One-Sided Conversation

“…and we’re having some work done on the house. We have a new guy painting inside today. He’s Chinese.”

(why is that important?)

“He said he’s from Malaysia”

(then he’s probably not Chinese)

“His name’s Ollie”

(where’s this going)

“And I said that doesn’t sound Chinese”

(oh my god)

“He just laughed. He thought it was funny.”

(I’m sure that’s exactly what he thought)

“He told me that people sometimes think he’s Mexican. I told him that he didn’t look Mexican to me.”

(getoutofthisconversationgetoutgetout)

“Oh well…I better get going.”

(please go)

“It was so nice to see you again!”

(screaming on the inside)

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One-Sided Conversation
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Anti-Gay? Thanks for letting me know!

Last week RawStory reported on Oklahoma Democratic state Rep. Emily Virgin’s amendment to the outlandish and outrageous proposed Oklahoma Religious Freedom Act. Freaking RFRAs are popping up every which way this year. In the case of this particular one, certain wedding businesses would be allowed to deny services to anyone they don’t like just ‘cuz. Err…I mean – religious freedomz!!!

Rep. Virgin’s amendment would require that bigots clearly post their bigotry in a manner that would let potential patrons know which brand of bigotry they would be supporting by shopping with any particular store. From Rawstory:

The amendment to HB1371 introduced by Virgin on Tuesday would require religious businesses to come out of the closet.

“Any person not wanting to participate in any of the activities set forth in subsection A of this section based on sexual orientation, gender identity or race of either party to the marriage shall post notice of such refusal in a manner clearly visible to the public in all places of business, including websites,” the amendment states.

“The notice may refer to the person’s religious beliefs, but shall state specifically which couples the business does not serve by referring to a refusal based upon sexual orientation, gender identity or race.”

Yes! Please do let me know if I will be boycotting your shop. How convenient for me!

This is, of course, a stop gap. I cannot wait for us to cycle out of this ridiculous popularity of the “religious freedom” defense of asshattery. Soon? Please?

Anti-Gay? Thanks for letting me know!

And Only 12 Remained

I loved this story over at Salon. It’s by a faculty member named Kate Geiselman about Peter LaBarbera’s recent visit to her campus, Sinclair Community College in Dayton Ohio. When LaBarbera arrived there were about 100 people waiting to hear him speak. Not long after he started, many of the students walked out, leaving 12 students in the audience. And what happened before LaBarbera arrived is even better than the walk-out.

From Kate Geiselman:

It has been a source of both professional and personal pain to see the institution I am proud of and students I care about hijacked by this tiny minority. There is widespread concern about this club at all levels of the college. Over the years, many groups and individuals have tried to engage the TVC and LaBarbera’s ilk in the “dialogue” they profess to seek, but there are big organizations behind these speakers. They have deep pockets and lots of lawyers, and they are looking for a fight. As an institution, we have a duty to protect free speech, hateful or not.

But we don’t have to listen to it.

Yes, yes, yes! Bigots and jerks and misogynists and the KKK and flat earthers and anti-vaxxers and anti-choicers are free to speak their piece, but they are not entitled to an audience (or major media news coverage). We owe them nothing. We can choose where to focus our attention. At Sinclair Community College they chose to focus on love, equality and cookies, rather than on LaBarbera’s ranting.

<3

You can read the entire article here at Salon.com

And Only 12 Remained

CeCe's Free

I’ve been thinking about CeCe McDonald a lot lately. That’s not surprising, really, since she was just released from prison. She spent 19 months in men’s prison for killing an attacker while defending her life.

I just…life is so fucking unfair.

I ranted about CeCe’s case in almost two years ago. She was sentenced to 41 months in prison, so she’s getting out early, but still. 19 months. Every time that I think about the fact that I live in a society that sentenced a transgender black woman to prison – a men’s prison! – for defending her life against bigots who targeted her because she is a transgender black woman it makes me angry and whatever the word for sad-angry-frustrated-helpless-to-tears is. And really, really angry.

I’ve been keeping an eye on her blog. CeCe turned 25 years old in prison. That was a heartbreaking post.

But as of today, she’s out. CeCe is out and she’s going to have a big ol’ party over at Intermedia Arts this Saturday.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvN4CTjR-Cg

Welcome back, CeCe.

CeCe's Free

CeCe’s Free

I’ve been thinking about CeCe McDonald a lot lately. That’s not surprising, really, since she was just released from prison. She spent 19 months in men’s prison for killing an attacker while defending her life.

I just…life is so fucking unfair.

I ranted about CeCe’s case in almost two years ago. She was sentenced to 41 months in prison, so she’s getting out early, but still. 19 months. Every time that I think about the fact that I live in a society that sentenced a transgender black woman to prison – a men’s prison! – for defending her life against bigots who targeted her because she is a transgender black woman it makes me angry and whatever the word for sad-angry-frustrated-helpless-to-tears is. And really, really angry.

