No, Racism is Not Dead

There's something very interesting about this time in history.  We're in the digital age - all is recorded.  There are no doubt a lot of families in North America, amongst other places, that are very very lucky that their own family's sordid histories of bigotry and prejudice are not documented and accessible via digital technology.  Families of anti-Integrationists that can sleep at night because their family's history of bigotry was at its zenith in a time when documentation simply wasn't possible.

And then we have folks who don't seem to realize that things like Twitter are, well, worldwide.  And permanent.  You can delete the tweet, but you can't stop others from saving and re-tweeting and exposing you for the bigot you are.  Politicians who make bigoted speeches before congress and before their flocks of followers at conventions.  Average everyday citizens who go out to march for some cause they think they care about...holding signs of hatred and ignorance.  The bigots of decades past are , for the most part, safe and hidden away - no cameras documenting their every move and word.  But the times, they've a'changed.

We've all heard a lot of "racism is over because the President of the United States of America is black" nonsense.  Anyone who maintains even a mild level of social consciousness can tell you that after Obama's election in 2008, the crazies came out of the woodwork.  And again in 2012 - tweet after tweet, post after post, comment after comment - pure, unbridled, inexcusable racism.

And then, this happening this week.....
link here:
http://publicshaming.tumblr.com/post/48020892347/jamie-foxx-attended-the-mtv-movie-awards-on-sunday

What century is it, again?  Who are these people?  What failures of culture and humanity raised them?  Oh, well - like I said - it's the digital age.  Congrats, folks - you expose yourselves to be the scum of society.
There are folks who seem adamant about ruining their family name for future generations.  I've often been stunned at the way people like Jesse Helms are still canonized by some people - then I see tweets like these and I have to remember that bigotry is alive and well.  And the saddest thing?  It's learned.  It's not innate.  You need to be carefully instructed on how to hate.

At this point it doesn't even matter what brand of hatred you subscribe to.  You put it out there, it's for all to see.  Years from now, the grandchildren of Rick Santorum will have to live down their family name.  Look at history and see how the world works.  See how you will be remembered, and realize the harm you will inflict on "your own" by continuing to cling, for no intelligent reason, to baseless, archaic and deeply ugly bigotry.

And don't even get me started on that "Accidental Racist" country/rap song, which has to be the stupidest thing I've yet heard.

So think about it, grown adults - what legacy do you want to pass on to your children and grandchildren?  It you cling to your bigotry, remember that it's a stain that will mark your family line for a very very very VERRRYYYYYYY long time.



Little Kiwi, Out.

Gays VS Guns

Well the good news is it's still easy to get assault rifles 
         and still all-but-impossible to get married if you're gay.

so americans can all rest easy knowing that no children will die this week from drive-by lesbian weddings.
or from gays entering a crowded movie theatre armed with their husbands.

Seriously, America.  Wake up.  Last week Uruguay voted and passed Marriage Equality.  Gay couples can now legally marry in Uruguay.  On that exact same day in the USA, 34 Republicans in Montana voted to keep sexual conduct between two consenting adults of the same-sex (ie, GAYS) a criminal offense.   A felony.  Punishable with up to 10 years in prison, and a hefty fine.

Apparently Newtown wasn't enough.  Neither was Columbine, clearly.  It seems Conservative Americans don't care about their children being killed.  But they sure do care about gay couples getting married. 

#CultureFail

PFLAG Ally Award 2013

Sharon Gless, how I love you.  Before I ever saw the first season of Queer as Folk (US version), my only knowledge of "PFLAG" was from a throwaway line from the movie Reality Bites wherein the joke is simply that they pronounce PFLAG phonetically. Pffflaaag.  I laughed.  I was 13.

Queer as Folk started airing when I was beginning my senior year of high school.  My mum watched it, as did a bunch of her friends.  Tea-time conversations were about the show (tea-time conversations are a terribly Scottish thing, you see. Topics over the years have oft included The Royal Family, Princess Diana, Coronation Street, Princess Diana, 'how the kids are doing', Princess Diana, and yes, Queer as Folk).  So, it was in my senior year that I first saw what a "PFLAG Mom" looked like, as played by the inimitable and astoundingly talented Sharon Gless.

Within that year I would not only Come Out to everyone, I would know firsthand what it was like to have a PFLAG Mom, myself.  Sure, my Mum didn't actually join PFLAG until years and years later, as she (in her retirement years) wanted a new hobby and social advocacy and helping other families was right up her alley, but from the moment I told my family I was falling in love with another guy, my entire family became the picture of a PFLAG Family, and when people would talk about my Mum (and trust me, once you meet her you'll understand why so many people talk about her) they'd always say, "Oh! She's like Debbie! She's totally Debbie from QAF!"

And she is.  Thank you, Sharon Gless, for showing our parents what love looks like, and for introducing millions of people to PFLAG through your portrayal of Debbie Novotny.  A mother who loved her son so much, and cared so much about making life better for not only him, but for the countless other LGBT people in our world culture.  The show's scenes in which Debbie helps ease young blonde twink Justin's mother into her new understanding about having a gay son remain incredibly moving to this day.  For a lot of us, it was the first time we saw "Families Actually Dealing With Gay Family Members" in any form of entertainment.

On QAF, the character of Debbie Novotny was a local gaybourhood icon - everyone knew Debbie, and Debbie knew everyone.  She was everyone's mom.  I feel that, in my own life.  My mum is a local gay icon.  My mum is everyone's mum.  We're everyone's family.  That's what PFLAG is.

Rosie O'Donnell flew up to present the award to Sharon Gless, who accepted it with touching grace and humility and love.  Tears of joy creaked out these weary cynical eyes.  A lot of love in the air.

Thank you, Sharon Gless.

Attached is a portion of the introduction Rosie O'Donnell gave for Sharon.  Below that is the complete speech that Sharon Gave. Take a few minutes, soak up the love.

:-)

Also honoured last night were three members of Canadian parliament responsible for helping to pass

Bill 33, Toby's Act (Right to be Free from Discrimination and Harassment Because of Gender Identity or Gender Expression)

Yes.  Three MPP's from three different parties, (NDP's Cheri DiNovo, Liberal Party's, Yasir Naqvi, PC's Christine Elliot) who worked across aisles to do what politicians are SUPPOSED TO DO - which is not just, you know, their jobs, but to not treat human rights issues as bipartisan ones.  It was DiNovo's fourth attempt to secure Human Rights Code protections for gender identity and gender expression.  In 2012 it passed.  Groundbreaking. Life-changing.  Utterly Canadian.  I'm thrilled that my country and home province are breaking ground with their inclusive support and solidarity with our transgendered and transitioning brothers and sisters.