The Point of Suffering is to LEARN the Lesson

 

Rampant drug use and

BARE-BACKING--

because nothing says

'progress, self-respect, and

reclaiming one's sexuality'

like remaining a perpetually

self-destructive, disdainful,

objectified, careless, indiscriminate,

hedonistic man-whore.

___

 

(Respect yourself.

Respect your brothers.)

Gay Film: "Beautiful Thing"

Emaciated Republican Asinine Shrews Embarrass

E.R.A.S.E. the Hate

(Taken from the GLAAD website, article by writer Aaron McQuade)
Conservative political commentator Ann Coulter decided last night
to make a joke about family rejection of LGBT youth.

-Last Thursday was national "coming out" day.This Monday is national "disown your son" day. — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) October 16, 2012-
  I recognize that this is a joke, and that she is not really taken seriously
in any context anyway, but with this coming right after National Coming
Out Day, at the start of Ally Week and just days before Spirit Day, I
thought this would be a good opportunity to talk about this idea of hers.
There was a time in our culture's history when, if thousands of LGBT
kids were to come out on the same day, the next week genuinely would
be exactly what Ann describes, all across the country. Fathers disowning
their sons and kicking them out onto the street. Mothers locking up their
daughters or sending them to charm school. Children forced to undergo
electro-shock or even worse forms of "therapy" to rid themselves of their
orientation. To learn how to not be true to themselves.

And although we've come a long way from those ideas as a cultural
collective, I have no doubt that last week, more than a few American
households experienced the tragedy that Ann joked about. Approximately
50% of LGBT youth experience some degree of family rejection. There
are as many as one hundred thousand homeless LGBT youth on our nation's
streets, and it's estimated that LGBT youth make up as much as 40%
of our nation's homeless youth population. LGBT youth who are completely
rejected by their parents are more than 8 times as likely to have attempted
suicide. Pretty funny, right?

Again, I know it’s a joke, but ANYTHING that adds to the idea that family rejection of LGBT young people is expected, or even "normal" enough to
be casually joked about, causes harm. The kind of harm that Spirit Day was
specifically created to protect against.

Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation

************************************************************
Even though the author was pretty generous with giving Coulter the
understanding that this is her sick, meek, twisted cry for media attention
and she is just a vacuous mouthpiece who gives no thought to her words
beyond stirring the pot, I have a much darker view.

Yes, she is a joke. She is not credible. She is baseless. But that's what
thinking people know; she caters to the ignorant and the uncouth. They
take up people like her as saviours and identify with every vile word they
speak. She is dangerous.

If she were joking about restarting concentration camps or experimenting
on black folks with viruses again, the nation would come unglued, but
because it is the 'good old reliable standby of acceptably-targeted gays
and lesbians,' everyone sloughs it off.

We can't afford to let an ounce of hate speech go unattended, nor taken
as attack. Because words and ideas are where it all starts. And these
freaks are getting bold enough and brazen enough to say worse and worse,
out loud, more often. We know what the next step is.

-Robert Sayre, Georgia Unity/NYDGP
***************************************************************

The Trevor Project (Help for LGBTQ Youth)


GLBT National Help Center


****************************************************************

Many Happy Returns

(As a practice, I don't normally import original content from one
blog to another, but this is from my Georgia Unity blog this week.)
                         *****
I want to stop and take a moment for some clarity.


"Thank You," to all our haters.


I want to express the mountain of Love I have for
the Michelle & Marcus Bachmanns, the Fred Phelps
sorts, the Rick Santorums, the Mitt Romneys, and
the Pat Robertsons.


You are the reason I am such a strength. Why I
will continue to gather and promote power.


You are what motivates me to fight on, to persevere,
to speak up and stand out and find that inner strength
that exists within us all.

You are the reason a whole new generation of my
brothers and sisters are galvanizing, forging together
as one to defeat the enemy. If left to our own devices,
we likely would not have been so resolute or determined,
but the clarion call of defending ourselves against your
misguided vivisecting is a godsend.


I am more whole because of you.


I am steadfastly fierce and fiery because of you.


I am toughened, motivated, and hastened by your threat.

I am more determined to never cease, and never give in.
You are the cornerstone of proof needed to showcase the
real demons facing me and mine every day.


Each child's death, spurred on by your hate and selfishness
and misinformation, only ensures that our lives will be
more focused on meting out justice, on changing the
backwardness of the land, of combating evils like
you and yours.

