The Same-Old-Shit Playbook

 So it's 4:49 in the morning as I begin typing this.

I have spent the last nearly 2 hours trying to put 

an end to the next-door neighbors' incessant radio

playing which has been going for about 13 hours now.

It's a country station, and every 'twang' and reverb 

and bass note goes straight through my house.

From a distance, even music you like is obnoxious to 

listen to: Everything reduced to a mewling chorus of 

the distorted parents' voices from Charlie Brown 

cartoons.

My dogs and cats are on edge, their ears being so much 

more sensitive than ours. They just sit staring off, unable

to relax with this annoying sonic torture. I can't calm them

and that is where my real rage comes from--that a psycho

is being given free reign to harm me and mine, and nothing 

will be done about it.

I recorded the music, but recordings don't pick up 

all the shrieks and dull-roars from hearing it live. I

yelled over at them to turn it off. That doesn't work 

for two reasons. First, they aren't outside because they're

asleep. Second, they aren't 'unaware' that the radio is on.

The music isn't for them, it's to harass me and my

animals and my elderly mother. 

After hollering didn't produce anyone, I honked my 

car horn. Still nothing. Then I set off a series of 

blaring car-alarms. Still nothing. 

I didn't call because she's a new mother who can claim I 

was harassing her by calling in the middle of the night.

He never picks up his phone when I call.

The sheriff's department sent someone out. They pulled

into the drive, set for about 10 seconds, and pulled back out.

The dispatch said the officer couldn't hear anything except

an air conditioner. I explained--just as I had a dozen times 

over the course of last summer--that you have to pass all 

the structures out front into the back yard. That's where

the noise is, where it reverberates and reflects over to my 

house which is also back from the road.

The officer did not return. He did not return my call.

The history here is that they really don't think it's a big 

deal, and that they don't like having to come out here, and 

really aren't I just either hearing things or making stuff

up or being too sensitive? Why am I involving the police 

in 'our' squabble?

'Our' squabble is that a right-wing zealot gun-nut and

Trump supporter moved in next door and came with the 

express purpose of 'teaching that faggot a lesson.' From 

the minute he moved in, there's been ongoing targeted 

harassment and abuse.

It all culminated with an awful summer last year where noise

torture was carried out with radios that played outside

24-7, high-pitched frequencies aimed at my home, days 

and days of illegal fireworks that deafened us and literally

shook our home, and on and on.

The visits from police didn't work. Talks from neighbors

didn't work. I can't go over there because that would be 

the excuse he desires to shoot me. (Oh yeah...high-powered

rifles and shotguns and AK-15s being shot right outside my

home were also a part of the intimidation and terrorism.

Also things the sheriff doesn't care about, it turns out.)

I also contacted every conceivable agency, organization, 

individual, representative etc that I could think of for 

assistance, all to no avail.

Many of you are probably thinking what I have: "There's

only one way to handle somebody like this." And you're

probably right. But he has an arsenal, cameras everywhere,

the place lit up like Christmas, and all the backing of every

other good-ol'-boy in the area. 

He's in it for the conflict. He's in it because he thinks he 

picked an easy target that won't fight back. He thinks he's 

golden because police and local government don't appear

at all concerned about what he's doing, mostly because they

all share the same political view.

It finally did die off. It subsided. Things were still tense

and unpleasant, but the most obvious and aggressive 

damage was over. And then, just like that, it all started up 

again.

It's a hell of a thing to not be able to relax in your own

home. To not be able to attain quiet and peace. Not 

sleeping has a host of health problems related to it. And

all of these issues have a cumulative effect...which is the

desired impact of all terrorism.

It is terrorism. Maybe a watered-down version of it:

Passive-aggressive. Deniable actions. Wishy-washy childish

nonsense done from a safe distance. Intimidation tactics.

Most people have lives they focus on: This guy has made me

his one-and-only obsession. An outlet for all that quiet

incel rage and upset over false-oppression. He wants a

feud because nothing else gets him hard.

All I want is to be left the fuck alone. 

Their absolutely-stated objective is to make life here so

unliveable that I will up and move from my home. And no

one in authority seems to have a problem with that.

So much for the false promise of welcoming small towns,

law enforcement that cares, 'all citizens created equal,' 

and the American Dream.

The Superficial is as Far as We Need to Go

We have lost our sense of curiosity in this country.

Not the 'oops, there goes the basement' or 'I wonder what

I'll tell the wife about last night' brand of curiosity, but

rather the style of asking questions.

