When it it our turn?

[TEmperorHasNoClothes]

Why does it seem like LBGT rights are never a priority? There's always another issue that politicians say is more pressing, war, poverty, the economy. The military has been breaking the spirit of DADT, expelling suspect LGBTs when all braches of the armed services are stretched way too thin fighting a war that never should have been waged. I guess the inference is that since all gays are horny perverts, we'd be jumping the bones of those of our same sex. I believe that Obama supports our civil rights and that he will, within the next few years, understand why we need federal recognition marriage and all it's privileges and benefits. I know he hasn't come around to marriage yet, but I think he will, because he's a rational man who listens to different opinions. Being a constitutional lawyer he cannot argue that the Loving v. Virginia decision parallels the struggle for gay equality, marriage, adoption rights etc. He cannot deny that when the supremes said separate but equal was inherently unequal in Brown v. Board of Education. Obama isn't an idealogue. He is logical.
But,WHEN is it our turn to be the priority. The USA wants to be a leader in the world. Obama and co. are seeking to restore our respect in the world, after Bush and Co did his darnedest to erode that respect to almost nothing. I argue that we cannot claim to be the moral authority when any minority segment of the population is denied equality.
I was so proud when the USA elected Obama, I can still feel the chills I felt watching the tears flow freely at the park. Americans cared more about their future and economics than race and that was a huge step forward. The world, for the first time since 9/11, applauded us and celebrated with us.
So, what about US. When is it our turn to have the same rights that LBGT folks do in most western european nations?
Realistically, our community will probably never be a priority for most Americans or most in government. Fine. Just give us our rights and protect us from hateful discriminations and we can go back to being last on the priority list.
What do we have to do to be a priority?

I have come to the conclusion that we need some of the homophobes in our court, literally or figuratively. We have to be unified and groups like join the impact are a good start. I think we also have to be visible, living our lives just like everyone else so that those who are prejudiced get to see that we are just like them, except for the small fact that we love those of our same gender. We have families, we have jobs, we pay taxes, we volunteer, we are assets to the community, whether or not they want to acknowledge that or not. I wonder how many of those homophobes, don't even realize that some of use are gay--- and they like and respect us. Would knowing our sexual orientation is different than theirs change that?

[Skittles]

1. I am hoping it will be in our lifetime

but I don't know, judging from the way so many DUers think so little of civil rights for gay folk

I do think the more folk who come out of the closet, the better - it is harder for people to demonize people they know and respect

[jonnyblitz]

3. it always makes me feel good to see our straight allies such as

you say what you just did because so many of our "opponents" on here imply we are overreacting or imagining all of this ( "I am for gay rights, BUT..."). Hell, even a few of our fellow gays agree with THEM. :shrug:

[Skittles]

6. just shows us that stupidity and ignorance are not limited to repukes

OR straight folk :o

[jonnyblitz]

8. 23% of gay voters voted for George W. Bush in 2004. National

Security trumped gay marriage for them . :crazy: no comment. :puke:

http://www.washblade.com/2004/11-12/news/national/explain.cfm

[Skittles]

9. I know some of them - here in Texas

they boggle my mind :puke:

[IndianaGreen]

4. Let's hope capitalism and its homophobia, misogyny, and racism, collapses

Socialism is the only path to justice!

[IndianaGreen]

2. Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin

I saw that wonderful documentary on the Sundance Channel. Rustin was MLK's right hand man in organizing the March on Washington. Rustin was gay and red.

Brother Outsider captures the full extent of Rustin's complex, 60-year career as an activist. The film contains rare archival footage, including impassioned debates between Rustin and Malcolm X as well as Rustin and Stokely Carmichael. In later years, Rustin continued to champion human rights--including gay rights--in campaigns around the globe. As King's aide and former U.N. ambassador Andrew Young recalls in the film, "His commitment to justice was always very strong and very consistent. It was easier when he had allies like Martin Luther King and A. Philip Randolph, but when they were gone, he didn't stop."
As a form of narration, Brother Outsider relies on Rustin's extensive FBI records, which become chilling commentaries on the government's political surveillance programs. In a 1948 FBI report, for example, American diplomats suggested that "a prominent American Negro should tour India to counteract the unfavorable impression made by Rustin." Whatever the circumstance--beaten, accused, shunned or celebrated--Rustin embraced the struggle with fearless dignity. Brother Outsider is an exuberant film about a passionate and tireless human being.

http://www.logoonline.com/shows/dyn/brother_outsider/about.jhtml

We must never allow ourselves to fall into the trap of begging the oppressor to grant us our God-given rights, which are not for them to grant them to us. We must confront them and fight them every inch of the way!

[jonnyblitz]

5. I own that documentary. perhaps i should watch it while i post.

I haven't seen it yet. so many movies, so little time...

[Fovea]

7. There have been times and places

where demonizing the other has not been the organizing principal of society.

Clearly this has not bee one of those times.
Can that be made in America?

I believe it can.
Can we do it without becoming full of the hatred we are fighting?

