly the CEO of Mercury Insurance, to raise premiums on those who have not had continuous coverage for five consecutive years. The first to pay will be the poor, students and immigrants.<p></p>
</li>
<li>Proposition 34: Replace the Death Penalty with Life Without Parole—<b>Vote YES</b> <br/>This would rid California of the death penalty, a legacy of slavery. Despite the many things wrong with this initiative—mandatory life without parole, and mandated work for those convicted of murder—this is a step forward to end a practice that kills mostly the poor and people of color.<p></p>
</li>
<li>Proposition 35: Increases the Penalties for Human Trafficking—<b>Vote NO</b> <br/>As socialist feminists, we abhor human trafficking of laborers and sex workers. However, this initiative statute poses a threat to civil liberties, has an overly-broad net that could impact any sex worker—trafficked or not—and duplicates current laws while doing little for victims.<p></p>
</li>
<li>Proposition 36: Revises the Three Strikes Law—<b>Vote YES</b> <br/>The original law mandates life in prison for anyone convicted of three felonies. This initiative statute would reduce the life sentence in a limited number of cases. A better option would be to strike down the entire law because it disproportionally affects the poor and people of color.<p></p>
</li>
<li>Proposition 37: Labeling Genetically Engineered Food—<b>Vote YES</b> <br/>This initiative statute is a step in the right direction in providing consumers information about food purchases, although it contains many exceptions.<p></p>
</li>
<li>Proposition 38: Income Tax Increase to Fund Education—<b>Vote NO</b>Like Proposition 30, this is aimed at increasing funding for California’s impoverished education system but, this measure increases taxes on all income earners—including the overburdened poor and working class— instead of targeting the rich and corporations.<p></p>
</li>
<li>Proposition 39: Multi-state Business Taxes—<b>Vote YES</b> This initiative statute closes a loophole used by businesses that operate in states outside California, and adds $1billion to state revenues while establishing a Clean Energy Job Creation Fund.</li>
</ul>
<p><b><u>State and Local Candidates</u></b></p>
<p>FSP only recommends candidates who criticize the capitalist system and call for radical change. Where there are socialists on the ballot, we encourage you to vote for them (see below). Sadly, Proposition 14 undemocratically took away the right to write in candidates other than for President.</p>
<ul>
<li>CA 9th State Senate District: <b>Vote for Mary McIlroy, Peace and Freedom Party</b> <br/>Clearly a socialist, she calls for defending public education and keeping state parks accessible to all.<p></p>
</li>
<li>CA 15th Assembly District: <b>Vote for Eugene Ruyle, Peace and Freedom Party</b> <br/> His demands include ditch the twin parties of Wall Street, free education and healthcare for all, end wars, tax the rich, and protect and restore Mother Earth.</li>
</ul>
<p><b><u>San Francisco Measures</u></b></p>
<p></p>
<div class="content"><ul>
<li>Measure A: City College Parcel Tax—<b>Vote Your Conscience</b> <br/>This property tax would cost $79 per parcel for eight years, and the $14 million in revenue goes directly to City College of San Francisco. This vital school should be funded by corporate taxes and an oil severance tax on Chevron, not regressive property taxes. But, the desperate economic straits facing this working-class college as a result of previous budget cuts leads us to say: you choose how to vote.<p></p>
</li>
<li>Measure B: Park Bond—<b>Vote NO</b> <br/>Parks are important especially to poor and working-class families. But this measure which allows the city to borrow $195 million in bonds to improve facilities doesn’t get our support while unspent funds from a previous bond exist, and some parks are being privatized.<p></p>
</li>
<li>Measure C: Housing Trust Fund—<b>Vote YES</b> <br/>Aimed at alleviating the paucity of affordable housing for poor, working-class and middle-class city residents in the city, this measure creates a fund through the tax on business proposed in Measure E and other sources that do not tap the average person. Although it gives developers a discount for building affordable units, the need is dire with the federal government no longer constructing public housing.<p></p>
</li>
<li>Measure E: Gross Receipts Tax—<b>Vote YES</b> <br/>This will substitute a gross receipt tax for the current payroll tax, resulting in $28.5 million more revenue per year and 90% of businesses in San Francisco paying higher taxes. Small businesses are exempt.<p></p>
</li>
<li>Measure G: Repeal Corporate Personhood—<b>Vote YES</b> <br/>Mostly advisory, this statement of policy opposes the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United that said corporations are people and paved the way for super PACs, powerful business- funded Political Action Committees.<p>Don’t miss out on the opportunity to vote for what you want and need this November and be a part of an exciting grassroots upsurge: <b>Write in Stephen Durham for U.S. President and Christina López for U.S. Vice-President!</b></p>
<p>In Struggle,</p>
<p>Toni Mendicino, SF Organizer</p>
<p>P.S. It’s not too late to volunteer with the people-powered Durham/López campaign. Come to a weekly meet-up or lend your talents and energy as you can. Contact me at 415-864-1278 or <a href="mailto:baFSP@earthlink.net">baFSP@earthlink.net</a>.</p>
<p>Summary of Ballot Recommendations</p>
<p>November 6, 2012 California General Election</p>
<p>(You can take this into the voting booth)</p>
<p><b><u>Candidates</u></b></p>
<p>U.S. President—Write in Stephen Durham</p>
<p>U.S. Vice President—Write in Christina López</p>
<p>CA Senate Dist. 9—Mary McIlroy</p>
<p>CA Assembly Dist. 15—Eugene Ruyle</p>
<p><b><u>California State Propositions</u></b></p>
<p>CA Prop. 30—Vote your conscience</p>
<p>CA Prop. 31—Vote NO</p>
<p>CA Prop. 32—Vote NO</p>
<p>CA Prop. 33—Vote NO</p>
<p>CA Prop. 34—Vote YES</p>
<p>CA Prop. 35—Vote NO</p>
<p>CA Prop. 36—Vote YES</p>
<p>CA Prop. 37—Vote YES</p>
<p>CA Prop. 38—Vote NO</p>
<p>CA Prop. 39—Vote YES</p>
<p><b><u>San Francisco Ballot Measures</u></b></p>
<p>SF Meas. A—Vote your conscience</p>
<p>SF Meas. B—Vote NO</p>
<p>SF Meas. C—Vote YES</p>
<p>SF Meas. E—Vote YES</p>
<p>SF Meas. G—Vote YES</p>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div id="navbar"><div id="navbar-inner" class="region region-navbar"><a name="navigation" id="navigation"></a><div id="block-nice_menus-3" class="block block-nice_menus region-odd even region-count-1 count-4"><div class="block-inner"><div class="content"><ul class="nice-menu nice-menu-down" id="nice-menu-3">
<li id="menu-139" class="menu-path-node-1"><a href="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/1" title="">Home</a></li>
<li id="menu-144" class="menuparent menu-path-node-2"><a href="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/2" title="">About Us</a></li>
<li id="menu-140" class="menuparent menu-path-node-3"><a href="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/3" title="">Why Socialist Feminism?</a></li>
<li id="menu-141" class="menuparent menu-path-node-4"><a href="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/4" title="">Statements & Campaigns</a></li>
<li id="menu-143" class="menuparent menu-path-node-5"><a href="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/5" title="">Books & Newspapers</a></li>
<li id="menu-145" class="menu-path-node-6"><a href="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/6" title="">Radical Women</a></li>
<li id="menu-146" class="menuparent menu-path-node-7"><a href="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/7" title="">Get Involved</a></li>
<li id="menu-147" class="menu-path-contact"><a href="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=contact" title="">Contact</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="sidebar-right"><div id="sidebar-right-inner" class="region region-right"><div id="block-nice_menus-2" class="block block-nice_menus region-odd odd region-count-1 count-1"><div class="block-inner"><div class="content"><ul class="nice-menu nice-menu-right" id="nice-menu-2">
<li id="menu-149" class="menu-path-node-9"><a href="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/9" title="">FSP in Australia</a></li>
<li id="menu-150" class="menu-path-node-10"><a href="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/10" title="">En Espanol</a></li>
<li id="menu-151" class="menu-path-node-11"><a href="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/11" title="">Educational Resources</a></li>
<li id="menu-152" class="menu-path-node-12"><a href="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/12" title="">Photo Gallery</a></li>
<li id="menu-153" class="menu-path-node-13"><a href="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/13" title="">Solidarity Links</a></li>
<li id="menu-154" class="menu-path-node-14"><a href="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/14" title="">Donate</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="block-block-1" class="block block-block region-even even region-count-2 count-2"><div class="block-inner"><div class="content"><a href="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/38"><img src="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/sites/all/themes/zen_fsp_a/images/header_take_action.jpg" alt="take action header" height="35" width="243"/></a><div style="padding: 5px;"><div style="width: 223px; padding: 5px; background: #ffffff;"><a href="http://www.stopfbi.net/events/10-25-12/free-holy-land-five-day-action-oct-25"><img class="floatRight" src="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/sites/all/themes/zen_fsp_a/images/takeAction/home_holyland5.jpg" alt="five" height="85" width="85"/></a> <a href="http://www.stopfbi.net/events/10-25-12/free-holy-land-five-day-action-oct-25">Tell the U.S. Supreme Court to order a new trial! Free the Holy Land Five!</a> <br/> <a class="seeAllActions" href="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/38">SEE ALL ACTIONS >></a></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="block-block-2" class="block block-block region-odd odd region-count-3 count-3"><div class="block-inner"><div class="content"><a href="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/2033"><img src="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/sites/all/themes/zen_fsp_a/images/header_featuredcolumn.jpg" alt="featured column header" height="35" width="243"/></a><div style="width: 233px; margin: 0px; padding: 5px;"><div style="width: 223px; padding: 5px; background: #ffffff;"><a href="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/2033"><img class="floatLeft" src="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/sites/all/images/FS/newspaper_home/33-5_thumb_soapbox.jpg" alt="Soapbox" height="85" width="85"/></a> <a href="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/2033">Nuns stand up to the Vatican</a><p><a href="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/2033"><span class="author">By Monica Hill</span></a></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<ul>
<li class="first"><a href="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/1">Home</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/2">About Us</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/3">Why Socialist Feminism?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/4">Statements & Campaigns</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/5">Books & Newspapers</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/6">Rad</a></li>
</ul>Golden Crown Literary Conferencetag:queertoday.ning.com,2012-06-13:2057108:BlogPost:564292012-06-13T13:00:00.000Zmarygriggshttp://queertoday.ning.com/profile/marygriggs
<p><a href="http://pics.livejournal.com/marygriggs/pic/0002xfty/"><img alt="" height="157" src="http://pics.livejournal.com/marygriggs/pic/0002xfty" style="float: left; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" width="160"></img></a> I'm finally at the Doubletree Hilton Hotel in Minneapolis, Minnesota for the <a href="http://www.goldencrown.org/2012con">8th Annual Golden Crown Literary Society Literary Conference</a> after a day of flying SNAFU's. I left New Orleans at 8am and arrived in Nashville only to learn that the connecting plane was having mechanical problems and hadn't even left the ground in Florida. After finally scrubbing that…</p>
<p><a href="http://pics.livejournal.com/marygriggs/pic/0002xfty/"><img alt="" height="157" src="http://pics.livejournal.com/marygriggs/pic/0002xfty" style="float: left; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid;" width="160"/></a>I'm finally at the Doubletree Hilton Hotel in Minneapolis, Minnesota for the <a href="http://www.goldencrown.org/2012con">8th Annual Golden Crown Literary Society Literary Conference</a> after a day of flying SNAFU's. I left New Orleans at 8am and arrived in Nashville only to learn that the connecting plane was having mechanical problems and hadn't even left the ground in Florida. After finally scrubbing that flight, Southwest put me on a plane to Orlando where I was to get on a flight to Denver that continued on to Minneapolis. Unfortunately, due to a huge thunderstorm, the connecting flight was diverted to another airport to delay us over two hours. Instead of arriving around 1pm, I finally landed at 1:30am. All in all, one long damn day!<br/> <br/> For those who don't know, the <a href="http://www.goldencrown.org/">Golden Crown Literary Society</a> (GCLS) is a literary and educational organization for the enjoyment, discussion, and enhancement of lesbian literature. Their goals are to support and strengthen quality lesbian literature by providing places for readers and writers to interact, to encourage and assist new writers and established authors, and to recognize and promote lesbian work.The Golden Crown Literary Society (GCLS) is a growing organization that brings people together who are interested in the enjoyment, discussion, and enhancement of lesbian literature.<br/> <br/> I've been to all but one of the conferences and am very excited to be back here again. Not only do I have a lot of friends and authors I admire here but my novel, <a href="http://www.bellabooks.com/9781594932434-prod.html" target="_blank">Unbroken Circle</a>, is a finalist for two Goldie Awards - <a href="http://www.goldencrown.org/Default.aspx?pageId=1277871">Debut Author</a> and the <a href="http://www.goldencrown.org/Default.aspx?pageId=1277883">Ann Bannon Popular Choice</a> Award. The awards ceremony will be held on Saturday. <br/> <br/> Before that, I am running a strategic planning session for the Board of the GCLS and I will be participating in a panel entitled "So I had this idea..." The basic premise is to give us a chance to talk about how we conceived our first novel, what our work style is like, what it was like finishing it, and then what path we chose to publish it. The goal is to give writers in the audience the example that there's no one "right" way to create and the readers in the audience the chance to get to know us better and a feel for why they might find our book to their liking. <br/> <br/> I'm also super excited that I get to introduce the keynote speaker. This year we have <a href="http://jewellegomez.com/">Jewelle Gomez</a> and I'm really looking forward to what she has to say. There will also be a tribute to <a href="http://www.lambdaliterary.org/features/rem/11/11/in-remembrance-barbara-grier/">Barbara Grier</a>, who died recently, as had a major impact on lesbian publisher as a publisher with Naiad and in all the ways she nurtured lesbian writing.</p>belting out "faggots" at Independence Halltag:queertoday.ning.com,2012-05-31:2057108:BlogPost:564182012-05-31T12:11:19.000Ztommi avicolli meccahttp://queertoday.ning.com/profile/tommiavicollimecca
<div class="phead"><h2><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;">Once upon a time and long ago in a place not far away, pride used to be called “Gay Pride” and it wasn’t a whole month, it was a day, a very special day to commemorate a riot that happened during the last weekend of June in a city called New York. </span></h2>
</div>
<div class="pbody" id="pbody"><p> </p>
<p><span>Queens and fags and dykes rebelled on that long hot night. When the cops didn’t get…</span></p>
</div>
<div class="phead"><h2><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;">Once upon a time and long ago in a place not far away, pride used to be called “Gay Pride” and it wasn’t a whole month, it was a day, a very special day to commemorate a riot that happened during the last weekend of June in a city called New York. </span></h2>
</div>
<div class="pbody" id="pbody"><p> </p>
<p><span>Queens and fags and dykes rebelled on that long hot night. When the cops didn’t get their regular payoff from the Stonewall Inn in the West Village, they raided the place, but the queens and their friends pelted them with coins and stones and stuff and made them know that business as usual was coming to an end.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>It wasn’t the first time queens had acted up and caused a scene. They did it a decade before in Los Angeles (Cooper’s Donuts), then in Philly (Dewey’s, 1965) and San Francisco (Compton’s, 1966). But that night in June a revolution was born, a queer revolution that spread throughout the country like wildfire. Its name was Gay Liberation and its first manifestation was Gay Liberation Front.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>It wasn’t surprising. Oppressed groups had already begun their own revolutions: Blacks, Latinos, women, hippies, farmworkers, students and others were chanting a line from a movie that hadn’t been made yet: we’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it anymore. </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>A few months after the Stonewall Riot, folks from various gay and homophile groups gathered, as they occasionally did (after all, there was a movement before Stonewall), and decided to replace their annual Fourth of July picket around Independence Hall in Philly (men in suits and ties, women in dresses, no transgender folks allowed) with a march to commemorate this monumental event. Thus began what we now call pride.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span><img id="cid_2181080" src="http://open.salon.com/files/tommi731338389460.jpg" alt="tommi73" hspace="5px" width="285" name="cid_2181080"/></span> </p>
<p> <em>(Me at the 1973 pride march in Philly, photo by Jo Hofmann)</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>That first march was a rowdy affair, with no dress or gender restrictions. It was nothing like the slick production that happens these days, especially in places such as San Francisco where I live. No top name entertainers (they were all in the closet or afraid to admit they had gay fans), no glad-handing politicians (they were too busy running from their own shadows), no million dollar budgets (only the $150 collected at that drag benefit).</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>And no corporate sponsors. No liquors companies or banks or real estate companies put their names in the pride guide. There was no pride guide.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>No cops, fire fighters or church congregations joined us in those first marches. Just a lot of queens and fags and dykes with long hair, jeans and sneakers and makeup and feather boas and such. Folk songs (played by genuine folk singers) and poetry was featured on the stage, along with fiery speeches from activists who knew how to kick oppressor butts (invading the offices of publications that printed anti-gay articles, zapping homophobic politicians, even disrupting the CBS news broadcast with Walter Cronkite).</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>How can I ever forget my friend Saj, an amazing African American singer/songwriter, belting out “Faggots,” his anthem of our new generation, across the street from Independence Hall, at Philly’s first pride march, which I helped organize in 1972. How that word “faggot” echoed in the acoustics of the square.</span> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>We weren’t asking for marriage or military service. Our demands were fierce, though sometimes a bit unrealistic, such as an end to the Vietnam War, capitalism and the oppression of all oppressed groups. Hey, we were out to change the world, not the decor at the White House.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>How I miss those marches.</span></p>
