They won't all understand.

This is what "Pride" is all about!

Fuck a Bully.

They won't teach you this in school, but...

LEARN to be LOUD!

LEARN to be PROUD!

LEARN to FIGHT BACK!

LEARN to STOP TAKING SHIT!

LEARN to DEFEND YOUR LIFE!

LEARN to ASK QUESTIONS!

You don't have to be born a fighter,

but you better LEARN to become one.

Whomever we to Love,

however we to Live,

we do choose to hide or to defy;

Do NOT Let Others Steal your Joy.

We can't make other people act right,

but we can always ACT UP

and say 'Enough is Enough.'

Value yourself and take a stand today.

***

Bronski Beat - "Smalltown Boy"

A real-life anthem from back in the day!

Sometimes music was the only outlet available to  young (or old!) people
coming to terms with self and discovering who they were. Dynamic, out,
proud, and inspirational, these folks cut across all the problems!

Bands like Bronski Beat, the Pet Shop Boys, Boy George, Morrissey
(The Smiths,) Richard Barone, Marc Almond, Dead of Alive, and the
like served a vital, life-saving mission for Family.

Even the visibility of (ridiculously) closeted folks like Marc Anthony,
George Michaels, Ricky Martin, and such (Girl, pleez...who you think
you was fooling!?!) and honorary gay groups like Depeche Mode and
Tears for Fears were of great assistance in the hard, dark days of the
Reagan-era AIDS-rampant 1980s.

And the day hasn't come when we don't need every bit of support we
can get. Enjoy.

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

Outside the Box

I AM...

Southern,
big and burly,

free-thinking,
a comic book and sci-fi geek,

more cerebral than physical,
somewhat learned (but no common sense,)
obsessive and compulsive,
depressive,
righteous,
good-intentioned,
a mystery-solver,
a deep thinker,
intuitive,
a movie buff,
a sexual dynamo,
a lover of all cuisines,
eternally searching,
an aficionado of foreplay,
musically inclined --but all thumbs,
coping with arrested development,
drawn to cons and ne'er-do-wells,
rage-filled and passionate, a civil rights warrior,
an animal lover,
emotional,
an artist,
a writer,
gardener,
poet,
a son-- four times over,

100% homosexual,
a survivor,
and a man.

But...

I am not

a label.

Nor am I limited to

the ones you might apply

to me.

I am

the sum of all my parts,

and none of my parts will be

dismissed or regulated.

***

University-Sponsored Hate

(FROM THE HEARTSTRONG OCTOBER NEWSLETTER)

EDUCATION/OUTREACH UPDATE

*The best way to stay up-to-date on HeartStrong's work.
*University of Arizona's Daily Wildcat publishes hateful cartoon

Like the Notre Dame cartoon of 2010 this new cartoon published
by the University of Arizona's Arizona Daily Wildcat shows just
how far we haven't come.

HeartStrong's Youth Empowerment Project is about providing
anti-bullying materials to school counselors and students. In our
battle to save lives you should all know what this university's
newspaper editor thinks is funny.

Parent's HAVE killed their kids if they think they are gay.
This is not a joke.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/07/08/992721/-Horrifying-4-Year-Old-Boy-Murdered-for-Acting-Gay

It's easy to forget that it wasn't too long ago that 30 Rock star Tracy
Morgan said, "Gays need to quit being pussies and not be whining about
something as insignificant as bullying." He added, "Gay is something
that kids learn from the media and programming." When talking about
the possibility of his son being gay - Tracy said he "better talk to me
like a man and not in a gay voice or I'll pull out a knife and stab that
little nigger to death."

We think we can convince young men and women that it gets better.
We think we can prove to them that coming out is about gaining, not
about losing. We think we can help them find the path to a life of hope,
love and peace.

And then they have to see this. This is not a reprint of an old cartoon.
This is a new creation.

HeartStrong has made it's voice known in this issue. Some are calling
on the paper to fire the editor who admits she approved this cartoon.
More than that, even more must be done to help GLBT youth find their way.

