Apparently this week's "Farm Report", aka "All Things Potato", (won't someone puh-leeze think of the Tater Tots??) by Mr. Heath was not his first confusion of God and weather.
Porno Pete's reminder of the Christian Civic League's "no-good-very-bad day" back in 2005 got me to thinking about those days of old.
More specifically, another time Mike Heath's trenchcoat seemed to be covering some pretty ugly nuttiness, blaming Hurricane Katrina on The Almighty's wrath:
"By an odd coincidence - and it was perhaps no more than a coincidence - an enormous gay rights celebration was scheduled for New Orleans just as the worst natural disaster ever to strike our nation was venting its full fury on that helpless city.Over 150,000 homosexuals were expected to attend the event this year, and as in past years, the French Quarter was to be filled with party-goers, many of them roaming the streets at night and committing lewd acts in public. Last year, a video tape of the drunken revelers committing sex acts in public was sent to Mayor Nagin and the City Council, but the city fathers of New Orleans, in their concern for the economic future of New Orleans and the tourist dollars that the event would bring in, once again issued official proclamations welcoming the organization.
The event was scheduled for Wednesday August 31st, when the destructive force of the natural disaster was at its peak. The organization is called, appropriately enough, Southern Decadence."
As one can imagine, THIS went over really well locally and letters poured into the newspapers declaring Heath a loon.
One of the kinder statements came from Jesse Connelly:
The linkage of Katrina and gay rights sparked outrage among defenders of trs of the new Maine law, which extends the state's anti- discrimination laws to homosexuals in the area of housing, employment, education, lodging and lending.Jesse Connolly, spokesman for Maine Won't Discriminate, a group fighting the repeal effort, said Heath's explanation was just as bad as the original post.
"The larger issue here is the Christian Civic League is using one of the nation's worst natural disasters to score cheap political points," Connolly said, echoing similar comments he made Tuesday to the Bangor Daily News. "It is truly unfortunate how low he has stooped to churn up support from his base."
Days after Heath's original speculation that Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment on Teh Evul Gayz (TM), he tried to backpedal but just made things much worse:
"The view that such events are caused by God is a matter of opinion - faith if you will - and are not capable of proof," Michael Heath, the executive director of the Christian Civic League of Maine, wrote in Wednesday's edition of the group's online newsletter. "Every man must decide for himself whether or not Hurricane Katrina brought the wrath of God down on New Orleans."So we are not blaming the homosexuals for the disaster," continued Heath, whose group is spearheading the "people's veto" campaign aimed at repealing Maine's new gay rights law at the Nov. 8 referendum.
Um... Mike? See that big yellow thing in the clear, beautiful blue sky today and was over central Maine yesterday, too?
It's called the SUN and we're supposed to see ALOT of it for the next WEEK.
Just thought you ought to know... let me demonstrate how sunshine, rainbows and LOVE go together!
Here is the text:
I am happy to be with all of you on a day when America witnesses our call for the greatest affirmation of freedom, equality and justice in the history of our country.
Forty years ago, a great awakening occurred, as our brothers and sisters began to open their closet doors following a demonstration of pride and liberty that was seen in New York City at the Stonewall Inn but whose seismic waves were felt across our country. On a night that stretched back two hundred years ago to the birth of our nation's independence, we as LGBT people began to feel the warmth of hope from the morning sun, and our American dream to be full and equal citizens was born.
Forty years later, we have come very far to realize this dream, but we know that our quest for freedom and equality is still a dream. Our people still live with the fear of being attacked if they show their true colors. Our workers still live with the fear of being fired just for being themselves. Our servicemen and women still live with the shame of re-entering their closets in order to defend this great nation. Our relationships still live with the disgrace of being stripped of our dignity and respect compared to other relationships. Our families still live with additional hardships in helping develop our next generation compared to other families. It is this fear, this shame, this disgrace and these hardships that bring all of us to stand here and show ourselves to all of America and each of its 50 states, each of its 435 congressional districts.
The remainder of the text is below the fold.