</div>Eleven Wordstag:queertoday.ning.com,2012-05-18:2057108:BlogPost:564832012-05-18T14:48:17.000ZRev. Paul M. Turnerhttp://queertoday.ning.com/profile/RevPaulMTurner
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/syDyIga1HGawOv6jiLHwm9ZGpM1tFm8-7DzhPwQurW-Vh7veuAWE4WENVMYGHp7imREG4TDE120wEue1x5vrNVxQKgCdqpVX/barackobamat12697.jpg" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/syDyIga1HGawOv6jiLHwm9ZGpM1tFm8-7DzhPwQurW-Vh7veuAWE4WENVMYGHp7imREG4TDE120wEue1x5vrNVxQKgCdqpVX/barackobamat12697.jpg" width="500"></img></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Have you ever had one of those times when you felt like no matter what you did, no one was thankful or appreciative of the amount of effort it took to do what you did?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Maybe at some point in your life you took on a project that…</p>
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/syDyIga1HGawOv6jiLHwm9ZGpM1tFm8-7DzhPwQurW-Vh7veuAWE4WENVMYGHp7imREG4TDE120wEue1x5vrNVxQKgCdqpVX/barackobamat12697.jpg" target="_self"><img src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/syDyIga1HGawOv6jiLHwm9ZGpM1tFm8-7DzhPwQurW-Vh7veuAWE4WENVMYGHp7imREG4TDE120wEue1x5vrNVxQKgCdqpVX/barackobamat12697.jpg" width="500" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Have you ever had one of those times when you felt like no matter what you did, no one was thankful or appreciative of the amount of effort it took to do what you did?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Maybe at some point in your life you took on a project that took all your ability to think about how it would affect you emotionally, spiritually, and your job security.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> When you went ahead, did the project, and got it completed, there were those who simply looked at you and said of the project, “It’s about damn time you got this done!”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Maybe you have a relationship with someone that, for whatever reason, cannot get the phrase “I love you” out of their mouth and into your ear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> Then one day after an especially trying moment or close call, you hear the word’s you have always wanted to hear; “I love you!” and your response on the inside is, “about time”, or “this is what it took for you to say it?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> Or “you don’t mean it!”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A few days ago, we in the LGBTQIA community heard the following words: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.”</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A simply sentence, a simply opinion, just eleven words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> In fact many folks, <b><span style="color: black;">me</span></b>included, have said those exact same words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Yet, the impact of our words compared to this statement from the other day, from no less then the President of the United States pale in their impact.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For the first time in the history of the United States, a sitting President has said to me, to my sisters and brothers: our relationships are valid!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Of course the responses to these eleven words were immediate.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As one might expect from the religious and political right the reaction was anything but kind, <span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">confirming,</span> or acknowledging of the deep soul searching it took to say these words.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">However, it is with sadness and frustration that some of the responses from the <span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">other</span> side of the political and religious spectrum have not been much better.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now remember my opening for this blog as you read these quotes:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Less than 24 hours after Obama came out for marriage equality, organizers from GetEQUAL from all over the country came together to thank the president, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">but</i> remind him that actions speak louder than words, and there is more to equality and justice.”</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Similarly, a</span> friend of mine looked me dead in the eye and said, he doesn’t really mean it; it is just political it is not that big of deal.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And this gem from the Log Cabin Republicans: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“That the president has chosen today ... to finally speak up for marriage equality is offensive and callous,” the organization said in a news release. Obama announced his position a day after North Carolina voters amended their state’s constitution to define marriage only as a union between one man and one woman.”</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This headline from a blog called the gawker.com: “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Barack Obama’s Bullshit Gay Marriage Announcement”</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My dear friend and Sister Rev. Candace Chellew-Hodge had this to say: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“I know people are pissed with me for not properly bowing and genuflecting when Pres. Obama finally made the no-brainer of a decision to support marriage equality…Thank you, Mr. President for you decision. Greatly appreciate that you've come into the 21st century. But, all it does is guarantee that we will not talk about the real issues our country faces, because the media loves the anti-gay circus so very much.”</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So yes, I recognize the obvious questions follow such an announcement in a political year …. Why Now?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Is this Hot Air or Truth?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In this day when a politician words no longer really mean all that much, do we believe this statement, is there anything past this?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Of course there is the ever present activist question in our community ….WHERE DO WE GO AND WHAT DO WE DO FROM HERE!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I believe that this is a step forward with immeasurable benefits both in the short term and the long term. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is yet one more building block to add on to what so many of our community have put in place with so much effort in to building towards true equality.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We need to pause and take stock of where we really are, what we have to work with, and then lay plans as to where we can go from here.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For us older more jaded folks these eleven words give us the sense that we are being heard and change is coming. More slowly then we would like, but it is coming.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For the younger generation these eleven words say they count and they are worthy.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Think of that 14 year gay kid who hears the President of the United States say those eleven words, just maybe they will not swallow the wrong end of a gun.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Much as a river running through the land ever so slowly changes the landscape, these eleven words have changed the landscape for the LGBTQIA community for the good.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So regardless of political preference, ideology or party, we owe this President of the United States a debt of gratitude for the first time in history to saying,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.”</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Those eleven words have changed the landscape of this country forever and there is no turning back…no turning back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Thank you Mr. President!</b></p>The Lesbian Agendatag:queertoday.ning.com,2012-04-28:2057108:BlogPost:561592012-04-28T23:30:00.000Zmarygriggshttp://queertoday.ning.com/profile/marygriggs
<p>I attended the Louisiana Rally Against the War on Women today in Baton Rouge and was impressed by the speakers who addressed many facets of women's rights--from violence against women and victim blaming to reproductive choices; from abortion to the Equal Rights Amendment. While the numbers of those gathered did not break a hundred, it was great to be a part of a nationwide movement to unite women against the attacks from religious extremists and legislators. For more information on the…</p>
<p>I attended the Louisiana Rally Against the War on Women today in Baton Rouge and was impressed by the speakers who addressed many facets of women's rights--from violence against women and victim blaming to reproductive choices; from abortion to the Equal Rights Amendment. While the numbers of those gathered did not break a hundred, it was great to be a part of a nationwide movement to unite women against the attacks from religious extremists and legislators. For more information on the movement, go to <a href="http://www.unitewomen.org" target="_blank">http://www.unitewomen.org</a>. The Facebook page for the Louisiana Unite Against the War On Women is: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/groups/CAJUNWOW/" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/groups/CAJUNWOW/</a></p>
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/AJepRrUNqo-h1GJTD0InJQ8MU22N1oHn9iualTxpzSThalAOZfbnaxgrK216rvvwjfE-VGLem1Fo1JDtRuSGx6hjF*m2dcz7/unitewarwomen.gif" target="_self"><img src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/AJepRrUNqo-h1GJTD0InJQ8MU22N1oHn9iualTxpzSThalAOZfbnaxgrK216rvvwjfE-VGLem1Fo1JDtRuSGx6hjF*m2dcz7/unitewarwomen.gif" width="724" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p>I also gave a speech on the Lesbian Agenda that was very well received. I'm posting it here:</p>
<blockquote><p>I’m speaking to you today as a lesbian with an agenda. Yes, it is true—we have an agenda!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Our agenda isn’t so big, so unmanageable, so unrealistic that is an impossible dream. No, our agenda is really quite simple. We want equality. We want to be treated fairly, with the same legal protections as everyone else.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>For example:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>We want to work without being afraid of losing our job if our boss learns we are not straight.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>We want to be safe in our homes and not risk eviction because our landlord sees our lives as a violation of some morality clause.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>We want the students of this state to be safe from being bullied for any reason but especially we want them to be safe from abuse because of their real or perceived gender identity or sexual orientation.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>We want families in this state to be made stronger by laws that focus on the best interest of the child and not on the sexual orientation or gender identity of the parents.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>We want loving gay and lesbian couples to be eligible for the same rights and responsibilities of marriage as the meanest murderer on death row who marries their pen pal receives as a matter of course.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>We want our transgender brothers and sisters to not be at risk of violence for just being themselves or for using the bathroom of their choice. We don’t want them to face discrimination in health care due to bias against gender non-conforming people.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>We want to be free from humiliation or refused service in any public place like a restaurant, a bar or a hotel because we showed the slightest signs of affection to our partners.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>We want to walk the streets without fear harassment by law enforcement or other authority because they don’t approve of our orientation or because we can’t conform to their gender binary system.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>We want our LGBT service members to, not only serve openly and proudly, but to have their partners treated with the same respect and be eligible for the same benefits as other service members families.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Unfortunately we live in a state where none of these are guaranteed. In fact, we’re in a city that can’t even pass a non-binding resolution to welcome people of all genders and orientations. There is a lot of work to be done but I believe we can do it if we work together.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>What unites Americans is equality. It is probably a reason many of you are here today. It will hopefully be what gets you to the polls in November. I call on every one of you to join the fight for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. Equality will be a reality if we stay united!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I want to end by mentioning a couple of bills that will be heard this session:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Senate Bill 100 is a public employee non-discrimination bill that would protect employees of the state from being fired because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. This bill will be heard on Thursday, May 3. Contact <a href="http://www.forumforequality.org" target="_blank">http://www.ForumForEquality.org</a> for more information.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As most of you know, the enumerated anti-bully bill that was written in coalition with educators, disability rights advocates and LGBT activists was gutted in committee and then withdrawn by the author. We thank Rep. Smith for her dedication and we are happy that she has not given up on passage of HB 407 or its sister bill in the Senate SB 619 but we also face several bills, including a religious right to bully bill sponsored by the Louisiana Family Forum that must be defeated. Go to <a href="http://www.stopbullyinglouisiana.org" target="_self">www.stopbullyinglouisiana.org</a> to find out how you can help protect all of our students.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
</blockquote>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/VoDjAndXaGOMjS98WwUWdnkhOgo3WmGg0ACu6dCZzKXtZr2PyEK6G--vmXKjXdOLKsp0Stjv-NxHyrWgb7MIDlKA0kgHUm*2/addressingtheUniteAgainstWOW.jpg" target="_self"><img src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/VoDjAndXaGOMjS98WwUWdnkhOgo3WmGg0ACu6dCZzKXtZr2PyEK6G--vmXKjXdOLKsp0Stjv-NxHyrWgb7MIDlKA0kgHUm*2/addressingtheUniteAgainstWOW.jpg?width=750" width="750" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p> </p>Constitutional Recognition Of Non-Discrimination On The Basis Of Sexual Orientationtag:queertoday.ning.com,2012-01-21:2057108:BlogPost:554722012-01-21T10:03:06.000ZChalwe Charles Mwansahttp://queertoday.ning.com/profile/ChalweCharlesMwansa
<p><b>Introduction</b></p>
<p>Human rights treaties do not specifically mention sexual orientation. However, discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation has been determined to be incompatible with adherence to the the <b><i>Universal Declaration of Human Rights</i></b> and reflected in all other universal and regional human rights instruments such as the <b><i>International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights</i></b>.<a title="">[1]</a> <b><i>The African Charter,</i></b> and…</p>
<p><b>Introduction</b></p>
<p>Human rights treaties do not specifically mention sexual orientation. However, discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation has been determined to be incompatible with adherence to the the <b><i>Universal Declaration of Human Rights</i></b> and reflected in all other universal and regional human rights instruments such as the <b><i>International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights</i></b>.<a title="">[1]</a> <b><i>The African Charter,</i></b> and <b><i>the International Convention on Social Economical and Cultural Rights.</i></b> In their preambles,the treaties ‘recall that human rights are universal and shall apply to all individuals, and stressing therefore its commitment to guarantee the equal dignity of all human beings and the enjoyment of rights and freedoms of all individuals without discrimination on any ground’ .However, despite being signatories to the treaties ,Many African states retain criminal sanctions for same-sex relationships that are derive from the colonial era; prominent among them, is the Republic of Zambia, were removing of such criminal sanctions from the statute book remains very much an up-hill struggle. The following paper shall seek to shade more light on the country’s current legal status concerning same sex relations, furthermore it shall elucidate the political, religious as well as Social adverse impact discrimination has LGBT person in Zambia.</p>
<p><b>Legal Issues:</b></p>
<p>The legal basis for non-discrimination amongst people in Zambia is firmly laid. <b><i>Article 11 of the Constitution of Zambia of 1991</i></b>, as amended by Act no. 17 of 1996, establishes that “<i>every person in Zambia has been and shall continue to be entitled to the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual, that is to say, the right, whatever his race, place of origin, political opinions, color, creed, sex or marital status</i> <a title="">[2]</a></p>
<p>Further <b><i>Article 23(1)</i></b> <a title="">[3]</a>states that <i>“no law shall make any provision that is discriminatory either of itself or in its effect”.</i></p>
<p> </p>
<p>The constitutional anti-discrimination clause is set out in <b>Article 23(2)</b> <a title="">[4]</a>that reads “<i>no person shall be treated in a discriminatory manner by any person acting by virtue of any written law or in the performance of the functions of any public office or any public authority”.</i></p>
<p><b>Article 23(3)<a title=""><b>[5]</b></a></b> defines “discrimination” as any “<i>different treatment to different persons attributable, wholly or mainly to their respective descriptions by race, tribe, sex, place of origin, marital status, political opinions color or creed whereby persons of one such description are subjected to disabilities or restrictions to which persons of another such description are not made subject or are accorded privileges or advantages which are not accorded to persons of another such description”.</i></p>
<p><i> </i></p>
<p>This right to non-discrimination is not limited to enumerated grounds. Every international and regional human rights instrument that protects against discrimination includes “other status” or language equivalent thereto. Zambia is a state party of the UN’s International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) following its accession on April 10, 1984. <b><i>Article 2(1) of the ICCPR<a title=""><b>[6]</b></a></i></b>: states <i>“Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction the rights recognized in the present Covenant, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, Property, birth or other status.”</i> Despite this, and the Zambian Constitution’s strong anti-discrimination Articles, it is deplorable that hatred of the small but significant Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender (LGBT) community - and the violation of their rights - continues unabated in a country that claims to embrace fundamental human rights principles by ratifying them at both regional and international level.The African Charter for example calls on the individual to act in a spirit of “tolerance, dialogue and consultation”.</p>
