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my guess, AtLast, is that teachers dont get involved because 1) they have similiar values as the bullies or 2) they themselves were bullied and are afraid to step in or 3) are so caught up in their role as educator that they cant see how it has changed over the decades to include sociological patrol.
I was screaming statistics about how homosexuality was the NUMBER ONE reason for adolescent suicide in the 80s and 90s. Hell, I even presented workshops at national conferences for youth leaders. I bombarded 4H with information on creating safe environments for gay youth to feel comfortable participating. What did it get me>? A county wide hate crime directed at me and my daughter. The state wouldnt back me when I demanded that I was working in a hostile environment. This is going to be a hot topic until people and organizations get the damn balls to stand up to the bullies and take legal action. |
The NFL will be sporting pink gear this Sunday to raise awareness of breast cancer.
There will be pink ribbons on the footballs, the players will have pink chin cups and towels, and refs will have pink whistles, all part of a Breast Cancer Awareness campaign. |
Published on The Root (http://www.theroot.com)
Home > The NAACP Reaches Out to Gay-Rights Groups -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The NAACP Reaches Out to Gay-Rights Groups By: Cord Jefferson Posted: September 28, 2010 at 12:06 AM With an upcoming march on Washington, D.C., providing the opening, Ben Jealous is leading the civil rights group into an era of greater cooperation with the LGBT community. He told The Root why he has a personal stake in the effort. On Sept. 22, Benjamin T. Jealous, the charismatic head of the NAACP, made history. On that Wednesday, Jealous spoke at Manhattan's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center in Greenwich Village to promote the upcoming One Nation Working Together march on Washington, D.C. It was the first time in history that a current NAACP president has visited an LGBT center. Jeffrey Campagna, head of the LGBT desk for One Nation Working Together, called it "an indication of the true coalition that One Nation Working Together represents, and the true opportunity this is for the LGBT movement to join with labor groups and other civil rights groups to advance our agenda." In 1999, while still president of the NAACP, Kweisi Mfume spoke at the annual dinner for the Human Rights Campaign, a gay-rights organization, but under Jealous, the now century-old NAACP is ramping up its LGBT coalition building more than ever before. Last year the NAACP came out against California's Proposition 8, the recently overturned ballot initiative banning gay marriage. And in July, at its annual national convention, the NAACP rolled out an LGBT Equality Taskforce, a seven-member committee designed to stay on top of justice issues within the gay community. But it seems as if these activities may have been merely preludes to the upcoming One Nation Working Together march. Led by the NAACP, the Oct. 2 event will find President Jealous and his colleagues stepping out with more than two dozen LGBT partner organizations, an unprecedented showing of public support for gay-rights activists of every stripe. A Schism in the Black Community For people like Newsweek columnist Jeninne Lee-St. John, who once argued that the fight for black civil rights and the fight for gay rights are "strikingly similar," the NAACP's newfound LGBT partnership isn't just sensible, it's long overdue. So what took so long? "To be honest with you, our African-American community is in a schism," says Donna Payne, associate director of diversity for the HRC. "[Some African-American leaders] smile at you and don't want to say anything bad, but they won't include you in anything. That's the reality." In October of last year, nearly 65 percent of African Americans believed homosexuality to be "morally wrong," according to the Pew Research Center, while only 48 percent of whites felt the same way. In a nation in which the black community is vastly more religious than the country as a whole, African Americans have a tendency to take cues about morality from their religious leaders, many of whom -- like embroiled Bishop Eddie Long -- speak openly and fervently against homosexuality. The result is the perplexing schism of which Payne speaks: a black community that overwhelmingly supports progressive Democratic politicians while simultaneously not tolerating gays. According to Payne, the NAACP's attempt to walk that fine line of propriety for years saw it adopt an unofficial "Don't ask, don't tell" culture like the one currently flagging in the American armed forces. "It's like we know you're there, but don't talk about it," she says. A New Attitude, and a Personal Stake Enter Ben Jealous. Though Jealous told The Root that he "doesn't want to take too much credit" for the NAACP's hard pivot toward full acceptance of gay rights as civil rights, Payne, who's been with the HRC for more than a decade, says the change has been "100 percent" about Jealous' leadership. "Before Jealous, there was a lot of talk and no movement," she says. Jealous, who began his tenure in 2008 at the age of 35, is the youngest NAACP president in the organization's history, making him part of a generation of people who favor homosexual rights markedly more than their elders. What is less well-known than Jealous' northern-California roots, however, is that he has a gay brother (whom he did not name), whom he calls "the person closest to me in the world." This relationship has given Jealous a glimpse into the very comparable struggles of gays and African Americans, as well as the way the two classifications can augment each other when paired. "When [my brother] has been beaten up by the cops," says Jealous, "it's been very clear that it's both because he's black and