Facebook got Stonewalled, but not in the way the term is usually used. As they say, those who don't know their history are doomed to repeat it.
Anybody who knows me knows I adore drag queens because they can be better at being women than women and yet deploy their male physical strength when they choose to. Nobody but a drag queen can dress like Diana Ross, throw shade like Bette Davis, and beat you down like Mike Tyson. As Wesley Snipes said in drag in the movie, "To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything," a drag queen is what happens when you have too much style for either gender.
Clearly someone at Facebook pulled the idea out of their ass that they would enforce their heretofore unenforced "no fake names" policy, and they decided to start enforcing the policy against, of all people, drag queens.
What part of Stonewall did this idiot not know? Did this idiot not know that it was drag queens who set off the Stonewall Riots? Drag queens who beat down police officers? If a drag queen would beat down a police officer, imagine what she would do to Mark Zuckerberg's puny ass?
And not only did Facebook pick the most unlikely group of people with whom to pick a fight -- drag queens -- but they started with one of the most famous drag queens in the world, Sister Roma of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.
What was Facebook thinking? The Sisters are perpetual icons of Pride Parades. If you were going to pick on some drag queens, why oh why would you pick one of the Sisters?
Well, Sister Roma fought back and threw shade, noting that Facebook had picked out drag queens as the first group against which to enforce their policy. Now, I'm not Facebook's lawyer, but I would have imagined that, with Facebook having its corporate headquarters in California and selectively enforcing its policy against a well known San Francisco drag queen, they were ripe for an Unruh Civil Rights Act claim, but hey, I'm not Facebook's lawyer.
That aside, Sister Roma did her thing and Facebook had to back down and, as they say in politics, "walk back" their policy.
So Facebook got Stonewalled.
Learn your LGBT history, Facebook, so you won't be doomed to repeat it. Pick on drag queens at your peril.
Showing posts with label LGBT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LGBT. Show all posts
Are We Done Persecuting Gays?
Gay teen suicides. The military opposing the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." And perverts thinking it's okay to set up secret webcams to record their gay roommate/classmate having sex and then stream it over the Internet, as if setting up a secret webcam to record anybody having sex is okay.
When did it become acceptable -- even cool -- to persecute gays?
I support gay marriage and oppose "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" on legal grounds -- equality. If the government's going to stay in the business of deciding whether people can marry, it has to treat people equally. Marriage stopped being solely a religious rite when the government got into the business of regulating it. Besides, if marriage were solely a religious rite, then atheists shouldn't be allowed to marry -- but the government allows them to.
Similarly, if the government is going to decide who gets to defend our country (as if there's a rush to take up arms and get shipped to Iraq or Afghanistan), it needs to treat all these brave people equally. Last I checked, gay people are people. And brave, too.
And, quite frankly, I don't care about the sexual orientation of the men and women defending and dying for the freedoms I have. I do care that each and every one of them has the same freedoms at home as I do and that they are fighting abroad to defend. Need we look any further for examples of this type of hypocrisy and injustice than World War II, when we sent African American servicemen abroad to defend this nation only to have them be treated as second-class citizens upon their return? Besides, you don't have to be straight to shoot straight. I don't care if our servicemen and women are gay or straight; I just want them to be good at their jobs so they can protect our country and each other. Sexual orientation has nothing to do with the ability to shoot missiles, fly planes, or disarm an IED.
It saddens me to know that young people are taking their lives because they are being persecuted for being who they are. These young people don't have the benefit of the wisdom that comes with age and tells you, "It's going to be alright. Just wait and see."
Regardless of your religious beliefs, no matter what your faith is, this persecution of gay people has got to stop.
So, are we done persecuting gays?
When did it become acceptable -- even cool -- to persecute gays?
I support gay marriage and oppose "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" on legal grounds -- equality. If the government's going to stay in the business of deciding whether people can marry, it has to treat people equally. Marriage stopped being solely a religious rite when the government got into the business of regulating it. Besides, if marriage were solely a religious rite, then atheists shouldn't be allowed to marry -- but the government allows them to.