<p>in addition <b><i>Article 2<a title=""><b>[7]</b></a></i></b> of the Charter promotes <i>“Every individual shall be entitled to the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms recognized and guaranteed in the present Charter without Distinction of any kind such as race, ethnic group, color, sex, language, religion, political or any other opinion, national and social origin, fortune, birth or any status”</i> If this was the case in practice and not just in words, then Zambia would not be a place where bigoted homophobia could thrive.</p>
<p><b>Equal Protection in International Law</b></p>
<ul>
<li><b>Article 26 of the ICCPR:</b> <i>“All persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection of the law. In this respect, the law shall prohibit any discrimination and guarantee to all persons equal and effective protection against discrimination on any ground such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.”<a title=""><b>[8]</b></a></i></li>
<li><b>Article 3 of the African Charter</b>: <i>“Every individual shall be equal before the law. Every individual shall be entitled to equal protection of the law.” <a title=""><b>[9]</b></a>Although the instruments listed above do not include “sexual orientation” among the enumerated categories, these categories are clearly intended to be illustrative and not exhaustive.</i></li>
<li> </li>
</ul>
<p><i>The use of the phrase “or other status” means that the list of categories is open-ended</i>. That is why the <b>UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights</b> offered a similar explanation of the term “<i>other status:”</i> when it stated ‘<i>The nature of discrimination varies according to context and evolves over time. A flexible approach to the ground of “other status” is thus needed to capture other forms of differential treatment that cannot be reasonably and objectively justified and are of a comparable nature to the expressly recognized grounds in <b>Article 2(2)</b></i> of the <b>(ICESCR)</b> which reads <i>“The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to guarantee that the rights enunciated in the present Covenant will be exercised without discrimination of any kind as to race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.” These additional grounds are commonly recognized when they reflect the experience of social groups that are vulnerable and have suffered and continue to suffer marginalization</i>.<a title="">[10]</a></p>
<p>These provisions should be interpreted as prohibiting all forms of discrimination including discrimination based on sexual orientation. The Human Rights Committee<a title="">[11]</a> followed such an equality-based approach in the case of <b><i>Toonen v Australia</i></b>.<a title="">[12]</a> In this case, the Human Rights Committee decided that the criminalization of sexual relations between persons of the same sex constitutes a violation of the right to non-discrimination in the ICCPR.<a title="">[13]</a> In its decision, the Human Rights Committee found that the criminalization of sexual acts between persons of the same sex constitutes a violation of Mr Toonen’s rights against discrimination as well as to equal protection before the law.</p>
<p>The most outrageous violation of Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights in Zambia is constituted by the <b>Zambian Penal Code,</b> <b>Act of 1995, Cap 87</b> of the laws of Zambia that criminalizes same-sex sexual conduct in private between consenting adults - so contravening <b><i>Articles 2(1), 17 and 26 of the ICCPR</i></b>, were the Human Rights Committee was of the view that,with ‘the reference to “sex” in articles 2, paragraph 1, and 26 was to be taken as including sexual orientation’.<a title="">[14]</a></p>
<p><b>Section 155 <a title=""><b>[15]</b></a></b>of the Zambian Penal Code, establishes that:</p>
<p>“<i>Any person who-</i></p>
<p><i>(a) has carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature; or</i></p>
<p><i>(b) has carnal knowledge of an animal; or</i></p>
<p><i>(c) permits a male person to have carnal knowledge of him or her against the order of nature</i>;</p>
<p><i>is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for fourteen years”.</i></p>
<p>Similar to the Tasmanian statute outlawed by the Human Rights Committee in the <b><i>Toonen</i> case,</b> section 155 punishes the crime of “unnatural offences”. <b>Section 156<a title=""><b>[16]</b></a></b> punishes with imprisonment for seven years the “attempt to commit unnatural offences”.</p>
<p><b>Section 157 <a title=""><b>[17]</b></a></b>of the Penal Code explicitly targets same-sex sexual conducts with the provision that criminalizes “indecent practices between males”.</p>
<p><b> Section 157</b> reads: <i>“Any male person who, whether in public or private, commits any act of gross indecency with another male person, or procures another male person to commit any act of gross indecency with him, or attempts to procure the commission of any such act by any male person with himself or with another male person, whether in public or private, is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for five years”.</i></p>
<p>As far as sexual relations between consenting adults of the same sex are concerned, <i>Section 155a and 157</i> of the Zambian Penal Code bis occasions discrimination against a group of people (LGBT persons) on the basis of their sexual orientation as such. One may thus conclude that an infringement of the principle of non-discrimination based on sexual orientation, as derived from treaties that have constitutional force, constitute a violation of the Constitution of Zambia,which in the case of <b><i>Christine Muludika and Seven others Vs The Attoney General</i></b>,<a title="">[18]</a> the court held “ the Constitution of the Republic of Zambia is the most important law of the land and if any other law is in consistent to it, it shall be held to be repangunt” as was the matter in this case in which Section 5(4) of the Public Order Act Cap 104 contravened Arts. 20 and 21 of the Constitution and was held to be null and void. Thus Section 155a and 157 are inconsistent to Article 23 of the Constitution of the Zambia which must be held to be null and void.</p>
<p><b>THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT OF LGBT PERSONS AND THE PRACTICAL IMAPCT OF THESE VIOLATIONS</b></p>
<p>The retention of the colonial penal provisions (long since repealed in the UK - the former colonial power) that criminalize sexual relationships between same-sex consenting adults has a devastating impact on same-sex practicing people in Zambia. it has been said that[t]he experience of homophobia and heterosexism is inextricably a part of being gay, lesbian or bisexual in this country. To be gay, lesbian or bisexual is to be discriminated against, both by other individuals and by institutions. To be gay or lesbian is to be defined as “other,” “sick,” “deviant,” “abnormal,” “criminal.”<a title="">[19]</a></p>
<p>Hiding one, denying one's reality and lying to society have become, for many, common behaviors. In such conditions, hidden sexual practices often remains only passing moments of intimacy; the risks of inciting intolerance allowed for nothing more. Men who had or wished to have sex with other men live in a world constrained by omnipresent marginalization and denial. “It is impossible to assess what effects such attitudes might have on the psyche, on self-identity, and, to use terms commonly used today and popular in health promotion circles, on well-being and quality of life in general.”<a title="">[20]</a>The degree to which homosexual orientation is accepted depends on the perceptions that society has of homosexuality, on people's own objectivity with respect to such perceptions, and on their relations with the gay community and its social networks. This led “<b>U.N chief Ban Ki-moon</b> on December 16, 2011 to call on countries to abolish laws that discriminate against gays and lesbians. When he said <i>'cultural concerns cannot justify discriminating against people because of their sexual orientation’.</i></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Gays, lesbians, and bisexuals in Zambia live in constant fear of detention, discrimination in education, employment, housing, and access to services, and extortion - all buttressed by the existence of sections 155 - 157 of the Penal Code and the lack of specific legal protections for LGBT people under Zambian law.</p>
<p>Zambians who have fought against discrimination related to sexual orientation or gender identity have been systematically silenced. In the current social context, the process of coming out creates discontinuity between “ordinary” social life and homosexual socialization. Coming out makes it possible to free oneself from social constraints. Coming out also demonstrates the limits of this freedom, by confronting the person with the various manifestations of such discrimination. Coming out thus represents an individual and social process</p>
<p>of development of a gay identity<a title="">[21]</a>. Last year Festus Mugae and Kenneth Kaunda, former Presidents of Botswana and Zambia, are on their HIV Free Generation tour in some African countries. At a news conference in Lilongwe they <u>condemned Malawi’s criminalization of</u> <u>homosexuality</u> as harmful to LGBTI persons and the fight against HIV/AIDS. "<i>We can preach about behavioral change, but as long as we confine gays and lesbians into dark corners because of our inflexibility to accommodate them, the battle on HIV and AIDS can never be won,"</i> On his part, Kaunda urged all African leaders to start recognizing same sex marriage. Said Kaunda: "<i>We are not only condemning African leaders who are criminalizing same sex marriage, but we are urging them to start recognizing these people, for the sake of HIV and AIDS.</i>"<a title="">[22]</a>in addtion <b><i>Mrs. Elizabeth Mataka</i>, the UN</b> <b>Secretary-General's special envoy on Aids in Africa</b>, has ‘ the solution is straightforward: when she said “<i>do away with the law against homosexuality.By stopping condoms from getting into prison, for example, we are actually allowing transmission of HIV to go on unabated and losing control of the epidemic ,But the political will is lacking ."</i> The fact that HIV/AIDS has primarily affected gay men and other marginalized populations, governments have been and continue to be less committed to fighting the disease.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><b>Health And Social Impacts Of Criminalisation Of LGBT Persons In Zambia</b></p>
<ul>
<li>All forms of homophobia are destructive, not just for people living openly as LGBT, but for society as a whole, the impact of discrimination of (LGBT)People has caused many of them to modifies their daily activities because of fear of prejudice and discrimination. It is no wonder that this has an impact on the health and wellbeing of gay and lesbian people resulting in there being a large increase in suicide mortality rates.</li>
<li>The stigmatization of lesbian and gay sexuality and relationships undermined the ability of gay communities to respond effectively during the early years of the HIV epidemic. Governments did not want to acknowledge that the problem existed, much less discuss activities such as anal intercourse, which they viewed as shameful. The stigma surrounding same-sex sexual practices and gay identity represented an enormous obstacle in any efforts to reach and inform gay men about HIV.</li>
<li>The lack of awareness on the dangers of involving into acts of unprotected sex amongst gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender has contributed to high transmission of the HIV/AIDS virus because many young gay men underestimate likely they are to be exposed to sexually transmitted diseases, and in some places where they are otherwise well informed about HIV and STI‘s, the young people often don’t think they are vulnerable to contracting them .</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<ul>
<li>While prevention strategies have often not taken the needs of gay men into account, many still see HIV/AIDS as fundamentally a gay disease. This perception has hampered the efforts of non-gay communities to generate their own effective responses to the epidemic. A consequence of HIV/AIDS related stigma has been to link the disease in the public's mind “<b>to the populations most affected by it</b>, rather than to the <b>specific risk behaviors that transmit it</b>.”<a title="">[23]</a> HIV/AIDS-related stigma instills a false perception of one's being less at risk when one is not a member of one of the disease's “officially recognized risk groups or at-risk populations.”<a title="">[24]</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Extortion and Blackmail</p>
<p>Extortion of gay men and women remains a major problem, and is often conducted with police participation who remain actively involved in approximately half of these circumstances either in collaboration with the extortionist or on their own account <b>.Friends of Rainka ,</b>a Zambian organization that is concerned with the well fair of LGBTI rights can provide updated instances of the practical impact of the violation of LGBT rights .</p>
<p>What makes these attempts at extortion particularly difficult to challenge is the fact that they involve intimate sexual relationships that are against the law and their unacceptability is being constantly and publicly reiterated. Regardless of whether the allegations leveled against him are false or not, the victim accused of a homosexual act is therefore discredited from the beginning and invariably has to start from a position where his guilt is presumed.<a title="">[25]</a> But the burden of all the baggage that such an accusation carries goes beyond the lack of a presumption of innocence to undermine the victim’s credibility in general. Prosecutions for either extortion or for homosexual sex frequently rely on the conflicting testimony of the parties involved, and thus often come down to the question of which witness is the most credible in a scenario where the truth has no place; the truth will invariably be contrary to the needs of all those involved – blackmailer, victim, and profiteering police officer – ensuring that it is excluded from all accounts. In many cases, the extortionist claims to be a heterosexual who was propositioned or seduced by a homosexual.<a title="">[26]</a> Such a claim automatically invests the extortionist with the innocence of a victim whose “normal” life is interrupted by the predatory homosexual, who in turn is positioned as both interfering stranger and “offender”: “The sexual stranger is feared as the potential perpetrator of unimaginable crimes… but the hatred generated by this fear means that it is the same ‘stranger’ who ultimately becomes the victim of discrimination, abuse and violence… because he/she is unknown, unknowable, and, hence, dangerous.”<a title="">[27]</a>Homosexuality is thus construed as good justification for extortion, and while the courts might eventually dismiss the charges for lack of evidence the procedures leading up to trial present individual police officers, prosecutors, and the initial extortionists with plenty of opportunities to intimidate the target and relieve him or her of money or goods.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><b>Zambia: A “Christian” Nation </b></p>
<p>In some contexts, Discrimination has been reinforced by religious leaders and organizations, which have used their power to maintain the status quo rather than to challenge negative attitudes toward marginalized groups. St Francis of Assisi is recorded as saying <i>“While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it more fully in your heart”. Z</i>ambia is a Christian nation, were majority of the Christian faith follow the teachings of Christ which are purely based on love. A common element of Zambian cultural life centres on belonging to a community of people and in our inherent ability to embrace and uphold diversity . However Representatives of religious institutions have been among the most outspoken opponents of LGBT rights both in Zambia and abroad, by condemning them as‘a people doomed or eternal damnation’ using Bibilical principals and passages, really. "The anointed" are wolves in sheep's clothing, isolating and condemning out-groups such as the LGBT persons who in the main, feel very strongly that the church is their enemy. It ACTS like the enemy and in fact has so alienated the majority of these people (including children born and raised in the church who are frequently thrown out of their own homes and churches).</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The church should instead be taking an active role in bringing the LGBT community to an understanding that they are loved and valued by Christ. Unfortunately it fails to see that these are individual children, individual people, who struggle within themselves between impossible alternatives--deny who they are and the sexual make-up and attractions they were born with, pretending to be heterosexual when they are not--accept that they are homosexual and live in a way that is comfortable and normal for them, facing rejection daily--or try the middle path of knowing they are gay and attempting to be celibate for life, something that very few homo- or heterosexual people would be able to manage, and even then still experiencing rejection from many people unless they keep this part of themselves a secret.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The issue of homosexuality is one of the many controversial matters that arise in relation to Christianity. What the church needs to do is accept that this is a very sticky, difficult, highly emotional, no-clear-answers sort of question with which the body of Christ must wrestle. People are created this way--what then must be done? As of now the church is so in the wrong as far as being judgmental, hateful, uncaring, unempathetic and so forth, that they are disobeying far more biblical principles and commandments than there are statements about homosexuality. And those references to homosexuality need to be studied objectively so that they really know what they mean. For example in <b><i>I Cor 6:9 the KJV</i></b><a title=""><b><i><b>[28]</b></i></b></a> used the word "<b><i>effeminate"</i></b> until 1958 when the word "homosexual" was substituted.</p>
<p><b>Conclusion</b></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<p class="Default"><b><i>Section 155(a) of the Zambian Penal Code</i></b> which penalizes sexual relations between consenting adults in Zambia, constitutes a flagrant violation of numerous rights guaranteed by the Constitution of Zambia. In particular, it poses an infringement of the right to equality and non-discrimination, privacy, health, as well as the guarantee against cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The abolition <b><i>Section 155(a</i></b> ) by Zambia would be in line with its international treaty obligations, the importance of which is highlighted by Zambia’s membership to ICCPR,ICESCR and ACHR treaties of which it is a signatory . <b>Section 155(a)</b> does not constitute a justifiable limitation of rights, as its aims or objectives (namely to give effect to the morality of the majority, to ‘African values’, and as a measure to combat the spread of HIV) are not reasonable and necessary limitations to the rights mentioned above.</p>
<p class="Default"> </p>
<p class="Default">The decriminalization of sexual relations between consenting adults in private is indispensible to the rule of law in our country. The overriding question that arises is not whether homosexuality, as such, is acceptable, but rather whether tolerance for diversity of all minorities, one of the values pronounced under Zambian law, actually exists in our society. The ideal of achieving this tolerance inspires some associations like ‘<b>Friend of Reinka</b>” to engage in a vigorous campaign to advocate for the decriminalization of homosexuality. The African Charter emphasizes this aspect when it declares that every individual has the duty to ‘<i>consider his fellow beings without discrimination</i>’ <i>and to safeguard and reinforce ‘mutual respect and tolerance’</i>.</p>
<p class="Default">To ensure a Zambia where everyone feels secure and without being marginalized ,<b><i>Section 155(a)</i></b> of the Penal Code should be abolished through our collective courage.</p>
