There's a Liberal in the Deep South, Parents who do it right, and Homohelp!

So it's been awhile since I've had anything to post (which is not to say that there has been nothing going on in the world) and since I have had any time to actually do a little research and get a coherent post out of my brain and into the internet.  But fear not, as I have finally completed all of those things, while doing dishes, laundry, and earning a paycheck.  I want a cookie.

Where to start?  I think I'd like to begin with something that's been on my mind for awhile.  A while ago, a friend of mine (We'll call him Sunshine, you can find his blog to the left titled "my life on the z-list") posted a graphic with a link to a site called Homohelp.  It's a fun little site with snarky, helpful, and sometimes uplifting messages to help members of the LGBT(and more) community to get through life with a little bit of a laugh.  I'll admit that they have made me laugh from time to time.  But there was one that I read, and I haven't really been able to get it out of my head.  See it below, and then further on for why it's in my head.

So there it is.  I read that and it was as if it started something in my head.  So I've been thinking about this phrase off and on since I saw it posed in May.  I realize just as much as anyone that there is a point when having interaction with the LGBT+ community (the plus is to denote all the other letters in the acronym) that everything is about them and their orientation.  And yeah, it gets a little tiring from time to time.  But just as I thought that, I reminded myself that in the struggle for equality, isn't that exactly what we're fighting for?  The right to not be thought of as different or less because of who we are attracted to/love.  So maybe pride isn't necessarily just about celebrating gayness, maybe its about finally being able to express yourself in whatever way you want, no matter what, and live a life that makes you happy.  If that means embracing the gayness of oneself or someone else, or having the strength of character to come out and join the ranks of those fighting for equality, then yes, pride is more than parades and glitter.  Our pride is found in the riots of Stonewall and on the fence with Matthew Shepard.  Our pride is dirty, broken, bleeding, and beaten.  But we still have the strength to fight and celebrate, and *that* is something to have Pride about.

Wow.  That's a little deep, even for me.  Well continuing right along let's talk about parents.  Some parents have a rough time of it and some parents don't.  Other parents are doing it right, at least as far as I'm concerned.  Sunshine (see above) linked a story to his blog which you can find here.  The original story can be found here.  And I have posted it below, with no malicious intent or infringement intent either, because apparently Tumblr and Blogger don't like each other.

“Mommy, they are just like me.” 

My oldest son is six years old and in love for the first time.  He is in love with Blaine from Glee. 

For those who don’t know Blaine is a boy…a gay boy, the boyfriend of one of the main characters, Kurt.

This isn’t a ‘he thinks Blaine is really cool’ kind of love.  It is a mooning at a picture of Blaine’s face for a half hour followed by a wistful “He’s so pretty” kind of love.

He loves the episode where two boys kiss.  My son will call people in from other parts of the house to make sure they don’t miss his ‘favorite part.’  He’s been known to rewind it and watch it over again…and force other to, as well, if he doesn’t think people have been paying enough attention.

This infatuation doesn’t bother me or his father.  We live in a very hip-liberal neighborhood, many of our friends are gay, and idea of having a gay son isn’t something that bothers either of us.  Our son is going to be who he is, and it is our job to love him.  End of story.

He is also six.  Six year olds get obsessed with all kinds of things.  This might not mean anything at all.  We always joke that he’s either gay, or we have the best blackmail material in the history of mankind when he’s a 16 year old straight boy. (Take that naked bath time pictures!)

Then the other day we were traveling across the state listening to the Warblers album (of course), and in the middle of Candles, my son pipes up from the back seat.

“Mommy, Kurt and Blaine are boyfriends.”

“Yes, they are,” I affirm.

“They don’t like kissing girls.  They just kiss boys.”

“That’s true.”

“Mommy, they are just like me.”

“That’s great, baby.  You know I love you no matter what?”

“I know…” I could hear him rolling his eyes at me.

When we got home I recapped this conversation to his Dad, and we stood simply looking into each other’s eyes for a moment.  Then we smiled.

“So if at 16 he wants to make a big announcement at the dinner table, we can say ‘You told us when you were six.  Pass the carrots’ and he’ll be disappointed we stole his big dramatic moment,” my husband says with a laugh and hugs me.

Only time will tell if my son is gay, but if he is I am glad he’s mine.  I am glad he has been born into our family.  A family full of people who will love and accept him.  People who will never want him to change.  With parents who will look forward to dancing at his wedding.

And I have to admit, Blaine would be a really cute son-in-law.