We take things at face value, and have ceased to endeavor

to discover what is under the surface. But I have questions...

so many, many questions that come to mind.

Like, what would make all these grown men and women

(and some especially grown ones) dedicate their lives to

criminalizing and demonizing homosexual men and women?

Why do these people imagine they are in any way linked to

a divine being when they exhibit all this rage and intolerance

and pride and self-importance?

What makes homosexuals the brunt of their focus?

What are they hiding in their heads, their hearts, their secret

recesses, their pasts? Their closets?

(Cuz the Bible I read told folks to get their own shit

in order, not to go looking for trouble elsewhere.)

Of all the things in all the world to divert their energies and

affections into, why us? Why not feeding the poor? Or clothing

the cold? Or healing the sick? Cuz I don't recall 'Berate the

lovers of the same sex' as part of the Beatitudes.

It's just curious to me. And, yes, curious as in 'I wonder what

it would feel like to get naked with another man?' curious.

What's beneath the surface?

I think we need to turn upside down the private lives of those

who would crucify us. It's just a question of justice.

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Michele Bachmann: Not Poetic. Sure as Fuck SLAMMED.

Sierra DeMulder's legit

spoken word truth-telling

and revelatory B.S.-busting

at the "Women of the World Poetry Slam"

Speak Truth.

Sierra DeMulder Exposes Michele Bachmann

***

SNAP! SIZZLE! SNAG!



Lampooning anti-gay leftists, Lichtenstein style!



For more cool designs and commentary, check out the blog at

The Cahokian

***

Some Battles..but Not the War

Keep looking to the mountain top;

There's no telling how many times we may

have to replant that flag!

Keep on keeping on...

we deserve better than they would

choose to allow us to have.

***

"Gay And Voting For Mitt Romney?"

Mitt Gets Worse: Julie Goodridge

This is an incredible group/campaign/website devoted to getting the word
out on the real Mitt Romney, since obviously he can't be trusted to speak
truthfully nor consistently.

Voting is one of the single-most important things we as an oppressed minority
can do to make our feelings known and our voices heard.

Please take a moment to find out what's behind all the glitz and shimmer.

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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.

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

"Prayers for Bobby", Full Movie

Here's the entire movie (adapted from the book, "Prayers for Bobby: 
A Mother's Coming to Terms with the Suicide of Her Gay Son" by
LeRoy Aarons.)

It's a difficult read (and view,) but especially great for a person of faith who
is a friend or family member of an LBGTQ person and possibly facing issues
regarding bias and discrimination that they grew up with in the church.
This story definitely puts the whole thing into perspective.

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

Tea Party: More Trouble Brewing

"It's all just a little bit of history repeating."

The following is an excerpt from an article entitled "It's Their Party:
How the Tea Party Sustains the Anti-LGBT Right" by Pam Chamberlain.

Article published by Political Research Associates' "The Public Eye" magazine.
(link follows excerpt)

The more things change....

Remember; bigots won't stop hating just because laws exist and social
view change on whole; they find more insidious means of practicing their
discriminatory nature, and they find ways to institutionalize bias..without
labeling it such.

Awareness is such a wonderful thing.

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

The Christian Right, including both the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy and
conservative evangelical Protestants, has been the driving force in opposing
LGBT rights in the U.S. An effective infrastructure of grassroots organizations,
charismatic leaders, media networks, and consistent funding provided the scaf-
folding for this Christian constituency to join with other burgeoning social move-
ments in a powerful political force.

The rise of the Tea Party has reinforced the visibility and ultimately the electoral
focus of the Christian Right. While initially galvanized around issues such as lower
taxes, smaller government and national security concerns, about half of the Tea
Party identifies with the Christian Right. This overlap has helped reinforce a
political “litmus test” for candidates on so-called social issues like abortion,
sexuality education, and the place of religion in public life. Right-wing strategists,
and the candidates who follow their counsel, have targeted various groups such
as immigrants, African-Americans, and Muslims as opportunities arose.

The ideas that LGBT and homosexuality are threats to society were constructed
as part of its overall strategy to mobilize support based on scapegoating and
fear.[v] Ample historic precedence exists for blaming immigrant communities
of color for economic and social problems. LGBT people have been singled
out both because they are easy targets based on fear of the “other” and that
they represent departure from the idealized sexual norm.[vi] "





Full Article Here


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

Thanks to  PFLAG Tallahassee,  Welcoming Resources and More Light Presbyterians

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

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

****

Clarity

We spend so much time seeking to stop other

people's assault on our humanity because

of their limited scope and definition of us,

it is easy to get caught up in pigeon-

holing and limiting our lives.

