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The Bigots All Around Me
Posted under GLBTQ issues, Political, Rants by Recovering Straight GirlThis has been an unbelievable couple of weeks for discrimination against my family and families like ours.
First, the whole Sherwood Middle School play issue.
Then, Sally Kern and her big ugly words.
Then yesterday, Oregon State Senator Gary George (R-McMinnville,) gave an interview to the fabulous Stephen Marc Beaudoin from Just Out Newsmagazine.
He is one of the legislatures who is trying to repeal the Oregon Equality Act–preventing discrimination based on sexual identity and gender expression. Among some of his jewels of comments he said this,
“My advice to the gay community is SHUT UP, just don’t talk about it. If you walk around talking about what you do in the bedroom, you should be on the pervert channel.”
So let’s see. . . If in the workplace, Mr. George makes a passing comment about his wife, it’s okay. But if I make a passing comment about my partner everyone’s minds immediately go to what we do in the bedroom? I’m sorry, but WHO is the pervert here? Maybe he should be on the pervert channel, (which incidentally I checked my Direct TV line-up and I didn’t see it.)
And if all of that isn’t enough, today The Oregonian reported that the fine teacher who wrote the amazing play, Higher Ground is being investigated. Her computer has been confiscated, her e-mail address changed and her job is apparently in jeopardy.
Can you say Witch Hunt?
What’s next, are they going to give her a trial and burn her at the stake using copies of Harry Potter and To Kill a Mockingbird as fuel? This is the year Two Thousand and Fucking Eight people.
Time to fight harder. Time to write MORE letters. Time to be LOUDER.
Oregon Senator Gary George (R-McMinnville)
Superintendent Dan Jamison, Sherwood School District
When we will get back to talking about boobs?
Oh wow. It’s like you were able to take a step forward and all of a sudden multiple forces trying to pull you back. I’m sorry that you’ve had such a rough couple of days.
You know I was waiting for the pervert channel. Glad you checked, as you know I don’t have TV.
I think, it’s good these people are so public about how ugly they are. Better that it’s out in the open so bloggers and writers and people can see them for what it is than let it all be behind closed doors (*the bedroom?!?*). I always think people in power should let their hatred out, better for the rest of us to vote them the fuck out of office. How much easier the world would be if the powers that be simply said: we hate everyone who is not rich and white and male. I tell you, the revolution would really pick up steam at that point.
Let’s never shut up, okay? Deal.
Perhaps ALL us RSGs should start a PERVERT CHANNEL and broadcast all the hateful, stupid things people “in authority” say about the GLBTQ and other minorities over and over (unfortunately adding new ones all the time). This would help expose these idiots to the decent people in this country, who I firmly believe are in the majority, but, like most of us, are too busy trying to live their lives to keep up with all this bullshit.
Good lord!
GG
You are right, although it is so hard and disheartening, we cannot give up! In our silence they derive more power. It is time to write, and speak and stand!
Uh, you ARE talking about boobs already. *grin* Huge, saggy, pasty ones.
*runs away laughing*
As I commented on that JustOut article, I’m really tired of hearing Gary George talk about being a Republican. It’s a lifestyle choice and I wish he’d just shut up about it already, because I find it incredibly offensive.
I say shut up too. I, like 95% of hetero’s don’t want you shipped to an island or treated differently or even talked down to. I just want to be left out of your bedroom.
I work with all men and I don’t think anyone has ever started on a rant about the ways and hows of how they satisfied themselves with their partner. I don’t want to hear that crap.
Unless you are purposely acting or dressing a certain way, people will not even know to treat you different. If you have leather and a purple mohawk people will treat you different than if you had a pants suit. Sorry human nature is what it is.
How can you act in a certain way that you know will offend some people and then explain to them it is because they have some illness for having that opinion? Dose that not make you as bigoted as the people you rant against?
The perception has changed over the years to be sure, but to may you will always be the immoral minority.
If someone can tell you are homosexual from across the room or in the first sentence you speak you will always be treated differently by some. How do YOU get treated fairly? Shut up and leave us out of it. Because this is one only YOU can fix.
Jason, you sound so hot. Your impeccable grammar and incoherent rant make me want you. Thank you for being wonderful and for google searching blogs that would offend you and then leaving fucked up comments examining why you’re offended and how this blog and its posts are exactly what’s wrong with America. That’s your point, right? I’m sorry, I’m still parsing all of your thoughtful prose.
Come on over to my blog, doll. I’d love to have you. I make fun of retarded people and most races and you’d be a welcome addition.
Kiss kiss.
It is Amazing to me that someone would use the term” Recovering straight Girl” and then for some apparent reason think they should be taken seriously.
Marie… “Recovering Straight Girl” was actually her old moniker. I think she just keeps it because she’s sentimental. She’s now a “Doily Dyke” and don’t you forget it!
I think it’s Amazing (why are we capitalizing this word, by the way?) that someone would leave a comment like this on a blog and for some apparent reason think they should be taken seriously.
