Madonna loves her some gay marriage!
Hip Hop artist Trick Trick doesn't want our faggot money.
Heroes posts lowest ratings ever. And it deserves its super bad ratings. I caught ten minutes of it the other night, and it was like watching an episode of Days of Our Lives. From 1984.
American Idol contestant found dead outside Paula Abdul's home
Nature really is good for the brain
Roseanne hates the hate, too
I just heard on Michelangelo Signorile's Air America radio show that Whoopi Goldberg is going to be speaking at the protest tonight once the march reaches Columbus Circle. Whoopi has maintained an admirably clear head in all of this.
I've said this before - an African-American woman speaking about gay civil rights is a powerful and poignant instrument of civil rights.
This got me thinking about Jasmyne Cannick, an African-American woman who writes for The Daily Voice: Black America's Daily News Source. Jasmyne has a post today that suggests African-Americans were not correctly targeted in the No on Prop 8 ads: "So let's recap, no Black people for the No on 8 campaign ads (using Samuel Jackson's voice doesn't count) and Black people in the Yes on 8 campaign ads. And Black people made up 69 percent of the Yes vote you say?" Cannick writes in an article in the SF Chronicle:
I am a perfect example of why the fight against Proposition 8, which amends California's Constitution to ban same-sex marriage, failed to win black support. I am black. I am a political activist who cares deeply about social justice issues. I am a lesbian. This year, I canvassed the streets of South Los Angeles and Compton, knocking on doors, talking politics to passers-by and working as I never had before to ensure a large voter turnout among African Americans. But even I wasn't inspired to encourage black people to vote against the proposition.The blame for the failure lies with all of us. The No on Prop 8 committee failed in its approach to get the right information to the right people. The LA Times asks, "Where were the gay leaders? It's hard to imagine the civil rights movement of the 1960s succeeding without Martin Luther King Jr. or Malcolm X, or to imagine the women's suffrage movement without the likes of Susan B. Anthony."
Below, is the video accompanying Jasmyne Cannick's post. It shows how the idea of gay marriage as a component of civil rights was twisted and re-shaped into something almost unrecognizable. Let me be clear - I am not saying in any way that African-Americans are to blame for the passing of Prop 8. This video is an indication of how some of those who favored it viewed its relation to civil rights. Imagine if there had been a similar ad that was AGAINST Prop 8?
Here's a list of the the Top 10 searches on Google for today. What's up with the ACT results? Did the results just get released today?
1. act scores
2. act student
3. actstudent.org
4. act.org
5. act login
6. flu tracker
7. golden jubilee canada
8. eppicard
9. rev. jim jones
10. act test
And here's something crazy. With all these top 10ers being about ACT scores, I thought I'd see why Rev. Jim Jones was getting so much Google attention. (I know there was a special the other night on MSNBC on the Jonestown Massacre for the 30th anniversary of the tragedy, but that's about it.) So I Googled Rev. Jim Jones, and I got taken to the Wikipedia entry. In that entry I came across this:
Harvey Milk, who spoke at political rallies at the Temple, and wrote to Jones after a visit to the Temple: "Rev Jim, It may take me many a day to come back down from the high that I reach today. I found something dear today. I found a sense of being that makes up for all the hours and energy placed in a fight. I found what you wanted me to find. I shall be back. For I can never leave."Harvey Milk? At the Peoples Temple? Whoa.
I feel a little sick to my stomach even thinking about it, but Bill O'Reilly has a point. Now, obviously, I don't believe gays should be targeting black churches, but by that same logic, I don't believe that we should be specifically targeting Mormon churches, either. Let's stand in front of Catholic churches, Mormon churches, black churches, and Latino churches and make a broader, less bullying statement.
As yet, there is no consensus about who is to blame for Prop 8's passing, which probably means that the blame should be spread around to every voter who voted in favor of Prop 8.
