"Joy and pleasure are as real as pain and sorrow and one must learn what they have to teach. . . ." -- Sean Russell, from Gatherer of Clouds

"If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right." -- Helyn D. Goldenberg

"I love you and I'm not afraid." -- Evanescence, "My Last Breath"

“If I hear ‘not allowed’ much oftener,” said Sam, “I’m going to get angry.” -- J.R.R. Tolkien, from Lord of the Rings

Friday, January 16, 2009

Friday Gay Blogging


On a Friday, no less!

Andrew Sullivan takes this as evidence that we're living in a post-gay world:



Queerty just thinks they're funny:



These are hysterical. And Sullivan is absolutely right.

Marriage note:

Well -- they're doing something right, at least. Via Pam's House Blend:

The California-based Yes! On Equality campaign launched a 2010 ballot initiative today (the "California Marriage Equality Act") with the aim of ensuring equal access to marriage for all Californians in accordance with the California State Constitution.

Despite the passage of Proposition 8 in November, 2008 – which effectively banned gay marriage in California and outlawed an estmated 18,000 same-sex marriages – a diverse and growing number of Californians have confidence and hope that marriage equality can and should be recognized.

The proposed law reads as follows: “Section 7.5 of Article I of the California Constitution shall be repealed, stricken, and removed as such: Sec. 7.5 Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California”.


This should have been done already, but it's symptomatic that they didn't think they could lose.

And it looks this time as though there's some good support work in place. Marriage Equality USA has come out with a report (via Queerty) that highlights some of the real effects of Prop 8:

"LGBTI people experience increased verbal abuse, homophobia, physical harm and other discrimination associated with or resulting from the Prop 8 campaign;

Children of same-sex couples express fear due to direct exposure to homophobia and hate and concerns that the passage of Prop 8 means they could be taken from their families and targeted for further violence;

LGBTI youth and their supporters experience increased bullying at schools as Prop 8’s passage fosters a supportive environment for homophobic acts of physical and emotional violence;

Straight allies experience the impact of homophobia firsthand and express shock and fear for their LGBTI family members and friends and the danger they may experience if they were perceived as gay or an ally;

Families are torn apart as relatives divide on Prop 8; and

Communities are destroyed from the aftermath of abusive behavior towards them during local street demonstrations, neighborhood divisions, and the impact of “knowing your neighbor” voted against your family."


The point is, don't stop -- keep shoving it right in their faces and make them deal with what they've done, because it was what they decided to do.

I know, I'm not being very conciliatory about this, but frankly, after the kind of campaigns that have been waged against us, and that continue, with all the lies, distortions, fear-mongering and other hate techniques, I'm not inclined to be nice about it (not that I ever was, particularly, but I'm a plain-spoken sort of person).

But at least I give you dessert -- this morning, from Queerty:

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's an amazing photo you've put at the top of this entry, at once vertiginous and deeply peaceful. Thank you.

Hunter said...

This is one of the better examples from a series of similar shots. He would have been a superb model if he had really been there participating.

Thank you.