Just when we think we are getting places in our own efforts to reach
students, things like this happen and bring us back down to reality.
So many young GLBT men and women around the world are subjected
to this type of language in their homes, in the religious spaces and in
their schools.

The burden to alleviate as much of that fear and shame as possible is
great. We believe that we have a responsibility to those who would be
negatively affected by this type of language to extend our reach even
further.

HeartStrong Support for LGBTQ Youth

********************************************************
An added bit by Georgia Unity:

It was also not long ago that the human filth Ann Coulter made a few horrifying
remarks about gay people. (Yes, it's a longtime trend for her, and she is such a
wretched train wreck it galls me to mention her name, but the attention-whore
is hurting people with every utterance.)

She has said that she thinks gays should become pro-life because liberals
would start aborting fetuses if a gay gene were discovered.....she tweeted
just last weekend that since the prior Thursday was National Coming Out Day,
the following Monday should be 'National Disown Your (Gay) Son' Day.....
she defended Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy's anti-gay stance.....she
defended Carl Paladino's anti-gay comments and minimized them....on the Joy
Behar show she said she was "sick of gays" and that she though ex-gay therapy
worked.....and once remarked that if her child came out to her, she would tell
him that he was adopted (although she would more likely drown him in the tub
and then dispose of the body.)

The world is full of putrid human beings who don't care and who bask in their
ignorance and apathy. They even get high off of causing other people pain and
upset; they aren't oblivious to it. That's what a sociopath is.

***********************************************************
By the by, here's the Notre Dame cartoon mentioned in the Heartstrong post,
along with the original rejected (equally offensive) cartoon, courtesy of
www.TurningLeft.net

k. d. Lang - "Hush Sweet Lover"

Love whom you wish...
   Think what you will...
Being 'legal' doesn't make it easy...
   Put yourself out there at all costs.

Live it large...Peace and love, kids!

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

Modern Day Censorship

If you don't call it 'censorship' it doesn't count, right?

It's hard for me to even write these words, but...in the tiny armpit
of Georgia where I live, the closest bit of anything resembling a
'big city' or 'diversity' is over in Alabama. Yes, it's true; the state
of Alabama has more to offer than B.F.E., Georgia.

And yet...

I had been disappointed some time back when I checked
at Barnes and Noble in Dothan, Alabama (a fairly recent addition,
by the way) for an 'LGBT" (Gay and Lesbian Studies) section in
the store. The young lady was very helpful and friendly, and took
me right to the two shelves where their very modest selection
resided (consisting prominently of some cheesy lesbian fiction.)

This past Thursday, however, when I entered the older Books-a-Million
store in search of the same, I was informed they had no such section
(also by a very courteous and helpful individual, but I digress.)

Like the other bookstore, they did have a country mile of various
religious books available, taking up aisle after aisle and overflowing.
Plenty of books which predictably and shamefully condemn homosexuals
(and encourage others to do the same) or prescribe ridiculous faith-based
'cure-alls,' but no intelligent materials on the matter. Zero space.

Oh, both stores have a microscopic selection of gay magazines
available, essentially T & A, covertly stashed behind other magazines,
typically on the unreachable top shelves (I'm 6' with long arms and had
to strain to see and reach them.)

I understand you have to cater to your audience, and we are stuck in
a cultural wasteland where religion is considered history and Americana,
despite reality. Let's not be disingenuous, though; there is a sufficient and
connected LGBT community in the Dothan area, so there is certainly a
market for selling the books. (There is also huge out-of-state traffic through
the area as it is a connecting spot for several major thoroughfares.) The
problem comes in the kow-towing to the desires of the religious ilk who
don't wish there to be a selection made available in the first place.

So much for a free and fair marketplace.
So much for freedom of speech.
So much for being set free from religious abuses.
So much for a modern and culturally unrepressed south.
So much for books and literature being the great equalizer of ideas.

So, the Alabama Books-A-Million has decided not to carry or promote
books dealing positively (or matter-of-factly) with homosexuality.
(it isn't company policy--more likely a local manager's prerogative to
erase diversity and impose their personal opinion on the entire buying
public.) Yet over 5,000 selections of the religious tomes remain,
even though their ritual and superstition is little more than a guide
of torture and terrorism against children, the elderly, the weak,
the mentally ill, women, minorities, and the gullible.

