Gay Rights

My only comment for today...

WOOHOO!

That is all.

have you considered that maybe that isn't the purpose of the parade?

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Well, I've been told, years ago, by two different people, that that was the purpose of the parade, (one of whom did participate in such a parade). Essentially, (paraphrasing from memory), "Hey, we're here, we're real people, we're not monsters."

From wikipedia [bold, mine]:

Gay pride or LGBT pride is the positive stance against discrimination and violence toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people to promote their self-affirmation, dignity, equality rights, increase their visibility as a social group, build community, and celebrate sexual diversity and gender variance.

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Google: purpose of gay pride parade

What's the Point of Pride Marches"But we've abandoned their initial purpose as a call for equality for all LGBT people."

Now maybe I am completely wrong about the purpose/use of the pride parades. But, that's the purpose I've always seen/assumed in it, and it's a purpose others (outside the community) see in it. If it is a wrong interpretation, organizers and participants maybe should be more clear with their message. [Quesion mark]

My thoughts on it, has always been on the line of, [attempt at humor]"If you want me to be your friend, why do you always want to bring along your embarrassing cousin with you?" [/humor]

I also wouldn't attend a NASCAR race with a group that want to rip off their shirts on camera to show off their beer bellies painted with their favorite driver's number. (I've never actually been to a NASCAR race, with or without painted beer bellies.)

Bullgrit

goldomark said:

I have to say Thomas' dissent is perplexing to say the least. http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slat...001&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook

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So the Jews in extermination camps didn't lose their dignity? That man is a sad joke and needs to lose his job. Can that happen under US law?

Edit: Scalia ain't any better. http://www.vox.com/2015/6/26/8851173/gay-marriage-supreme-court-scalia

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There is no official process by which you can formally remove a justice from the court, though it imagine that being found legally incompetent would do it. (Not joking.)

Like him or not, Scalia used to be capable of writing well-reasoned judicial opinions. I don't see that anymore. He's becoming more and more of an ideologue and less of a jurist.

Thomas I didn't think much of during his confirmation hearings, and I've thought less of him every year since. My grandfather asked me during those hearings of my opinion of the man. I said that there were a lot of more qualified jurists in the pool than he, and he was picked as a Trojan Horse. He asked what I meant.

I said that the GOP won either way with him. If he was not confirmed, the GOP could claim it put forth a qualified minority justice who didn't pass muster, and move on- probably to someone more to their liking: more conservative, more Caucasian. Bork 2, if you will. If confirmed, they'd have a conservative minority jurist on the court, and-considering his level of experience- one who would be very likely to vote lock-step with the other conservatives on the court.

In his silent tenure on the court, he's essentially proven me correct.

You want to see a REAL intellectual and ethical conservative judge who isn't afraid to vote against his political beliefs, look at Richard Posner. It's a crime NEITHER side has ever nominated the man. The man is Solomonic.

Bullgrit

Bullgrit said:

Well, I've been told, years ago, by two different people, that that was the purpose of the parade, (one of whom did participate in such a parade). Essentially, (paraphrasing from memory), "Hey, we're here, we're real people, we're not monsters."

From wikipedia [bold, mine]:


Google: purpose of gay pride parade

What's the Point of Pride Marches"But we've abandoned their initial purpose as a call for equality for all LGBT people."

Now maybe I am completely wrong about the purpose/use of the pride parades. But, that's the purpose I've always seen/assumed in it, and it's a purpose others (outside the community) see in it. If it is a wrong interpretation, organizers and participants maybe should be more clear with their message. [Quesion mark]

My thoughts on it, has always been on the line of, [attempt at humor]"If you want me to be your friend, why do you always want to bring along your embarrassing cousin with you?" [/humor]

I also wouldn't attend a NASCAR race with a group that want to rip off their shirts on camera to show off their beer bellies painted with their favorite driver's number. (I've never actually been to a NASCAR race, with or without painted beer bellies.)

Bullgrit

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I see a meme floating around on social media fairly frequently about beer belly painted football fans mocking cosplayers...

I am firmly of the opinion that everyone should have the right to enthusiastically celebrate who they are, who they love, and (in the case of fandoms, whether sports or comics or whatever) what they love.

We should all be able to shout to the world about what we love and not be judged for it.

Being "acceptable" or "polite" or "quiet" is for the meek.

goldomark said:

If you want "weird" and marginal to be seen has "normal", it ain't going to happen if you hide what is "weird" and marginal. Exposure to different things is how people learn to get use to them and they become the "new normal".

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This is an excellent point. If you stay in the closet about who you are, then who you *actually* are cannot be accepted.

We should all be able to shout to the world about what we love and not be judged for it.

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Insert photo of neo-nazi rally.

Insert photo of klan rally.

Insert photo of NAMBLA convention.

Insert photo of furry sex party.

No, I'm not comparing gay pride with any of the above. What I'm illustrating without an illustration ('cause I ain't about to Google any of that from work) is I bet most people who say that above quote don't actually fully back it up for *everyone*. What we should say, is, "We should all be able to shout to the world about what we love, and if needed, we should explain why what we love is lovable so it is judged positively." Gays have had a long and hard go of this explaining for positive judgement, but they have made good progress.

Bullgrit

Umbran said:

This is an excellent point. If you stay in the closet about who you are, then who you *actually* are cannot be accepted.

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And it applies to all sort of things. Remember when men with long hair or with earings weren't "normal".

And don't get me started on present day swimsuits. This is what a normal lady wears at the beach.

[sblock][/sblock]

If you want "weird" and marginal to be seen has "normal", it ain't going to happen if you hide what is "weird" and marginal. Exposure to different things is how people learn to get use to them and they become the "new normal".

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My point is not that weird should be seen as normal, but rather the normal should be seen as, "yes, indeed these are just as normal as every other normal." Are gays weird? Or are they normal? I see the normal gays as normal, the weird gays as weird -- same as with normal gamers and weird gamers. I'm not even suggesting hiding the weird members of a society/culture. I'm just saying maybe don't use the weirder ones as the poster children for the normal ones (gays or gamers or celebrities or CEOs or accountants).

If I were going to set up a reporter with a role playing group to introduce him/her to the culture, I wouldn't set him/her up with a LARP group playing an evil campaign in the steam tunnels under the university. Those guys may be fun and have a great time, but it shows really bad for trying to get RPGs accepted into the mainstream.

Bullgrit

Bullgrit said:

Insert photo of neo-nazi rally.

Insert photo of klan rally.

Insert photo of NAMBLA convention.

Insert photo of furry sex party.

No, I'm not comparing gay pride with any of the above. What I'm illustrating without an illustration ('cause I ain't about to Google any of that from work) is I bet most people who say that above quote don't actually fully back it up for *everyone*. What we should say, is, "We should all be able to shout to the world about what we love, and if needed, we should explain why what we love is lovable so it is judged positively." Gays have had a long and hard go of this explaining for positive judgement, but they have made good progress.

Bullgrit

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The first three of those things "celebrate" hate. That last one unfairly mocks a group of people who seem to be the current target for acceptable bullying. Sort of like the old, "Its ok to be a gamer unless you're a LARPer." Its not ok, especially on a day like today.

Today is about love, not hate.