<p><b>Written by</b></p>
<p>Chalwe Ranney Mwansa</p>
<p>Fourth year Law Student</p>
<p>Zambia Open University</p>
<p>Email: <a href="mailto:ropewings@gmail.com">ropewings@gmail.com</a> <u> </u></p>
<div><br clear="all"/><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%"/><div><p><a title="">[1]</a>Tim Robinson and Jon Lunn. <b>Issues facing LGBT people in sub-Saharan Africa: suggested reading.</b> Standard Note: SN/IA/6043</p>
<p><b> </b>29 July 2011</p>
</div>
<div><p><a title="">[2]</a> Article 11 of the Constitution of Zambia of 1991, as amended by Act no. 17 of 1996</p>
</div>
<div><p><a title="">[3]</a> Article 23(1) Constitution of Zambia of 1991, as amended by Act no. 17 of 1996</p>
</div>
<div><p><a title="">[4]</a>Article 23(2) Constitution of Zambia of 1991, as amended by Act no. 17 of 1996</p>
</div>
<div><p><a title="">[5]</a> Article 23(3) Constitution of Zambia of 1991, as amended by Act no. 17 of 1996</p>
</div>
<div><p><a title="">[6]</a> <i>Article 2(1) of the ICCPR</i></p>
</div>
<div><p><a title="">[7]</a> Article 2 of the African Charter</p>
</div>
<div><p><a title="">[8]</a> Article 26 of the ICCPR</p>
</div>
<div><p><a title="">[9]</a> Article 3 of the African Charter</p>
</div>
<div><p><a title="">[10]</a> General Comment No. 20, Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 10 June</p>
<p>2009, at para. 27.</p>
</div>
<div><p><a title="">[11]</a> The Human Rights Committee has been set up to interpret and monitor state compliance with the rights in the ICCPR through the examination of state reports and individual communications. </p>
</div>
<div><p><a title="">[12]</a> <i>Nicholas Toonen v Australia</i>, Communication No. 488/1992, U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/50/D/488/1992 (1994). </p>
</div>
<div><p><a title="">[13]</a> Ibid</p>
</div>
<div><p><a title="">[14]</a> Ibid</p>
</div>
<div><p><a title="">[15]</a> Section 155 of the Zambian Penal Code, Act of 1995, Cap 87 of the laws of Zambia</p>
</div>
<div><p><a title="">[16]</a> Section 156 of the Zambian Penal Code, Act of 1995, Cap 87 of the laws of Zambia</p>
</div>
<div><p><a title="">[17]</a> Section 157 of the Zambian Penal Code, Act of 1995, Cap 87 of the laws of Zambia</p>
</div>
<div><p><a title="">[18]</a> christine mulundika and 7 others v the people (1995)</p>
</div>
<div><p><a title="">[19]</a> Homophobia, Heterosexism and AIDS, supra, note 2</p>
</div>
<div><p><a title="">[20]</a> DF Morrow. Social work with gay and lesbian adolescents. Social Work 1993; 38(6): 655-660.</p>
</div>
<div><p><a title="">[21]</a> For a detailed analysis of the various models of the coming-out process, see Y Jalbert. Perception du risque face au VIH/sida et son impact sur l'utilisation des services de santé chez les jeunes homes homosexuels âgés de 16 à 20 ans de Montréal. Doctoral dissertation, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Montréal.</p>
</div>
<div><p><a title="">[22]</a> <a href="http://www.africanveil/">www.africanveil</a> <u>.com /festus mugae and kenneth kaunda speech in Malawi on criminsalition</u></p>
</div>
<div><p><a title="">[23]</a> The Impact of Homophobia, supra, note 5 at 23 (emphasis in the original).</p>
</div>
<div><p><a title="">[24]</a> ibid</p>
</div>
<div><p><a title="">[25]</a> Ryan Thoreson and Sam Cook <b>Nowhere to Turn:</b> <i><u>Blackmail and Extortion of LGBT People in Sub-Saharan Africa</u></i> p.33</p>
</div>
<div><p><a title="">[26]</a> Human Rights Watch, <i>More than a Name</i>, 92–102.</p>
</div>
<div><p><a title="">[27]</a> Mason, “Being Hated,” 590.</p>
</div>
<div><p><a title="">[28]</a> I Cor 6:9 the king James Version </p>
</div>
</div>Watch: OCCUPY HRC!tag:queertoday.ning.com,2011-12-07:2057108:BlogPost:540762011-12-07T08:00:00.000ZQueerTodayhttp://queertoday.ning.com/profile/queertoday
<center><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qOqUhom0wwU?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0"></iframe>
<br/> <br/>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cKtguJC5Ymk?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0"></iframe>
</center>
<center><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qOqUhom0wwU?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0"></iframe>
<br/> <br/>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cKtguJC5Ymk?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0"></iframe>
</center>Gay Marriage Ate My Babytag:queertoday.ning.com,2011-12-06:2057108:BlogPost:542712011-12-06T12:30:00.000Zzeraphhttp://queertoday.ning.com/profile/zeraph
<p>I don't know what about all this gay marriage, committed monogamous love, serving in the military, being "born with it," or raising up normal non-gay babies that has gay people all excited.</p>
<p>And I'm not against two people of the same sex, whatever that means, getting married to each other. But I've never thought that to be "married," I needed to have an official of the church or state preside over that ceremony. So I have never felt limited or saddened by my legal inability, as a queer…</p>
<p>I don't know what about all this gay marriage, committed monogamous love, serving in the military, being "born with it," or raising up normal non-gay babies that has gay people all excited.</p>
<p>And I'm not against two people of the same sex, whatever that means, getting married to each other. But I've never thought that to be "married," I needed to have an official of the church or state preside over that ceremony. So I have never felt limited or saddened by my legal inability, as a queer person, to marry whomever I want. I want to get as far away from the State as possible. But if legal marriage is helpful to some people, I'm okay with that.</p>
<p>But an emotional issue it is not. Under normal circumstances, no one can take away your ability to love and make a lifelong commitment to another person. That is marriage, if such a concept is useful, and I think it can be.</p>
<p>Despite my lukewarm and not necessarily radical position on gay marriage, I have become more radical over time with regards to this issue. I generally say I oppose campaigns for gay marriage. The reason is simple. When I hear the arguments for gay marriage, it makes me feel uneasy. It makes me feel a little ill. It gives me the creeping sensation that something is wrong.</p>
<p>I disagree with most of the arguments used in support of gay marriage, for example.</p>
<p>I don't believe that being gay is necessarily inborn. It's almost a crime these days to say that, because saying it is a choice has been used against gay people for a long time. I think the argument that being gay is inborn is a reactionary argument; it's come about because of the religious argument for behavioral homosexuality, homosexuality as a sinful choice. Actually, the concept of life-long static sexual identity is very, very new. And that's not because this is the first time in human history that queers have been accepted. We've been accepted in various ways in many cultures, and to a higher degree in some cultures than we presently are. And yet homosexuality as a static identity, or orientation, is almost a new thing under the sun. It has occurred in pockets, but not as a cultural institution. However, heterosexuality as an institution is not necessarily the default, either. Whereas sexuality is about identity today, in the past it was often viewed differently. I also know that people's sexuality can and does change over time. There is little room for that in the "born with it" camp.</p>
<p>I don't believe that gay marriage does not change straight marriage. I don't agree with arguments that try to convince straight people that gay marriage does not affect them. They evidently feel that it does affect them, and I don't think arguments like these are changing people's minds very often. Gay marriage changes the definition of marriage. Marriage has been the building block of society; the heterosexual union is the basis for the nuclear family as an economic unit. The transfer of women as a form of property has been part of marriage in many cultures for a long time. Straight marriage is considered Biblically appropriate, smiled on by God as the ideal formation. This is a big deal. It's not important to me personally, and I think it's boring and harmful, but it is very important to many. Gay marriage is scary to homophobic and fundamentalist Christian straight folks because it actually says something about straight marriage. It means that straight people have been getting married for love, and not because of anything else I said in this paragraph. Gay marriage is the final realization of what marriage was already becoming. Gay marriage is the next stage in taking apart marriage as it was known for thousands of years in our cultural history. Gay marriage is intricately connected to straight marriage. Accepting gay marriage will not be simple for the people who oppose it. Simplistic arguments insult their intelligence and treat them like imbeciles.</p>
<p>I don't think that gay people should need to point out that gay couples usually raise straight kids or that their kids do just as well as kids of straight couples. This is literally painful for me to hear. Imagine how you would feel if you saw a modern video about anti-racism that pointed out that people of color's IQs were just as high as white people's IQs on average. We now know better than to trot out crap like that. Here's the thing: Homophobes actually think that queer couples are the agents of Satan, playing out a perverted family arrangement into which they have brought an "innocent child" who they will corrupt with their sexual perversion. This is an erotic, subliminalized rape script. This is the kind of image that moves armies. Messages of tolerance are pathetic in that context. The homophobic and fundie opponents of gay marriage aren't just confused about the truth. They don't need a gentle dose of facts and figures. They believe this story because they want to. It's important to them. We might want to think about why.</p>
<p>But there's one thing I hate more than anything about the argument for gay marriage, and it's the presumption that committed monogamous relationships are better. This argument can appear in various forms, but the most common is the simplest: Just showing long-term couples getting married. Emphasize their committedness and the length of relationship. This is a cultural status symbol amongst straights already, and that is why it is used to provoke an emotional response. But there are more insidious forms of this same idea: Many gay marriage supporters feel that gay people are promiscuous, or have been promiscuous in times past, because of a lack of official acceptance of their desire to form families.</p>
<p>This is an appalling and counterrevolutionary way to look at the beautiful cultural practices, institutions, and ways of loving that queer people have formed in the absence of official sanction (and often, not mourning that absence.) Here are just a few awesome things that some queers do:</p>
<p>- Cruise. Go looking for hot sex in public or in specific cruising areas. Use symbols to communicate sexual preferences at a glance.</p>
<p>-Define a huge, organically shifting range of gender identities and sub-identities, as well as sexual identities and names for body types</p>
<p>-Find ways to glorify tons of kinds of beauty, name them, and explore them in affirming communities</p>
<p>-Respond effectively and courageously to an epidemic without scare tactics, without buying into lies and fear from the state</p>
<p>-Help to build the culture of polyamory and teach how to communicate with multiple partners honestly</p>
<p>-Make open relationships normal</p>
<p>-Teach and learn consent practices</p>
<p>-Create free love spaces such as bathhouses</p>
<p>-Create amazing, subversive art, poetry, music and literature that is part of our cultural lexicon forever</p>
<p>-Make it safer for people of every kind to express a wider range of emotions, desires and sexualities</p>
<p>I am so excited and happy to be part of this community.</p>
<p>I'd like queer people to be able to teach straight people about their options. It's not that one thing is better than another, I'm not perpetrating another useless hierarchy. But people deserve more options for living their lives. So many people suffer in monogamous relationships, cheating on their partners, full of jealousy, because they don't know how to be poly. They've been force-fed an idea of how life must be and they have swallowed without chewing. Straight homophobic men live in fear of queerness, perpetrate physical and emotional violence on queers and on each other, and can't have the platonic intimacy that would make them happier. Men and women suffer under heterosexist beauty standards. I want to share this stuff. I don't want to absorb straight heterosexist values so that I can be "equal." It's not an equality I want. It feels like working my ass off to join the preppy kids' clique in high school where I'd be bored to fucking tears.</p>
<p>The last and perhaps the most interesting "myth-busting" argument for gay marriage that I'd like to look at is the idea that "no one would choose to be gay, because no one would choose to be oppressed." When I see this one, I just want to say, "Oh, honey." No one would choose an identity, lifestyle, or personal practice that might result in significant oppression? Certainly someone should pass that message on to millions of religious minorities, political and social activists, and revolutionaries. They have seriously missed the memo. If there is anything we humans are that is truly worthy of awe, it is our courage. We are almost pathologically courageous. It is an amazing, breathtaking thing. So, yes, if being gay was a choice, people would choose it even if it meant being oppressed, just as religiously oppressed people have chosen to continue believing even under penalty of death.</p>
<p>The gay marriage campaign misses the mark in so many important ways that I find it personally difficult to express my support for the legal right of any two people to marry. Because, yes, that is my position; I'm okay with gay couples being legally married. I can't abide by a campaign that draws on bizarre, inaccurate and counter-revolutionary ideas about humanity to make an emotional point about something I consider a fairly low priority on my personal radar. I object to the enormous resources that are brought to bear on the campaign; I object to the condescending campaign techniques that ignore significant cultural and psychological differences under the banner of "tolerance." But mostly, the gay marriage campaign makes me wonder if this is what we're going to settle for.</p>AIDS: Still Kills, Maims and Destroystag:queertoday.ning.com,2011-11-30:2057108:BlogPost:539712011-11-30T21:43:21.000ZRev. Paul M. Turnerhttp://queertoday.ning.com/profile/RevPaulMTurner
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/eKWVPGR5hzTjrlYi9nwJKKevZsOvlHt1PVCZp3dePVQAQ8ewSmCf4bl0R2aGnu3HkHS*BuFPIPFo7qL31QR4ewyHI-nNycO3/RedRibbon.jpg" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/eKWVPGR5hzTjrlYi9nwJKKevZsOvlHt1PVCZp3dePVQAQ8ewSmCf4bl0R2aGnu3HkHS*BuFPIPFo7qL31QR4ewyHI-nNycO3/RedRibbon.jpg" width="90"></img></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My coming out days were lived out in Chicago, Illinois (1965-1982). I also came out prior to HIV/AIDS being part of our everyday lives.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">During my time in Chicago, the gay community was party central but also a close-knit community. Over…</p>
<p><a target="_self" href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/eKWVPGR5hzTjrlYi9nwJKKevZsOvlHt1PVCZp3dePVQAQ8ewSmCf4bl0R2aGnu3HkHS*BuFPIPFo7qL31QR4ewyHI-nNycO3/RedRibbon.jpg"><img class="align-full" width="90" src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/eKWVPGR5hzTjrlYi9nwJKKevZsOvlHt1PVCZp3dePVQAQ8ewSmCf4bl0R2aGnu3HkHS*BuFPIPFo7qL31QR4ewyHI-nNycO3/RedRibbon.jpg"/></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My coming out days were lived out in Chicago, Illinois (1965-1982). I also came out prior to HIV/AIDS being part of our everyday
lives.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">During my time in Chicago, the gay community was party central but also a close-knit community. Over the
years I developed close friendships with a group of people that at its peak<br />
numbered fifteen.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We all hung out together, spent time at the clubs together and I guess by today’s standards could have had a reality TV show made about
us.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We compared notes on our boyfriends, went to parties, gossiped about straight people, got jobs, participated in the community and marched for
our rights. We were always there for one another no matter what the<br />
circumstance.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I didn’t think about it at the time but now I know we had something special-we had a group of people who had become VERY close friends
and became a support system to one another that I don’t suppose will ever be<br />
repeated.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Starting in 1981 through 1982 the group started to drift apart. Some got jobs that took them out of Chicago and into other parts of the state,
some got involved in long term relationships and moved to the suburbs, others<br />
found themselves struggling to find the love of their life or way through life<br />
as a gay man and; lacking direction or support turned to heavy amounts of<br />
alcohol and drugs.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In June of 1982, needing a fresh start I moved to Cincinnati where, within a month of arriving I would meet the man I am still with today. The choice to
move probably saved my life.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For you see, the crushing and deadly wave that we would come to know as AIDS arrived in Chicago
in the latter part of 1982. By the time my partner and I had been together for twelve<br />
years, my best friend and I were the only ones still alive from that group of fifteen.<br />
None of them had reached the age of forty.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Today, as I write this at the age of fifty-six and in the thirtieth year of marriage (Yes, despite what the world says I am married), I am the only
one left who is alive and HIV negative. My best friend died at the age of forty-seven<br />
after getting the disease because of cheating and an abusive boyfriend.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I was no angel in those days and I guess every year at this time when I think of my friends who died much too soon I get a case of survivor’s
guilt.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have also been ordained since 1986, so I have twenty-five plus years of pastoral ministry. In those years I have probably done funerals
for more people under the age of fifty than most pastors do in an entire<br />
career.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What is really heart breaking is that HIV/AIDS is not done yet, despite media spin “that this is now a manageable disease”. That is a lie
and severe distortion of the truth. AIDS still kills at an alarming rate and<br />
the rate of infection is on the rise.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">According to UNAIDS (2010) 'UNAIDS report on the global AIDS epidemic' <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Since the beginning of the
epidemic, nearly 30 million people have died from AIDS-related causes.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Every month I still counsel people who are newly infected. Every month I am there with someone who has died or in support of a partner,
family and friends who have lost someone. Our congregation has a number of<br />
people who have tested positive and are at various stages of health challenges.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A friend in Atlanta is HIV positive and while he is healthy and living a productive life…the meds
that he has to take are anything but pleasant. The side effects require he not<br />
get too much sun, eat the correct foods and not get too stressed, as the<br />