Similarly, if the government is going to decide who gets to defend our country (as if there's a rush to take up arms and get shipped to Iraq or Afghanistan), it needs to treat all these brave people equally. Last I checked, gay people are people. And brave, too.
And, quite frankly, I don't care about the sexual orientation of the men and women defending and dying for the freedoms I have. I do care that each and every one of them has the same freedoms at home as I do and that they are fighting abroad to defend. Need we look any further for examples of this type of hypocrisy and injustice than World War II, when we sent African American servicemen abroad to defend this nation only to have them be treated as second-class citizens upon their return? Besides, you don't have to be straight to shoot straight. I don't care if our servicemen and women are gay or straight; I just want them to be good at their jobs so they can protect our country and each other. Sexual orientation has nothing to do with the ability to shoot missiles, fly planes, or disarm an IED.
It saddens me to know that young people are taking their lives because they are being persecuted for being who they are. These young people don't have the benefit of the wisdom that comes with age and tells you, "It's going to be alright. Just wait and see."
Regardless of your religious beliefs, no matter what your faith is, this persecution of gay people has got to stop.
So, are we done persecuting gays?
Git To Work!
First, I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and kept our fallen servicemen and women in their thoughts and prayers.
Second, I have to acknowledge a comment made about my last entry that didn’t address President Obama's plan to indefinitely detain enemy combatants without trial. With this, I do not agree. Indefinite detention without charges is not acceptable. What if Iran had indefinitely detained Roxanne Saberi without a trial, even a sham one? What if North Korea indefinitely detains Laura Ling and Euna Lee without trial? We can’t lead if we don’t lead by example and under the rule of law, namely habeas corpus. President Obama needs to rethink this. I can’t go for that, no how, no can do.
Third, I’m pleased beyond words at the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the U.S. Supreme Court (see my May 1 blog entry). Now, to the Democrat senators: Git to work. Now is not the time for bipartisanship – great if you can get it on this nomination, but if you can’t, you better act like the big dogs you are and make this happen. Judge Sotomayor is more qualified than either Justice O’Connor or Justice Thomas (talk about a waste) was when they were nominated, and her voice and experience are sorely needed in the white male bastion that has been the U.S. Supreme Court. In the words of Tim Gunn, you need to “make it work.” Or, in the words of RuPaul, “You better WORK.”
Finally, as to the California Supreme Court’s decision upholding Proposition 8, well, I’m disappointed but not surprised. This was a totally different legal issue before the court – whether the proposition was an amendment to the California constitution or a revision requiring a constitutional convention. I didn’t read the decision thoroughly, but I can say that the decision wasn’t interpreting the California constitution per se, but the means by which it can be legally changed. The court held that Prop. 8 was indeed a legal means to change the California constitution.
That said, my message to my LGBT brothers and sisters is this: Git to work. I believe that Prop. 8 passed because of ignorance as to what the California Supreme Court’s decision upholding same-sex marriage meant. I even spoke to a devout African American Christian woman who said she was supporting Prop. 8 because she didn’t want to have gay and lesbian couples getting married in her church. I had to explain to her that no state law requires a church to marry folks outside of its faith or anyone it doesn’t want to marry. I also explained that all same-sex marriage does is treat people equally under the law, period – that she didn’t have to agree with or like same-sex marriage, but that same-sex couples pay taxes, work, and have families just like heterosexual couples, and all that they wanted was the opportunity to secure the exact same rights as heterosexual couples. I also explained that we African Americans need to be the last folks advocating discrimination against anybody.