Just a reminder.

Be whole.

Be happy.

Be you.

***

(Check out "Wipeout Homophobia on Facebook"

and "Georgia Unity" on facebook today!)

***

Open Letter to Dr. Reisman

Taken from the Heartstrong newsletter:
An Open Letter to Liberty University School of Law Visiting Professor Dr. Judith Reisman

Judith Reisman: ...the aim of homosexual males and now increasingly females is not to have sex with other old guys and get married but to obtain sex with as many boys as possible. That's the reality. I wish it weren't, but it is.


Reisman also recently claimed, "Just as AIDS is a natural outgrowth of amoral sexual education and media, so too is child sexual abuse. We are breeding a new human character and child sexual abuse is increasingly part of that character."

Following Dr. Reisman's false statements about gay men and lesbians, HeartStrong founder and executive director Marc Adams sent the following open letter to Dr. Reisman, the LU School of Law and several media outlets. This was done to remind Dr. Reisman of the potential effects such pronouncements can have on young men and women as well as reiterate HeartStrong's call to be a voice for students who are unable to speak for themselves.


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


AN OPEN LETTER TO DR. REISMAN


Dear Dr. Reisman,

A few days ago I was sent a transcript of your appearance on Matt’s radio show as well as a link to an audio clip of the same show.


I was horrified to hear the things that you said about gay men and lesbians regarding pedophilia. As a former LU student and former fundamentalist Christian, I already understand the excuses that you have for believing such things.

Right about the age most kids are figuring out they are heterosexual via crushes on opposite gender friends at school, church and other social venues, I figured out I was homosexual. While I didn’t have a word for my feelings I certainly knew that I was feeling the opposite of some of my classmates in school.

When I was 14, I sat in a church service where the minister spoke about “homosexuals and faggots.” I had heard those words before but really didn’t understand what they meant. When he began describing two men holding hands in a picture in a national magazine, I immediately knew he was talking about the feelings I had for as far back as I could remember. He then went on to say that all homosexuals were child molesters and would get AIDS and die. This was 1982, long before scientific information was available about HIV transmission so naturally religious leaders and others chalked it up to a morality issue. But for that 14-year-old boy, sitting in that church, knowing I was a homosexual and believing a minister’s words that I would become a child molester, get AIDS and die, it was devastating.

Every night I would cry myself to sleep begging the God I chose to believe in to change me or take me. Every morning I would wake up disappointed that I would be one day closer to becoming a child molester, getting AIDS and dying.


The prediction of my future from the mouth of that minister continuously echoed in my ears. The prospect left me feeling lonely, depressed and desperate. I began thinking of ways that I could end my life with minimal physical pain. I was so concerned about disappointing the God I had been taught required my full heterosexuality that the only thing I could think of doing was ending my life. I decided that would be the best way to deter myself from continuing a life here on earth that I was told was destined for pedophilia, pederasty, painful illness and physical death.


Even though my fundamentalist parents deemed evangelicals like Jerry left-wing liberals, I would occasionally watch OTGH. On one show I heard him mention that God could change behavior from homosexual to heterosexual. Even though I had prayed for change as a young child, this was the first time I heard someone talk about my theory in public.

As I approached young adulthood, I was unsure when I would become the pedophile/pederast that I was promised I would become. I didn’t know if it would happen suddenly or gradually. The boys I had crushes on were my own age but that minister was very sure in his sermon that homosexuals were into having sex with children.

I rebelled against my parents and attended Liberty University as a way to find out more about how I could find this change in my life. I eventually found restorative therapy outside the school. (LU is NOT a trustworthy place if you are dealing with issues like this. I didn’t feel it was safe for me to get counseling on campus.) Over the years that I went through restorative therapy it was always difficult but I really believed I was doing the right thing. I felt that I only had two options for my life anyway; change my life or end my life. I just kept pushing to change my life.

At the beginning of my senior year I began questioning many things in my life (I know, not very politically correct thing to do at LU). I questioned mostly my racist and sexist fundamentalist Christian theology. It was clear to me very quickly that the adults in my life had taught me many things that simply weren’t true. I guess that is why fundamentalist and evangelicals are mostly against believers questioning and researching things.