reaction is more then a pain in the ass, it is debilitating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So, I guess I am writing this today to remind folks that the AIDS pandemic is not over. Not by a long shot. We cannot afford to get
comfortable. We cannot afford to not continue to educate, stress prevention,<br />
and harm reduction (translation, safe sex and needle exchanging).</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We must remember God’s people are dying…</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I am asking the readers of this blog to get involved in harm reduction, to recognize this pandemic knows no boundaries.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Mark Harrington From Treatment Action Group offered 17 radical steps to end the “AIDS Epidemic” <a href="http://www.thebody.com/content/art49274.html">http://www.thebody.com/content/art49274.html</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I offer some of the more important steps to the readers as a point of education, meditation and action:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">We must strive to continue to lower the numbers newly infected. There are several ways we could
dramatically reduce infections rapidly if we are willing to take some radical<br />
steps around the world.</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></p>
<p style="margin-left: .25in; text-indent: .25in;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>1) Universal treatment for women equals universal prevention for infants</u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We must ensure that every pregnant HIV-positive woman has access to full antiretroviral therapy (ART) from the time her pregnancy is
known to when she completes breastfeeding, and then for life if indicated by<br />
her CD4 and health status. And we must ensure that every HIV infected baby is<br />
diagnosed at birth and treated for life.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 2) <u>End gender-based violence and strengthen the legal and health rights of women and sexual minorities</u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We must demand and achieve equal status for women, gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender people and end the violence against them
everywhere.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 3)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> <u>End the war against sex workers</u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We must insist on decoupling efforts to stop human trafficking from the current stigmatization and exclusion of sex workers from
their full human, health, and economic rights to live and work in dignity,<br />
legally and safely.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 4) <u>End the war against drug users</u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We must end the punitive, expensive, and wasteful global war on drug users. We must work in countries around the world to decriminalize possession
of drugs; provide universal access to drug substitution therapy, clean syringe<br />
exchange, and safe injecting rooms and equipment; and provide services for<br />
people reentering society after being unjustly incarcerated for nonviolent drug<br />
use.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> 5) <u>End health disparities everywhere</u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">HIV rates among black Americans are eight times higher than those of white Americans; 600,000 black Americans are living with HIV and
30,000 new infections occur among them each year. The epidemic among black<br />
Americans is the same size as that in Côte d'Ivoire, and bigger than that<br />
of seven priority PEPFAR countries put together.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The U.S. government and its people are obliged to address this epidemic with the same
urgency with which they are now addressing the global pandemic.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The United States must develop and implement a national
AIDS strategy with specific targets, timelines, and the goal of reversing the<br />
epidemic, with special attention and resources targeted toward black Americans,<br />
Latino/Latina Americans, women, and men who have sex with men.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></p>
<p style="text-indent: .5in;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">6) <u>Scale up HIV testing and improve HIV epidemiology</u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We must massively scale up HIV testing globally. New York City has belatedly introduced a policy to test -- voluntarily and with opt-out -- any resident of the Bronx
who presents to the health system. If HIV testing can be massively scaled up in<br />
Lesotho, it certainly can<br />
and should be massively scaled up in New York City,<br />
still the epicenter of the U.S.<br />
epidemic.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We must have access to much better, more accurate, and timelier information about where the epidemic is and where it is moving to.
Recent revisions downward by UNAIDS on the global pandemic and upward by the<br />
CDC on the U.S. epidemic have left the impression that we are still far from<br />
having a clear enough picture of the size, scope, distribution, and movement of<br />
the epidemic in its 28th year.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p style="text-indent: .5in;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">7) <u>Prevent, diagnose, treat, and cure TB</u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Everyone has a responsibility to do a much better job of reducing the impact of TB among people with HIV. HIV clinics around the world must
implement infection control procedures, intensified TB case finding, and<br />
earlier TB diagnosis and treatment so that no one contracts TB while accessing<br />
HIV care.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Routine screening for TB at every clinic visit should also allow healthy HIV-positive persons in pre-ART care to receive cotrimoxazole and
isoniazid preventive therapies, which despite overwhelming evidence of efficacy<br />
are not routinely used in most sites due to overblown fears about resistance,<br />
toxicity, and adherence.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></p>
<p style="text-indent: .5in;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">8) <u>Diagnose, prevent, and treat viral hepatitis and common opportunistic infections</u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>We should strive to obtain serology and, when possible, treatment for hepatitis B and hepatitis C infections among HIV
coinfected persons. Because of the overlapping activity of certain ARV drugs,<br />
we are already treating many people who are coinfected with HBV and HIV without<br />
knowing their HBV status. As HBV and HCV treatments mature and oral combination<br />
therapy becomes possible, we must be ready to scale up hepatitis treatment<br />
globally.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Better opportunistic infection prophylaxis and treatment are also needed. Key drugs must be added to the essential medicines formulary and
their prices brought down: amphotericin-B for cryptococcosis, azithromycin for<br />
MAC and a host of other infections, rifabutin for tuberculosis, and<br />
valganciclovir for CMV retinitis.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></p>
<p style="text-indent: .5in;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">9) <u>Develop better first-, second-, and third-line antiretroviral (ARV) regimens</u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We still need cheaper, safer, and more durable first- and second-line ART regimens to guarantee the longest possible duration of viral
suppression free of side effects. Though the ART treatment space is maturing,<br />
there is still room for better combinations with greater durability, less<br />
toxicity, higher barriers to resistance, and cheaper manufacturing costs.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p style="text-indent: .5in;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">10) <u>Intensify investment in biomedical research, including AIDS research</u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The last five years have seen stagnation in U.S. investment in research at the National Institutes of Health. The AIDS research budget,
nominally $2.9 billion, has lost about 20% of its purchasing power due to<br />
inflation during this time. We must demand that the next U.S. president<br />
and Congress increase support for all NIH research -- including AIDS research<br />
-- by 15% in each of the next five years.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Other rich countries in the European Union and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development must double or triple the
amount they invest in biomedical research, including research for AIDS, TB,<br />
viral hepatitis, and other diseases. Emerging and developing countries need to<br />
increase investment in biomedical research five- to tenfold to help address<br />
persistent gaps in health research.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></p>
<p style="text-indent: .5in;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">11) <u>Show solidarity with activists, health workers, policy makers, and scientists working on global health issues</u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We cannot afford a divisive debate that pits advocates for different diseases against each other.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></p>
<p style="text-indent: .5in;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">12) <u>We need greater unity</u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We must become more united if we are to become an even more powerful force for global public health, human rights, and social justice, with
our goal of universal access evolving into comprehensive and universal primary<br />
care for all. To those who say it cannot be done we must reply, "¡Si se<br />
puede! Yes, we can!"</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So today I remember, honor and place in memorial all those who have died.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Today, I pray and proclaim the hope and healing for all those who live and are affected by this virus. For you, I will not be silent. I
will speak out persistently, loudly and with a clear voice for justice.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Today, I once again say to my friends who have been received in the loving arms of God:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Timothy, Gerald, Brandon, Billy the nerd, William, Paddy, Tyrone, Tom, Chuck, Thomas, Sammy, Joey, Philip and John…I love you. You did
not die in vain and I will never forget you.</p>
<p></p>221tag:queertoday.ning.com,2011-11-21:2057108:BlogPost:535732011-11-21T04:00:00.000Zmarygriggshttp://queertoday.ning.com/profile/marygriggs
<p>by Mary Griggs</p>
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/I830crlONkZF91eCqqASGgDAvgl*OVoB809mJUYjGSyG48NljZtkTXl6p1*fK1CTKhjCr9E9gz*hDo0P78UfSlMdJKznZwAP/transcandle.jpg" target="_self"><img class="align-left" src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/I830crlONkZF91eCqqASGgDAvgl*OVoB809mJUYjGSyG48NljZtkTXl6p1*fK1CTKhjCr9E9gz*hDo0P78UfSlMdJKznZwAP/transcandle.jpg" width="146"></img></a> This year, two hundred and twenty one people paid the ultimate price for being themselves. That isn’t just a number--those were <a href="http://www.transgenderdor.org/?page_id=1663">221</a> human beings who were targeted and murdered in 2011 because of their gender identity or gender…</p>
<p>by Mary Griggs</p>
<p><a target="_self" href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/I830crlONkZF91eCqqASGgDAvgl*OVoB809mJUYjGSyG48NljZtkTXl6p1*fK1CTKhjCr9E9gz*hDo0P78UfSlMdJKznZwAP/transcandle.jpg"><img class="align-left" width="146" src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/I830crlONkZF91eCqqASGgDAvgl*OVoB809mJUYjGSyG48NljZtkTXl6p1*fK1CTKhjCr9E9gz*hDo0P78UfSlMdJKznZwAP/transcandle.jpg"/></a>This year, two hundred and twenty one people paid the ultimate price for being themselves. That isn’t just a number--those were <a href="http://www.transgenderdor.org/?page_id=1663">221</a> human beings who were targeted and murdered in 2011 because of their gender identity or gender expression. Two hundred and twenty one lights have gone out and their passing has left the world a darker place.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Most people have a gender identity of man or woman that is consistent with the sex they were assigned at birth. Some people, however, feel their assigned sex at birth is not consistent with their own gender identity. Still others express their gender in a way that does not conform to traditional gender stereotypes of what men or women should look like or how they should act.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sex and gender are social constructions that have evolved over the course of human history and vary culturally. Despite the radical changes to sex/gender roles in the last century, the concept of a gender binary (that there are two sexes which correspond with two genders which were immutably set in stone prior to birth) unfortunately endures.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It is beyond tragic that there are people so invested in a gender binary that the mere thought of anyone not conforming is so abhorrent they feel justified in eradicating the transgressors. Losing anyone to hate and prejudice diminishes us all and the failure to solve so many of these crimes and convict the perpetrators is a reprehensible failure of our society as a whole.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It is heartbreaking that suicide is still a leading cause of death for many transgender and gender variant people. Discrimination on the job, at school or when attempting to use public restrooms are burdens that no one should be forced to endure. Compounded with harassment, insults and threats when someone is just trying to be themselves and it can become too much to bear.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>To achieve equality we must do more than commemorate the dead. We must honor the living and their right to live their lives without the fear of prejudice.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Being an ally means more than remembering to include transgender with the rest of the alphabet soup that is the LGBTQ community. It is respecting other people’s self-identification without comment about their ability to pass or inquiry into the state of their genitalia. It is remembering their name and using the proper pronoun. It is recognizing the privilege inherent to having a legally recognized, socially approved, medically assigned gender and the oppression faced by those who do not.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This week, I helped organize a series of events at the <a href="http://lgbtccneworleans.org/">LGBT Community Center of New Orleans</a> for Trans Awareness Week. I worked with the fabulous members of several local organizations including <a href="http://forumforequality.org/">Forum For Equality</a>, <a href="http://pflagno.org/">PFLAG-New Orleans</a>, <a href="https://laaclu.org/">Louisiana ACLU</a>, the <a href="http://jimcollinsfoundation.org/">Jim Collins Foundation</a>, <a href="http://hlalouisiana.org/">Health Law Advocates of Louisiana</a>, <a href="http://www.hrc.org/steering-committees/new-orleans">HRC New Orleans</a>, and the <a href="http://www.latransadvocates.org/">Louisiana Trans Advocates</a>. We were privileged to be joined by allies from the medical community at Tulane, Ochsner, and the Veterans Administration.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Over the course of the week, we had a film screening, discussions about raising trans kids and civil rights as well as sharing information on advocacy, medical care and health insurance. This weekend, we gathered together to paint our stories of survival and to remember those who lost their lives to gender related violence.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I hope these events play some small part in raising public awareness of issues facing transgender people in addition to providing timely information to the transgender community. Above all, I hope we made clear that transgender individuals deserve equal protection under the law.</p>
<p> </p>Here We are Againtag:queertoday.ning.com,2011-11-18:2057108:BlogPost:529712011-11-18T21:44:12.000ZRev. Paul M. Turnerhttp://queertoday.ning.com/profile/RevPaulMTurner
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/yY2EE6L2659qqx*8-2yDjJlpqas0gvWwm6kp8uN687W4Qv2I5J14vt4Tkix1TuV*q5OmPXYj-kg35nicKY8GRpePboeTfkdT/Taps.jpg" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/yY2EE6L2659qqx*8-2yDjJlpqas0gvWwm6kp8uN687W4Qv2I5J14vt4Tkix1TuV*q5OmPXYj-kg35nicKY8GRpePboeTfkdT/Taps.jpg" width="480"></img></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">Sunday is a day of mourning. It is not a day that is on the national calendar. In fact, with the exception of a small percentage of people in this country, this day of
mourning will pass completely unnoticed.…</span></p>
<p><a target="_self" href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/yY2EE6L2659qqx*8-2yDjJlpqas0gvWwm6kp8uN687W4Qv2I5J14vt4Tkix1TuV*q5OmPXYj-kg35nicKY8GRpePboeTfkdT/Taps.jpg"><img class="align-full" width="480" src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/yY2EE6L2659qqx*8-2yDjJlpqas0gvWwm6kp8uN687W4Qv2I5J14vt4Tkix1TuV*q5OmPXYj-kg35nicKY8GRpePboeTfkdT/Taps.jpg"/></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">Sunday is a day of mourning. It is not a day that is on the national calendar. In fact,
with the exception of a small percentage of people in this country, this day of<br />
mourning will pass completely unnoticed.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">If these words I write look familiar, they are because <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">nothing</b> has changed since I last wrote them, except some people are
more aware.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">Again this year those who take a moment and remember on this day will find themselves
swinging between tears of grief and deep waves of anger not to mention a<br />
certain amount of fear of further attacks.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">The devastating images of those viciously killed in 2011 for simply trying to be
themselves is something we should remember, something that should burn in our<br />
souls.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">The people we mourn for this day are a part of the community most would just as
soon not deal with. Oh we go to watch the drag shows and tell our jokes and we<br />
have added a “T” to the GLB_Q but still don’t take seriously enough that folks<br />
in the transgender community live in a very dangerous and un-supportive world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> This year’s danger and lethal transphobia is<br />
no different from any of the last twenty years.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">In fact, in almost (not all) but damn near every community meeting, the plight of
the Trans community is brought up as an afterthought, kind of “oh yeah, let’s<br />
not forget the T’s”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">While progress has been made, while things have gotten better, there is still a long
way to go and this community is still too often just an afterthought.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">We still do not take it seriously enough that these children of God find it
extremely difficult to get jobs, get health care or any kind of support and<br />
dignity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> In fact, many in our community,<br />
never mind the straight community, think if they would just dress correctly and<br />
be happy with how they were born there would be less trouble.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">In our fair city of Atlanta,
the shelters <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">are still not required</b><br />
