Far from terrifying anyone, "Gathering Storm" has become, unsurprisingly, an Internet camp classic. On YouTube the original video must compete with countless homemade parodies it has inspired since first turning up some 10 days ago. None may top Stephen Colbert's on Thursday night, in which lightning from "the homo storm" strikes an Arkansas teacher, turning him gay. A "New Jersey pastor" whose church has been "turned into an Abercrombie & Fitch" declares that he likes gay people, "but only as hilarious best friends in TV and movies."It is, but if you're living in a state where the political climate is less hospitable, like the deep South, it's a very different picture than the one Rich is painting. It's a common problem that I see with those writing from more progressive enclaves -- the mistake that the progress has some sort of magic trickle-down effect everywhere. It isn't the bigot's last hurrah, it is the spiraling downfall of the professional anti-gays, but they aren't going down without a fight where the territory is still fertile.Yet easy to mock as "Gathering Storm" may be, it nonetheless bookmarks a historic turning point in the demise of America's anti-gay movement.
What gives the ad its symbolic significance is not just that it's idiotic but that its release was the only loud protest anywhere in America to the news that same-sex marriage had been legalized in Iowa and Vermont. If it advances any message, it's mainly that homophobic activism is ever more depopulated and isolated as well as brain-dead.
As the case against equal rights for gay families gets harder and harder to argue on any nonreligious or legal grounds, no wonder so many conservatives are dropping the cause. And if Fox News and Rick Warren won't lead the charge on same-sex marriage, who on the national stage will take their place? The only enthusiastic contenders seem to be Republicans contemplating presidential runs in 2012. As Rich Tafel, the former president of the gay Log Cabin Republicans, pointed out to me last week, what Iowa giveth to the Democrats, Iowa taketh away from his own party. As the first stop in the primary process, the Iowa caucuses provided a crucial boost to Barack Obama's victorious and inclusive Democratic campaign in 2008. But on the G.O.P. side, the caucuses tilt toward the exclusionary hard right.This ihis is a long-term win, don't get me wrong, but it's pretty clear that we cannot cheer the Republicans' inability to find a winning formula for the future as long as Democrats tolerate the homophobes inside its party.In 2008, 60 percent of Iowa's Republican caucus voters were evangelical Christians. Mike Huckabee won. That's the hurdle facing the party's contenders in 2012, which is why Romney, Palin and Gingrich are now all more vehement anti-same-sex-marriage activists than Rick Warren. Palin even broke with John McCain on the issue during their campaign, supporting the federal marriage amendment that he rejects. This month, even as the father of Palin's out-of-wedlock grandson challenged her own family values and veracity, she nominated as Alaskan attorney general a man who has called gay people "degenerates." Such homophobia didn't even play in Alaska - the State Legislature voted the nominee down - and will doom Republicans like Palin in national elections.
Even in Blue New York we see State Senator Rubén DÃaz brazenly holding up marriage equality ("As long as you need me, there will be no gay marriage") with the same tired fundie theocracy bigotry we see spewing from the Republican fringe. As I blogged earlier, he goes unchallenged by his peers because they fear the race card being thrown down. I don't know what's worse -- open bigotry on the Right, or the enabling of homophobia within a party that should know better.
And in what is excellent timing on this matter, Andrés Duque of Blabbeando has posted about the National Organization for Marriage's efforts to make inroads in the Latino community in New York with its bigotry. More below the fold, including video.
These folks are clearly not aware of any "last hurrah" -- they mean business.
So you would probably think that if a NOM Board Member spoke to media about the bill, everyone would be talking about how NOM's Gathering Storm might have arrived in New York.Rich's column, while it may make us feel confident, should be tempered by the realization that the hardcore bigots don't give up. They never will will. And we shouldn't let down our guard.And it did (quietly):
The two clips above are from Friday's edition of the weekly Spanish-language political show "Pura Politica" on Time Warner Cable's NY1 news channel (CLICK on video to open larger YouTube window and read my full translation of the exchange). It features a debate between Pedro Julio Serrano from the National Lesbian and Gay Task Force and Luis Tellez from The Witherspoon Institute, as moderated by political reporter Juan Manuel Benitez. Mr. Tellez also happens to be one of five members of NOM's Board of Directors.
So, while Rev. Diaz was huffing-and-puffing and grabbing everyone's attention, here was NOM's first media foray after the Paterson announcement - no big flashy display and no attention-whoring announcements - just an attempt to speak directly to Latinos in their language. In other words, a similar under-the-radar strategy that foes of marriage equality in California used with minority communities in their successful defeat of Prop. 8
It would be a pity to see the realization of the homobigot Republicans finally realizing they are heading down the wrong path, but the Dems continuing to squirm and step away from promises to fight for equality out of fear.