gay." Though black leaders like Julian Bond -- the chairman of the NAACP, until this year -- have in the past made a strong case for African-American support for gay rights, none have used the tremendous power and gravitas of the NAACP as well as Jealous, whose youth and personal experiences make him uniquely prepared to usher the NAACP into an America that's increasingly tolerant of homosexuality. Entwined Struggles Jealous is certainly also aware that it makes tactical sense for racial-justice advocates to partner with gay-rights groups. According to a new study (pdf) from the Applied Research Center, people of color, especially LGBT ones, are significantly hurt when blacks and gays don't work together: LGBT people of color are harmed by the perceived split between communities of color and LGBT communities. Dozens of young, local organizations serving LGBT people of color do exist, but they are virtually invisible, poorly supported and often too busy providing critical health and human services to engage deeply in education and organizing for policy change. To that end, Jealous is clear that One Nation Working Together will find him marching for the empowerment of all people, black, white or gay. "The person who stands in my position needs to be prepared to stand up for the civil rights of everybody," says Jealous. "And it's now my job to make sure there are no second-class citizens in this economy." One Nation Working Together has the pursuit of jobs and economic stability at its core, two issues that might finally bridge the divide between African-American groups and gay-rights groups, once and for all. Although the plight of black workers in a discriminatory job market has existed for centuries, relatively recent developments like the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, and conservative pushback against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) -- proposed legislation that would protect LGBT individuals from workplace discrimination -- have called into question the job security of gays more than ever before. Luckily for Jealous and his colleagues, if there's one issue that will rally disparate groups in the currently lackluster economy, it's money. Stacey Long, the federal legislative director at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, says that her group jumped at the opportunity to work with the NAACP to promote job growth, specifically because, in so many minority communities, one hardship cascades into many more. "One of the things that we do when we're working on legislation or policy matters is we fit it through the lens of racial and social justice," she says. "For instance, if we're talking about the impact that ENDA will have once it's passed, we're thinking about the countless numbers of [people of color] who will be able to maintain their jobs because they won't be fired on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. And those are individuals who are sometimes supporting their families. And in some instances, they'll be taking care of their extended-family members, as well. These are entire minority families that we're helping keep out of poverty." Jealous says that Saturday's march will be a success if it "lifts up the need for our entire country to focus intently on job creation and ensure every child has access to an excellent education." Whether that will happen remains to be seen. But the coalition building that's already taken place between the NAACP and the LGBT community seems built to last. Payne says that she has already discussed with NAACP representatives how best to reach out to the black community about the AIDS epidemic, and Long says that internal meetings have made her optimistic about future dealings with the NAACP. "[The NAACP] has made it very clear that the table is open and it's diverse and it's wide and all are welcome," she says. "And they're going to make sure that we stay of one accord." An NAACP insider speaking anonymously because of the sensitivity of the topic says that, as of now, the organization has no plans to come out in full support of gay marriage. But sometimes change takes time, and Jealous hopes that One Nation Working Together will be a big step forward. "Marches are important because … people make new friendships," he says. "They find common ground and make a commitment to work together." Cord Jefferson is a staff writer at The Root. http://www.theroot.com/views/naacp-r...roups?page=0,1 |
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I remember when a LTR partner and myself were called lesbos by some neighborhood kids in the first home we bought together. These were the exact same kinds of words their father used when speaking of us around his children. I confronted him about it. I was not going to take this from him or his kids. I did not go ballistic, just said that as an adult and a homeowner (one that paid property taxes that support the schools his kids attended), I was not going to listen to this from a bunch of 10 year olds. I told him be ought to be ashammed of promoting disrespectful behavior around his (and other) kids concerning adults. This was the only framework this guy was going to get- going on about gays and lesbians would have only gotten things going in another direction. And, hey, as if it was going to do any good- his anti-gay and lesbian feelings were not going to change. But, he got the disrespect of adults thing. I had to do the tax garbage stuff to just get to the what this guy would actually understand. Although, being a person that does pay taxes and yet, does not have the same civil rights as others does piss me off. |
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The death of a Rutgers University freshman stirred outrage and remorse among classmates who said they wished they could have stopped the teen from jumping off a bridge after secret video of his sexual encounter with a man was streamed online.