to accept those who are in transition unless they are willing to accept being<br />
forcible moved backwards in that transition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <br />
</span>Again, we arrive at this time of the year and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">nothing</b> has changed.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">People in transition walking down the street at the wrong time or in the wrong
neighborhood stand a good chance of being stopped by the police and questioned about<br />
drugs, prostitution or both. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">I am well aware there are some in the neighborhoods who think the Trans folks
working the streets are responsible for the crime in the neighborhood and with<br />
vicious language have launched a crusade to rid the streets of this so called<br />
epidemic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">Let us get real here; if these sisters and brothers could get a job or be protected
in the job they have maybe, just maybe they would not have to turn to the<br />
streets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">The fact is, most political leaders of the community still see the trans community
as nothing more then a “political calculation”. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, far too often these people are<br />
something to be added or subtracted from the political equation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> The political leadership has not and does not<br />
have the courage to stand up and say, “Enough!”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">Instead, it’s “let’s study the issue, let’s explore what we can do”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> News flash: One’s gender identity has zero to
do with the administration of equal rights, just do the right thing!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">I still see far too often in community meetings the eyes roll or heads shake when
the needs of the Trans community are brought up.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">I am so sick of hearing that bringing justice, being fair and honorable and less
phobic is so complicated when it come to the Trans community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> News flash:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <br />
</span>Gender, just like sexuality, is a very fluid thing and to attempt to fit<br />
everyone into the same narrowly defined box is the height of ignorance.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">So here we are this year and it is still open season on those who would dare to
transition from one gender to another.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">Let us not forget that it was these folks who started the whole “gay rights”
movement we know today when they stood toe to high heel with the New York City police<br />
department at Stonewall.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">Let us today acknowledge they have been with us every step of this bloody fight for
our rights, our self worth and our very souls.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">Let us recognize and have more than a passing thought that each day when they get
out of bed and step into the world it may in fact be their last day.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">So on this day I implore you to remember the transgender community…to pay
attention to the day that has become known as “Transgender Day of Remembrance”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">May we who mourn and remember today, take some comfort in these words:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">"God is King, despite the chaos that may be roaring around us." (Ps 93)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">“If one member suffers, the whole body suffers…” (I Cor 12)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">“Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or
persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? … Nothing in all creation<br />
will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”<br />
(Rom 8)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">"Be still and know that I am God" Psalm 46:10</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">"The Lord takes care of me as his sheep; I will not be without any good thing. He
makes a resting-place for me in the green fields: he is my guide by the quiet<br />
waters. He gives new life to my soul: he is my guide in the ways of<br />
righteousness because of his name. Yes, though I go through the valley of deep<br />
shade, I will have no fear of evil; for you are with me, your rod and your<br />
support are my comfort. You make ready a table for me in front of my haters:<br />
you put oil on my head; my cup is overflowing. Truly, blessing and mercy will<br />
be with me all the days of my life; and I will have a place in the house of the<br />
Lord all my days." Psalm 23</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">Sunday evening, here and all around the country, may we find ourselves moved to pray.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">May these prayers be for all of the victims, their family and friends.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">May we pray for our government to have the wisdom, the courage and a compassionate
response to this insanity. Let us pray for God's protection and a calming of<br />
theirs and our fears.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">And may our prayers be accompanied by expressions of our faith – in which we are
not conformed to the ways of the world and how they will respond to children of<br />
God, but to the way the Christ would respond. May we be in our speech and<br />
actions, the love of God.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">Once again let us ponder the words of Gwendolyn Ann Smith,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">We have lost so many people in our community to the hand of hatred and prejudice, yet we still are not
seemingly willing to fight back. Meanwhile, we die at the hands of a lover, of<br />
police, of medical practitioners, and even parents, while the news media calls<br />
us “freaks” — and worse.</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">In fact, the media’s reluctance to cover our deaths lies near the heart of this project. It can be
all-but-impossible to find honest, reliable media on the death of a transgender<br />
person: It either does not exist (which is how one can cover thirty years of<br />
cases and still only have as many as I have to present), or it uses names that<br />
the deceased did not own, and pronouns that did not fit their reality.”</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">In the world we live in today there is no “safe way” to be transgender: Some are
living very out lives, and some are living fully “stealth” lives. Some are<br />
identifying as male, some as female and some as both and neither. Some live in<br />
small towns, and some in major metropolitan areas.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">There are things we can do and must do, if the killing is to stop. I would encourage
our community and friends to:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">• Let us educate ourselves about transgender issues.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">• Let us be aware of our attitudes concerning people with gender-atypical
appearance or behavior.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">• Let us make more than a good faith effort to use names and pronouns that are
appropriate to the person’s gender presentation and identity.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">• Let us not make assumptions about transgender people’s sexual orientation,
desire for surgical or hormonal treatment, or other aspects of their identity<br />
or transition plans.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">• Let us keep the lines of communication open with the transgender person (s) in
our lives.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">• Let us become more aware of the things which would make life easier and the
transition smoother, i.e. markers on drivers licenses, applications and forms.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">• Let us not just sit on our lack of knowledge and understanding. Let us seek out
support in dealing with our feelings. This is the 21st century and there are<br />
plenty of resources for us to get help.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">Finally, but not least, let us turn out en masse this Sunday evening at the State
Capital to show the “T” really is apart of LGBTQ and it does not stand-alone. I<br />
know it is Sunday night and I know you want to quit reading this every year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> So here is the deal:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">I will stop repeating this blog when we as a whole community are as enraged as when
they raided our bar, as enraged as when Matthew Shepherd was beaten to death or<br />
when the fight to pass protective legislation for our community includes the<br />
“T” as something other then an afterthought or a political piece to be thrown<br />
under the bus.</span></p>
<p></p>Addressing Bullying in Louisianatag:queertoday.ning.com,2011-11-02:2057108:BlogPost:514862011-11-02T18:00:00.000Zmarygriggshttp://queertoday.ning.com/profile/marygriggs
<p>Tragic news came out of the Lake Charles area with the <a href="http://www.katc.com/news/lake-charles-family-blames-girl-s-suicide-on-bullying/">report</a> that bullying may be a contributing factor to teenager Hannah Pauley's recent suicide. Her father, Len Pauley, stated: "Honestly I don't believe I would want any child to be charged with anything...If those kids can just step up to the plate and admit that they were wrong, make a positive out of this--then absolutely not--because they…</p>
<p>Tragic news came out of the Lake Charles area with the <a href="http://www.katc.com/news/lake-charles-family-blames-girl-s-suicide-on-bullying/">report</a> that bullying may be a contributing factor to teenager Hannah Pauley's recent suicide. Her father, Len Pauley, stated: "Honestly I don't believe I would want any child to be charged with anything...If those kids can just step up to the plate and admit that they were wrong, make a positive out of this--then absolutely not--because they have to live with this for the rest of their lives now."<br/> <br/>
Stopping bullying from happening and appropriately responding to it when it happens is critical to the academic success and overall safety of our students. It is up to all of us -- the students, the teachers, the administrators, concerned citizens, the school board and our state legislators -- to do all we can to promote the health, safety and overall well being of our young people. We must create school climates that welcomes, accepts and supports all people for who they are, <em>no matter what</em>.<br/>
<br/>
Many who are bullied are targeted because of their perceived sexual orientation or because they do not conform to someone’s expectations about gender. Too often, when such children are bullied in school, officials fail to protect them. While not every person who has been bullied thinks about or attempts suicide, persistent bullying can lead to or worsen feelings of isolation, rejection, exclusion and despair, as well as to depression and anxiety, which can contribute to suicidal behavior.<br/>
<br/>
Help is available. There are national suicide prevention lines like the <a href="http://www.thetrevorproject.org/">Trevor Project</a> (866-488-7386). Families can get support in becoming more accepting through local <a href="http://community.pflag.org/page.aspx?pid=803">PFLAG chapters</a>. Currently, there are Louisiana chapters in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport and Lafayette. There are also locally made videos on <a href="http://www.itgetsbetter.org/">It Gets Better</a> where young people can see that they are not alone and that supportive adults are out there.<br/>
<br/>
Would you like a good way to teach someone about the devastating impact of bullying? A teacher in the New York area has come up with a good way to teach about the harmful effects of bullying to her class. She had the children take a clean piece of paper and told them to crumple it up, stomp on it, mess it up just don't rip it. Then she had them unfold the paper, smooth it out and look at how marred and dirty it now was. She then told them to tell it they’re sorry.<br/>
<br/>
Even though they said they were sorry and tried to fix the paper, there were many marks that were left behind. She told them that is what happens when a child bullies another child. They may say they’re sorry but the scars are there forever. <br/>
<br/>
Bullying prevention is our responsibility! We can change people's hearts and minds by sharing our stories of how bullying hurts. More than that, we need to address institutions and laws. While Louisiana’s existing statutes require school districts to enact and implement policies to protect students from bullying, it does not comprehensively address the issue. In study after study, it has been found that students at schools with a comprehensive anti-bullying policies report bullying and harassment at a significantly reduced rate.<br/>
<br/>
Together, we can ensure that no other family or community has to suffer a loss like this. The <a target="_blank" href="http://forumforequality.org/">Forum For Equality</a> and a coalition of educators, disability rights and LGBT equality organizations will be proposing Safe Schools legislation in the upcoming 2012 session. Please contact us for further resources or to partner with us in making Louisiana a safe place to learn.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Forum For Equality <br/> 336 Lafayette Street, Suite 200 <br/>
New Orleans, LA 70130 <br/>
Phone: 504.569.9156 <br/>
Fax: 504.523.8522 <br/>
<a href="http://www.forumforequality.org">http://www.forumforequality.org</a></p>no "golden years" for queer seniorstag:queertoday.ning.com,2011-11-04:2057108:BlogPost:517912011-11-04T19:36:40.000Ztommi avicolli meccahttp://queertoday.ning.com/profile/tommiavicollimecca
<p><span>The last thing in the world many LGBT people want to be is a queer senior. And with good reason: entering the “golden years” in the queer community can be like entering a living hell. </span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>It means being dismissed by younger people as sexually and socially undesirable or being patronized because you’re a piece of living history. It’s being invisible in queer publications (except when you die and the gushing obits come out, saying what a great hero…</span></p>
<p><span>The last thing in the world many LGBT people want to be is a queer senior. And with good reason: entering the “golden years” in the queer community can be like entering a living hell. </span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>It means being dismissed by younger people as sexually and socially undesirable or being patronized because you’re a piece of living history. It’s being invisible in queer publications (except when you die and the gushing obits come out, saying what a great hero you once were, emphasis on “once”). It’s having the issues that are life and death to you (such as cuts to Social Security and other benefits you so desperately need to survive) ignored by LGBT organizations too busy promoting marriage or political candidates who will end up backing more cuts.</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>According to many studies and reports, queer seniors are poorer than their straight counterparts. With threatened cuts to every program that might benefit seniors, they stand to get poorer and less able to fend for themselves. Already, queer seniors are half as likely to have health insurance, and two-thirds as likely to live alone. Not to mention that they routinely face discrimination in medical and social services, retirement homes, and nursing care facilities. </span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>By 2030, queer seniors will number about three million. That’s a lot of people for the LGBT community to ignore. But unless things change, it’ll do just that -- ignore them, as it does now. </span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>We live in a youth-obsessed culture. A quick at TV and the movies will demonstrate that. Old age is perceived as a disease that has to be kept in check by any means necessary. There’s no reward for wrinkles or thinning hair. No reverence for the wisdom of having lived many decades on this Earth.</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>For me, the worst part about getting old is losing the ability to take care of myself. I’ve always been on my own. Ever since I was forced to leave home when I was 19 or 20 (Papa couldn’t deal with having an activist son), I’ve managed to work, put food on the table and pay rent. </span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>I chose to work for nonprofits and small businesses that reflected my political views, so I never earned tremendous amounts of money. There were no fancy vacations or extravagant purchases nor a house with a lavender picket fence. Thankfully, I can look back at my working life and say that I contributed something to society.</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Which doesn’t mean a hill of beans when I can’t pay the rent or go grocery shopping because the meager amount I may be forced to live on in my old age on will barely cover the essentials. Add on some sickness that needs constant medication and I could be seriously screwed.</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>When I look at the agenda of queer organizations, I see nothing that reflects my needs as a queer senior. No lobbying for universal healthcare, no mobilizing against the cuts that are devastating services for elders, no advocacy for affordable housing or renter protections. Few cities have affordable LGBT senior housing, and even those that do, don’t provide enough units to meet the need.</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>I came out at a time when gay sex was illegal, gaybashing was an honorable sport, discrimination was seen as reasonable and right, and being queer was the absolute worst thing you could possibly admit to. </span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Yet getting old is the scariest thing I’ve faced in my life.</span></p>A Pastoral Thoughttag:queertoday.ning.com,2011-10-21:2057108:BlogPost:504742011-10-21T16:24:28.000ZRev. Paul M. Turnerhttp://queertoday.ning.com/profile/RevPaulMTurner
<a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/WTKFjGqeNSKILysvCPi*GRBcjjTWXoTmoC-cLhNjJJfb6cI9gB5FxVZnWEAwfBegMBRZPbgIFJMaL1zduM-vnCJBLx7-pa3W/Peace.jpg" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/WTKFjGqeNSKILysvCPi*GRBcjjTWXoTmoC-cLhNjJJfb6cI9gB5FxVZnWEAwfBegMBRZPbgIFJMaL1zduM-vnCJBLx7-pa3W/Peace.jpg" width="368"></img></a><br />
<p class="MsoNormal">The Occupy Wall Street protest seems to have taken on a life of its own, spreading from Wall Street to many major cities and across the world.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I find it amusing in an ironic way that those who supported the Tea Party folks find the Occupy Wall Street…</p>
<a target="_self" href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/WTKFjGqeNSKILysvCPi*GRBcjjTWXoTmoC-cLhNjJJfb6cI9gB5FxVZnWEAwfBegMBRZPbgIFJMaL1zduM-vnCJBLx7-pa3W/Peace.jpg"><img class="align-full" width="368" src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/WTKFjGqeNSKILysvCPi*GRBcjjTWXoTmoC-cLhNjJJfb6cI9gB5FxVZnWEAwfBegMBRZPbgIFJMaL1zduM-vnCJBLx7-pa3W/Peace.jpg"/></a><br />
<p class="MsoNormal">The Occupy Wall Street protest seems to have taken on a life of its own, spreading from Wall Street to many major cities and across the
world.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I find it amusing in an ironic way that those who supported the Tea Party folks find the Occupy Wall Street folks as repulsive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> One would think both of these movements would