So, here’s what needs to be done:
1) Educate folks. There was no clear explanation from the LGBT community of what the California court decision upholding same-sex marriage meant and what Prop. 8 would mean. Mind you, if the woman I spoke to thought that same-sex marriage meant that her church had to let same-sex couples get married in it, how many other people thought the same? No one, to the best of my knowledge, made clear the case for same-sex marriage – why LGBT couples want it, why it’s different than civil unions, and what it would not require of the straight community. And you can’t be afraid to go to churches, synagogues, etc. and talk to people who oppose you. Come respectfully and explain same-sex marriage is an “equality under the law” issue, not a religious issue – you know, the whole “Render unto Caesar” thing. Prop. 8 is as discriminatory as requiring polygamy would be and is based on the same rationale – allowing the government to discriminate based on religious beliefs of the voting majority. But you have to educated people as to why same-sex marriage is a legal issue that does not erode heterosexual marriage, especially since we straight folks have done enough to erode the institution of marriage all by our damn selves, thank you very much.
2) Make it personal. None of the anti-Prop. 8 commercials I saw had LGBT people in them. WTF? As much as folks don’t like to admit it, everybody – and I mean EVERYBODY – has a LGBT family member. I have at least two that I know of, one of whom I urged to hurry up and get married before the right to do so was taken away. He didn’t listen. Regardless, you need to make this issue personal – would folks want their gay Uncle Larry or Cousin Tina to be treated differently under the law than them? Next time, have commercials with LGBT folks and their straight family members. People forget that LGBT people pay taxes, work, raise families, and die for this country. Don’t let them. Truman couldn’t justify continuing discrimination in the military when black soldiers were dying alongside white soldiers for this country. Make it personal, and don’t let folks forget your humanity.
3) Get ugly. Yes, you need to boycott and sit in. Now, I’m not advising sitting in at an LDS church, but anything related to Marriot hotels would be fair game, as would Deseret Industries. There should be no gay pride parades in California until the law is changed. There should be no gay tourism in California until the law is changed. Every dollar that leaves the wallet of an LGBT person in California should have written on it, “I’m LGBT and want to be treated equally under the law.” Every company and organization that donated funds to the Prop. 8 campaign should be outed, targeted, and boycotted. Black organizations boycotted Arizona for not adopting a Dr. King holiday. You need to boycott California.
4) Get on the ballot and don’t give up. I wouldn’t let up on this issue. I’d get it on the ballot as often as possible until I prevailed. People expect the LGBT community to give up and walk away because the numbers aren’t there to vote in same-sex marriage. Well, the numbers aren’t there yet. But if you do what I say, they will be. What if Dr. King had given up? And who helped bring the idea of non-violent protest to him as well as the idea of the March on Washington? Bayard Rustin, a black gay man. And black folks didn't have the numbers on our side for decades until Dr. King, Rustin, and others came along and won hearts and minds.
So, git to work!
Second, I have to acknowledge a comment made about my last entry that didn’t address President Obama's plan to indefinitely detain enemy combatants without trial. With this, I do not agree. Indefinite detention without charges is not acceptable. What if Iran had indefinitely detained Roxanne Saberi without a trial, even a sham one? What if North Korea indefinitely detains Laura Ling and Euna Lee without trial? We can’t lead if we don’t lead by example and under the rule of law, namely habeas corpus. President Obama needs to rethink this. I can’t go for that, no how, no can do.
Third, I’m pleased beyond words at the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the U.S. Supreme Court (see my May 1 blog entry). Now, to the Democrat senators: Git to work. Now is not the time for bipartisanship – great if you can get it on this nomination, but if you can’t, you better act like the big dogs you are and make this happen. Judge Sotomayor is more qualified than either Justice O’Connor or Justice Thomas (talk about a waste) was when they were nominated, and her voice and experience are sorely needed in the white male bastion that has been the U.S. Supreme Court. In the words of Tim Gunn, you need to “make it work.” Or, in the words of RuPaul, “You better WORK.”
