Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters

Friday, March 19, 2010

Know Your LGBT History - The Boys in the Band

So much is going on today - the health care vote, the situation involving the arrest of the activists who chained themselves to the White House fence (there was more than one) in protest of DADT, and a certain attorney general in Virginia who, like the rest of his cohorts in the religious right, seems to be so obsessed with his definition of "gay acts," that it's clouding his mind.

But it's Friday and that means time for another segment of my Know Your LGBT History. For this segment, I decided to spotlight THE penultimate movie in lgbt movie history, The Boys in the Band.

The Boys in the Band (1970), originally an off-Broadway play, tells the story of a group of gay men who gather together for a friend's birthday party. They drink too much and suddenly the catty atmosphere of the party becomes venomous. Things are said, friendships take a hit, and someone collapses under the weight of his self-hatred.

There has been so much said about this movie but allow me to say one more thing.

I hated The Boys in the Band. I will always hate it.

I know that it's a landmark in gay cinema and had to be true to life when presenting the lives of gay men back then but I still hate it.

It's not that I hated certain characters, be it super-flamer Emory, hateful Michael, or the prostitute who was supposed to a birthday gift.

It's just that if you turn those catty men into catty women, what do you have? A comedy - which I reviewed a while back - called The Women.

But no matter how catty and vicious those women in that movie were, the love that many of them showed to each other and themselves was a redeeming factor.

There is nothing but self-pity and self-hatred in The Boys in the Band. There is simply nothing redeeming about it except for the fact that it's just a historical commentary on the lives of gay men.

But that's hardly redeeming.

Past Know Your LGBT History postings:

Know Your LGBT History - Christopher Morley, the crossdressing assassin

Know Your LGBT History - Midnight Cowboy

Know Your LGBT History - Dracula's Daughter

Know Your LGBT History - Blacula

Know Your LGBT History - 3 Strikes

Know Your LGBT History - Paris Is Burning

Know Your LGBT History - The Women

Know your LGBT History - Soul Plane

Know Your LGBT History - The Player's Club

Special Know Your LGBT History - Fame

Know Your LGBT History - Welcome Home, Bobby

Know Your LGBT History - Barney Miller

Know your lgbt history - The Jerry Springer Show

Know your lgbt history - Martin Lawrence and that 'gay guy' on his show

Know your lgbt history - The Ricki Lake Show

Know your lgbt history - Which Way Is Up

Know your lgbt history - Gays in Primetime Soaps

Know your lgbt history - Boys Beware

Know your lgbt history - The Boondocks

Know your lgbt history - Mannequin

Know your lgbt history - The Warriors

Know Your LGBT History - New York Undercover

Know Your LGBT History - Low Down Dirty Shame

Know Your LGBT History - Fortune and Men's Eyes

Know your lgbt history - California Suite

Know your lgbt history - Taxi (Elaine's Strange Triangle)

Know your lgbt history - Come Back Charleston Blue

Know your lgbt history - James Bond goes gay

Know your lgbt history - Windows

Know your lgbt history - To Wong Foo and Priscilla

Know your lgbt history - Blazing Saddles

Know your lgbt history - Sanford and Son

Know your lgbt history - In Living Color

Know your lgbt history - Cleopatra Jones and her lesbian drug lords

Know your lgbt history - Norman, Is That You?

Know your lgbt history - The 'Exotic' Adrian Street

Know your lgbt history - The Choirboys

Know your lgbt history - Eddie Murphy

Know your lgbt history - The Killing of Sister George

Know your lgbt history - Hanna-Barbera cartoons pushes the 'gay agenda

'Know your lgbt history - Cruising

Know your lgbt history - Foxy Brown and Cleopatra Jones

Know your lgbt history - I Got Da Hook Up

Know your lgbt history - Fright Night

Know your lgbt history - Flowers of Evil

The Jeffersons and the transgender community

Lie about gays in the military gets smacked down HARD and other Friday midday news briefs

Dutch officials call Sheehan’s theory blaming gay soldiers for the Srebrenica massacre ‘complete nonsense.’ - At the DADT hearings yesterday, a retired general blamed gays in the military for a historical massacre in the Netherlands. Dutch officials say he is full of it. READ this one. I love how they tore him down. We need more of that in THIS country.

CWA's fundraiser: Now with much better access to spine alignments - Ain't this a trip? The Concerned Women for America are now hawking "liquid nutrition" drinks. Well they are already pushing mental laxatives for the ignorant so I guess why not?

