Looking for Role Models!!!

I know I haven't wrote to you all in a long time. But just last night I was sitting in my bedroom and I started to wonder what is it that we (gay activist) actually wanted? The biggest thing we want is full federal equality, that is a given. But I believe that we are also looking for modern day role models, people who will inspire a new generation just like Cleve Jones and Harvey Milk inspired us. We want these new role models to give us that extra bit of encouragement that allows us to push ourselves to achieve more.

But then I started to wonder how we as grassroots activist might actually respond to someone whom comes across as the perfect role model, someone like my favorite superhero Superman. Would a real life Superman make us sick or would we want to be more like him. The decision isn't totally clear because as a society we rather watch people fail; rather than celebrating their achievements. So knowing how as a society how we act, would we want this modern day Superman to join our cause for full equal protection under the law for all citizens of this great land if he offered help us? I myself say yes, because I already know of some people whom fit this bill.

But what made me write this post is the thought of what is stopping you from becoming a role model yourself? Do most of you believe that if you put yourself out there that you will probably fail anyway? I thought that myself, once upon a time. Yet now I am out there on the streets, fighting to make a difference. I am no longer just one voice whispering in the wind, but am part of a collective of voices demanding to be heard. So I encourage you to come join me in my fight for full federal equality.

If you live in the Chicagoland area feel free to contact me and come join me march in the pride parade as part of the Join The Impact Chicago's Activist Contingent. We are meeting up at 11:30 am on Sunday June 27th.

MJ

The Gay Rights Movement

With only eight days remaining till the Unite+Fight Midwest LGBT Conference in Chicago, I thought I would touch on the history of the Gay Rights movement. Then discuss how you can get involved in the fight for gay rights.

So let’s start at what some people consider the beginning of the gay rights movement. Prior to 1969, the oppression of gays was pervasive in all aspects of life throughout the 50s and 60s in the United States. Peoples attitudes towards homosexuals didn’t change until a riot sparked by a few drag queens outside of Stonewall Bar in Greenwich Village marked the beginning of the Gay Rights movement in America.

“The day before Stonewall, everyone was in the closet. The next day, everyone was out of the closet,” says Dick Leitsch, former president of the Mattachines, an early gay-rights group.

In the 60s it was routine for the police to raid gay bars, but on June 28th 1969, gays and lesbians fought back. Within a few weeks of the riots at Stonewall, the gay community all over the United States started to organize into activist groups. Their purpose was to concentrate efforts on establishing places for gays and lesbians to be open about their sexual orientation without fear of being arrested.

On June 28, 1970; a year after the Stonewall riots; the first Gay Pride marches took place in Los Angeles and New York to commemorate the anniversary of the riots.

Thanks to the Stonewall riots, it transformed the gay rights movement. Before the riots, you may of heard one person speak out for gay rights. Then the riots happened and a small number of activists came out and started to fight for gay rights. And know we hold widespread conferences and marches on Washington for equal rights and acceptance. And even though the gay rights movement has encountered some stumbling blocks over the years, it also has managed to create some major changes for the better.

The gay rights movement was shaken to the core in 1998, when a young man named Matthew Shepard put a face to a raising issue in the United States. In October of 1998, 22-year-old Matthew Shepard was tied to a fence and beaten within an inch of his life. He was then left for dead. He was discovered nearly eighteen hours after being attacked by two passing motorcyclist. They first thought that Matthew was a scarecrow because of the way his body was positioned on the fence. Matthew died six days later as a result of his injuries.

Gay right groups all across the United States demanded that we adopt some hate crime legislation, but anti-gay groups fought back saying that if we adopted hate crime legislation that the gays would have “special rights”. In 2007 a federal law against hate crimes based on sexual orientation called the Matthew Shepard Act passed both houses of Congress, but was vetoed by then President Bush. Then in October of 2009 President Obama signed the bill into law.

Now lets discuss how you can get involved in the gay rights movement. Become an activist! Even the most passive can make their voices heard in the most magnificent of ways. Whether your thing is marching on the steps of congress or writing a blog, you can become a gay rights activist. There are four simple things for you to do to become an activist.

1. Pick Your Path: Forget what you heard, not all gays are created equal. What I mean by this is that we have all have different ideals, opinions and priorities. So you need to pick a path of activism that is based on your passions.