Tyler Clementi, 18, jumped off the George Washington Bridge into the Hudson River last week. His body was identified Thursday after being found in the river a day before. "Had he been in bed with a woman, this would not have happened," said Rutgers student Lauren Felton, 21, of Warren. "He wouldn't have been outed via an online broadcast, and his privacy would have been respected and he might still have his life." Clementi had just started at Rutgers, which bills itself as the state university of New Jersey, and was a talented violinist whose life revolved around music, friends and mentors said. "Musically, Tyler was destined for greatness," childhood friend Mary Alcaro, who played in a summer music academy with him, said Thursday in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "I've never heard anyone make a violin sing the way he did." Ed Schmiedecke, the recently retired music director at Ridgewood High School, from which Clementi graduated this year, called Clementi "a terrific musician, and a very promising, hardworking young man." Clementi's roommate, Dharun Ravi, and fellow Rutgers freshman Molly Wei, both 18, have been charged with invading Clementi's privacy. Middlesex County prosecutors say that they used a webcam to surreptitiously transmit a live image of Clementi having sex Sept. 19 and that Ravi tried to webcast a second encounter on Sept. 21, the day before Clementi's suicide. Collecting or viewing sexual images without consent is a fourth-degree crime, and transmitting them is a third-degree crime with a maximum prison term of five years. A lawyer for Ravi, of Plainsboro, did not immediately return a message seeking comment, and it was unclear whether Wei, of Princeton, had retained a lawyer. A spokesman for the Middlesex County prosecutor's office didn't return messages inquiring whether there could be additional charges, and experts diverged on the potential for the pair to face more severe charges in light of Clementi's apparent suicide. Parry Aftab, who runs the website WiredSafety, said it's possible the classmates could be prosecuted for violating Clementi's civil rights. "If these kids could get away with one privacy law violation, that would be a sin," she said. But former assistant Essex County prosecutor Luanne Peterpaul said such a prosecution was unlikely because the federal government doesn't recognize sexual orientation as a protected class. Peterpaul, vice chairwoman of the gay rights group Garden State Equality, said prosecutors might be able to pursue the case as a hate crime if they could establish that the defendants were motivated to act because they perceived Clementi as gay. But that can be hard to prove, she said. A lawyer for Clementi's family has not responded to requests for comment on whether Clementi was open about his sexual orientation. |
and bullies have heroes
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First potentially habitable planet found
This is one of those oh WOW science moments that only astronomy delivers. 20 light years from us, there is a red dwarf star named Gliese 581 and one of its planets is in what is called the 'Goldilocks zone'. Around any given star there will be one or more orbits that is neither too hot or too cold for liquid water. As far as we know, life requires liquid water (there are other options, methane could take the place of water and silicon the place of carbon) and so a planet that could sustain liquid water is one criteria we would look for in a habitable planet. The other thing about this planet which is, for now, named Gliese 581-g, is that it is tide-locked with its star. What this means is that the planet doesn't turn on its own axis. One side of the planet is in perpetual daylight and the other in perpetual darkness. The effect of this is that the climate is stable. Life can handle shifts in climate but not a truly chaotic climate.
Full article from NASA is http://www.nasa.gov/topics/universe/...1_feature.htmlhere. One more thing; contemplate, if you will, just how cool it is that we have gotten to a place where we can not only detect other planets but can now actually begin to tell some things about them. To understand how remarkable a feat this is, remember that this planet is 20 light years from us. In miles that is a bit shy of 118 trillion miles! (117,569,761,144,207 miles to be a bit more precise) Say what you will about us hairless chimps, but there's no arguing that we ARE clever. Cheers Aj |
This one is really sad, to die so young without even getting a chance to live because of bullies and being gay.