We are here today at our nation's capital to ask our country to deliver on its promise for freedom, equality and justice for all of its citizens, not just regardless of race, age, creed, gender and national origin, but also regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. This American promise was born from the demand made by our forefathers for the guarantee of equal and unalienable rights to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. This promise has been fulfilled for so many Americans, but to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, it remains a promise. But we also know that our quest for the fulfillment of this promise can only be met with the price of a struggle. We have seen past struggles felt from the Revolutionary War, the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation, the Mexican-American Civil Rights Movement, the African-American Civil Rights Movement, the Women's Civil Rights Movement, and our own LGBT Civil Rights Movement. We come from ancestors who valiantly struggled in these previous movements, in these pivotal moments of our American history, and we proudly join together and follow in their footsteps, struggling to come to Washington D.C. to be here today, knowing that the struggles we face will not stop us on our quest to fulfill our American promise. And we must struggle today, because now is the time to take our American dream and make it a reality, to emerge from our closets of captivity into the open fields of freedom, to rise from the shifty terrain of imbalance and stand on the firm soil of equality, to not just feel the warmth of the morning hope but to bask in the illumining light of uncompromising justice.We struggle with each other for our American promise, but we also struggle inside of ourselves with the anger we feel from being denied this American promise. We are keenly aware that this anger can manifest into hate, and we must resist the temptation of hatred and honor our pride that is manifested from the understanding that we are good people. I can not tell you how much more difficult it is to have to overcome not just the oppression of being different but also the anger we feel from being oppressed and the ensuing fear, pain and suffering. But I can tell you that we will become stronger people in our attempts to overcome both our oppression and our anger. And we need to understand that the combativeness that has permeated our LGBT community should not lead us to turn our backs against Christians and other religious people, for many of them understand that we are tied together in our freedom and destiny, and their presence here today affirms that we will move forward and move together.
We march on Washington today, but our march continues on for equality across America, and in our quest for the American Promise, we must promise to each other that we will continue to march on. And we must march, not just with pride and hope, but also with courage. In the words of our great Maya AnMaya Angelou, "Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtues consistently. You see? You can't be consistently kind or fair or humane or generous, not without courage, because if you don't have it, sooner or later you will stop and say, 'Eh, the threat is too much. The difficulty is too high. The challenge is too great.'"
There are some of us here today who have seen challenges that many of us have heard about but can only imagine. Some of you have come face to face with violence and suffered injuries. Some of you have had your property vandalized. Some of you have been kicked out from your own families. Some of you have been called pejorative names. Some of you have been stopped from seeing your significant other at the hospital. Some of you have been faced with deportation away from your significant other. Some of you are close to others who are no longer here, because their lives were ended by others. And some are no longer here, because they have ended their own lives, because their despair was too great to bear.
I tell you all, there is hope for us. And there is hope, not just because we embody the virtues of pride and courage, but because we are also armed with what I consider as the greatest virtue of all, and the virtue that defines us as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and straight people. That virtue is love.
It is love that binds us together in our relationships, through both good times and in bad, when we are healthy and when we are sick, for as long as we shall live. It is love that drives us to raise our children, providing them loving and nurturing homes, guiding them on a path to be a good person, and cultivating our future generation. It is love that compels us to contribute to our communities, making life better for all of us, and helping all of us be safe and secure in our surroundings. It is love that teaches us that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. It is love that answers the question of the very meaning of our lives And it is love that will fuel our struggle and answer our American promise to our American Dream.
If we are harassed, we answer with love.
If we are insulted, we answer with love.
If we are silenced, we shout with love
If we fall down, we rise back up with love.
If we are told that we are a threat to America,
We tell them back what we think about America
Divided We Fall, United We Stand.