2. Find Your Vehicle: Find the tools will help you create change based on your passions. There are several options you can do to fine your outlet. Start a blog, volunteer at a gay rights organization, join or run a gay club or group, organize a social networking rally on Facebook, write a series of letters to your political representative. The opportunities are limitless.

3. Become An Expert: You don't need a PhD in political science or to have a masters degree to become an expert activist. You do, however, need to stay current on the news related to your topic. Join different message boards that are related to your topic. Read relevant blogs and news articles. Listen to comparable podcasts. Just remember that the more you know, the more you can facilitate change.

4. Trust In Your Voice: What qualifies you to be an activist? Your desire to change the world does. The word 'activist' can seem quite intimidating, especially when you observe other activists doing great things. There's always room for more people with a desire to correct the imbalances of the world. And keep in mind, just because someone barks the loudest doesn't mean they are the most heard. So, you're voice is just as important even if you're just starting out. Changing even one mind is as effective as influencing millions. Trust in your ideals, validate your own experiences and make your mark.

The fight for gay rights may have been sparked back in 1969 with the Stonewall riots, we are still far from the fight being over. So come to the Unite+Fight Midwest LGBT Conference in Chicago on March 12-14 (http://unitefightmidwest.ettend.com/) and learn more about the gay rights movement and get active!

MJ

Faces of Equality

Hey everyone,

About a week ago, a debate broke out on the listserv for Join the Impact Chicago. It was a very interesting debate on if the group should reach out to certain political groups, like the Republican party. I really don't want to go into the debate, but something did come out of it that I wanted to share.

One of the straight allies of JTIC and my personal friend, Rachel Martin decided to create a facebook page that was to show the world that not everyone whom supports LGBT equality fits into neat little boxes.

So I highly encourage all of you who read this, to click on the title of this blog (it will take you to the facebook page) and join. Show that even if we are all different, that we can come together to achieve the same goal of EQUALITY for everyone.

MJ

Watch out for the Gathering Storm

I try to tip-toe my opinion as to not step on the toes of my readers, but any of you whom are donating or even supporting the idiots over at National Organization for Marriage are as bad as they are. What is even more funny is that one of my so-called friends sent me an e-mail (which I am assuming was by mistake)asking me to sign a petition to stop President Obama and Congress from repealing DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act). Why on god's green planet does this friend think I would sign a piece of shit like that. Does she not listen to the fucking words that come out of my mouth. well let me put it as clearly as I can for everyone. I am a homosexual and I am for marriage equality for EVERYONE!!!!!

Now lets take some of the wonderful statements from this piece of shit petition and analyze them. The first statement that I found issue with is this. "In fact, President Obama's campaign—and those of the liberals who lead Congress—was in great part bankrolled by a small, zealous network of Hollywood liberals and gay activists." I am not sure how many gay activist you know, but most of the ones I do know personally do not have the funds to bankroll the president and all of those liberals in Congress. Second of all, as National Organization for Marriage and other right-winged organizations have proven, even if you throw money behind a candidate it doesn't mean he or she will get elected. Should I point out that they bankrolled Sarah Palin and where did it get her!!!!!

Next statement; "While you and I concentrate on raising our families, paying our taxes, and going to church, this elite has been plotting to take away our right to define marriage as a husband and a wife . . . and then to use legalized gay marriage to indoctrinate our children and violate our religious freedoms. " WHAT THE FUCK!!!!! So us sinning homosexuals don't concentrate on raising our families, paying our taxes, and even going to church (yes even homosexuals go to church)!!!! Oh no according to these wack jobs, we are probably sitting in cold dark rooms plotting ways to ruin their marriages (like their adultery or abuse isn't doing that for them), indoctrinate their children into our sick world of sin. We are even going to force them to give up the religious freedoms they so cowardly hide behind and can only defend parts of because the rest doesn't interest them. I am sorry to inform those of my readers whom believe like them, but us homosexuals do concentrate on our families every day. And just because you might not think that we are a family doesn't make us less of one. Us homosexuals pay our taxes like everyone else. Some of us even attend church on a regular basis. The one thing I will have to agree with you on is that some of us are fighting to change the definition of marriage, but not to take your rights away but to add our rights as an American citizen to it. Lastly, drop the scare tactics! Homosexuals are not going to indoctrinate your children, if anyone is going to do anything to your child it is a good bet it is either going to be either you or their uncle Fred.