It's still the stone ages and religion sells, ignorance reigns, and we're
all lifting our guns to the tune of "Backwards, backwards!"

(On the plus side, I did meet an engaging and charming young man during
my visit, so it wasn't a complete waste of time!)

Invisibility sends the message to gay and lesbian men and women that
we don't count. That we don't matter. That we don't belong in the area.
That we are alone. That we have no truths or beauty to parlay. None of
which is true.

It's the same message I received in the barren 1970's in the tiny town
of Seffner, Florida, and even in the larger adjacent city of still-developing Tampa,
where there was absolutely no sign of any other homosexual or proof that one
had ever existed. Those long, isolated, frightening days of being aware that
I was alone in a crowd due to our notable absence in all media was further
exacerbated by trips to Waldenbooks and the library only to find even there,
in the repository for society's advancement and culture, zero reflection of what
I was seeking; connection and understanding.

In a bastion of conservatism and fascism, it is certainly still the duty of
book sellers to portray the others parts of the spectrum equally. To limit
and censor is unconscionable.

Having no role models in sight and feeling disastrously unique is a hard way
to live. We have a voice, we have a history, and we definitely have a place
in the world. We belong. Keeping us invisible is not an acceptable answer,
especially in 2012. It's a bad precedent. It's bad business. It's bad citizenry.


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

Ray Boltz: "God Knows I Tried"

Regulars know I hold little regard for religion as it offers far more harm than help.

In that vein, I realize that due to the insanity of religion, many people of LGBT
origin/makeup have had horrible times coming to terms with their identity.
Here's the song for you.

The slowly appearing text in the 'video' is a bit annoying, but the message of
coming to grips with one's sexuality over many painful years is handled honestly
and aptly, and the further personal message in the type is worth reading.

There's a light at the end of the tunnel.

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

Great LGBT Comedians: Mario Cantone does Vagina Monologues

Warning; Frank and hilarious--Not for the easily-offended!

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

Change of Heart

 Overcoming the mountain of self-doubt taught to us
(and constantly-leveled at us in ways subtle and overt)
isn't accomplished by a few carefully-penned anthems
or a few days of righteous indignation on federal steps,
displaying our courage.

Those things are necessary, but overcoming the obstacles
involved in living your life openly is a gargantuan effort
of mobilizing spirit, questioning motives, staying on task,
being a cheerleader for self and your fellows, promoting
your own agenda, and not taking any more shit.

It's done in private, every day, as we prepare for and face
the world at large. We have to be relentless in building
ourselves up, ever in preparation for the forces that wish
to wear us down.


Self-love is the highest form, and the most important,
necessary mission. The only job we have is to learn
to live fully a life of evolving and surviving this hostile
world. (Don't let the veil of 'civilization' fool you!)


This modern, seemingly-sanitized world is more brutal than
the jungle. It's survival of the fittest, and if you aren't as
fit it simply means it's time to toughen up and get ready.


We must always be countering the dark spell of those we
encounter. The antidote? Absolute faith in self. And becoming
desensitized to homophobia on a personal level. (Recognize
that it's a lie, and actively condemn bias and intolerance for
the unacceptable mess it is; you don't have to buy into second
class citizenship any more!)


And its ongoing progression; not a simple decision.
A lifetime of proactive, decisive rededicating.


Open up to a gentle, guiding hand--Not someone who wants
to mash you and grind you into malleable paste. People who
want to crush your soul and spirit and heart and dreams in
order to make themselves feel better are not out for your
best interests. It's time for you to do it for yourself.

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

I'm Not a Lesbian.

I found this in my roaming about, and it's a very cute and sweet little
diddy. You have to watch most of it to 'get it', so don't go writing nasty
letters just after it starts!

Just a bit of sweet, Sapphic, satire to sweep Thursday right along!

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

"Beautiful Thing"...complete movie

Of all the great 1990s push of gay-friendly films, this is by far one of
my favorites!

Touching, funny, poignant, and personal in a way that transports you
back to your own first urgings in a real and powerful way.