ANYWAY… Here’s what cracks me up. A person like Spitzer - who manages to rise to the position of Governor of New York - is allowed to be married, but two women or men who love each other aren’t. It amuses me. He may or may not love his wife. I have no idea. I DO know that he betrayed her love and trust and hired a hooker… all the while waging a war on hookers in New York. That’s fantastic! He definitely deserves to be married, and gay people definitely don’t. Makes total sense.
I know Marie isn’t going to take me seriously because of my name, but I just wanted to say that I loved your post.
“We’re just like anyone else,
We just want a little bit of sun for ourselves,
And a little bit of rain to make it all grow,
Maybe a minute or two to get lost in the glow of love.
There’s always someone throwing matches around,
Waving a shiny new knife.
The first to run when the house burns down,
I’ve seen it every day of my life.
I must confess there appears to be way more darkness than light….”
- ‘Icicles’ by Patty Griffin
I love how people pop in to post trash comments, then won’t leave a link to their blog or email. Cowards!
GG
Ellen tries to call Sally Kerns: “It’s Ellen. The gay one.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBzTWcTwJJM
It’s all about hate, and fear, and ignorance. When you’ve been steeped in that all your life, it’s really hard to shake. It’s easier to point fingers then reach out a hand to someone, and unfortunately, these folks are doing just that.
This whole situation reminds me of that quote from Hannah and Her Sisters: “If Jesus came back and saw what’s going on in his name, he’d never stop throwing up.” Hatred toward anyone, REGARDLESS OF THEIR SEXUAL ORIENTATION, is hate, plain and simple. There’s no way to justify it.
In my defense, I was not trolling. This blog post was on the front page of Oregonlive.com and I did leave an email to post my message. I don’t have a blog nor have I posted to one more than a few times.
To Melissa…Huh? Are you 12? How do I sound hot? How are my comments fucked up? How is my post “what’s is wrong with America. ” and I don’t believe I made fun of anyone. Also I will do with out your kisses thanks.
Wow Charlotte made a point. See Melissa it’s not that hard. I agree Spitzer is a scum bag, and I have some conservative views but I don’t really see the issue with gay marriage. Homosexuality has become widely accepted by the political landscape of America, but in the end we the people are the government and the people feel gay marriage is wrong.
My question though is why do you want gay marriage so bad? The people of Oregon defeated 2 measures to legalize gay marriage and our “Representatives” passed it under a different name. One senator going as far as saying “For better for worse” on the capital floor. The powerful gay lobby wins again. The peoples wishes disregarded.
You know what I think the problem is. You want America to tell you THEY think gay marriage is ok, but they have made it clear over and over again….they don’t.
Ahh the gay agenda - hate, fear, and ignorance.
Wendy, lets take each on its merits.
HATE
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
hate /he?t/ –verb (used with object)
1. to dislike intensely or passionately; feel extreme aversion for or extreme hostility toward; detest
I side with Wendy on Hate and homosexuality. There is a small portion of people, mostly poor and uneducated who hate homosexuals in the true meaning of the word. A resent poll (Link below) said 44% of people find homosexuality “Morally exceptable”. Long ways from hate.
My point is, careful with your hate paintbrush.
FEAR
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
fear /f??r/ –noun
1. a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc
This is just silly. What am I in fear of? Homosexual men are more feminine as a whole so I am not in fear of danger. Maybe the famous line “I secretly want to be gay.” Hate to brake it to you…no. This maybe an attempt to not look at the ugly truth; Most people feel what you are doing is wrong.
Oh wait maybe it is Homophobia? Lets look.
American Heritage Dictionary
pho·bi·a (f?’b?-?) Pronunciation Key n.
1. A persistent, abnormal, and irrational fear of a specific thing or situation that compels one to avoid it, despite the awareness and reassurance that it is not dangerous.
Again why am I in fear or in danger? I have a more accurate word for you - homoanoyance - The annoying feeling that every homosexual wants me to know they are gay and have me cheer and congratulate them.
IGNORANCE
American Heritage Dictionary
ig·no·rance (?g’n?r-?ns) Pronunciation Key n.
The condition of being uneducated, unaware, or uninformed.
I don’t see how people can be ignorant of their own opinion on this subject. I am ignorant if I FEEL the gay lifestyle is immoral?
Don’t you feel you might be living a slight double standard if you want to have parades, change laws, indoctrinate school children,, file an endless string of lawsuits and cheer when the lawmakers ignore their constituents and change laws already voted down for your benifit.
(Breath)
Then if some on dares to say they feel differently than you. YOU decide that their opinion is born from hate, fear and ignorance. Though they said nothing hateful, frightened, or ignorant.
I have a good word for you -
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
self·ish /?s?lf??/
1. devoted to or caring only for oneself; concerned primarily with one’s own interests, benefits, welfare, etc., regardless of others.
Sound like any group you know?
http://www.aei.org/publications/pubID.14882,filter.social/pub_detail.asp
Hey Jason. I live in Philadelphia…. not Oregon. Therefore, whatever they are calling what’s going on in Oregon (I think “Domestic Partnership”) doesn’t apply to me. I have been in a loving, lesbian relationship with the same woman for 11 years. I think that we should be entitled to the same rights as heterosexuals. Basically the only thing that is standing in the way of that is the country passing moral judgement on me for who I love. I can’t believe that Jesus would be down with that.