Ex-Gay Ministry Admits Sexual Abuse; Grateful At Not Being Found Out - Shame, shame, shame!

Anti-Gay Mailer Sparks Controversy At Post Office - Paul Cameron vs. the post office.

Lesbian Bishops Get Africans Killed - This isn't good at all.

After yesterday's activism, what's next?

I neglected to post videos of Dan Choi and the sit-in at Nancy Pelosi's office:

Do you agree or disagree with the actions? I'm in the middle but leaning towards the positive. I'm not going all out and calling the folks here heroes but it was very commendable that they took a risky stance because let's face it - sometimes stances like this are needed.

But I'm also for tactics with coordination. People always remember the sit-ins and marches of the African-American civil rights movement but they are always willing to forget that these sit-ins and marches didn't happen spontaneously nor singularly. They were a part of a huge coordinated plan.

I guess I'm saying that I want to see what happens next. Have there been any planning and will we see other actions designed to spur attention to our issues or were these actions the result of scatter shot frustration?

So my immediate reaction is "way to go," but my pragmatic reaction awaits satisfaction.

Related posts:

Some thoughts about this day of civil disobedience

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Some thoughts about this day of civil disobedience

By now, the lgbt blogs are buzzing about Dan Choi chaining himself to the fence at the White House in protest to slow movement on DADT and GetEqual's sit-in at Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's office to get some action moving on ENDA.

It's been an interesting day to say the least.

Now at the expense of riling up the negative emotions of those who are throwing out words like "civil disobedience" or those who are waxing nostalgic about the days of Act-Up and Queer Nation, or getting "the troll" after me yet again (i.e. a former friend who every now and then takes my posts and spins them to talk about how me and others have done him dirty), allow me to offer a few comments.

1. The actions today are awesome. But our reactions suck. Already some of us throwing personal attacks at each other. We seem to always forget that lgbts come from different background and therefore not everyone has the same opinion on things such as what is happening today. But here is the thing we should all remember. NO ONE has the single correct solution or blueprint for gaining equality. At the very least, we owe each other respect. We get enough negativity thrown at us as it is without contributing to the ugliness.

2. Let's not get so caught up that we forget other important matters.

Might I remind everyone that Oklahoma is trying to pass a bill that allows the state to destroy evidence rather than cooperate with the federal hate crime law.

We are in the middle of a huge battle in South Carolina to get the Legislature to restore much needed funding to organizations dedicated to fighting the spread of AIDS.

Virginia seems to have gone anti-gay buck wild.

And I haven't even mentioned the fact that across the country, there are over 30 of those phony moral values groups just waiting to create havoc on a state-by-state level.

Last but not least, there are our lgbt youth - the next generation. Let's never forget about them.

My point? Today's actions do not mark a start or a finish but a chapter in a huge book which we must continue to write.

Girl Scouts attacked with fradulent story and other Thursday midday news briefs

Girl Scouts Ensnared in the Right's Hatred of Planned Parenthood - A lie told against the Girl Scouts. Watch how there will be no apology or correction.

BLOGSWARM: For a good and non-discriminatory time, call Nancy - Blogswarm Speaker Nancy Pelosi on ENDA.

Peter LaBarbera, Expert on Nothing, Disagrees with UNAIDS Expert on AIDS Prevention - Strangely enough, when religious right folks throw out their opinion, their lack of expertise is really never questioned.

Some clinical trials exclude gays and lesbians: study - But of course the religious right groups will omit this fact when they cite their junk science.

'A Closer Look' at Elaine Donnelly's "1100 Flag Officers" Letter - A chief opponent of allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military seems to be passing around a fradulent letter. Should we be surprised?

A 'tribute' to gay and lesbian characters in children's television shows and cartoons

I don't care what anyone says, there were a lot of subtle gay characters in children's television. And I'm not saying that in the spirit of ~~James Dobson~~ Jerry Falwell when he went after the Teletubbies years ago.

I'm just noticing something that probably a lot of us knew and this youtube clip from dangoist bears out (in its own way, that is). Feel free to laugh if you want (or not):

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

South Carolinians: 'AIDS is not in remission and the funding shouldn't be either'

From the Midlands Connection:

The number of people in this state living with HIV and AIDS is on the rise. According to the South Carolina HIV and AIDS crisis task force, more than 14,000 people have the disease. Nearly 25 percent of them rely on government money for medication.