This next statement makes me laugh; "They will attack anyone who gets in their way as a bigot—and try to strip them of their rights." Correct me if I am wrong but isn't that exactly what the National Organization for Marriage is doing to the Homosexual community? I mean they attack us by saying that we are going to indoctrinate their children, they deny us the same legal protection under the law. To them we are second class citizens whom don't deserve the same rights as them.

"Without DOMA, more school kids will be taught that people who think marriage is between a husband and a wife are bigots." Again with the fucking fear mongering. They need to stop being bigots themselves, the hypocrites! So it is okay to teach your children that it is alright to hate homosexuals, but it isn't alright to teach them to be open minded about people whom may be different then themselves. That makes no sense to me!

And the last statement is; "The vast majority of Americans agree with us. They don't want marriage redefined—or children indoctrinated. But we must TELL Congress NOT to ABOLISH the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), or the "loud minority" of anti-marriage bullies will win." I will agree with the statement that the vast majority of Americans do agree with them, but not because they are well educated on the subject but because they fear change. Most people give into the fear mongering these bigoted assholes use like them reiterating that homosexuals want to indoctrinate their children. I guess my second grade teacher was right when she told us that if you say something enough times you will start to believe it to be true. Oh I also LOVE in this statement that us members of the GLBT community and our straight allies are being called the "loud minority". Of course we are being loud, they are denying us the same rights that they have and we are not going to sit back anymore and let it go on any longer.

So in case anyone is still wondering on where I stand let me say this. I am a member of the "loud minority" and we are coming to blow the mother fucking roof off of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) because we are so fucking sick and tired of being treated like some second class citizen you thing you can bully around. So I am encouraging all my friends and family whom know me and support me to contact the National Organization for Marriage and let them know that we are tired of their fear mongering and we are not going to sit idly by while they try to deny us our rights.

MJ

P.S. Below the two videos is the contact information for the National Organization for Marriage.

This is the real ad ran by the National Organization for Marriage:



This is the parody of the ad:




National Organization for Marriage
20 Nassau Street, Suite 242
Princeton, NJ 08542
Phone: (609) 688-0450
Fax: (888) 894-3604
Email: contact@nationformarriage.org

The Truth About The Sactity of Marriage

I know I have some readers whom believe that GLBT people should have the same rights as their heterosexual counterparts. I also know that I have some whom are more religiously inclined and object to gay marriage on biblical grounds. I know one thing for certain, that the institution of marriage needs rescuing. But surprise it is not from gay marriage!

Heterosexuals do not need any help from the GLBT community on destroying marriage; they have already done an admirable job of it themselves. Marriage is continuing to decline here in the United States not because of the issue of gay marriage, but because heterosexuals do not want to discuss how they can shore up what they consider the most vital of all social institutions.

Look at the statistics; they say that not even 10 percent of our population is GLBT, yet more than 50% of all marriages end in divorce. Even before the GLBT community come out demanding the right to marry, the institution of marriage was already on a downslide. As the GLBT community is fighting for the right to marry their partners, heterosexuals leave their marriages when life gets to tough.

So please my heterosexual readers, stop blaming the decline of your institution of marriage on the GLBT community. You need to look internally at your own community and fix the real issues that are attacking the sanctity of marriage, because everyone knows that it isn’t the GLBT community, but rather the heterosexuals self doubts and concerns about their own marriages.

MJ

A Discussion on Marriage Equality

The year 2009 was a huge roller-coaster ride for marriage equality. When I was actively posting on my blog, I have touched on this issue (especially before the Equality March on Washington back in October). Sadly, this issue has become the face of what people think the Queer community is all about in 2009. But I want to set the record straight (and yes I said straight) for anyone who doesn’t know where I stand on this issue. I do honestly believe that every queer couple deserves the same rights as our straight counterparts, so clearly I am for marriage equality. Yet, I do not believe that it is the most important issue that faces the Queer community. Nor do I honestly believe that by passing these marriage laws will substantially change life for most of the Queer community overnight. The way I see it, we need to fight for better non-discrimination laws at the local, state and federal level. We need to fight to overturn “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, so those members who are LGBTQ and serving in our country’s Armed Forces are not dishonorable discharged from service. It is to help stop the beating and the killing of Queer people on the streets of their hometowns. We need to fight to ensure that partners of Queer people can honor the wishes of their partner if something tragic was to happen. We need to be able to guarantee that the partner of someone who is hospitalized is able to stay by their lover’s side to provide comfort. These issues are as important as the right to get married.