Divided We Hate, United We Love.And for those in America who still believe that we do not know what love is, I ask you to tell them to hear our song:
When you're in doubt take my hand
I'll stand by your side tonight cause
We will be better when we are together and
We are united in loveWhen in despair take my arm
As I hold you close to me and
We will go farther when we are together cause
We are united in loveWhen you're feeling good
I'll capture the time
Whe fefn you're feeling sad
I'll help you remember
When you're feeling fine
We'll stay on our path
When you're feeling bad
I will be there for you andOur love will sing loud and strong
Our love will keep going onWhen you're in fear take my heart
I'll give you a hug tonight cause
We will be better when we are together and
We are united in loveWhen you're in angst take my lead
I'll show you the way today cause
We will go farther when we are together cause
We are united in loveWhen we're feeling rich
I'll never let go
When we're feeling poor
I'll help you recover
When we laugh away
I'll give you a smile
When we shed a tear
I'll comfort you gently andO;Our love will sing loud and strong
Our love will keep going onWhen you don't know take my word
I am here to stay with you, cause
We will be better when we are together and
We are united in loveWe are united in love
United we love
“At the Intersection: Race, Sexuality, and Gender,” a comprehensive report released this week by the The Human Rights Campaign Foundation, is an excellent look at some the third rails of cultural discussion that usually results in most conversations falling into silence for fear of conflict, offending someone, or having to realize one's own biases in front of others.'
One cannot develop cultural competency if the conversation is encouraged, but not taken in by those who need to listen and absorb the information to break down barriers. We saw the schism in the last election.
The November 2008 passage of Proposition 8 in California clearly showed what could happen when a group listens solely so it can repress others. Research has revealed that organizing efforts by religious and conservative forces were extensive, proactive and heavily funded. Such an observation is important because it also reveals that progressive – or in this case, LGBT-specific – organizing efforts were less effective at listening, canvassing, targeting and activating Californians in the same ways that conservative forces were. This ineffectiveness was a result of many significant forces, some of which included lack of access to populations historically left out of debates, basic information about these populations, and the resources – including cultural competency needed – to effectively reach the targeted populations.
The key findings of the report:
* Nearly all LGBT people of color say protections from violence and workplace discrimination are important; issues strong majorities of all Americans support in opinion polls. Violence and discrimination are also the most salient issues that connect three critical groups — non-LGBT people, communities of color and white LGBT communities. * Religious attitudes are a major source of sexual prejudice. For LGBT people of color, many of whom are regular churchgoers, the conflict is acute. More than half of LGBT people of color interviewed feel treated like sinners by their ethnic and racial communities, and faith communities are among the places LGBT people of color feel least accepted;
* LGBT people of color view the world first from the point of view of race and gender. Most feel there is as much racism and sexism among LGBT people as there is among non-LGBT people, and racially motivated violence and discrimination are more prevalent than violence or prejudice based on sexual orientation;
* LGBT people of color are serious media consumers, but they do not find enough information or see accurate media representations of themselves;
“This report is a catalyst for the continuing conversations we all know are necessary to turn the reality of our diversity into inclusion of every member of the LGBT community,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “There are no simple ‘answers’ to the challenge of inclusion but creating a space where diverse voices can be a part of a dialogue presents opportunities for us to grow as a movement.”
The findings are no surprise to me and are not probably a surprise to others, but where there is little agreement is the matter of who is responsible for effecting change (does this fall solely on the shoulders of out LGBTs of color, something tossed out there quite frequently when I raise the issue) and what are the methods of bridge building that need to be implemented. Take the quandry of the conservative black church, for instance.
Already fearful of losing connections, friendship and emotional shelter provided by their faith community if they come out, black gays and lesbians in the church now know that the homophobes in the pews and choirs, along with the bigoted pastors spewing hate from the pulpit, feel empowered to destroy those ties because of their own fear and ignorance. It makes you want to weep.
One of Washington's largest black Baptist churches was upended several months ago by a female member of its choir who e-mailed messages to anti-gay Bishop Alfred Owens Jr. of the DC-based Greater Mount Calvary Holy Church outing more than 100 church members as gay, mostly male choir members, saying "I will be leaving the choir at the top of the year because 80 percent of the tenors are homosexuals and act more like a female in choir rehearsal than I do." That's so raw that you don't even know where to begin.
Also, the fact that religious opposition to civil marriage equality is irrelevant seems to escape some in the religious communities of color, even when they hold public office. I experienced this alternate reality first-hand when I participated in an Equality NC Day of Action at my state legislature and spoke with members of the Black Legislative Caucus about LGBT equality issues. One s. One was a supporter of a state marriage amendment to ban gays and lesbians from marrying (and ban civil unions as well as domestic partnerships). I was with a small group of black LGBTs that came up to this legislator and asked her why she could promote institutionalized discrimination. Her reasons?