Pam and I discussed this some before I left for Greeley -- My profile was going to rise (well, now is rising) by covering this case as a trans woman from the criminal courtroom, and there are good aspects and bad aspects to that rising profile.
Here's one of the bad aspects as now seen on my Facebook profile, from someone posting under the name Dan Caleb. Dan engages here with a couple of ad hominem attacks:
You say you out yourself often, which isn't that hard i'm sure since you do not really look like a woman, you still look very much like a man trying to be a woman.
And...
t has nothing to do with bigotry Abigail, ti's the truth. Autumn is an ugly woman, and it is very clear she is a he. Speaking the truth is not bigotry, unless you have a problem with truth.
Dan trollishly questions my gender identity by calling me ugly; telling me I look like a man trying to be a woman. So I'm not "deceptive": Instead, I'm just ugly.
And, these comments by Dan are made in regards to a photo t hat I intentionally made a stark as possible, to reflect how stark, and personally painful, Angie's brutal death has been on her family, her friends, and her trans community members. We are all those who love her, and miss her -- comments about my appearance in regards to Angie's death miss the point about the value of Angie's life.
Dan intentionally forgets that people like Angie and me are human beings, and shouldn't die brutally violent deaths for dating, no matter what the circumstances of the date(s) might be. Dan instead focuses on the superficial thing of my appearance -- I actually pity Dan, wallowing in his bigotry.
I'm sure there's more ad hominem attacks out there regarding me, or there will be soon. Basically, if one is a publicly transgender person like I am, one needs to expect ad hominem attacks directed against him or her. This is just the first ones I've seen since arriving in Greeley.
The morning, I woke up tired. Exhausted from staying up late. I talked to my Chinese pen pal for about 20 minutes and then had to race towards my bus stop. At the bus stop my friend said good morning, I had already written "day of silence" on my hand to show her what I was doing and she immediately understood. The ride was cold and long. I dozed as we travelled the length of the highway towards my school. I had gotten off and started my way down to the front lobby of my school. I hugged a couple of my friends and we wrote to each other on note pads and notebook paper. Then a friend of mine saw a sign. It was over a day of silence poster.
The sign had crude stick figure drawings and struck me with a feeling of shame because it wouldn't be notified to a teacher or administrator (later I found out one of my friends had torn it down.. I tore down a similar poster.) It had an arrogant message. It said: boy + girl = (checkmark); the same thing for the stick figures. My friend told me she had seen one that said "only real men like girls." We were penning each other back and forth I found out she had made a poster and immediately after she had put it up, a kid had torn it down and put up one of the bigotted ones in its place. She cursed him out even though she had taken her vow to stay silent. I saw another sign during my lunch break that saiwn and I'm glad I had. another friend of mine and I were fed up with it and decided to tell an authoritative person about it. He didn't do ad "God made adam and eve not adam and steve." I tore that one do damned thing. What sickened most about the one I had torn down was that it was obviously written by a girl, with hearts around adam and eve and in bold green lettering for the ss couple. It had a feminine style to the writing. I didn't think I'd see forms of bigotry like that and it shocked me.
Not many people tried to stop me from staying silent. those who did were only trying to see how long I would last, it seemed very childish. Almost selfish, but I couldn't care less for their endeavors because they had failed and I had won thison this "battle" of wills. Getting home and talking to an old friend of mine was kind of surprising for her reaction was really breathtaking as she typed that what I had done was all in vain. Trying constantly to link marriage and religion together, and altogether even ignoring my opinions. I like her opinions, but I can't say what she told me was justifiably correct, or the way she said it was sincere enough for me to handle. What struck me was that she is a lesbian and believes that marriage is a solely religious institution.
This day was a success in my opinion. I held my vigil and my undissolving faith that this movent we take part in, is moving forward towards legal recognition of our rights not only as citizens, but as respectable human beings within the United States. What I also realized is that I had came out to a couple more people than I thought would have happened.
~T
The lawsuit was brought forward by the Transgender Law Center on behalf of Gigi Marie Somers, a 67-year-old Kansas resident seeking to change her documentation. Read the full story at the Advocate’s web site, or read the court’s decision.
Birth certificates are often relied upon as a primary documentation resource, used by employers, creditors and the government to verify individuals’ identities. Without the ability to change their birth certificate, many transpeople are left in legal limbo, and are frequently outed by their documentation, which may not maion, which may not match their gender presentation.
Birth certificate change procedures vary from state to state, and some states don't allow any alteration to the sex listed on this critical document. This increased ease in changing birth certificate will benefit California-born transpeople across the country. Congratulations to the Transgender Law Center on this fantastic victory!
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