Earlier this week, House lawmakers asked the feds for more than $170 million to fund services for prescription drug programs and the department of disabilities and special needs. However HIV/AIDS was left out of that mix.

"AIDS is not in recession and the funds to fight AIDS should not be in recession either," said Columbia Pastor Andy Sidden.

Hundreds gathered at the State House Wednesday to protest recent cuts to state funded HIV and AIDS services. Earlier this month, South Carolina budget writers slashed the "AIDS Drug Assistance Program's" entire $5.9 million budget.

"Cutting funding for ADAP is like a death sentence for the people who do not have health insurance or can't afford all of their medicines out of pocket," said AIDS activist Jean-Elizabeth Smith.

I was there and was impressed by the numbers who came out in support of the restoration of the funds. To use a tired cliche, a picture is worth a thousand words:

By the way, you will all be happy to know that an amendment has been submitted to restore $2.2 million back into the program. But according to the article, those who gathered at the State House said that until the money is restored, they won't be silenced.

And they shouldn't be either.

Editor's note - the pictures were taken with a Blackberry so I apologize in advance to those not happy with the quality of some of the photos.

Another 'ex-gay,' another scandal and other Wednesday midday news briefs

Not So Ex-Gay “Ex-Gay Leader” Closes Shop - Another "ex-gay," another scandal.

Threatening posts not protected free speech - No #@!*

This is a holdup! - Now gays and lesbians are compared to bank robbers.

Medicaid and Social Security changes urged to help gay seniors - Let's not forget about our elderly brothers and sisters.

Dallas Jail Guard Fired Over Anti-Gay Remarks - He said that gays should be annihilated but declares that he is no bigot. No comment because I'm trying to refrain from using "those kind" of words. After all, my mama may be reading this blog.

Peter LaBarbera destroys his own message through his bias

I haven't written on Peter LaBarbera for a while because I've been busy with more pertinent issues.

But its obvious that I've been neglecting my old homophobic friend, especially after his post this morning.

First a little background. The Centers for Disease Control has come out with a press release which says in part:

A data analysis released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention underscores the disproportionate impact of HIV and syphilis among gay and bisexual men in the United States.

The data, presented at CDC's 2010 National STD Prevention Conference, finds that the rate of new HIV diagnoses among men who have sex with men (MSM) is more than 44 times that of other men and more than 40 times that of women.

The range was 522-989 cases of new HIV diagnoses per 100,000 MSM vs. 12 per 100,000 other men and 13 per 100,000 women.

The rate of primary and secondary syphilis among MSM is more than 46 times that of other men and more than 71 times that of women, the analysis says. The range was 91-173 cases per 100,000 MSM vs. 2 per 100,000 other men and 1 per 100,000 women.

The excellent resource Box Turtle Bulletin gives a breakdown of the press release which says in part:

HIV and syphilis infections impact certain demographics far more than others. Factors such as race, location, education, and self-worth can have almost as much a factor on one’s likelihood to contract HIV as sexual orientation.

Too often we can read alarming headlines and think, “why fight it, it’s inevitable.” This isn’t true. Most gay men don’t have HIV and never will. And while these frightening statistics can remind us to be careful, they should be taken in perspective.

But leave it to LaBarbera to use the CDC's information as yet another attempt to ramble about "bathhouses," "sodomy," and other things relating to his fantasies about gay sex:

Note how the CDC admits that anal sex is a much higher risk activity than other sexual practices. Yet to teach the special risks of sodomy in schools would be to invite a “discrimination” lawsuit by the ACLU! Homosexual oral sex also is mentioned as a risk factor for syphilis. So why don’t the nation’s “Best and Brightest” on this issue launch an educational, pro-health campaign against “gay” sex, especially sodomy?

A less bold option might be to levy a heavy “sin tax” on homosexual bathhouses and sex clubs where dangerous, anonymous, “queer” sex proliferates, or — God forbid — actually to shut down these perversion centers as public health hazards. (Instead, “gay” bathhouses like “Steamworks” (right) are flourishing and even offering “Spring Break discounts” to lure young men.)

But one sentence in LaBarbera's ramblings sticks out:

We understand that such ideas are anathema to the “gay”-pandering fraternity of the enlightened who run the country’s incompetent “war on AIDS” — you know, the types who truly believe their own propaganda that “homophobia” helps spread HIV. But the folly of their failed approach is revealed by press releases like that below.