Bill Marriott, the Mormon CEO of Marriott hotels, has issued a statement:
As many of you may know I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some might conclude given my family's membership in the Mormon Church that our company supported the recent ballot initiative to ban same sex marriage in California. This is simply untrue. Marriott International is a public company headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, and is not controlled by any one individual or family. Neither I, nor the company, contributed to the campaign to pass Proposition 8.This is an opportunity for us, the gay community, to demonstrate that our hard-fought wins and losses have made us sensitive to the struggles of ALL minorities. Right now, the Mormons are an easy target for our rage, but that does not mean that an easy target should be the only target.
The full statement after the jump.
The Bible that I love teaches me about honesty, integrity and unconditional love for all people. But beyond that, I am very careful about separating my personal faith and beliefs from how we run our business.
I am personally motivated to speak now because Marriott was built on the basic principles of respect and inclusion. My father, who founded this company along with my mother, told everyone who would listen: "Take care of your employees, and they'll take care of your customers, who will come back again and again."
For more than 80 years, our company has grown and changed, but that basic principle still holds up. We embrace all people as our customers, associates, owners and franchisees regardless of race, sex, gender identity or sexual orientation.
Our principle is backed up with a formal diversity program, which we established more than 20 years ago. Our Board of Directors has also focused on this priority and helped us be a leader and a better company. We were among the first in our industry to offer domestic partner benefits, and we've earned a perfect 100% score on the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index for two years in a row. Many of our hotels have hosted LGBT community functions and events for years.
I am very proud of all of our associates at Marriott. And I want all our associates and guests, whom we welcome into our hotels, to know that we embrace your talents and thank you for your many contributions and your business.
This is the tactic I was hoping for. The protest is morphing from an anti-Mormon firing squad into a more general protest for equal rights.
Andy Towle of Towleroad writes:
Last night I attended a meeting of NYC protest organizers and marshals in preparation for tonight's peaceful demonstration which begins at Manhattan's Mormon Temple at 6:30 pm. The protest was organized in response to the passage in California of Proposition 8 and has taken on the more general demand for equal rights and marriage equality for LGBT citizens across the nation . . . it will begin at the Manhattan Mormon Temple location, and at some point, as the location reaches capacity, slowly march down Broadway toward Columbus Circle.Michelangelo Signorile writes:
Let's not be anti-religious bigots and, as you've heard me many times talk about on the show, let's not engage in this divisive race-blaming game. And it should also go without saying -- but sadly, must be said again and again --- no ugly racist rhetoric.And Mark Oshiro, who was arrested at the LA Mormon Temple protest, has a few tips as well:
Don't be anti-religious bigots, for one. Protest a church's involvement in an election and protest their contribution to passing Prop 8. But don't turn it into a free-for-all on that church's tenets or members. One, it makes absolutely no sense to do that. Why protest the Mormon church's practice of polygamy, which was outlawed AGES AGO? It's no longer relevant. Why protest anything else they believe in? Protest what they did, not who they are.
Don't be racist. While I don't agree with the number of "70%" when it comes to how many people in the black community voted for Prop 8, there's no denying the rampant homophobia that runs through that community. But holy fuck, please do not turn this into a racist tirade against black people. Not only is it not the point of the protest, but you're perpetrating the same hatred and ignorance you're charging them with. Grow up and be mature about your charges against them. Again, protest what they did, not who they are. [Via Queerty]
Stephen Colbert gives a great overview of the Prop 8 conflict. Colbert says it's "gays versus blacks, blacks versus gays, and black gays versus themselves." Dan Savage backpedals a bit from his original stance (the link to his article "Black Homophobia" is no longer working - Rod 2.0 blasts Savage for this) and, in a nod to Nate Silver, says it's old people who are really to blame. Savage says it's now Gay Survivor because we are going to "outlive, outlast, and outsmart the bigots."
Yes, Mormons played their part, but if it's now old people who are to blame, why are we not organizing protests outside of nursing homes?
