General: May 2006 Archives

“While we recognize that there is a high incidence of homophobia and related persecution in Fiji. . . we also recognize that it is incumbent on the queer community to stand up and be present in the face of unjustified persecution.” (source)

WRONG!

That quote was from Out Takes, New Zealand’s national LGBT film festival, who is now being criticized for offering a chance to win a five day holiday to Fiji as a way to boost membership.

Fiji... sounds nice doesn’t it? In Fiji, you can enjoy nice warm weather beautiful beaches and romantic get aways. But wait, THERE’S MORE!!!

If you go there with your same-sex partner, you can also be....

1) Imprisoned. Get caught in a sexual act (however they define that there - could just be a kiss), and you have a chance to win up to 14 years in prison with hard labor.

2) It’s one of the most homophobic regions around.

3) You could be murdered. As the source states, “In 2001 John Scott, the head of the Fiji Red Cross, and his New Zealand partner Greg Scrivener were murdered.”

4) Fiji also bars all people with HIV or AIDS.

For Out Takes to say that “it is incumbent on the queer community to stand up and be present in the face of unjustified persecution”, is pure crap and is false advertisement. They are advertising a vacation, and they should say in that advertisement that in addition to winning the vacation that will be paid for, you might also be imprisoned or killed, if you let your guard down.

Some vacation. And Out Takes is a queer organization. It is irresponsible for them to do this. Sometimes, I think we are our own worst enemy.

I took yesterday off because it was scheduled that I was to go in for oral surgery on my front tooth (it has affectionately come to be known as “# 8”). I arrived, and, as luck would have it, the oral surgeon that my dentist sent me to decided to put off the surgery because he wasn’t sure what would temporarily replace to tooth. My dentist had the replacement, but apparently there are a variety of different options available these days. I didn’t know what to tell him.

I had a follow up appointment with my dentist yesterday afternoon, who called the oral surgeon and cleared everything up. As luck would have it, I was able to get into see the oral surgeon this morning at 7:00am. It was wild. The put me on nitrous oxide, followed by a “relaxing shot”. I don’t know what was in that shot, but it was wonderful. I could fly. Then, they started an IV drip that put me out for the surgery.

Before I knew it, I was in a recovery room and waking up. Kent was there which was comforting. We stayed for 20 minutes while my head cleared. I was really hungry. We went to breakfast, and now I’m home resting. Kent went to work, and it is raining like hell outside. But it’s a nice day to take it easy for recovery.

I’m in moderate pain because of swelling and sutures, but I’m on extra strength Vicodin, which in addition to reducing the pain to practically nothing, is sending me on a trip that is not an unpleasant one. My body is saying, “Don’t you think one more of those would be better?” But, my mind is telling me, “No. Try not to take it if you don’t have too.” And I’m reminded of all the celebrities that have fought Vicodin addiction. Apparently, it’s not fun.

I was thinking about a few things though. Last night, I saw something on LOGO about the history of the AIDS epidemic, and one thing that was said got me to thinking. The comment was something like, “Without the AIDS epidemic, we wouldn’t today be talking about equality and gay marriage for gay people.”

I never thought about it that way, but AIDS has had a huge impact on our visibility today. A few examples....

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Saying that more role models could help alleviate the social estrangement and high suicide rates of gay and lesbian students, the California Senate voted Thursday to teach the historical contributions of homosexuals in the United States.

If approved by the state Assembly and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the measure, the first of its kind nationwide, could once again stake out California in the vanguard on gay rights. California’s Legislature last year became the first to authorize gay marriage, but Schwarzenegger vetoed the measure. Schwarzenegger has not taken a public position on the textbook bill.

California is a huge portion of the textbook market, where it often sets trends, and many publishers put out a specific edition for the state that others can also use. (source)

And this....

BERKELEY, Calif. - A company that was sued by a pair of gay skaters who alleged they were harassed for holding hands has agreed to hold monthly gay-straight skate nights, to sign an anti-discrimination pledge and to contribute $5,000 to two gay groups as part of a legal settlement.

As part of the settlement announced late Wednesday, the skaters, John Manzon-Santos and Alan Lessik, also will get free admission for one year to the weekly “pairs preferred” skating sessions Berkeley Iceland plans to offer. East Bay Iceland, which owns the Berkeley rink and two others, also agreed to post placards advertising its efforts to promote diversity and to require its workers to undergo sensitivity training. (source)

And this...

SPRINGFIELD -- Gov. Rod Blagojevich called Thursday for a review of a gay man’s discharge from the Illinois Air National Guard but wouldn’t say whether he believes the man was treated unfairly. (source)

And this...

But U.S. law intentionally and cruelly forced me to choose: either live with Rik outside of America, or live in America without Rik. The strangely named “Defense of Marriage Act,” a federal law passed in 1996, specifies that Rik cannot be my family for immigration purposes.

