What Hate Looks Like

In England, a British woman was caught on video spouting racial hatred to a trainload full of people. During her tirade, she insulted anyone who wasn’t white or British, demanding that they get off the bus and out of her country.

Thanks to the video, however, she was arrested for “racially aggravated offense,” as reported on Unicorn Booty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i47HoiM0Au8

Obviously, this woman will be in the running for the next Mother of the Year Award!

Another Thing Rick Perry Doesn’t Know: The Voting Age

Rick Perry continues to be a shining beacon for all Texans. While he has already given us several gems of his ignorance, such as not knowing the century of the American Revolution, Perry added a new flaming hot mess to his pile as reported on Joe.My.God.

During a speech Perry was giving at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire, Perry made the following comments to the audience:

Those of you that will be 21 by Nov. 12th, I ask for your support and your vote. Those of you who won’t be — just work hard — because you are going to inherit this and you’re counting on us to get this right. The idea that you’re looking at a $15-trillion debt, that you’re looking at entitlement programs that will not be there for you if we continue on this path, is not fair to you and it’s not right.”

Apparently, Perry thinks the voting age and the legal drinking age are both 21. I hope to God that Perry continues to slip in the polls because this man is simply too stupid for prime time!

 

New PSA on Bullying: Out of the Mouths of Babes

Two brothers made a video on bullying for a school project. Eight grader Grant Viola and his third grade brother Drake star in this video that tackles bullying, saying “that’s gay,” and being stupid. The video was made in response to a homework assignment given to big brother Grant.

Seeing two young boys grasp a concept that some adults have difficulty with is promising. Kudos to both Grant and Drake!

Here’s the video.

(via Queerty)

Marriage Equality Video from Australia

Australia’s GetUp Campaign, which is working to have marriage discrimination removed in Australia, has released a video designed to do just that. The short video follows around a couple who go through all types of life events–together. After all, this is what marriage is about.

It’s not about the rights denied. It’s about the commitment between individuals, whether they are the same gender or not.

(video via Towleroad)

Rush Limbaugh: School Tolerance to Blame in Student Murder

The trial of Brian McInereny, the young man who shot and killed fellow middle school student Larry King in February 2008, has concluded. As reported on ThinkProgress, “McInerney will spend 21 years in prison, until he is 38 years old, and avoid a second trial.”

At the age of 14, McInereny pulled a handgun from his backpack and shot King in the back of his head because King allegedly acted flamboyantly in school. Now, at 17 years old, McInereny faces the next 21 years of his life in prison.

This story is beyond tragic. The lives of two young men have been ended because of hate and intolerance.

But, what makes this story even more tragic is Rush Limbaugh’s comments. Limbaugh believes that Oxnard Middle School, where both boys attended, shares responsibilities in King’s death “because school authorities were interested in promoting a homosexual agenda and had not done enough to dissuade King from dressing in women’s accessories, wearing makeup, and flirting with male students.”

This is ridiculous because Limbaugh’s idiocy sound too much like blaming the victim. I remember arguments a few decades ago blaming a woman for being raped if she wore suggestive clothing. So since King acted too much like a girl, he was simply asking to be assaulted? Give me a break!

Limbaugh needs to not blame the victim or the school for an individual’s choices. No one forced McInereny to pack a gun for school that day. No one made him pull the gun out and pull the trigger. Those actions were McInereny’s alone, no matter how disheartening that is.

 

 

 

Marriage Equality Promos in Maine

A new marriage equality campaign starts in Maine tomorrow. As reported on Towleroad, the campaign is “Timed to run around Thanksgiving, when families gather around the table and in front of the television, the first 30-second ad features a close shot of an elderly Catholic couple from rural Maine who have been married 42 years, describing the journey they took to accept that one of their daughters is a lesbian…A second 30-second ad features a self-identified conservative United Methodist Church minister, wearing his religious collar, and his wife as they talk about how they ‘really struggled through this issue.'”

Maine is being targeted for these ads because the state will likely once again be dealing with the issue of gay marriage in 2012.

“Instead of being preachy, the ads aim to empathize with the ‘journey’ voters are taking as they try to sort out their conflicted feelings about same-sex marriage,” which was reported in the San Francisco Chronicle.

The advertisers in Maine are trying to learn from the mistakes made in previous pro-gay marriage campaigns. These ads will reflect the struggles that people undergo as they come to terms with gay marriage. For a majority of the nation, the concept of two men or two women pledging their lives together not only makes them uncomfortable, but it challenges a long-held belief system. By highlighting the struggles of those who have accepted gay marriage, gay marriage proponents in Maine hope to capture the “one-third of Maine voters who are comfortable with civil unions but conflicted about supporting marriage.” 