I’ve been keeping an eye on her blog. CeCe turned 25 years old in prison. That was a heartbreaking post.

But as of today, she’s out. CeCe is out and she’s going to have a big ol’ party over at Intermedia Arts this Saturday.

Welcome back, CeCe.

CeCe’s Free

Everyday Homophobia

Acquaintance: *chuckling* Do you know what’s funny? I just told my [adult] son that me and his Dad were thinking about buying a Subaru. And he said that we can’t because it’s a homo car. *continues chuckling, waits for me to join in*

Me: *quietly* That’s horrible.

Acquaintance: *backpeddling* No…I mean, I never knew that people thought that Subaru was…that people thought about Subaru cars that way.

Me: *sigh* It’s not funny. Calling something “homo” isn’t funny.

Acquaintance: Oh, he’s not…he has gay friends and he’s very nice to them. He’s nice to everyone… And the couple down the street, they’re gay and THEY have a Subaru!

Me: *brain splattering against the inside of my skull* Subaru has been a proud supporter of gay-friendly efforts for a long time, so yes some people in the gay community support Subaru by buying their cars. But so do a lot of other people. And if your son wants to be nice to his gay friends he should probably stop using the word “homo”.

The conversation veered quickly and awkwardly into safer areas, but damned if I heard anything else she had to say.

On a positive note, standing up to everyday homophobia gets a little easier every time.

Everyday Homophobia

Out In Droves – Arguing Same-Sex Marriage

House Bill H.R.1054 was up for a vote in the Civil Law Committee on Tuesday. On that day the committee took testimony from any and all citizens who wanted to share their views on the bill. Many presented their own views and some introduced themselves as representatives for a group.

I don’t often watch political committee discussions (but when I do…), but this is a topic of great interest. H.R.1054 is a bill that, if passed by the MN Congress, would give same-sex couples the right to get married in Minnesota! I also wanted to watch because August Berkshire was scheduled to speak on behalf of Minnesota Atheists. August live-Facebooked the event. Fellow MN Atheist members Greg Laden and Stephanie Zvan also blogged about the committee meeting.

Continue reading “Out In Droves – Arguing Same-Sex Marriage”

Out In Droves – Arguing Same-Sex Marriage

Obama Hung In Effigy

Well, that’s a nice good morning, eh?

Seen on Facebook in the Secular Women group.

On the PoliticusUSA blog Tim from LA writes about a disgusting event in Florida in which a dummy with an Obama mask was hung from a gallows on the front lawn of a church. – Oh, it’s Pastor Terry Jones and the Dove World Outreach Center again. This douchebag is apparently staving for more attention now that his latest Koran burning has blown over in the media. What a dick.

Jones manages to insult the President, black Americans and gay Americans with his latest stunt. There’s a baby hanging from the dummy’s hand (implying that Obama’s a baby killer/prochoice?) and an Uncle Sam doll. A trailer nearby says “Obama is Killing America”(shouldn’t that be spelled ‘Murica?)

One little man with one little congregation that can’t get any attention with their racist, homophobic, anti-American message, so they resort to radical, right-wing shock stunts to garner attention.

Boring. Let’s laugh scornfully at this sad little man and move on, shall we?

This is post 3 of 49 in the SSAweek Biodork Blogathon. Donate to the SSA today! Read more about my reader challenges here.

Obama Hung In Effigy

Dinkus of the Day: Pastor Charles Worley

For your viewing displeasure – two minutes of bigotry.

I’m again’ this video.

“Build a great big large fence… put all the lesbians in there… Do the same thing for the queers and the homosexuals and have that fence electrified so they can’t get out…”

“…And you know what, in a few years, they’ll die out… Do you know why? They can’t reproduce.”

*clears throat, raises hand*

Continue reading “Dinkus of the Day: Pastor Charles Worley”

Dinkus of the Day: Pastor Charles Worley

Stay Classy, Our Lady of Sorrows

NPR reported on a story this morning about a Catholic* school in Arizona that chose to forfeit a state championship baseball game, rather than play while a child-bearing machine…oops, I mean little lady…err…teenage girl was on the field. It was because the school had too much respect for the female player, of course.

From International Business Times:

“Teaching our boys to treat ladies with deference, we choose not to place them in an athletic competition where proper boundaries can only be respected with difficulty,” the statement read. “Our school aims to instill in our boys a profound respect for women and girls.”

The Associated Press reports that Paige Sultzbach, a 15-year old from Mesa Preparatory Academy, had voluntarily sat out two games against Our Lady of Sorrows earlier in the season in order to accommodate their dumbfuckery. She wasn’t, however, willing to sit out for the state championship. w00t!

Continue reading “Stay Classy, Our Lady of Sorrows”

Stay Classy, Our Lady of Sorrows