literally shout that there is something VERY wrong with our society.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">With all the mess going on...and the awful things each side are saying to each other, with the news media behaving like vultures and people
jockeying for positions to be called heroes, we now see this embarrassing<br />
fighting standing in the way of making sure the folks of our country are<br />
protected, secure and safe...</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I was doing some meditation time and this particular passage struck a deep nerve.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">"If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any
difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything<br />
to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each<br />
other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don't push your way to the<br />
front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help<br />
others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget<br />
yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand."</b> (Philippians 2:1-13<br />
(The Message))</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Regardless if one is a Christian or not...it seems to me this is a formula for working through this mess...a way of peace, a way of
strength, and a way of walking the talk. A way in which everyone could walk<br />
away saying they had a hand in working through the challenge.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I guess I want to ask the question of all; what are you personally doing to help this come to reality?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>See, I get that both sides are deeply entrenched on their side of the<br />
argument; however what is each side doing to make the words of the quoted<br />
passage a reality?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I am sitting at my desk wondering if this country and it's leadership have become so jaded and drunk with power, they have forgotten the
basic tenet of our country which says, "We hold these truths to be<br />
self-evident, that all... are created equal, that they are endowed by their<br />
Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and<br />
the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are<br />
instituted among the people, deriving their just powers from the consent of the<br />
governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these<br />
ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it..."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Maybe it is indeed time for a change. I think this crisis proves what we have known for a long time...the politicians do not really care
if you or I can pay the mortgage or rent.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They do not really care if you or I have enough money to pay our bills or put gasoline in our vehicles.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">HIV and it's spread only matters if a large block of voters suddenly die or there is oil in the country.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They do not really care if you live or die unless it gives them some sort of leverage in the power and control game.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">No, the only thing at stake is their position of power, money and comfort, and they would sell their own mother if they thought it
would keep them in power.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The recent behavior of the political and religious right and big business proves that all those "so-called Christians" have
forgotten a key to their faith..."Don't be obsessed with getting your own<br />
advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Yes, maybe now is the time to call for a change...and in the meantime all I can say to our government is:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Shame on you Mr. President. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Shame on you Mr. or Mrs. Congressperson.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Shame on you Mr. or Mrs. Senator.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Shame on those of you in big business that have lost sight of the people upon whose backs you made your money!!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Finally, but not least by any stretch of the imagination, shame on all those big CEO's and big business people who forgot why they were
in business to begin with,<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">"...that<br />
all... are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain<br />
unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of<br />
Happiness."</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We are faced with the conservative political right and the religious right constantly beating us over the head with their brand of morals
and practice of faith, telling everyone how to think and what the bible says.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We are faced with the political left not listening to the real concerns of folks and the progressive people of faith forgetting it is not
a contest of "their way or my way".</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Damn it, folks, read this passage one more time:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">"If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any
difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything<br />
to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each<br />
other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don't push your way to the<br />
front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help<br />
others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget<br />
yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand."</b> (Philippians 2:1-13<br />
(The Message))</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So the real questions of the day perhaps are these:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What are you doing to find agreement with those around you?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What have you done to become deep-spirited friends?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Are you pushing to the top or are you waiting your turn?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Are you a person who says what you mean and means what you say or are you a B.S. artist?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Have you stepped outside of yourself to help another get ahead?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Are you obsessed with getting your way?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Can you forget yourself long enough to offer a helping hand, without judgment?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Just a passing pastoral thought…</p>Vote or Die!tag:queertoday.ning.com,2011-10-22:2057108:BlogPost:511712011-10-22T18:36:19.000Zmarygriggshttp://queertoday.ning.com/profile/marygriggs
This morning I walked a mile from my home to my polling place. I figured that I would exercise my body’s muscles while I exercised my electoral ones. That pretty much sums up how I feel about elections—I might not necessarily like doing it but I know it is good for me.<br />
<br />
And voting isn’t just good for me. It is good for all of us. These days, we are voting for our lives.…
This morning I walked a mile from my home to my polling place. I figured that I would exercise my body’s muscles while I exercised my electoral ones. That pretty much sums up how I feel about elections—I might not necessarily like doing it but I know it is good for me.<br />
<br />
And voting isn’t just good for me. It is good for all of us. These days, we are voting for our lives.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/1nGisdBlcZbYdv5u0BUp9BlnN3e4oFa3fG5EXf2xMph2cnU0nHK1tH*kDBV4Eg8jw9vdfA9ZgF7y21uHSkhR7pK1BlsXche-/voteordie.jpg" target="_self"><img src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/1nGisdBlcZbYdv5u0BUp9BlnN3e4oFa3fG5EXf2xMph2cnU0nHK1tH*kDBV4Eg8jw9vdfA9ZgF7y21uHSkhR7pK1BlsXche-/voteordie.jpg" width="341" class="align-left"/></a><br />
<br />
For example, the same group that pushed the personhood ballot measure in Mississippi has vowed to do the same in all the other states (see <a href="www.personhoodusa.com/">here</a>). The same coalitions that pushed for constitutional amendments on marriage are toying with the idea of statutes to criminalize homosexuality (Uganda’s draconian anti-homosexuality bill was written with help from The Family, a conservative Christian fellowship based in Washington, DC that has proposed modified legislation to its constituents. See <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/05/11/uganda-anti-homosexual-bill-inspired-by-american-evangelicals.html">here</a>, <a href="http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/2011/06/21/34387">here</a> and <a href="http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/9/1/154039/1835">here</a>).<br />
<br />
Further, every single state legislature in the country introduced bills, propositions, and amendments that had been drafted by ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) to disenfranchise voters, to restrict choice, privatize vital public services and dismantle health, safety and environmental regulations. (See <a href="http://motherjones.com/politics/2002/09/ghostwriting-law">here</a>, <a href="http://ee.iusb.edu/index.php?/adp/blog/alec_allows_corporations_and_lawymakers_to_draft_laws_without_scrutiny/">here</a> and <a href="http://www.truth-out.org/secretive-corporate-legislative-group-alec-holds-annual-meeting-rewrite-state-laws/1312911539">here</a>)<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._Federal_Election_Commission">Citizens United decision</a> removed corporate and special interest spending limits from campaigns and has allowed more money to flow into politics than ever before. We have to resist temptation every time we walk by the candy aisle on our way to the cash register and we must also resist the false promises found in 30 second television commercials funded by shadowy organizations with innocuous names and hidden agendas.<br />
<br />
As we push ourselves in our physical workouts for better overall health and fitness, so must we push ourselves to learn all we can about ballot measures and politicians to strengthen our democracy. There are groups like <a href="http://www.votesmart.org/">Project Vote Smart</a> and local League of Women Voters who are determinably non-partisan in the collecting of data to help voters make up their minds. Equality organizations like the <a href="http://forumforequality.org/wordpress/forum-for-equality-la/political-action-committee/">Forum For Equality PAC</a> endorse candidates after an interview process and a vote from the membership. Their voter guides can help you find candidates who are more likely to support fairness and equality.<br />
<br />
We, as a nation, have gotten obese from not thinking about what we put into our bodies. In the same way, our politicians become bloated from relying on easy money from corporate lobbyists. Our elected officials should be held accountable for the money that funds their campaigns. For a list of almost 2,000 politicians whose political integrity has been compromised by their association with ALEC, go to <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=ALEC_Politicians">SourceWatch</a>.<br />
<br />
As much as the Koch brothers funded Supreme Court might wish to bestow full personhood on corporations, there is still something they can’t do.<br />
<br />
They can’t vote.<br />
<br />
You and I are the ones with that power. While religious extremists and right wing corporations may direct millions of dollars toward feeding our fears, we have the power to vote our values.<br />
<br />
If you listen to Faux News, you might think that the only pro-family votes are anti-abortion, anti-LGBT, anti-health care and anti-tax. The rest of us know that progressives have families, morals and values, too. Our families promote diversity and challenge discrimination. Our morals show a commitment to ending violence and poverty and respect science over magical thinking. We value a social contract that includes fair taxation and paying forward for the next generation.<br />
<br />
Voting, like exercise, can improve the quality of life for us and everyone else on the planet. It might mean we have to gird our loins (or hold our noses) but we are better off for having done so.<br />
<br />
So get out there. Vote!Amazing Video Recap: Occupy Oaklandtag:queertoday.ning.com,2011-10-28:2057108:BlogPost:516712011-10-28T07:30:00.000ZQueerTodayhttp://queertoday.ning.com/profile/queertoday
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/twN31TVuB_E?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0"></iframe>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/twN31TVuB_E?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0"></iframe>Movement Building: Extraordinary Times and the Rest of the Timetag:queertoday.ning.com,2011-10-18:2057108:BlogPost:502762011-10-18T06:07:00.000ZKate Raphaelhttp://queertoday.ning.com/profile/KateRaphael
A friend who has been very involved in <a href="http://occupysf.com/">Occupy SF</a> put on his Facebook status the other day that this movement has changed everything he thought about movement building. I suspect a lot of activists, especially younger ones, are feeling that way.<br />
<br />
<br />
I’m not.<br />
<br />
This 99% movement is amazing. It’s glorious. It’s so time for it. But it’s not <b>The Movement</b>. I hate to say it, but it’s not going to last.<br />
<br />
I keep hearing people say it’s been 30 years since there was…
A friend who has been very involved in <a href="http://occupysf.com/">Occupy SF</a> put on his Facebook status the other day that this movement has changed everything he thought about movement building. I suspect a lot of activists, especially younger ones, are feeling that way.<br />
<br />
<br />
I’m not.<br />
<br />
This 99% movement is amazing. It’s glorious. It’s so time for it. But it’s not <b>The Movement</b>. I hate to say it, but it’s not going to last.<br />
<br />
I keep hearing people say it’s been 30 years since there was a movement this big. I don’t know where they’re getting that thirty year figure from, or if it’s just that the people who are saying it really mean 1968-72 and don’t want to admit that that was forty years ago. But in fact, there was a movement that was this huge and this amazing that started just about thirty years ago the antinuclear movement. In the summer of 1980, hundreds were arrested at dozens of actions that temporarily shut down nuclear power plants all over the country. Thirty years ago next year, <a href="http://www.initiativeforchange.org/FreezeInitiatives.htm">a million people took to the streets of New York</a> to demand a freeze on nuclear weapons. Between March of 1982 and June of 1983, we had over 3,000 arrests at the Lawrence Livermore National Labs, where nuclear weapons are – sadly still -- developed. Many of the people arrested in those nonviolent protests spent two weeks or even thirty days in Santa Rita jail. We were The Movement then. Almost no one even remembers it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;">
<tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cispes30years.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/pledge.jpg" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="224px" src="http://cispes30years.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/pledge.jpg" width="320px"/></a></td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Courtesy</i> <a href="http://cispes30years.org/"><i>CISPES</i></a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> In the mid-eighties we had another huge movement. It was called <a href="http://paceebene.org/nvns/nonviolence-news-service-archive/pledge-resistance">The Pledge of Resistance</a>; I mentioned it in <a href="http://democracy-sometime.blogspot.com/2011/10/this-day-in-history-martial-law-in.html">my last blog</a>. Over 100,000 people signed pledges to do civil disobedience in opposition to U.S. aggression in Latin America, and thousands actually did it. In one week in 1985 there were 1,000 arrests across the country in hundreds of local actions.</div>
<br />
Remember 2003? Millions of people around this country marched, as part of an international movement, to stop the Iraq war before it started. When that failed, tens of thousands took part in nonviolent direct action. Over 1,600 were arrested in San Francisco alone in the first three days. That was just eight years ago.<br />
<br />
1999-2000 was the year of the “anti-globalization” (what I prefer to call global anticapitalist) convergences. It was the year of the Letter-Number-Code-Name actions: N30, A16, D2K (November 30, 1999 was the day 15,000 people, more or less, shut down the World Trade Organization summit in Seattle; April 16 was the day 5,000 or so protested the International Monetary Fund/World Bank meetings in DC; Democratic Convention 2000 brought thousands to Los Angeles for heavily policed marches, concerts and the occasional sit-in.<br />
<br />
Where are the people who created those movements? Some were students or youth organizers who have gone on to be the community organizers of today, working for nonprofits or unions on small-scale grassroots campaigns. Some burned out and went to graduate school, or became depoliticized. Some were among those who became inspired by Obama’s promise of hope and change, and some of those have since become disillusioned and depoliticized, while others have become radicalized and maybe are among those sitting in in parks across the nation. Some of us were long-time radicals then, and we’re still doing what we were doing before that – helping to fan the flames of whatever spark seems most promising. Today, it’s the 99% movement.<br />
<br />
This movement has many things in common with all of those. It’s mobilized thousands of new activists and brought some people who haven’t been active in a while back into the streets. It’s organized on the principles of nonhierarchical direct democracy, which the media find infuriating and incomprehensible and people with jobs and busy lives find frustrating because it takes so long to make decisions. Like most, if not all, leaderless movements in this country, it does in fact have self-appointed and unacknowledged leaders and they tend to be white men. It’s plagued with racism and sexism which mostly stay bubbling under the surface, denied even by women, people of color and queer folks. It’s starting to have some divisions around issues like how confrontational to be with the police, whether it’s claiming to speak for people it doesn’t represent, and whether it’s hogging media coverage that rightly belong to other movements who can’t get any.<br />
<br />
These are the tensions that tend to fragment and ultimately destroy movements. I certainly hope that this one will prove the exception, but it’s hard to imagine. For one thing, it’s about to be winter. There’s a reason that it was Arab Spring.<br />
<br />
It would have been great if it had begun in June; that would have given it four months before it started to snow in New York and Chicago and pour endlessly in San Francisco. In fact, that was meant to happen, according to a <a href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2011/09/a-report-from-the-frontlines-the-long-road-to-occupywallstreet-and-the-origins-of-the-99-movement.html">very informative article</a> on the organizing history of this spontaneous movement.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>“Throughout April and May, members of A99 were organizing and debating possible future actions. They decided that Flag Day, June 14th, would be an appropriate time to launch actions. …
<br />
“On June 1st, this Anonymous call to action was published to AmpedStatus:<br />
<br />
<b>Acts of Resistance: What Are You Going To Do To Rebel Against Economic Tyranny?</b><br />
<br />
…<br />
<br />
On June 13th, it was announced that as part this day of action a group of people will occupy Liberty Park, a strategic public space closest to Wall Street and the New York Federal Reserve building. This Anonymous statement was released:<br />
<br />