1) Because it's a "personal issue" for her. Her constituent pointed out that she is in the office because the voters in her district sent her to the General Assembly to represent them, not her personal feelings about legislation. That led the lawmaker to move on to the next reason...
2) "I'm a minister." She made it clear that she didn't want to have to disclose this bit of business, but since #1 didn't work out very well, this was the next hurdle to put up. The constituent, to her credit, challenged her on the issue of church-state separation, but the elected official wouldn't budge. Trying to have a reality-based conversation with someone who feels so strongly that there is no line between the two is like hitting a wall.
One of the black LGBTs with the group, in order to try to connect by humanizing the issue, told the story of friends of hers, a lesbian couple raising a child. One of the mothers is dying of a chronic illness, and in North Carolina there's nothing to legally protect them as a unit -- any will drawn up can be challenged by a homophobic family member, custody could be in jeopardy, and obviously there are myriad issues that are in play because of the lack of any kind of legal recognition.
The legislator was visibly moved by this story, but you could tell it left her in a quandry. That led to explanation #3.
3) "I'm not against anyone, one to one". She said this several times, as if to suggest that she's only protecting marriage by favoring the amendment, but is sympathetic to the concerns raised by the story of the lesbian couple. It's the classic "I'm really not a bigot" defense. No one wants to have that label placed upon them. Unfortunately that led Rep. Parmon to ramble into territory that was perilously close to civil unions without saying those words specifically. The problem, even if she only supports some limited legal recognition, is that the marriage amendment she supports says:
Marriage between a man and a woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this state.
That means no civil unions, no domestic partnerships, nada. It's written so broadly that even private company benefits offered to "same-sex spousal equivalents" could be jeopardized. If she supports some kind of way for that lesbian couple to protect their family unit if one passes away, she's negating any possible solution by supporting the amendment.
Afterwards we all commented how hurtful it was to be rendered "less-than" to our faces by this respected lawmaker, who, if she stepped into a time machine that took her only a few generations back in time, couldn't marry a person of the same race, let alone someone of another race -- and the bible was used to justify that. She looked at the people in her office in the eye and said that she "respects you as a person", but would, without any guilt, vote to ensure you aren't equal in the eyes of the law. It was painful, just painful.
So we, as LGBTs of color, have a long way to go to if we're to build those internal bridges. But on the on the other side of the fence, the sense I gather from the reticence to date of the white LGBT community to do outreach in this arena seems to revolve around a couple of things based on the discussions on my blog:
* An surface assumption that all minorities or all POC LGBTs are somehow a cultural monolith any more than the white LGBT community is -- as in all are churched or all poor or working class, for instance and we're responsible for "fixing" the problem because they "can't". And the "can't" stems from...
* A reluctance to immerse themselves in outreach that challenges their own inherent biases and cultural ignorance of various communities of color for fear of rejection or embarrassment. It's an unfamiliar and uncomfortable position to be placed on the defensive, wary and feeling outnumbered -- something people of color have to deal with as a reality all the time. But minorities don't have the luxury of deciding whether we need to be competent regarding the dominant culture.
And the thing is, my blackness clearly doesn't provide any cover when addressing homophobia either. Just witness the scathing, sad, and quite frankly, ignorant comments in a piece I cross posted at HuffPost. Here's one of my favorites:
The States should & can handle social issues and are doing so what's the problem! Some people can just not be happy anymore without confrontation to to sad. I do not believe in gay marriage and do not hate anyone nor do I fear anything--- I Let Go and Let God have the Judgment day not my problem or am I in control of who loves who!.
My response:
You can't be serious with that statement. If we left matters of civil rights to the states, Jim Crow would still be in effect, Obama's parents would not have been able to marry, and poll taxes would still exist. How soon we forget.
That's the level of ignorance I'm talking about; others made the quite accurate point that the LGBT community rarely gets behind social justice issues of concern to minorities. Honestly, this card can be played legitimately - because it's true.