You see, LaBarbera made it a point to re-publish the entire CDC press release under his ramblings and also made it a point to highlight several portions (pertaining to the rates of gay men and disease.) And you will notice the snide comment he made about "the types who truly believe their own propaganda that 'homophobia' helps spread AIDS."

But that is exactly one of the things which the CDC press release (which he re-published) says:

Research shows that a range of complex factors contribute to the high rates of HIV and syphilis among gay and bisexual men. These factors include high prevalence of HIV and other STDs among MSM, which increases the risk of disease exposure, and limited access to prevention services. Other factors are complacency about HIV risk, particularly among young gay and bisexual men; difficulty of consistently maintaining safe behaviors with every sexual encounter over the course of a lifetime; and lack of awareness of syphilis symptoms and how it can be transmitted (e.g., oral sex). Additionally, factors such as homophobia and stigma can prevent MSM from seeking prevention, testing, and treatment services.

When LaBarbera re-published this part of the press release, he made it a point to highlight the first sentence and the portion about syphilis and oral sex.

He didn't highlight the part about homophobia and stigma.

And therein lies his bias. LaBarbera says the concept that "homophobia helps to spread AIDS" is propaganda but then re-publishes a press release which says in part that homophobia does help to spread AIDS.

I'm wondering did he think no one would see his egregious error or did the CDC report get him so giddy that he lost leave of his senses.

I don't know for sure but I think the words of Box Turtle Bulletin says it best:

When we hear “HIV diagnoses… 44 times that of other men” or “2000 times higher than repeat blood donors”, we have to remind ourselves to step back and take a better look at the numbers. We need to recall that the purpose of information of this sort is to fight the virus, not the people who are infected. And we need to understand that we each are individual and not a statistic.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Why we need more JOURNALISTS like Rachel Maddow

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Let's be honest. For the most part, the Washington media is lazy. They worry more about access than getting the story correct.

Then there are folks like Rachel Maddow who actually does her damn job. Here she grills the Republican challenger to Sen. John McCain on his recent comment about gay marriage leading to bestiality.

Hat tip to Talking Points Memo.

Did the Pope protect a pedophile? and other Tuesday midday news briefs

Pope knew priest was paedophile but allowed him to continue with ministry -Now just what were you saying about gays and lesbians, my dear Pope?

MassResistance stakes out bathroom; FRC has toilet paper on shoe - The video on this link is a VILE attack on our transgendered sisters and as usual, Jeremy Hooper is on point with his commentary. All of these so-called pro family groups are connected on the same rotten string. It's our job to show the connection.

Miss’sippi Logic - A nasty letter which has to be read to be believed.

Mexican Singer Paquita La Del Barrio: I'd Rather a Child Die Than Be Adopted By a Gay Couple - Who is this loser?(sorry but someone who says that about a child is a loser in my book)

Fliers circulate mocking Lowe’s sexuality - It just doesn't stop in Gainesville, does it?

'I would kill a gay son'

We have heard about how awful it is in Uganda even without the possible passage of the anti-gay bill. But just in case everything you have heard hasn't gotten through to you, try reading about what happened during a human rights forum in Kampala last month:

At a human rights forum held . . . in Kampala, a Ugandan Member of Parliament said he would kill his son if he discovered he was gay.

The MP, Otto Odonga, was immediately denounced by the forum's keynote speaker, Makau Mutua.

"I am baffled by the kind of hatred you spew against gay people," Mutua said, "including your desire to be a hangman. Would you apply to be a hangman if the person to be hanged were your son?"

When Odonga nodded yes, Mutua said, "There is something deeply wrong with you."

The forum, titled Human Rights and Sexual Orientation, made it clear that many Ugandans do not yet believe that homos are entitled to human rights. The country's MPs are getting set to debate a law that would impose the death penalty on people who engage in gay sex more than once.

"Human rights are not sacrosanct," Odonga said. "Private parts do not belong in the anus. We will not accept this kind of deviant behaviour in our society."

Luckily, according to the article, other members of the audience had more sense than Odonga:

One of the morning's other speakers, Solome Nakawesi-Kimbugwe, said that Uganda — one of the world's poorest countries — should deal with economic issues. "Let's put our priorities where our problems are," she said. "As Ugandans, what we want are laws that are relevant. Homosexuality is not a problem for us."