<b>Activists to Occupy Financial District’s Liberty Park Until Demands Are Met – Operation Empire State Rebellion Begins</b>…<br />
<br />
With only 16 people showing up at Liberty Park, and only four prepared to occupy it, this part of the day’s actions were considered by some to be a disappointing failure. Though this intense form of civil disobedience didn’t gain enough support at that time, the many other actions happening throughout the day were very successful.”</blockquote>
<br />
The occupations have not yet met with severe repression. Yes, people have been pepper sprayed, yes, 700+ were arrested, but that’s not the type of repression that kills movements.<br />
<br />
I mentioned the antinuclear movement. In June of 1982, 1200 people were arrested for blocking the entrances to Lawrence Livermore Labs in Livermore, California. They refused to give names and held jail solidarity until a deal was reached, which took a couple of days. Everyone was released in 2-3 days, after pleading guilty to jaywalking and being sentenced to time served. One year later, about the same number of people were arrested doing the same type of action. There had been numerous smaller actions during the year, and many of those activists had been sentenced to 30 days if they would not accept lengthy probation periods. But we believed that the large number at the June action, like the previous year’s, would make it impossible for the system to handle us for such a long time.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;">
<tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.directaction.org/photopages/novel-jpgs-II/IIc-Jail-AG.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="232px" src="http://www.directaction.org/photopages/novel-jpgs-II/IIc-Jail-AG.jpg" width="320px"/></a></td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The men's tent, Santa Rita 1983 from my friend</i> <a href="http://www.directaction.org/"><i>Luke Hauser's website</i></a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
The two judges in that district took a hard line toward us. They wanted to quash the movement, which had not only organized actions at Livermore but had also disrupted tests of the MX missile at Vandenberg Air Force Base, and was aligned with other huge mobilizations in other parts of the country, like the nuclear weapons production site at Rocky Flats, Colorado. They insisted that we all accept two years’ probation or 45 days in jail. We sat in a makeshift prison camp composed of circus tents for nearly two weeks, and when a deal was finally struck, we all had to serve another four days in jail or pay a fine of $250. People lost jobs, missed kids’ birthdays, got kicked out of apartments because they couldn’t pay the rent. But we had had a great time together and gotten huge press. Daniel Ellsberg, who was among the arrestees, had debated the issue with District Attorney on ABC’s Nightline. When we got out, we said triumphantly that we would not be deterred, we were just getting started.<br />
<br />
That was the last really big action at the Labs, which continue to develop weapons systems to this day. People had all kinds of reasons for not wanting to do civil disobedience again. Some felt that we had exhausted the utility of the tactic and needed to move into community organizing. Some felt we needed a legal strategy or to pressure policymakers. Some felt the whole nuclear issue was too liberal, and wanted to focus on opposing U.S. intervention in Central America or apartheid in South Africa. Some thought we should be working on the economic war in Oakland.<br />
<br />
But people were also afraid. Most couldn’t risk being in jail another two weeks, or even longer. And for all the great reasons and ideas people had about what they were going to do instead, that would be more effective than symbolic actions, most of them didn’t follow through. Some did. <a href="http://www.wslfweb.org/">Western States Legal Foundation</a> was formed by a group who wanted to pursue a legal and policy strategy, and they are one of the leading antinuclear policy groups in the world today. <a href="http://www.trivalleycares.org/">TriValley Cares</a>, which formed to do outreach and organizing in the Livermore area <a href="http://www.trivalleycares.org/">http://www.trivalleycares.org/</a>, won the right to place an antinuclear exhibit in the visitor’s center at the Lab. They continue to organize, activate and educate to this day. Many of us took the skills we had learned in the Livermore Action Group into the Pledge of Resistance and later movements. But the fact is that the huge antinuclear direct action movement in California was crushed and the weapons continue to be developed and tested at Livermore.<br />
<br />
I don’t say that’s going to happen to the 99% movement, but logic says it’s more likely than not. The media are going to lose interest, unless the tactics of the protests or the repression they face escalate. And if the tactics escalate, the repression is sure to follow. Capital and the government it controls are not going to just sit by and say, “Oh, well if people really want us to pay more, we will.” They will ignore the movement for a while, but if it seems like it’s picking up steam and not petering out, they’re going to move to crush it, and they’re probably going to succeed. Some of the activists will move to another level, and the rest will melt into the woodwork again, hopefully to come out another day.<br />
<br />
And when that happens, the things people have learned about movement building during the times of less activity, when we’re sitting in rooms of a dozen people, calling 20,000 people to come out and getting 16, are going to be important. Those are what keep the tiny sparks alive so one of them can catch and ignite the flame.Police Brutality in San Franciscotag:queertoday.ning.com,2011-10-18:2057108:BlogPost:502742011-10-18T05:30:00.000ZQueerTodayhttp://queertoday.ning.com/profile/queertoday
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/G9wkTIpY4Sw?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0"></iframe>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/G9wkTIpY4Sw?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0"></iframe>This Day in History - This Day In History: Martial Law in the Castrotag:queertoday.ning.com,2011-10-06:2057108:BlogPost:494722011-10-06T23:30:00.000ZKate Raphaelhttp://queertoday.ning.com/profile/KateRaphael
<em>Originally published on <a href="http://democracy-sometime.blogspot.com">Democracy Sometimes</a></em><br />
<br />
I had my phone on silent last night so I missed the text telling me about the <a href="http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/SFCops-Break-Up-Occupy-SF-Encampment-131274659.html">midnight raid</a> (actually, it was about 10:50 pm) on the <a href="http://democracy-sometime.blogspot.com/2011/10/five-great-things-about-occupy-movement.html">Occupy SF camp</a>. Otherwise, I would have been very…
<em>Originally published on <a href="http://democracy-sometime.blogspot.com">Democracy Sometimes</a></em><br />
<br />
I had my phone on silent last night so I missed the text telling me about the <a href="http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/SFCops-Break-Up-Occupy-SF-Encampment-131274659.html">midnight raid</a> (actually, it was about 10:50 pm) on the <a href="http://democracy-sometime.blogspot.com/2011/10/five-great-things-about-occupy-movement.html">Occupy SF camp</a>. Otherwise, I would have been very tempted to rush over there, as the occupiers were requesting that supporters do, but I’m actually not sorry I got a little more sleep. I dropped by on my way to work with a donation to help replace the tents, food and equipment the cops stole (they call it “confiscated”). Even the usually less-than-enthusiastic-about-protest San Francisco Chronicle <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/06/BAFA1LECD5.DTL">seemed chagrined</a> by the level of force deployed by the San Francisco Police to get rid of some theoretically illegal camping equipment that had been coexisting with downtown business for nearly a week.<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<table cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/296551_246128652095848_100000961458184_641509_1310876459_n.jpg" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="217px" src="http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/296551_246128652095848_100000961458184_641509_1310876459_n.jpg" width="320px"/></a></td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>These great photos are from</em> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=246128652095848&set=a.246128465429200.55147.100000961458184&type=3&theater"><em>Patrick Clifton's album</em></a><em>.</em></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><p>It put me in mind of another infamous SFPD action, 22 years ago today. On October 6, 1989, ACT UP/San Francisco, the San Francisco chapter of the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power, held a demonstration that started at the San Francisco Federal Building on Golden Gate.</p>
</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
ACT UP, in case anyone does not remember or never knew, was another hell-raising movement that started in New York and spread around the country. But contrary to the myth told in the infinitely missable new movie “<a href="http://wewereherefilm.com/">We Were Here</a>” – which is supposed to be about AIDS in San Francisco but as far as every AIDS activist I know goes should be called “We Weren’t Here” – AIDS activism did not begin with ACT UP, “a group of creative young people from New York.” With all love and respect for our comrades in New York, I believe militant AIDS activism began right here in San Francisco, growing up in tandem with the “San Francisco service model,” affectionately known in some circles as the AIDS service industry. The first AIDS action group was called Citizens for Medical Justice (CMJ); it was an affinity group of about 20 or so people, including my friend Lisa, who did sit-ins at state and federal offices protesting mandatory testing of prisoners, closure of bathhouses, and FDA foot-dragging on approving treatments.<br />
<br />
In late 1986, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyndon_LaRouche">Lyndon LaRouche</a> put an initiative on the California ballot calling for mandatory testing and various repressive measures against people with HIV/AIDS, possibly including quarantine. At the same time the racist group US English put the “English as the Official Language” initiative, known unofficially as “English-Only” on the ballot. While the mainstream Bay Area gay organizations, under chairmanship of Chris Bowman of the Log Cabin Republicans, were focusing myopically on the LaRouche initiative, a bunch of more left-leaning queer folks started a coalition called Stand Together, which worked to defeat both initiatives. As part of that effort, the AIDS Action Pledge was born. Taking its approach from the Pledge of Resistance, which organized thousands around the country to do civil disobedience in response to U.S. aggression against Latin America, AAP collected signatures on a pledge that began, “I pledge to join others in fighting for all our lives and liberties during the AIDS crisis.” Soon after the LaRouche initiative was defeated (English-only, sadly and not surprisingly, was passed), AIDS Action Pledge staged the first protest at the South Bay headquarters of Burroughs Wellcome (now part of GlaxoSmithKline), the manufacturer of the sole AIDS treatment, AZT, demanding that they lower the price of the drug. A few months later, after meeting with members of ACT UP (then only in New York) and other AIDS activists from around the country at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_National_March_on_Washington_for_Lesbian_and_Gay_Rights">1987 March on Washington</a>, the AAP changed its name to ACT UP/SF.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/294071_246128748762505_100000961458184_641511_2061493178_n.jpg" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" src="http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/294071_246128748762505_100000961458184_641511_2061493178_n.jpg" width="217px"/></a></div>
Flash forward two years, and ACT UP/SF had probably 70-100 active members in three working groups: Treatment Issues, Local Issues and State and Federal Issues. There were also a women’s caucus, the Bayard Rustin Anti-Racism Collective and the People With Immune System Disorders (PISD) Caucus. Each group had organized a number of very successful actions, educational events, fundraisers and outreach efforts. Friday night, October 6, was to be our biggest street protest – each working group planned an action for somewhere along the route of the march, which was to go from the Federal Building to City Hall to the State Building, calling out the ways that part of the government was failing to stop the dying. It would end at Market and Castro, where Local Issues had planned a grand finale – spraypainting silhouettes on the sidewalk of the Castro to create what they called the “Permanent Quilt,” a subtle dig at the <a href="http://www.aidsquilt.org/">Names Project</a> which many of us felt had gone from a powerful protest to a kind of a feel-good way of beautifying the epidemic.<br />
<br />
I can’t remember what my group, State and Fed, had planned at the Federal and State Buildings. I do remember that I was worried the demonstration was not going to be interesting enough to keep people engaged. I was also worried no one would come. When I got near the Federal Building, I was excited because I could see there were a lot of people there already. As I got closer, I saw that half of them were cops. Cops in riot gear. My friend Ken Jones, who was director of the Stop AIDS Project, was sitting on a low wall at the edge of the building, smoking. When I greeted him, he said, “I think every one of us will have our own personal pig.” (I’ve never liked that word, but Ken was from the Vietnam generation – about ten years older than me.)<br />
<br />
We did whatever we did at the Federal Building. I have this feeling it might have involved hanging a banner on the doors and a die-in on the plaza. Someone made a speech. We headed out to Van Ness. The energy was high. We chanted and banged on drums. I was happy because my responsibilities were done and I could relax and have fun. As we stepped into the street on Van Ness, the police captain started droning, “Obey all traffic laws.” The light turned red. People were still in the street, crossing slowly toward the State Building. The cops lowered their shields and started swinging at people. One of the organizers, Bill Haskell, turned to argue with them, saying that we were just trying to get across the street. They grabbed him and threw him to the street, kicked him, cuffed him and threw him in a van.<br />
<br />
The rest of the march was like that. Any time anyone stepped into the parking lane or took too long crossing the street, they got hit. All the way to the Castro we were hemmed in on the sidewalk, with motorcycles on one side and lines of foot cops on the other. When we got there, some of us decided to sit down in the street, making an old-fashioned blockade. It seemed like the only way to de-escalate without just giving up and going home, which we were not going to do. A few dozen of us sat down and linked arms and chanted. Local Issues started painting the Permanent Quilt.<br />
<br />
We were sitting there, waiting to be arrested, and suddenly we saw cops running and swinging batons at people. We, the blockaders, were already surrounded and couldn’t go to help or see what was happening. We heard people screaming, and I saw someone fall. He ended up being taken to the hospital and needing stitches. He, along with a few others who were injured, ended up winning $250,000 in a lawsuit against the City. One blockader, Frank, went limp and accidentally kicked one of the cops. They beat him up and charged him with battery; it eventually turned out he had an outstanding warrant and he would be in jail for several months. I didn’t see the rest because I was arrested, but I heard about it from some of the people who were arrested later, and from incredulous friends when I got out.<br />
<br />
The cops declared martial law (seriously, they called it that). According to an article in the <em>Bay Area Reporter</em> written two years ago on the 20th anniversary, “As the police began to arrest those blocking the street, someone knocked over a police motorcycle and the situation quickly escalated.” That was the first I heard of the motorcycle theory, but something had to explain it. The police captain told people to get inside and announced that anyone on the street would be arrested. The Castro Theater and some businesses like Orphan Andy’s diner on 17th opened their doors so refugees could get in. Others locked their doors to keep out the riffraff. People were hurled into the street, beaten and arrested. A woman’s arm was broken when she tried to write down a cop’s badge number. A few people who never had anything to do with the protest, who were just going to dinner or to get a video were busted. It was hardly the first time that had happened – it happened all the time in the eighties, but it was the first time in a long time it had happened in the Castro, and usually it was when we were protesting a high powered event, like the Democratic Convention in 1984, Henry Kissinger’s speech at the Hilton Hotel or a visit from president bush. This was just your basic night in the Castro.<br />
<br />
ACT UP finally regrouped and took back the street. In this video, you can hear the cops announcing martial law and then you can hear my friend Deeg giving a speech and leading a march out of the Castro.<br />
<br />
<object height="315" width="420"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1zyVSfwkILM?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="never"></param><embed wmode="opaque" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1zyVSfwkILM?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="false"></embed> <param name="wmode" value="opaque"></param></object>
<br />
We never knew why they did it. We speculated that it was retaliation for an action a few weeks before, when another AIDS action group briefly (and gloriously) disrupted the opening night at the Opera. That action was organized by Stop AIDS Now Or Else, which had some overlapping membership with ACT UP, but most people thought it was ACT UP. Some people thought the motivation for the crackdown was that ACT UP had taken a stand against building a new stadium in downtown San Francisco with taxpayer money, which was favored by Mayor Art Agnos. We did hear later that the local gay beat cop, nicknamed “Pig in a Wig” because of his hairstyle, had gone around to all the businesses that day and told them that “ACT UP was coming into the neighborhood to make trouble,” and that the cops were going to protect them. We never found out, and probably never will, if any of the businesses gave their approval to the crack-down.<br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The next day, a few of us from ACT UP were invited to meet with the police chief, Frank Jordan, who became mayor two years later, and his new LGBT liaison, Lt. Lea Militello. They hemmed and hawed and said the attack was a mistake. That night, we held a triumphant march through the Castro. This time, it was the media that nearly outnumbered the marchers, who numbered in the thousands.</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
</div>
A lot of things have happened on October 6 over the years. “The Jazz Singer” (first talkie) opened, Bette Davis died, Milosevic resigned as president of Yugoslavia, Babe Ruth set a record for home runs in a World Series, Louis XVI returned to Paris from Versailles after being confronted by the Parisian women, the 13 Martyrs of Arad were executed after the Hungarian war of independence (who knew?). Maybe in future years October 6 will be known all over the world as the day the <a href="http://october2011.org/">U.S. Tahrir Square began in Liberty Park</a> in Washington, D.C. But for me, like many Bay Area activist queers, October 6 will always mean martial law in the Castro.<br />
<br />
We Were Also Here!<a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_719613986"></span><span id="goog_719613987"></span>