Finally, as to the California Supreme Court’s decision upholding Proposition 8, well, I’m disappointed but not surprised. This was a totally different legal issue before the court – whether the proposition was an amendment to the California constitution or a revision requiring a constitutional convention. I didn’t read the decision thoroughly, but I can say that the decision wasn’t interpreting the California constitution per se, but the means by which it can be legally changed. The court held that Prop. 8 was indeed a legal means to change the California constitution.
That said, my message to my LGBT brothers and sisters is this: Git to work. I believe that Prop. 8 passed because of ignorance as to what the California Supreme Court’s decision upholding same-sex marriage meant. I even spoke to a devout African American Christian woman who said she was supporting Prop. 8 because she didn’t want to have gay and lesbian couples getting married in her church. I had to explain to her that no state law requires a church to marry folks outside of its faith or anyone it doesn’t want to marry. I also explained that all same-sex marriage does is treat people equally under the law, period – that she didn’t have to agree with or like same-sex marriage, but that same-sex couples pay taxes, work, and have families just like heterosexual couples, and all that they wanted was the opportunity to secure the exact same rights as heterosexual couples. I also explained that we African Americans need to be the last folks advocating discrimination against anybody.
So, here’s what needs to be done:
1) Educate folks. There was no clear explanation from the LGBT community of what the California court decision upholding same-sex marriage meant and what Prop. 8 would mean. Mind you, if the woman I spoke to thought that same-sex marriage meant that her church had to let same-sex couples get married in it, how many other people thought the same? No one, to the best of my knowledge, made clear the case for same-sex marriage – why LGBT couples want it, why it’s different than civil unions, and what it would not require of the straight community. And you can’t be afraid to go to churches, synagogues, etc. and talk to people who oppose you. Come respectfully and explain same-sex marriage is an “equality under the law” issue, not a religious issue – you know, the whole “Render unto Caesar” thing. Prop. 8 is as discriminatory as requiring polygamy would be and is based on the same rationale – allowing the government to discriminate based on religious beliefs of the voting majority. But you have to educated people as to why same-sex marriage is a legal issue that does not erode heterosexual marriage, especially since we straight folks have done enough to erode the institution of marriage all by our damn selves, thank you very much.
2) Make it personal. None of the anti-Prop. 8 commercials I saw had LGBT people in them. WTF? As much as folks don’t like to admit it, everybody – and I mean EVERYBODY – has a LGBT family member. I have at least two that I know of, one of whom I urged to hurry up and get married before the right to do so was taken away. He didn’t listen. Regardless, you need to make this issue personal – would folks want their gay Uncle Larry or Cousin Tina to be treated differently under the law than them? Next time, have commercials with LGBT folks and their straight family members. People forget that LGBT people pay taxes, work, raise families, and die for this country. Don’t let them. Truman couldn’t justify continuing discrimination in the military when black soldiers were dying alongside white soldiers for this country. Make it personal, and don’t let folks forget your humanity.
3) Get ugly. Yes, you need to boycott and sit in. Now, I’m not advising sitting in at an LDS church, but anything related to Marriot hotels would be fair game, as would Deseret Industries. There should be no gay pride parades in California until the law is changed. There should be no gay tourism in California until the law is changed. Every dollar that leaves the wallet of an LGBT person in California should have written on it, “I’m LGBT and want to be treated equally under the law.” Every company and organization that donated funds to the Prop. 8 campaign should be outed, targeted, and boycotted. Black organizations boycotted Arizona for not adopting a Dr. King holiday. You need to boycott California.
4) Get on the ballot and don’t give up. I wouldn’t let up on this issue. I’d get it on the ballot as often as possible until I prevailed. People expect the LGBT community to give up and walk away because the numbers aren’t there to vote in same-sex marriage. Well, the numbers aren’t there yet. But if you do what I say, they will be. What if Dr. King had given up? And who helped bring the idea of non-violent protest to him as well as the idea of the March on Washington? Bayard Rustin, a black gay man. And black folks didn't have the numbers on our side for decades until Dr. King, Rustin, and others came along and won hearts and minds.
So, git to work!
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