That is a much harder question to answer. I do not believe in non-violence as the only response.
Those who oppose and oppress the GLBT community are fearful authoritarians.
That can be used against them.

Think on that, when time permits.

[noamnety]

10. I'm still at a loss to figure out why it has to be a "priority"

I keep seeing people say "the economy is more important, the war is more important, poverty is more important" like those things need to be solved FIRST before equal rights can even be touched. And in the meantime, stuff like DADT is being pushed off for maybe another year to be "studied."

My thought is ... you don't need a freaking study to decide if discrimination should be mandatory under the law. The other problems will take a long time to "fix" and maybe, like poverty, never will be fixed. How long does it take to repeal DADT? Just do it, and move on. That doesn't mean it's prioritized above the other things. It's like doing my laundry. That's not a HIGHER priority than going to work or eating, but sometimes I make a little time for it and get it done because I can't be going around stinking like pit sweat.

If I'm way off base and it IS a matter of everything having to be prioritized, than I'd like to see congress and obama put a stop to all the bullshit PR crap that should be no priority, like the easter egg hunt or special award ceremonies for sports teams. Use that time for real problems, if the problem is that they just don't have "time" for equal rights.

Hell, use the time that would have been spent at the invocation and the subsequent 10 inauguration balls to fix it if they are so freaking pressed for time.

[TechBear_Seattle]

11. Before anyone can address GLBT rights, we must first...

End poverty, guarantee health care for all, mend the environment, reverse global warming, unite warring factions into a lasting global peace, put a chicken (or a vegan equivalent) in every cook pot and inaugurate a black Jewish Lesbian as president of the United States.

Once these priorities have been dealt with, then we can call a meeting to consider the possibility of researching what needs to be done about fundamental civil rights. But first things first.

[IndianaGreen]

12. And we must also establish bases on the Moon and Mars

and send probes to Proxima Centauri, then and only then, we will discuss prioritizing LGBT rights. Baby steps, ya know!

:eyes:

[NYC_SKP]

13. "Most Western European Nations"....Some Facts, Links, and a Map:

Actually only Norway, Belgium, and the Netherlands recognize same sex marriage, so we want to be like THOSE three countries.

Other Western European countries are in various states of development toward that status, IMHO.

Our country, too, is moving state-by-state in a painlessly slow direction toward that status.
The LGBT group will never have "it's turn" simply because it doesn't work that way, not nation-wide, there will always be multiple simultaneous priorities.
Instead, constant pressure moves others closer and closer to the goal of equal access to these civil rights. Wins in big states will help, with these momentum may develop toward a national recognition of S.S. marriage. A win in the California Supreme Court could lay groundwork for national recognition, but I'm skeptical of the chances of that anytime soon.

BLUE: Same Sex Marriage
GREEN: Civil Unions/Domestic Partnerships
YELLOW: Foreign Same Sex Marriage Recognized
RED: Recognition Debated



LINKS:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage

Just like a war is won battle-by-battle, this effort will succeed in steps.

Happy Holidays to all! :fistbump:

[IndianaGreen]

15. It was the socialists that passed same sex marriage in Spain

despite the opposition of the old Franco guard and the Opus Dei Catholic Church.

Once again, it is the Reds that will go to bat for LGBTs.

[NYC_SKP]

16. So it must have been Red before it turned Blue...

Heh, Bad political color pun, per the map color legend.

The Spain scenario won't happen here likely, we'll get there based on, I think, common will in progressive states and by an enlightened and rational interpretation by the courts elsewhere.

I wish it could happen sooner and nationwide, but American is not so homogeneous in it's attitudes towards, well, everything.

Unless it's when we're attacked, then 90% approve of the president no matter what the fuck he does. :shrug:

[IndianaGreen]

17. Many people are now questioning the capitalist system and its ability to solve problems

Capitalism doesn't have answers to the economic crisis that we face, other than to get the taxpayers to bail out the bankers and the financiers. Capitalism has not solutions to the socio-economic dislocations that will result from climate change, much less to address the environmental challenges the planet is facing. We need to restructure the economy and phase out the use of fossil fuels. We need to get people that are just now beginning to talk of public ownership of the energy sector, to reject capitalism and to seriously consider the socialist alternative. We must strengthen our ties to the labor movement, and create alliances with activists in this country and abroad, e.g., indigenous movements in Latin America, the Bolivarian movement, etc.

[NYC_SKP]

18. I can't disagree because I don't know enough about it.

I'm not familiar with countries that practice socialism successfully, maybe you can recommend some examples.

To be sure, Capitalism has proven to be a failure here since at least the Reagan years, absent adequate checks on the corporate sector and on our elected officials.

As I've never known anything other than our system, I must admit that I know less than I should to discuss this in depth.

Spiritually, I've always respected the way I've heard many indigenous people have lived with respect to concepts of poverty vs wealth, and consumption.

But historically, few if any such cultures have survived, even absent foreign intrusion, so I don't know where to go from here.

Peace, off to bed.

[Libertyfirst]

14. When Gabriel blows his horn and the pigs with wings listen while skating on a frozen over hell.