I mean how elementary is it that if you want support from a community that you actually have to communicate with them to get your point across and win hearts and minds over. And that was one of the failures of Prop 8. And people have admitted as much, as efforts to get it overturned begin to gain support for another ballot initiative.
Organizers hope to reach Latinos, faith communities and African Americans, constituencies into which they previously failed to make in-roads. Their approach aims to blend slain San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk's put-a-human-face-on-the-issue activism with Barack Obama's neighbor-to-neighbor organizing.
What a lack of cross-community dialogue means for out minority LGBTs is that one has to be willing to put yourself out there to be attacked, over and over for addressing homophobia in communities of color knowing that few, if any, non-POC LGBTs are going to come forward to have your back. I see it time and again, with the excuses ranging from "I'll be called a racist" or "it doesn't feel safeel safe to do this" or "it isn't my place to do it." And many of these excuses are from people who have the anonymity of the Internet to protect them. Now that's bad.
Well, it doesn't feel great to have your "black card" revoked any more than it feels to be called racist -- and I don't have the cover of anonymity. Of course that's my choice, but the work is so important; I hate to see the rancor and misunderstandings go on and on with the parties talking past one another.
The sad thing is that so few black LGBTs are willing to live out, be out and challenge misguided assumptions that it makes it doubly difficult for those of color who do want to challenge the homophobia.
The thing is that are plenty of allies and leaders from the black community who do support full civil rights for LGBTs who can be cited when dealing with this issue - John Lewis, Julian Bond, Leonard Pitts, Al Sharpton, Gov. Deval Patrick, Gov. David Paterson, to name a few. Members of black community who consistently oppose LGBT rights conveniently choose to ignore these leaders -- they have to be called out on it.
And that's why “At the Intersection: Race, Sexuality, and Gender,” is a must read.
Eric C. Peterson, Manager of Diversity & Inclusion at the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has an essay up as part of HRC's Equality Forward Series.Wearing "gay" as an identity was an enormous shock to my system. I had never really thought of it before, but until that moment, I had lived on the comfortable side of the privilege divide my entire life. I am male. I am white. I came from a comfortably middle-class background (and as an officer's child, was extremely well-off in comparison to most of my friends). I was raised in a Christian household. Other than a pair of orthopedic shoes I wore as a very young child, I had no disabilities that required accommodation. I had privilege coming out of my ears.And, of course, the biggest privilege that comes with privilege is the ability to remain clueless about one's own privilege. Prior to coming out, I lived in a fantasy world wherein oppression and discrimination were remnants of the bad old days, before everyone learned to get along. And not only was I raised to believe that racism, sexism, classism, etc. no longer existed in society; I was raised to believe that these "isms" did not exist within myself.
Please join the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and Basic Rights Oregon (BRO) For a weekend of intimate events in Portland,featuring Kate Kendell, Esq., NCLR Executive Director and Jeana Frazzini, BRO Executive Director
The State of Our Unions: LGBT Legal & Policy Briefing Saturday, September 12, 2009 3:00 pm â€" 5:00 pm
Flying Cat Coffee Company 3041 SE Division Portland, Oregon
The legal landscape for LGBT people is ever-changing, and this year, that has proved to be especially true! With new victories and defeats occurring at a faster pace than ever, it’s hard to keep track of where our struggle for justice stands, and how and where our relationships are protected. Join us for a presentation and discussion on the latest legal and policy issues affecting the LGBT community, including an including an update on moving forward with marriage equality in Oregon and other states and federal legislation and litigation. There is no cost to attend. No RSVP necessary.
A Social for Social Justice: Benefit Party with NCLR and BRO Sunday, September 13, 2009 3:00 pm â€" 5:00 pm
Nostrana Restaurant With award-winning Chef Cathy Whims 1401 SE Morrison Street Portland, Oregon So much has happened over this past year â€" we hope you can join us for a fun and intimate afternoon to catch up with NCLR and BRO and find out more about our current work and what lies ahead in the fight for our LGBT civil and human rights. Suggested Donation: $25, payable at the door. Please RSVP by September 4th to Dena Zaldúa-Hilkene at dzalduahilkene@nclrights.org with subject line “NCLR Portland Event†or call 415.365.1303. Reservations will be held at the door.
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