So there it is.  I have to say that if all parents were as in touch with whatever true spirit of raising children there might be, these two have finally got it.  They realize that children are weird and that's ok.  And if he grows out of it, so what?  If not, so what?  And they're even mature enough to have a little humor about it with the "big announcement" comment and the blackmail material.  If all parents were to retain such a calm and sense of humor in the face of dealing with a weird infatuation of a 6 year old, maybe the world would be in a little better shape.  I'd be interested to see where this kid is in 10 years.

And now, for the Pièce de résistance, I finally found a liberal in the deep south.  I'll admit I was a little elated so realize that they exist down there and I hope he keeps doing what he's doing with his blog.  I was a little disappointed to see that he got his start with blogging as a reaction to some crazy homophobic preacher in the south.  I wish to extend my sympathy and empathy regarding all of that, and state for the record that not all of those who call themselves Christian are insane and psychologically manipulative through the use of religion.  Which I have to say that after watching a few YouTube videos of this pastor's preaching, I have to say it's a little cult-ish.  In that it uses similar ways cults would to break people down and reprogram them.  You can find one of the videos at Ashton Elijah's blog, (the video is at the bottom of the blog post) and another one on YouTube from the David Pakman show.  So, Ashton, keep up the good work, and know that you're not completely alone.  


So on that note I leave you, until next week because I have more laundry, dishes, and shopping to do, and it's not going to get done by itself.  Happy Wednesday!

As promised with a surprise included

So like I promised, here is your blog that is only a few days late.  In my defense, reorganizing a basement is exhausting work.  Anyway, let's see what issues are out there this week for me to blog about.

I can't blog without mentioning the oil spill in the Gulf.  Notice the lack of a link, because everyone knows about it.  I'm not getting into whether we should drill here, drill now or any of those issues.  However, I do have a few questions that I have about this.  First, what was the condition of the rig that it exploded in the first place?  Second, what sort of regulations were in place to keep the rig in a workable condition?  Third, when it did explode (wherein the logical extrapolation would be that it would sink and oil would end up in the ocean) why didn't they immediately begin to prepare for the oil spill instead of waiting until it happened?  Just a couple things, like I said.

"THAT GROUP" is doing more reprehensible things.  I mean, come on, picketing funerals (the funerals of veterans to boot) is one thing.  But who pickets and protests at a high school graduation?  What message is this sending, and what can possibly be gained from doing this, aside from cementing the fact that you and your group are the biggest [insert whatever appropriate expletive you want] in the world.

A couple of weeks ago, I read an article (and possibly linked to it here, but I can't find it) about how some baseball players got kicked off a league for not being gay enough.  You can find the PDF file of the lawsuit that followed here.  I can't think of anything that would justify this.  Is the gay community setting itself up for some sort of reverse discrimination quagmires?  I'm not sure.  But I don't like this sort of thing.

Apparently DADT (Don't Ask, Don't Tell) is working just fine.  As evidenced by the video for this week's blog.  The video shows a group of soldiers who are apparently in Iraq making a parody video of Lady GaGa's music video "Telephone".  So...yeah.  DADT, works great.  I'm not supporting DADT in any fashion, but attempting to make a joke.  Not sure if it worked.  Blogging is a hard medium for comedy.  Go watch the video already.





So even the former FLOTUS couldn't even convince her hubby to leave gay marriage alone.  This article/blurb mentions a quote from her memoir.  I'm actually shocked that they have gay friends and such.  And I don't know why, but it just strikes me that if they have gay friends, and are friends with people who have gay children, wouldn't you think that would give you some insight into the hardships of the gay community?  Apparently not, as evidenced by the last sentence of the blurb.

The bigotry and hatred in the south continues to abound in ways that continue to astonish me.  But then again, it's the south, so...  This article mirrors the Constance McMillen issue, but apparently being gay is still thought of as catching according to this article. 

I wonder if these issues involving High School-ers are being thrust into the spotlight is because kids are coming out earlier.  In any event, here's another issue of High School bigotry in full force.  I can't even imagine how she must feel to have been left out of the yearbook.  The yearbook is one of the highlights of every year of school.  To be left out, would be tantamount to having your classmates tell you that you don't exist, and aren't worthy of being acknowledged as a person.

Being that it's the south, I'm sure that they're approach to homosexuality would be to send them to an ex-gay ministry/therapy.  Well as this video shows, and I'm sure there are more, but I'll post a link rather than just the video so you can explore.  The video is basically ex-gay advocates apologizing for what they supported.  I watched part of it, and it's not bad.  

There's a lot more going on in the realm of gay news.  You can follow links on this page to go search for yourself.  On that note, happy weekend, and I'll see you next Wednesday, assuming that I don't get totally wrapped up in dealing with boxes and re-packing.