I do realize that the battle for marriage is going to be a very long and challenging fight; it isn’t going to happen overnight. I thought I would be happy for now over every little battle we win that help protect our relationships and our families. I’d thought that I rather achieve some rights rather than holding out for full marriage equality and having nothing until that happens.

Yet my opinion changed when I went to a dinner party with friends. One of my friends pointed out that marriage is an umbrella “right”, which means that this right covers almost everything that is valuable to the protection of ourselves, our relationships, our children, and our families. Listening to his stand on this issue, I took away that since marriage equality is such a powerful topic on its own, that it could possibly help us accomplish more than we were able to accomplish when we win smaller battles at the local and state level.

We discussed that when our issue loses in a public vote, that we need to have more dialogue within the queer community about the reasons why we can’t seem to get anywhere with this issue. We discussed that the opponents of marriage equality always use these public votes as proof that the majority of America does not approve of same-sex marriages. Therefore, they get people to believe that there shouldn’t be marriage equality for the queer community.

We argued over if we should regroup as a community and work toward finding some new strategies in 2010. He pointed out that as a community, we know what the strategies of our opposition are, yet we do not defend ourselves against it. He asked why are we not prepared for their antics since they just keep doing the same crap over and over again?

As my friends discussed this topic over drinks, I begin to wonder if we as a community were really fighting for our civil. What made me think that was another friend voiced her opinion that the push for Marriage Equality was basically to create a sound-bite issue that many from the Queer community could rally behind and feel like they are making a difference. Yet at the same time, those same people who have rallied (me included) have failed to provide rights to queer partners and their families. Another issue that was brought up was that by allowing this issue to be a state by state issue has actually set us back rather than propel us forward. I was asked that could we, the Queer community, say that this fight for marriage equality is a full fledged effort to protect ourselves and our families, or is it just our half-assed effort to become our straight counterparts? To be honest with you, I could not answer that question, and I still could not give you a honest opinion. All I could say is that I am fighting to protect my relationship.

It was pointed out that behind closed door, those leading the battle for equal rights are strategizing and are trying to figure out their next move. Yet those of us on the front are pissed off because we believe that at some point, that dialogue needs to leave those behind the closed doors and come out and help educate those of us in the grass roots organizations so we are not flying blindly into battle.

We discussed that it is just wrong for others to be voting on rights that do not affect them. Yet we were reminded that we needed to keep in mind whom we are fighting this battle against. The anti-gay opponents never deal with logic, fact or reason, instead they focus more on fear mongering with lies, misinformation, and a warped sense of the role of religion in secular life. So, if we were to go at them with the “it is wrong to vote…” strategy, we do not know what the possible ramifications could be down the road. They could spin it to make it seem like we are saying that the public’s opinion doesn’t matter, and thus alienating those we need to reach to help fight for our civil rights.

At this dinner party there were people who believed that marriage equality didn’t matter. They went through all the right channels and jumped through all the hoops just too got some paperwork done that says it will protect your family. Yet, how many of our straight counterparts had to go through all those channels and jump through all those hoops to protect their families?

What we still seem to fail to understand is that the real battle over marriage equality is the fear of cultural change. We rally and fight for a political fix to a cultural problem. And the worst part of it is that we want that political fix right now! Why are we not out there on the streets speaking directly to the fears that our opposition is telling the general public, instead of complaining about what we think our rights should be. We need to go to the general public and address those fears and try to counter them with the truth. Yet as a community, we seem more reactive then proactive when it comes to this issue.

So I am asking all my brothers and sisters; either gay, lesbian, straight, bisexual, transsexual, to stand up and educate yourselves. If we want to make a change in 2010, we need to become more proactive and less reactive when it comes to all our civil rights and not just marriage equality.

MJ

I Am So Sorry

To start, I like to say I am sorry that my blog seemed to disappear toward the end of the year. I was working on getting enrolled into the Culinary Arts program at the Art Institute of Chicago, but sadly that fell through at the last minute and now I am fighting the clock to get enrolled into the Culinary Arts program at College of DuPage. If all goes well, I will be enrolled and attending my classes starting next week. My New Years revolution is to make sure I post at least one blog a week. I would love to post more than that, but between work and school who knows when I will have the time.