Nakawesi-Kimbugwe is the director of Akina Mama wa Africa Foundation, a feminist organization.

The article also goes on to say that the keynote speaker, Mutua, ripped into the homophobic sentiment perpetrated against gay Ugandans:

"The kind of speech you made against gay people was the kind of speech that white segregationists were making all over America. Those arguments are classic. They have been reproduced in every era by every segment of society. You didn't invent them."

The very idea that a government official would publicly and proudly declare that he would murder his child if that child turned out to be gay stays with me.

So if by chance the Ugandan anti-gay bill does not pass, let's not be so quick to slap ourselves on the back or give each other congratulatory notes because there is still much work to be done for our Ugandan lgbt brothers and sisters.

To accentuate this point even more? Apparently there were only a handful of gay activists attending this human rights forum. But none of them stood up to speak.

And we all know why.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Gays and lesbians need to hear from all voices in the community

One of the drawbacks of working full-time while running a blog is how you miss interesting news. By the time you get to the new, it's already been covered to the point of over saturation.

On the other hand, this problem challenges you to find new things to cover and this is a huge boon, especially if you are black and gay and need to remind folks that in all the talk of ENDA, DADT, same-sex marriage, the black gay and lesbian community is a subset with specific needs and problems which, if we are not careful, get unintentionally ignored - such as the issue of self esteem.

All of the laws regarding ENDA, the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and the expansion of places where gays and lesbians can get marry don't mean @!&# if young gays and lesbian do not feel worthy enough to take advantages of these things. If they don't see people who look like them and whom they feel have an understanding of their problems in the public eye, there is a danger that they will be a permanent underclass in the gay who won't take advantage of any positive lgbt change.

With that in mind, I want to show the following Human Rights Campaign video of Dustin Baker. He was at the time of this video the only openly gay seminarian at the Howard University School of Divinity, tells of his experience in the black church as a gay man and how hes risen above it to find his calling in ministry.

There is no excuse why other stories like his aren't being widely heard in our community. Gays and lesbians are as diverse as the world in which we live and until we start addressing that fact, all of the pro-gay laws in the world won't get us where we need to go:

Not another gay marriage will lead to bestiality lie! and other Monday midday news briefs

Police deliberately destroy lesbian’s military career out of spite - What are you reading is true and is a damn shame.

Next Up For the GOP Bestiality Rodeo Round-Up: AZ Sen Candidate J D Hayworth! - Sen. John McCain's Republican primary challenger says gay marriage could lead to people marrying horses. No offense on heterosexual marriages in general but from what I've seen in some cases, they have the people marrying dogs market cornered big time.

Gov. Bob McDonnell says he’s done enough to protect gays - How about not being such a big homophobe?

Government revisiting restrictions on blood donations by gay men - a touchy, touchy issue.

South Carolinians to rally against potential HIV/AIDS budget cuts

With the news coming in last week that the South Carolina House of Representatives have chosen to cut out HIV/AIDS funding from the state budget, more information about the exact programs being cut as well as what the gay community and their allies plan to do about it is coming in.

The following is from Tamera Tedder, president of the South Carolina Pride Movement:

As some of you know last week a vote to have all funding for AIDS has been cut from the budget in South Carolina. Project FAITH and ADAP are two of the programs which are currently on the chopping block under the proposed budget.

ADAP is the AIDS Drug Assistance Program which helps HIV positive patients gain access to the necessary medication to maintain their health. If access to these medications is unavailable for a large population, rapidly increasing death rates will be seen across our state.

South Carolina ranks 8th in the nation for new AIDS cases annually. Our capital, and the location of our rally, Columbia, ranks 9th among larger metropolitan areas for new AIDS cases annually. This is NO time to cut funding! *South Carolina ranks FIRST in the nation for the percentage of cumulative cases of AIDS from heterosexual contact

Please JOIN US on Wednesday, March 17 from 11:30-12:30 inside the State House in the Rotunda. We are joining together to show our legislators how important AIDS funding and the future of our community is to us.

Related posts:

South Carolina House of Representatives votes to cut ALL HIV/AIDS funding

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Christian TV is corny

Big hat tip to Mike Tidmus. This is just too funny not to share.

I'm from the old Southern black Baptist church tradition - churches on almost every square mile of ancient towns, morning that start with Sunday school, then deacon-led prayer service complete with lining hymns and long prayers, and finally preaching that ends with inviting folks to be baptized.

