Textphish

It’s nearing the end of my weeklong vacation to Texas. I find myself very tired out, and absolutely not ready to drive back to Kentucky on Tuesday…but eh, c’est la vie, oui?

I’m finding myself for the moment a bit tired of the blogging scene. Every once in a while I grow bored of being a slave to my internet habit and find I need to take a holiday. Computer screens can’t replace a tree or a pile of dirt or that wild armadillo I saw rooting for food in the woods a few days ago. The prospect of computers and technology and the drama that I get caught up in and let myself get caught up in within it makes me sick sometimes. I believe a few days away from Textphish might do me a little good.

Sooooo….I’ll see you when I return to Kentucky.

It’s awesome!

I know I stated that I was sick of writing about gay rights…but I feel that I must return to the subject. I have a few concerns to voice.

Recently, I caught a bootlegged version of Milk, which I absolutely adored. I fell in love with the movie and its message, the hope and the raw humanity portrayed. Sean Penn did a phenomenal job, as did everyone cast for the film. I was moved to tears many times and I was filled with hope many times. All in all, it deserves the “Best Film” nomination. Really.

Part of what I really enjoyed about the film was the fact that it was not only excellent, but it was educational. Seeing the gay rights movement in its budding days was very powerful: the carelessness of others, especially police officers, and the hatred and discrimination that ran so rampant and STILL runs rampant hit me hard. The Castro, the gayborhood of San Francisco, had an entire warning system built on silver whistles, which they would blow when someone was in trouble to alert others.

Now, with so much violence rising against gay people globally (it raised 26% between 2006 and 2007, and is expected to grow worse as 2008 and 2009 progress) I wonder if those days of the silver whistles are really that far behind us. The stately Ecuadorian gentleman who was savagely beaten on the streets of New York because some assholes mistook he and his brother, with whom he was walking arm and arm, for gay men comes to mind, as do the countless suicides that have happened over the years because the young and old alike could not bear the pressure of their sexuality. While I’m at it, I’ll mention Matthew Shepard, Duanna Johnson, Lawrence King, Harvey Milk, and this entire Wikipedia page.

The violence is wide and varied. Transwomen and transmen and gay men and gay women and bisexuals of all color and queers of all shapes and sizes are afraid. We are a minority group that is quickly losing the chance for equal rights everywhere; gays are hated. Wherever they go, there is that stigma attached. Wherever I go, I am conscious of myself and my area. Wherever we go, we are always aware. It could happen at any moment, to anyone.

It’s not always violent, either, the bigotry displayed against people like me. Take Kathyrn Kutil and Cheryl Hess, who had their one year-old daughter, whom they had raised since birth, removed from their care by a judge who thought that the little girl needed a “balanced” home, i.e., a home with a woman and a man. Or Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Or the Defense of Marriage Act. Everywhere you look, there is a gay person (or those suffering from HIV/AIDS) somewhere affected by antigay laws, ruling, violence, and discrimination.

I have family members that read my blog (Hi, Grandma and Dad)! It’s in my best interest to make what I put on my blog reach out to people, whatever I write about aside. I hope this entry reaches out to you guys, that you know how important an issue it is to support my community. You’re supporting me. Because I see myself as an activist, I see the importance in educating anyone–anyone at all–about the things I believe in. I believe in equal rights for everyone, especially those that don’t have equal rights. I hope that my activity in promoting the LGBT community won’t go unnoticed, or have been in vain.

On that note, I’d like to link to several pieces of a documentary on Youtube, which I found a few years back when I picked up my first issue of Curve and saw Chrissy Gephardt on the front cover. I give you For The Bible Tells Me So, a beautifully compiled documentary covering gay people and their familes, and their journeys towards acceptance and even activism:

For The Bible Tells Me So Part 1
For The Bible Tells Me So Part 2
For The Bible Tells Me So Part 3
For The Bible Tells Me So Part 4
For The Bible Tells Me So Part 5
For The Bible Tells Me So Part 6
For The Bible Tells Me So Part 7
For The Bible Tells Me So Part 8
For The Bible Tells Me So Part 9
For The Bible Tells Me So Part 10

Be warned, I found it slightly biased in some parts (the cartoon, for example) but the stories that were told were beautiful and very moving. I suggest that if you have the time to watch, please watch. It’s certainly educational, and the old Kentucky couple that the movie starts out with are just so sweet. I wish I could drive to their home and shake their hands.

I am an activist for gay rights because people have died for being who they are. Because people live lives hidden every day because they don’t feel comfortable enough to live the lives they deserve. Because there is pain. Because there are hurt people, because people deserve better than that.

But I am also an activist because we’re close to overcoming that. And I hope that people can learn from our efforts that we’re not sick, we’re not evil, and we’re not pedophiles. We are normal, just like you. We are, just as you are. We are human beings.

What is so wrong about that?