If I were to have an accident or become ill, it would be great if Sue could make the necessary decisions for me should I become incapacitated. I think it should just be assumed that if I die, she gets everything. But those things are NOT just given to us. If we want to put those things in place, we have to hire lawyers, file papers and even then…. they don’t always hold up. Or if they DO - (especiallyin the case of the medical issues) - it sometimes takes too long to sort it all out. Heterosexual couples are afforded these rights simply by getting a marriage certificate and saying “I do.” That sucks. It is also hard for me to take because I know MANY men in the service who have “married” women just so they can earn more money and the women can get health insurance. How is this fair? It’s not. Love is love. I don’t care if America tells me that my gay marriage is okay. I just think that I should have the right to make the decision for myself.
I appreciate you coming back and trying to have a conversation about this.
Once again, I refer you to the U.S. Constitution, you know, that document that supposedly this country was FOUNDED on?
“Article IV - The States
Section 1 - ….
Section 2 - State Citizens, Extradition
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.”
So, therefore, if A citizen of A state has the right to marry (and I’m sure even Jason would agree that we accept that premise), then ALL citizens of ALL states have the right to marry. PERIOD. The Constitution does not speak to GENDER. That’s because the Constitution DOESN’T CARE.
Somehow we have superimposed the “Christian” belief that same sex marriage is “wrong” onto the Constitution, but if you’re going to go according to the document that contains the founding principles of the United States, then the argument against gay marriage simply falls apart, because IT’S NOT THERE!
Just because someone “feels” that something is wrong, doesn’t mean that it is wrong. Again, I want to know HOW two men or two women marrying each other is going to hurt anyone else? Please tell me HOW? I have yet to see some kind of list of wrongdoings or catastrophes that must necessarily follow if gay people marry.
And, just so you know, my partner and I illegally married ourselves 4 years ago, and no, if gay marriage became universally legal tomorrow, I would not do it, but I DO firmly believe that the choice to marry should be available to ALL people in this “free” country, whether they avail themselves of it or not.
GG
Jason,
In others defense, your comment sounded like a typical troll comment. If you’re not a blogger and if you don’t comment on blogs; you probably wouldn’t even know what that was.
I welcome debate on my blog, but an important element of Blogetiquette is to enter a person’s blog as if you were a visitor in their home–using care with your words and tone. Visitors who simply visit a blog in order to raise havoc and offend the writer are typically met with dissent. Reader’s of a blog generally look at the writer (in this case, me) as a friend and don’t like to hear their friends insulted. Melissa and Wendy and Charlotte are friends of mine. As a matter of fact, I’m writing this while waiting for Wendy to join me for coffee.
I am more than happy to entertain your question and comments.
Why do I want gay marriage? I want the same rights that other people receive. Why do I deserve these rights? Because I’m a person just like anyone else.
I was married to a man for ten years. We, like many couples got a divorce. The state and federal laws that are in place protected my children and I while I was married to my husband, during our divorce and continue to protect me today. Two years after my divorce I found love again and wanted to re-marry, but because of the gender of the person that I love, I am no longer eligible to enjoy those same rights that I enjoyed while being married to my husband. I went from being a first class citizen to a second class citizen based solely on who I love. As a matter of fact, I receive more legal protection being DIVORCED from my husband as I do being Domestically Partnered to my partner. When I retire, I’m entitled to collect my half of my ex-husbands social security but none of my partners if she dies. (This is just one example.)
Jason, to look at me, no one would ever know I was a lesbian. I don’t have weird hair or dress weird (not that there is anything wrong with that. I don’t stand out. I am a very feminine and somewhat attractive 38 year old woman. I live in the suburbs, I drive an SUV, I go to PTA meetings and church and soccer games and shop at Costco.
I love another person. We share our life together, we raise children together, we do everything any other couple does in their daily life.
I don’t talk about my sex life to my co-workers, I don’t go around gloating that I am way cooler than they are because I’m gay, and nothing–nothing about my life is immoral. Nothing I do is immoral. I love my parents, I take care of my children, I pay my taxes, I don’t lie or cheat or steal or harm anyone or anything. I am a mother and a partner, a daughter, a sister, a neighbor, a friend.
And I deserve the same legal rights, and legal protections as anyone else.
I wish you well Jason. Take care.
http://www.dallasvoice.com/artman/publish/article_8341.php
When I saw the article above, I just that “well, THAT explains a few things.” The Dallas “straight” press hasn’t had anything about Ms. Kern, nor have I seen anything in the NYTimes.
Thanks for writing about it. Us latent PFlagers need to know.
(PS, I’m glad your mom reads your blog and that BOTH of you are OK with it. I dare HER to start one. My DD and I (along with DS and DDIL) read eachothers’!.
Be well.
I’d comment, but I’m hiding under a rock until the big scary queers go away and stop threatening my lifestyle.
Move over Sen. George.
Recovering Straight Girl
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