This approach is brilliant. Life and our opinions are a never ending journey. As humans, we change and evolve over time. We don’t remain static. Showcasing the paths other people have taken on the road to marriage equality will hit closer to home and be far more persuasive than simply preaching about how we all deserve to be equal. As any good debater knows, standing on a soap box only convinces an audience that already agrees with you. Skeptical or neutral audiences need more than an emotional appeal. They need arguments that appeal to their belief and their core values. They should see themselves reflected in the argument. This advertising campaign does that well.

Here are the two promos.

(videos found via Towleroad)

NC Baptist Church Stands Up For Gay Marriage

Pullen Baptist Church, located in Raliegh, NC, has decided to protest the state’s proposed constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage by not performing any weddings until full marriage equality is guaranteed for all, as reported by ThinkProgress.

This decision was made by a unanimous vote of the congregation, which is comprised of approximately 650 members. When asked, “The congregants said in a formal statement that current North Carolina law – and the language proposed for a vote next year on an amendment to the state Constitution – discriminates against same-sex couples ‘by denying them the rights and privileges enjoyed by heterosexual married couples.'”

Nancy Petty, Pastor of the Pullen Baptist Church, is a lesbian and began having “a burden of conscience” while signing marriage certificates for heterosexual couples and not for homosexual couples. When she expressed her concerns to her congregation, they supported her 100% and began the process of banning all marriage in their church until full marriage equality was realized.

Stories such as these give me hope in this uncertain political climate. While the Republican presidential candidates attempt to out posture each other by proving they are best suited to support “traditional” family and beat back the oppressively sinful homosexuals and while Obama continues to waffle  on gay issues, it’s nice to see American citizens taking a stand against discrimination. These people are making their voices heard. They are telling their elected officials that they are tired of discriminatory legislation, and they won’t stand for it anymore.

One day (hopefully soon), voices against discrimination will echo throughout the 50 state capitals and The White House, and like the congregation at Pullen Baptist Church, everyone might come to believe that “As people of faith, affirming the Christian teaching that before God all people are equal, we will no longer participate in this discrimination.” 

Unhate Campaign by Benneton

You may or may not have heard about the Unhate Foundation launched by the United Colors of Benneton. Their purpose is to “contribute to the creation of a new culture of tolerance, [and] to combat hatred,” as stated on their website.

So far, their campaign has caused quite a stir with photos of Pope Benedict engaged in a man to man kiss. That photo has since been removed. However, pictures of President Obama and other world leaders locking lips remain active. Click here to see those pictures still a part of the campaign.

Below is the YouTube video promoting their campaign. Its focus is on what the Unhate Campaign is using to fight hate–love.

(video found via Queerty)

Gay Marriage Headed to Supreme Court?

It just might be on its way there.

The California State Supreme Court ruled today that “proponents of Proposition 8 do have standing to appeal Federal District Judge Walker Vaughn’s ruling declaring the anti-gay marriage initiative unconstitutional, even if state officials refuse to take up the matter,” as reported by ThinkProgress.

While this might sound like a negative for gay rights/marriage, this could actually force the United States Supreme Court to finally decide once and for all the constitutionality of banning gay marriage in the nation.

This case will make its way to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The three judges who make up that court will have to decide whether Prop 8 is constitutional or not. Two of those judges, Judge Stephen Reinhardt and Judge Michael Daly Hawkins are “one of the most liberal judges in the country” and “sympathetic. . .to marriage discrimination,” respectively. With these two judges on the court, it’s almost certain they will agree with Judge Walker’s ruling.

Naturally, proponents of Prop 8 will be unhappy, and the case will likely find its way to The Supreme Court. While the make up of the Supreme Court seems conservative in its majority–Justices Scalia and Kennedy appointed by President Reagan, Justice Thomas appointed by President George W. H. Bush, and Justices Roberts and Alito appointed by President George W. Bush, Justice Kennedy “has a fairly progressive streak on gay rights. Kennedy wrote the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Romer v. Evans holding that laws motivated solely by anti-gay animus violate the Constitution, and he also wrote the decision in Lawrence v. Texas holding that the government has virtually no business regulating people’s sex lives.”

This means that should the case find its way to the Supreme Court, we might just have the ruling we need–banning gay marriage is unconstitutional. This would mean all states would then be prohibited from denying homosexual couples the right to marry and allow gay married couples federal benefits previously denied.

 

 

Take My Poll: Republican Presidential Candidates

If you’ve read my blog, the Republican Presidential hopefuls have been a topic of much discussion. Today, I was wondering just who you think should be the candidate who ultimately runs against Obama.

After you cast your vote, I would love to hear your comments on why you think that individual should go head-to-head with Obama (that’s if you feel like sharing).

Which Republican presidential candidate do you think should run against Obama?

  • Mitt Romney (60%, 3 Votes)
  • Newt Gingrich (20%, 1 Votes)
  • Michele Bachmann (20%, 1 Votes)
  • Herman Cain (0%, 0 Votes)
  • Ron Paul (0%, 0 Votes)
  • Rick Perry (0%, 0 Votes)
  • Rick Santorum (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 5

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