He cannot live in the United States, unless he were to enter into a fake marriage with a woman, or pretend to take a job he doesn’t plan to take. Of course, he won’t do either of those things. And fortunately, Holland welcomes us.

THE CURE FOR my problem is the Uniting American Families Act, introduced by Congressman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.). This law would humanely and simply add “permanent partners” to “spouses” in the Immigration & Nationality Act. (source)

And this...

(Dearborn, Michigan) An attempt by a Ford shareholder to force the automaker to drop protections for LGBT workers from its human resources regulations was swiftly defeated on Thursday.

Shareholders at the company’s annual meeting in Dearborn voted 95 percent to reject the proposal. (Source)

And this...

(Nashville, Tennessee) A Nashville gay man is suing the city and a number of police officers after he was arrested in what what he claims was a sting targeting gay men in a popular Internet chat room.

The man is identified in court papers only as John Doe. The federal lawsuit alleges that he agreed to meet a man in person with whom he had been chatting with on the Web site Gay.com.

But when he arrived at the agree upon location he was met by Nashville police. (source)

And this...

LGBT advocates rallied Wednesday near the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Ky., after the school said it would allow a gay student it expelled over his sexuality to finish his coursework and receive final grades.

Jason Johnson, a 20-year-old sophomore, was expelled April 6 after discussing his sexual orientation on Myspace.com. The dean’s list student suddenly received all F’s on his transcript when he was expelled.

“This will preserve my academic record,” he told the Lexington Herald-Leader. (source)

The point that I’m trying to make is that just five years ago, all of these stories would not have been stories at all (except in a very negative way in The Advocate). You would never have read about them. The student kicked out of a school, religious or not, for being gay would have been totally ignored because it was a private religious school. And if it did make headlines, it would have been portrayed as something “he deserved”. Now, it is portrayed as being an unacceptable act of bigotry.

The bill in California to teach students about the contributions of homosexuals in the United States is a first of it’s kind. Granted, it may not make it into law and the Governor of California could still veto the bill, but simply being introduced is a victory and certainly a sign of the changing times.

It’s been known for years that the U.S. immigration laws do not recognize gay families. If your life partner is a foreign citizen, you will have a problem staying together in this country. Before moving to Connecticut, Kent was offered a job in a small conservative town (based on the town having 11 Baptist churches) in Canada. He didn’t accept the job because one of the problems that we would have faced was the reality that I would eventually have to leave Canada, because at that time Canada would not have recognized our relationship. We would either face a long distance relationship for years, or end up splitting up. It didn’t take us long to decide that we didn’t want to deal with that. This is old news. What is new is that more light is being shed upon the law because people are increasingly starting to understand how unfair and cruel the immigration laws are.

And even in Tennessee, a very conservative state, the Nashville Police Department is facing a federal lawsuit stating that the police specifically targeted gay men in their sting operation. This is like the “good ole days” when the police used to raid gay bars and arrest the patrons. Then, the men were charged, fined, and their names were published in their local newspapers, effectively outting them. Now, the arrests are being made, and the police department is being sued for their actions, because they aren’t also arresting straight men for the same thing.

In other words, slowly but surely, people are starting to realize just how unfair many things are.

But what do I know? I’m flying high on Vicodin and have no idea what I’m talking about. Cheers!

Saturday, May 13, 2006 - 7:32 AM
I wanted to add to this one short statement, now that I’m totally in sober mind. These accomplishments may have come about because of the exposure that AIDS as brought to our community, but we have paid for this with the lives of our friends and lovers.

We have paid for these victories with our dearest blood.

And now, many of those who turned their backs on us to let us die, now feel a need to “repent” for their actions. It’s too little and too late. While there is breath left in my body, I will never forgive them.

Now they want to take advantage of the AIDS network that was built by the gay community for the support of gay men who had AIDS in the 1980’s to the present. Where the hell was their compassion then? This network of support was created because people like them could only find it in their hearts to pass condemnation against us, as our loved ones were dieing, and then turn their backs on us saying that we deserved “eternal damnation and death”. Jesus would not have done that. If they really want to get in touch with the grace of Jesus Christ, they should come to any one of the support meetings our community offers, when one of their members contracts AIDS. That person won’t be turned away and they won’t be judged.

As Wayne Besen wrote in a commentary that appeared in December in the Washington (D.C.) Blade, “If the Warrens (leaders of the conservative evangelical congregation Saddleback Church) really want to help prevent the spread of HIV, they will recognize the inherent beauty in all relationships.”

Indeed, as R. Spedale, coauthor of Gay Marriage: For Better or for Worse? said in the latest edition of The Advocate, “When we asked how being married has affected their lives, many said it made them monogamous.”

This is the true test of their character. When they start advocating for full marriage for gay partners, that will get my attention.