In that questioning I realized that while I was feeling I had changed my behavior I had not changed how I felt on the inside. I only desired to be attracted to the opposite gender because people told me that was normal and right. My idolatry of acceptance was painfully obvious. I realized that my years of feeling broken, lonely and disconnected had nothing to do with my homosexuality but rather my believing adults like that minister whose words were obviously based on a religious belief rather than facts.

After escaping from LU, fundamentalist Christianity and the idolatry of acceptance I started meeting other people, mostly students from religious educational institutions who worshipped the idol of acceptance from their families, friends and religious beliefs. As someone who made it out of that burning building alive I decided that I had the strength to turn around and go back and rescue as many people as I could.

Since 1996, HeartStrong, the social justice nonprofit organization I founded has opened the door to truth and peace for many gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students at religious educational institutions. Young men and women clinging to the edge of life after believing their lives were doomed by the words of religious school leadership and others.


My upbringing in fundamentalist Christianity, my attendance at religious schools for high school and college (at LU) authorized and empowered me to reach out and help students whose happiness and peace was stolen from them by religious school leadership and others.


The statements you made recently about AIDS, gay men and lesbians are no different from what I was taught decades ago. I have made sure that the many people who have heard me speak over the past 15 years were able to hear what you said so they know that things have not changed. The words you and others say, fuel HeartStrong to be louder and even more proactive in reaching students who suffer. Thank you for motivating us to work even harder.

I am curious when it is you think that I will become a pedophile/pederast. Since you share that belief with many others in my past I am very interested to find out when that will happen. Also, since you believe that AIDS is a punishment for immorality, can you tell me when I will become HIV+? You also stated that the media is responsible for AIDS. What media should I not listen to in order to avoid contracting HIV? You spoke with such authority and belief that surely you must have some idea when this will start for me.

Of course I am being facetious. Since your statements are false and based only on ridiculousness and your own fear of anything that doesn’t represent your version of heterosexuality, these things will never happen. You are old enough now to know that convictions based on religious belief don't make those beliefs valid or true.

I know you have extremely limited experience in this area and I know that no one has ever said this to you before, but words kill. Feeding lies like yours into the ears of young men and women who struggle to find light in the darkness you disperse, often find themselves wishing for a way out.

As a former LU student who sat in chapel services where similar lies were espoused I can say with certainty that what you say can cause someone to feel that suicide is the only way to freedom. The words you say can have a profoundly harmful effect of young men and women.

While I highly doubt that you will change your religious beliefs because I write you a letter, I wanted to make sure that someone communicated with you regarding the slanderous statement you made against gay men and lesbians and the harmful effects those words have on those young men and women who wake up every day disappointed that the God they cried out to the night before did not end their life for them.

I don’t know much about you or your life, but I hope that you don’t have children, grandchildren or great grandchildren. The opportunity for any family, religious or not, to have gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender members is the same as always. The words you have said could cause someone close to you to feel that the only way to live is to die. I might be wrong but I doubt you would want anyone you truly love to ever feel that way.

Sincerely


Marc Adams

OUTRAGE

I think this election year is a perfect time to remind folks about
this incredibly revealing documentary, even though it's only the
tip of the iceberg.

Closeted politicians make for dire enemies. End the charade now.

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Surviving 'Ex-Gay' Groups

 There are some interesting interviews with former head and co-founder
of Exodus International, revealing many of the holes in the plans and
performance of such groups.

The actuality of the abuses and horrors of these programs can be found
in better detail on the following sites where denial and guilt doesn't water
down the truth. Thanks to all these good folks for getting the message out.

'Reparative therapy' (a.k.a. 'Pray Away the gay') is a complete and
horrific scam that causes endless pain.

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Beyond Ex-Gay (Group for recovery of religious abuse)


Soul Force (Group for recovery from ex-gay groups)


Personal Story of an EX-ex-gay


Heart Strong (Support and Education for those struggling)


An Ex-Gay Survivor's Blog


Ex-Gay Watch (Keeps tabs on the movement)


Truth Wins Out (Exposing Myths)


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FCKH8 (Fuck Hate)

Well here's a toast to less mincing (of words, anyway!)

Shock and awe group FCK H8 has a series of radical and delicious 
videos on YouTube, as well as a rocking website, face book and twitter
accounts, and a whole campaign reaching out to help promote visibility,
advocacy, and a fighting spirit.

Cuz like it or not, crazy-asses have waged war on us and on reason.
And it's time to dig in and get a little in-your-face! Reclaim your life!

I love this movement and its voice!

http://www.fckh8.com/