Brilliantly blended to give a realistic yet sympathetic view, and so
effortless in delivery that you forget you're watching a film!

Blackboard Jungle, Revisited

Removing homophobia from the classroom

couldn't be a simpler concept;

implementing it has turned into

quite the quagmire, however.

As church and state must be separated,

so too must religious intolerance

be completely removed from the classroom.

And bias based on religious-teachings is just that;

immoral, inappropriare, illegal abuse.

Schools which are private and/or

religion-based institutions should not

be exempt from these standards.

If a school of any type takes subsidies,

state funding, government grants, or

receives tax-exempt status, they have

an obligation to leave bias out of their teachings

and policies. Otherwise, they are using

federal and other government monies to

promote hate speech and a second-class

citizenry.

As stewards for future generations,

those schools owe their students a

safe and welcoming place to be themselves.

A child being young enough and

'powerless' enough in the eyes of the law

should not be grounds for dismissing their needs.

***

The Gay-Straight Alliance Network

***

Heart Strong: Outreach & Support for LGBTs in religious schools

***

Southern Poverty Law Center; Debunking Anti-Gay Myths

***

Kid Power: Bullying & Homophobia Information

***

Petition to Enforce LGBT Protection in Schools

****

NO H8 Photo & Awareness Campaign

"NO H8" is the successful and widespread

photography campaign of protest and

awareness started by Adam Bouska

(pictured last.)

Musicians, politicians, artists....

actors, commentators, lawyers...

people from all walks of life,

both LGBT and allies....

have been coming together to participate

in this impressive concept.

Specifically designed to counter Proposition 8

in California, it grew so much larger!

Check out the link below

to reach the website, and to read

a great piece by Abiola Abrams

"Why I Posed"

'Alone' is not the onus we imagine

We are capable

of whatever we

choose to be.

Every adversity,

every challenge,

every hurt

strengthens us.

From any point

of doubt or

weakness,

we only have

to believe

in ourselves...

in our abilities.

Especially when no

one else does.

Approval,

acceptance,

and assistance

are all wonderful,

but not required

for success.

(Stop looking to others,

and give them to

yourself.)

The only one who needs

to understand us,

is us.

Trudge on.

***

Unnecessary Evils

When alone,  imagining my closeted brothers and sisters, I sob.

I sob from the depths of my soul and I ache.

The closet is a torture chamber that has no place in the modern world,
and yet I see more and more shutting themselves in; cloistered, dark,
separate, devastated, removed. It is as an epidemic; perhaps the new
epidemic that will destroy our tribe.

The only safety the closet offers is that of illusion and ill-met gains.
Temporary satisfaction. Hollow, seeming victory at the price of self.
It is a tribute to the wants of others, paid for with the loss of one's
own life and happiness.

Especially here in the south, this Biblically-devastated, tortured
strip of land where ignorance reigns supreme, and the dual life is a
cherished commodity. The constant game playing, the refusal of
self, the denial of needs, the self-deprecating belief systems....
it's an unseemly drama of Faustian proportions. This is another
level of Dante's Inferno.

The sharpest knife is the doubly (or is it triply?) fake betrayal
of turning on one's own; that those who could have been the key
of one's release and joy, now become the target of one's bile
and vitriol, all while seeking the grace and mercies of the company
of those who hate us (yes, us!) most.

It is the bitterest of ironies that those super-stars of high achieve-
ment and cunning--who hide their own desires deep--ingratiate
themselves to the establishment which has the power to crush
us all. They rise to positions of power, where in turn they sell
out the rest of us in order to procure their own esteemed seat
of continued well-being.

Over-achievers, desperately seeking compensation and acceptance
for their perilously self-destructive efforts to fit in. Assimilation
and conformity do offer much, sense their attainment requires you
rid yourself of conscience and soul, anyway.

We truly have the power to be anything, in this day and age,
and still we gladly sit in darkness while we are the only ones
who hold the keys to our prison.

Is this what 40+ years of protest and defiance has led to?

Is this the best the evolution of queer men and women can hope for?

Please, somebody prove me wrong.

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