Parents: 13-year-old son driven to suicide by ruthless bullying at school http://www.khou.com/?nTar=OPUR&iq_id=5612805 by Lisa Chavarria / 11 News khou.com Posted on September 29, 2010 at 3:18 PM Updated yesterday at 5:47 PM HOUSTON – A local mom and stepdad say their 13-year-old son committed suicide because of ruthless bullying at his junior high school. Asher Brown killed himself last Thursday. His mother, Amy Truong, said her son recently realized that he was gay. She said that, along with his religion, made him a target for bullies at Hamilton Junior High. "They would insult him because he was Buddhist, and they would call him ‘booty boy’ and try to link the two together between Buddhism and homosexuality," Truong said. Truong and her husband, David, said Brown endured verbal and physical abuse. They said they tried to contact the school about the bullying, but their cries fell on deaf ears. Amy and David Truong believe Brown as literally pushed to the edge. "This bully, we can’t say his name, deliberately tripped Asher down … two flights of stairs," David Truong said. According to other students, Brown told the bully, "You better apologize, or I’m gonna kill myself." Those words haunt his parents. Amy and David Truong said they always thought their son would come to them when something was wrong. "We’re still trying to piece together everything that happened to him that we didn’t know before," Amy Truong said. Meanwhile, they’re speaking out about the consequences of bullying. They say actions that could be brushed off as a childhood rite of passage can sometimes have tragic consequences. "These kids don’t deserve this, they don’t. And I can’t do anything to save mine anymore, but if I can help somebody else, I want to. I know Asher would want to. He was a good boy. He was such a good boy," Amy Truong said. In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD said the district’s counseling and psychological teams would be expanding crisis services for students at Hamilton. "The district, together with the Hamilton community, is saddened by the death of Asher Brown," the statement read. "A district administrative team is conducting a thorough and involved investigation into the allegations of bullying that have been made since the death of Asher Brown. Although the investigation is not completed, the initial findings indicate that Asher’s personal and family histories were very complicated." |
U.S. apologizes to Guatemalans for 1940s STD experiment
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/0...alans-for.html CROSENBERG@MIAMIHERALD.COM The Obama administration apologized Friday for a ``clearly unethical'' 1940s U.S. government experiment that infected Guatemalan prisoners with venereal disease in the name of public health research. |
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And the fact of the matter is that the US looked the other way for a very long time at what was going on in Europe for Jews (medical experimentation as well as the genocide) and other groups of people. So often, the people in glass houses that throw stones comes to mind. |
and yes the US did the same to our own POC here in the states, STD experiments.
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Man Attacks 14 Year Old Girl For Carrying Rainbow Flag
La Crosse, Wisconsin – A 14 year old girl on rollerblades was getting ready to march in the Maple Leaf Parade with the LGBT Resource Center’s float, she was carrying a rainbow/American flag hybrid. But it got ugly when Mark Schneider ran up, grabbed the flag, pushed her and screamed, “Go to a country where they will hang people like you.” |
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Some positive news in the Toronto papers in the last few days:
Prostitution laws struck down by Ont. court http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/sto...on-law028.html Toronto-born researcher pioneers new method of creating stem cells http://www.thestar.com/article/86845...ing-stem-cells |
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Windy City Times
Yet another gay suicide—this time in R.I. News update Friday, Oct. 1, 2010 Raymond Chase, a student at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I., committed suicide by hanging himself in a residence hall Sept. 29, according to a press release from Campus Pride. According to the Huffington Post, Johnson & Wales Vice President Ronald Martel e-mailed students, "Today I contact you with the deeply sad news of the passing of Raymond Chase, sophomore, 19, culinary arts major. The campus community is mourning the loss of this vibrant young man who leaves many JWU friends and teachers, and a loving family of Monticello, New York. Shane Windmeyer, executive director and founder of Campus Pride, said, "The loss of Raymond this week is the second college LGBT-related suicide in a week and the fifth teenage LGBT suicide in three weeks. The suicide of this openly gay young man is for reasons currently unknown; however, the recent pattern of LGBT youth suicides is cause for grave concern. "Campus Pride demands national action be taken to address youth bullying, harassment and the need for safety and inclusion for LGBT youth at colleges and universities across the country. We must not let these tragic deaths go unnoticed. Together we must act decisively to curb anti-LGBT bias incidents, harassment and acts of violence." Johnson & Wales, founded in 1914, has four campuses in Providence; Denver, Colo.; North Miami, Fla.; and Charlotte, N.C. The university is known for "combining academics and practical skills with relevant work experiences and community service," according to its website. |
And another.
Two lesbian youth found dead in Orangeville (Ontario) Quote:
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