I've gotten away from all of that a little bit because my sexual orientation has caused me to seek out God on my own.

But when I see how some other folks are trying to get away from old church traditions (be they the ones I described or others), I simply have to wonder about why some people try so hard to make religion "hip" or "up to date." It comes across as corny.

Like so:

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Scott Lively demonstrates how to throw gasoline on an anti-gay brush fire

Earlier this week, I wrote a post about how anti-gay activist Scott Lively claimed on ABC News that he didn't envision Uganda pushing for that draconian anti-gay bill even though he had:

a. visited the country earlier that year during a conference and told negative stories about the gay and lesbian community and

b. had been going to foreign countries as far back as 2007 (i.e. Russia) and advocating that they "criminalize homosexuality."

How about a little visual aid in regards to his technique courtesy of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The above video is him speaking at a WOTW conference in Novosibirsk, Russia in 2007. There are two things I want you all to notice.

1. How he makes the American gay community sound like a criminal syndicate from a James Bond movie.

2. A story he tells about the murder of a gay man in Sacramento. The following transcript of what he says is from Box Turtle Bulletin (an excellent site which chronicles, among other things, the how the Ugandan anti-gay bill came into being). It starts at 0.15

Now, I’ve been working with the Russian community in Sacramento. And I want to tell you this is an example of how bad things are in the United States. Because we’ve come to a place in the United States where the homosexuals have achieved very high power. And they’ve begun to punish… They’ve begun to cause the political powers to punish anyone who says that homosexuality is wrong.

There was a situation in Sacramento a few weeks ago in a public park. There was a group of homosexuals and they were very drunk and one of the homosexual men was taking off his pants. And there were children in the park. And a Russian man went over to these homosexuals and he was rebuking them and there started a fight. And the Russian man punched the homosexual. [The audience starts to shout and applaud.] No, no, no, don’t… The man was very drunk… the homosexual was very drunk. He was very drunk and he fell down and he hit his head and he died. [Some in the audience start to applaud and laugh] No…. no…

Now the Russian man has been accused of murder and the FBI is seeking him. And all of the powers in Sacramento have been accusing all of the Russian community of being murderers. And the goal is to silence everyone who speaks against homosexuality. And this is a very dangerous situation because we don’t want homosexuals to be killed. We want them to be saved. Amen?

The transcript does not lie. When they are told that the gay man died, members of the audience did start to laugh and applaud and Lively did signal that it was not appropriate.

Of course I am not making this clarification to somehow exonerate Lively in any fashion. His comments to the audience about how it's not right to laugh at the murder of a gay man is the equivalent of an arsonist setting a fire and then yelling at the fire to die down.

This audience is obviously rabidly anti-gay and Lively is instigating more anti-gay hysteria by falsely claiming that gays are corrupting the United States. The implication is obviously "if you don't do something, this corruption will happen to your country."

And again it accentuates my point. I personally refuse to believe that Lively did not know that the Ugandans would react so negatively to his lies about the gay community by creating that bill.

But even if by some chance he was telling the truth, does it lessen his guilt?

By the way, the murder which Lively spoke about so callously was committed against Satendar Singh. It happened like this:

A group of Slavic men picnicking with their families at the lake allegedly noticed that Satendar did not have a female date, and that he danced with both women and men in his party. Witnesses reported that the attackers began hurling anti-gay and racist invectives. As things escalated, the attackers sent their families home and called for backup. When a new group of men showed up, the party tried to leave, but was blocked by the attackers. One of the men struck Satendar, who fell unconscious, his head bleeding profusely. As the attackers went to their cars to get away, they hurled bottles at the members of Satendar’s party, which included a young woman who is 6 months pregnant.

Satendar Singh was taken to Mercy San Juan hospital, where tests indicated no brain activity. Over 100 family members and friends went to the hospital to be with him in his final days, and he died on July 5th.

And the outcome?:

Aleksandr Shevchenko, the man charged with a hate crime after fatally beating Satendar Singh at Lake Natoma, California, in 2007. When a jury deadlocked in Shevchenko’s trial, the court instead convicted Singh’s killer for disturbing the peace and simple assault. The court sentenced Shevchenko to 150 days in jail. An August 2, 2008, article published by the Sacramento Bee reported the Sacramento District Attorney’s Office will not retry Shevchenko on the hate crime charge. Because of the verdict, the value of Satendar Singh’s life has been reduced to approximately five months in jail.