Each adult's life lived in exile from their own body,
suppressed and fearful and self-loathing, based on
your nonsensical dogma and rhetoric, will spur me
on to victory at any cost.
You have convinced me there is no god, because no
god would support the likes of you, and no god would
allow you to misuse its truly holy name. No god would
permit your devilish existence.


And I now know that, no matter how down-and-out
and nutsy-squirrel I become, I will never be the most
bat-shit crazy dope-headed ignorant fucker in the room,
cuz you all have that shit hammered down and notarized.


Thank you, and again;
I love you and appreciate you for the purpose you give
my day. I will beat you. Me and mine are locked in
battle to live well and leave your sad sickness in the dust.


All your hard work has paid off handsomely.


***************************************

Bondage is Not Acceptable

You Have The Right--

and the

Responsibility--

To Protect Yourself

From Abuse.

Don't Let

Anyone

Convince You Otherwise!

Speak Out...

Stand Up...

Preserve Your

Rights!

****************

ENOUGH!

These past few weeks have been littered with story after story of
still more teens killing themselves in response to bullying at school
and online, as well as general depression about their sexuality.

Well, god-damned ENOUGH and GET THE FUCK OVER IT ALREADY.

Sorry, but the empathy has left the building.
I will honor no dead because the attention seems to be convincing
some that attention after-the-fact is worth killing yourself over.
With all the resources and all the available people, there's no
justification.

Yes, life is hard. Better well jolly cotton up to that shit and let's all
bloody well fucking move on to the main feature, shall we?

Instead of creating a world where we abolish the taunters and teasers--
which is, by the way, never going to happen--why don't we all get industrious
and do some real damned good? Like making our youth stronger.

We can't change what others will do, and I don't mean to say give up on
holding them responsible. But no one can be passive in life and survive,
and a lot of these kids are ill-equipped for reality because 'being gay'
to them is all about the aesthetic, the idea, the quaint "while in your room
talking to your sympathetic friends and watching 'Will & Grace' re-runs"
un-reality of being gay in a fantasy world.

But this world is not that. It's another beast all together.

People are rude, and cruel, and hurtful.
But they can only win if you care about what they say....
if you show that they have sway over you...
if you aren't able to fight back.
They only win when you stop trying and give up.

It isn't about size or strength or being butch or becoming a bully
yourself. Plenty of drag queens and trans folks and petite women
know all about being Fierce not because it is innate, but because it
is necessary in order to survive! You have to be able to adapt.

Survival is key, and you have to evolve to survive.

It's time to train ourselves in how to be better fighters, promoters
of self, and egotists. It's time for confidence-building and speaking
up and training and not taking shit.

So you're afraid? Good, acknowledge it and move on.
Everybody's scared of life. Anyone that tells you otherwise is a
lying sack of shit. You only get courageous by facing fear, not giving
in to it.

And yes, life does get better, but only with WORK. You have to do
your part, not give in and give up. You can't wait for a hero, honey
chiles. You have to BECOME your own god-damned hero.
And that's the facts, Jack.

Stop hurting yourselves.
Stop allowing the enemy to win.
Stop thinking of yourselves as weak or less than.
Stop striking in when you should be striking out.

You are all fierce and fabulous and beautiful, my gay and lesbian
and conflicted and bi and trans and queer and unlabeled and straight
outcasts, and I love you dearly. At any age. In any place. Of any race.
Of any size.

For the love of creation and the unique and gorgeous life that
you are...stop hurting yourself...and do whatever it takes to
find your voice, fight back, and live life loud and proud.

Be strong.
Be courageous.
It is within you.

Remembering artist & activist Keith Haring

Since it seems so much of the LGBT history is not known

in this younger, more self-sufficient age, I thought looking

back on our shared past and some of our greats

would be a good means of introduction.

Haring was a young gay man who used art to reach

audiences in everyday settings. He was interested in

education, creating unity, and eliminating the divide

between classes (and overcoming people's aversion to art.)

Finding new avenues for expression and utilizing

simple but bold designs, color, and imagery was

enticing and approachable. His interests included

fighting Apartheid, AIDS, and the crack epidemic.

From humble beginnings (subway chalk drawings,

graffiti art, mixed media) he grew a worldwide empire

based in social consciousness in a time when being

openly gay was still anathema and conservatism

was in swing.

Haring only lived to be 31, but his influence

and impact were tremendous. (He inspires and influences

me personally to this day!) His art is still

used as the icon for the annual

"National Coming Out Day" celebration,

among many other events.

***************