It’s been four days since last Friday’s big victory in New York and I still haven’t said anything about it. While it’s a pretty damn big win and it’s been great to see how excited people got*, I find that I don’t really have a lot to say about it that everybody else hasn’t already said.
So here’s a heck of funny youtube clip from the always hilarious Disappointing Gay Best Friend video series by Mikala Bierma and Tyler Coates, directed by Mike Lacher.
She means well, y’all. She really does.
And I just can’t help but share my favorite installment so far:
Sadly, I am Tyler in both of these videos. Tragic, I know.
* Par exemple, this fabulous gay boy's video reaction to the news:
He’s a spunky kid and I’m not gonna lie, I’m kind of jealous of him right now.
A tip of the hat to Eric Reitan's thoughtful and always challenging blog for the video.
And I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least mention that Randi Reitan has been a pretty fierce advocate for a some time now.
In related news, Daniel Karslake’s award-winning 2007 documentary For The Bible Tells Me So, which prominently features the Reitans, is available to stream from Netflix. I’m not sure how long that will last, but for now, you have no excuse for not seeing this fantastic documentary.
At this point, [Halifax Spokesman Constable Brian Palmeter] said there is no reason to believe – based solely on the statements made by the shooters at the door – that this was a hate crime under the Criminal Code of Canada.
“There’s no doubt if a derogatory statement is made, it’s unpleasant, it’s distasteful. But … you have to look at the motivation behind the incident,” he said.
Constable Palmeter is talking about the shooting of trans woman and drag performer Elle Noir.
It was about 1:15 a.m. Tuesday and Noir was watching America’s Next Top Model on her computer while her roommate was in his room with his friend. Feeling tired, Noir went to the door to lock it before going to bed.
That’s when she heard someone on the other side of the door yell that they were police officers. “I went to open the door and they start pushing on the door. And I was like, ‘That’s not right. Why are they pushing on the door?’
“I looked and I saw a red bandana, a black scarf, a black hood and some white guy and I was like ‘Oh. Oh no.’”
Then she heard the men yell: “Let us in, tranny faggot, let us in.” She turned to see a hand with a gun push through the open part of the door. “And they started firing, firing, firing with a pistol.”
Hate Crime Victim Elle Noir
She and her roommate managed to lock the door and tried to get clear of the entry. Noir heard a loud bang as she crawled across the floor and felt “a rush of heat go by my arm.”
“I guess that’s when they shot through the doorway with a shotgun, and that’s when they shot me.”
I hate it that I have to keep saying this about different cities, but Halifax LGBTs (especially Ts), you’d best defend yourselves. As far as the police are concerned, shooting you while shouting anti-trans or anti-gay slurs doesn’t qualify as a hate crime in Halifax.
Note: Everything I’ve read suggests that the victim in this case prefers the name Elle Noir. If you know her and she prefers the given name listed in the article, or any other name for that matter, PLEASE email me so I can make the correction.
Okay, so I just published a post about an anti-gay Jewish group. When I talk about anti-gay Christian groups, I feel fairly confident that people will understand that not all Christians are anti-gay. A) I’m a gay Christian who isn’t anti-gay, and B) when you’re talking about a majority group, people understand that one part doesn’t necessarily speak for the whole.
But as soon as I hit the Publish button on that post, I had this familiar itch on the back of my neck that tells me when something’s unfinished.
From the perspective of a minority group member, I know that a lot of (probably most) straight people lump all gay people together. When one of us speaks, s/he is viewed to be speaking for us all. We are rare enough that it’s easy to view us as a monolith. People don’t always do this on purpose, it’s just part of being in the majority.
With that in mind, I want to make sure that everyone understands that not all members of the Jewish community believe as Agudath Israel believes. For example, there’s the gay-positive Jewish friend I mentioned in the post.
There’s also this tremendous submission from the It Gets Better project.
I don’t want anyone who comes to my blog to think that there isn’t room for them in their faith tradition. Sometimes it’s a tight fit, sometimes it takes years of introspection to be at peace, and sometimes some distance is necessary and even healthy.
To any LGBT Jewish kids or adults who got here on a google search, I want you to know that you are not alone. I want you to know that the lies they tell about you aren’t true.
Even if you aren’t ready to believe it yourself, you are good and you are whole and you are just as G-d made you to be.
The New York legislature is poised to vote in favor of equality in marriage by the end of the week, and you know what that means: Conservative nuts pushing bigotry in the name of religion!
A gay-positive Jewish friend forwarded this email to me this afternoon from his child’s private school in/around New York City. Here’s what a school staffer blasted to everyone on the school’s distribution list, including those who don’t even live in the state:
From: XXXXX
Date: Jun 15, 2011 4:38 PM
Subject: IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM AGUDATH ISRAEL – LEGISLATIVE ALERT ON SAME GENDER MARRIAGE
To: XXXXX
Please read the attached memo from Agudath Israel of America and take the recommended action. It is very important that we voice our strong opposition to the Senate as soon as possible!
Mind you, this particular school isn’t connected in any way to the ultra-conservative Agudath Israel of America. But why let that stop you when you have an awesome memo like this to share?
So let’s talk about Agudath Israel. The last time marriage was this close in New York, Agudath Israel sent a similar message to New York Senators, saying, in part:
Elevating same-sex unions to the status of “marriage” would convey an unmistakable message that homosexual unions occupy the same moral plane as heterosexual unions. Countless New Yorkers of all faiths reject the notion that same-sex relationships are merely reflections of an ‘alternative lifestyle,’ no more objectionable and no less acceptable than the traditional heterosexual lifestyle. These citizens strive hard to raise their children to recognize that not all expressions of sexuality are morally equivalent.
Extending the label of ‘marriage’ to same-sex unions is government’s way of telling those children that their parents are wrong, that their priests, ministers, and rabbis are wrong, that civilized societies throughout the millennia have been wrong.
Of course, this is a fear tactic that we in the LGBT community have come to expect from conservative bigots. And it’s a good strategy; they keep using it because it keeps working. I do wonder how they define “traditional heterosexual lifestyle,” though.
This is the part where I would usually link you to the group’s website, but Agudath Israel doesn’t have one, on account of their belief that nobody should use the internet.
I’m okay with that, by the way. About a third of my extended family is German Baptist, a Christian religion with an identical rule.
But one wonders, if Agudath Israel wins this one, will state enforcement of that religious belief be next? And if they do push for that, what reasonable argument is left against their agenda?
(Related: New York Catholic bishop George Orwell Timothy Dolan had some words about the marriage vote as well.)