So much for having "high power."

And how about one more bit a footage to gall your gut. The following video from an anti-hate crimes rally held in November of last year. At .09 is Lively speaking. His words about being ready to go to jail if arrested for proclaiming that homosexuality is wrong takes on a certain irony when one takes into account his actions in Uganda and Russia, don't they?:

One more thing - the woman standing behind him is Janet Porter, the religious right spokesperson who during a conference last week demanded that God give "Christians" like herself control of the media.

Makes you wonder just who are the heroes and who are the villains around here, doesn't it?

Friday, March 12, 2010

Know Your LGBT History - Christopher Morley, the crossdressing assassin

Christopher Morley is an actor who specialized in crossdressing roles in the 70s and 80s.

To me, two performances come to mind. One I thoroughly enjoyed while the other one was kind of mean-spirited

Magnum P.I. was a popular 80s television show about a detective living in Hawaii. It made Tom Selleck a television legend. And some of the episodes were original such as this one from the second season, The Jororo Kill.

In it, Magnum is trying to stop an international assassin from completing his mission. This assassin, masterly portrayed by Morley, specializes in female impersonation.

Why am I not insulted by this episode? Simply because Morley's character isn't stereotypical. He is a cold blooded killer driven because he is a master at what he does:

In contrast, the killer he played in motion picture Freebie and the Bean (1974) is probably remembered for his death scene. Yes he was evil but was it necessary for him to be shot so many times? But at least his karate moves were cool:

Desmond Tutu is a true Christian, Jane Porter is just plain crazy, and other Friday midday news briefs

In Africa, a step backward on human rights - Bishop Desmond Tutu YET AGAIN demonstrates the acts of a true Christian.

US State Department Officials Meet with Ugandan LGBT Advocates - This sounds like an interesting meeting.

Only the far-right could turn 'respect for all' into a quarrel - God forbid we teach respect for EVERYBODY in our schools.

Two House Democrats Back Gay Housing Protections - Keep pushing for this.

Janet Porter Defends Her Insanity - I would pay admission to hear this one.

Scott Lively advocated 'criminalizing homosexuality' as far back as 2007

This particular bit of news has been covered in the past by a few pro-lgbt blogs. But as the furor over the Ugandan anti-gay bill grows (and it should), it's worth remembering.

Anti-gay activist Scott Lively is busy trying to extricate himself from the situation which he helped create in Uganda regarding that anti-gay bill.

It was Lively who was one of the Americans who spoke in Uganda about the so-called "dangers of homosexuality" during a conference last year. The bill was introduced several months after this conference.

Now as the furor gets larger, Lively is trying to duck the much deserved blame due his way. He told ABC News in a recent news cast that he never saw the bill coming and he would support it if the death penalty portion was dropped.

But according to the words on his own web page, The Pro-Family Resource of Abiding Truth Ministries (for the sake of modesty, I will refrain from editorial comments about the words "pro-family"), Lively has been advocating laws against homosexuality as far back as 2007.

In a 2007 piece entitled Letter to the Russian People, Lively had this to say:

. . . criminalize the public advocacy of homosexuality. My philosophy is to leave homosexuals alone if they keep their lifestyle private, and not to force them into therapy if they don't want it. However, homosexuality is destructive to individuals and to society and it should never publicly promoted. The easiest way to discourage gay pride parades and other homosexual advocacy is to make such activity illegal in the interest of public health and morality.

So Lively makes it a point to tour foreign countries, tell a bunch of lies about gays and lesbians, and advocate laws against homosexuality.

But then when one country follows suit, he claims that he never saw it coming.

Why don't you tell me the one about the Easter Bunny next?

I don't think anyone with a modicum of sense believes that Lively didn't see Uganda's reaction to his conference coming. If he were a real Christian, he would be truthful about his responsibility in the creation of that awful bill.

And for the sake of modesty, I will also refrain from editorial comments regarding Lively's alleged Christianity.

Although I feel my fellow bloggers and readers won't be so nice.

Related posts:

More proof that Scott Lively knew exactly what he was doing in Uganda

Slouching Towards Kampala: Uganda’s Deadly Embrace of Hate

Scott Lively practiced 'pink-baiting' in Uganda

Scott Lively: American, European gays are to blame for harsh anti-gay laws in Uganda