http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6846855/gay-men-will-marry-your-girlfriends
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Found another book I want.
Oddly Normal: One Family's Struggle to Help Their Teenage Son Come to Terms with His Sexuality.
As titles go, it's a bit long, but as hooks go, this book has got a huge one: The true story of how journalist John Schwartz got a call telling him his son was in the hospital after a failed suicide attempt. Read about it here.
Politics
My friends are up in a hullabaloo about Obama getting re-elected. I'm just happy Mitt isn't around to work to keep me a second-class citizen. To me, it is personal. I can't keep my politics separate from my friendships, because presidential elections mean the difference between a president who will re-enact DOMA (it's not off the books, just not apparently being enforced) and fight to keep my rights from me, vs. a president who will work to give me equality.
In other political news and reblogged news articles:
The Republicans don't want me. They want everyone else, but not me.
The Democratic party, however, does.
Bob Kerrey, running for Senate, supports gay marriage. (Unfortunately, he lost.)
I realize it might have been more productive to have reposted this earlier. Can I blame my workload?
In other political news and reblogged news articles:
The Republicans don't want me. They want everyone else, but not me.
The Democratic party, however, does.
Bob Kerrey, running for Senate, supports gay marriage. (Unfortunately, he lost.)
I realize it might have been more productive to have reposted this earlier. Can I blame my workload?
More newspaper.
- An appeals court in New York says calling someone gay is not slander, because it is not defamatory. I always thought slander depended on the information being untrue. There's me told.
- Gaydar is apparently totally real, with about 60% accuracy, and dependent on the relationship between a person's facial features.
- The company Replacements Limited came out for gay marriage, to the loss of several customers. C'mon, queer allies, anti-boycott!
- More notes on Chick Fil'A.
Choices.
One of the prominent previous proponents of 'reparative therapy' retracts his claims, and admits they were based on a biased study. The article also cites claims that the therapy is harmful and contributes to depressive thoughts and actions. Even Alan Chambers, the president of Exodus, a Christian therapy group for gays, is speaking more liberally about whether being gay can be changed. Then again, those who claim to have been 'fixed' by reparative therapy complain that they have indeed been changed
and that if they had known these therapies were possible, that they
might have avoided said depressive thoughts and actions, and speak out
against the recent ban of these therapies in California.
Interesting. As a queer woman myself, I try not to judge people on their sexuality. If a person truly does not feel like being gay is part of who they are, I try to accept that. If for them, it is a choice, I try to accept that, too. I just worry that talking about change can cause harm to people who could live a happy, fulfilling life accepting their sexuality and acting on it, because they believe it is sin and that if there's a possibility they could change, they should act on it.
I've read that religious faith is a choice. I immediately rejected the idea, because if I could choose to simply believe, it would make life so much easier, rather than all these pesky questions and doubts. Then I started wondering.
I think I do choose my faith, but that it's a choice where the unconscious mind has to be making the same choice as the conscious mind. You can force yourself to choose black socks instead of white, healthy food instead of candy, a donation to charity instead of a trip to Disney World. You can't force yourself to choose faith.
If being gay is indeed a choice, it's that kind of choice. If your subconscious doesn't want to change, you can't. If it does, maybe you can. It would explain a lot.
Who has the right to tell someone their subconscious needs to be behaving differently?
Nobody in their right mind would choose to be gay on the surface. All that hate? Limiting your options like that? Risking harm and even death? No way. But I wouldn't want to change, not now, even if I could wipe the memories of everyone around me to save me the embarrassment of coming out in reverse. I like the idea of dating a woman, being with a woman. You know how they say men are from Mars, and women are from Venus? How often people talk about not understanding the opposite sex?
I read about a study, and don't ask me to produce the article, I don't know where I left it, that women and men experience attraction vastly differently. The study involved watching the area of a person's brain that responded to attraction at the same time as showing the subject pictures and asking them to rate them attractive or not, or possibly somewhere in between. If a man was attracted to a photo, he was attracted to it. His brain and answers lined up. Women's did not. I also read, from a not so credible source, sixbillionsecrets.com, that all girls are bisexual. I know for me, and it may be because I'm a woman, or just because I'm odd, sexuality is highly linked to emotion. Nine times out of ten, I have to know someone at least a little to be attracted to them. I can walk through a mall and pick out pretty girls, but I can't walk through a mall and pick out even one person I'd sleep with, even if the usual social cues and moral standards were thrown out. So I like the idea of being with a woman, because a woman would, likely, understand me better, understand how I react, understand why I react, and touch me accordingly, because she feels it herself. A man may the sweetest, kindest, most understanding man in the world, but because he doesn't experience attraction as a woman, he can't instinctively respond to mine. Obviously, there are plenty of exceptions; I am talking generally.
So, there is actually a reason to choose to be gay. Allow me to reiterate. Perhaps one or two people on Earth today are crazy enough to take a reason like that as good enough to choose to be gay despite all the reasons I mentioned above to choose to be straight. One or two would pick being in constant danger of being treated as a pervert, a sinner, a weirdo, someone who doesn't need or deserve friends or basic human kindness, or even life, over the idea of having a relationship with an unprecedented level of mutual understanding. Especially considering how many straight couples get along just fine, and how many gay couples break up anyway--the two sets are equally volatile. The pros and cons don't balance. There is no basis for a conscious choice.
There is, however, just possibly, enough for an unconscious choice, especially for a woman.
But if you can't tell me to change my faith, you can't tell me to change my sexuality.
Interesting. As a queer woman myself, I try not to judge people on their sexuality. If a person truly does not feel like being gay is part of who they are, I try to accept that. If for them, it is a choice, I try to accept that, too. I just worry that talking about change can cause harm to people who could live a happy, fulfilling life accepting their sexuality and acting on it, because they believe it is sin and that if there's a possibility they could change, they should act on it.
I've read that religious faith is a choice. I immediately rejected the idea, because if I could choose to simply believe, it would make life so much easier, rather than all these pesky questions and doubts. Then I started wondering.
I think I do choose my faith, but that it's a choice where the unconscious mind has to be making the same choice as the conscious mind. You can force yourself to choose black socks instead of white, healthy food instead of candy, a donation to charity instead of a trip to Disney World. You can't force yourself to choose faith.
If being gay is indeed a choice, it's that kind of choice. If your subconscious doesn't want to change, you can't. If it does, maybe you can. It would explain a lot.
Who has the right to tell someone their subconscious needs to be behaving differently?
Nobody in their right mind would choose to be gay on the surface. All that hate? Limiting your options like that? Risking harm and even death? No way. But I wouldn't want to change, not now, even if I could wipe the memories of everyone around me to save me the embarrassment of coming out in reverse. I like the idea of dating a woman, being with a woman. You know how they say men are from Mars, and women are from Venus? How often people talk about not understanding the opposite sex?
I read about a study, and don't ask me to produce the article, I don't know where I left it, that women and men experience attraction vastly differently. The study involved watching the area of a person's brain that responded to attraction at the same time as showing the subject pictures and asking them to rate them attractive or not, or possibly somewhere in between. If a man was attracted to a photo, he was attracted to it. His brain and answers lined up. Women's did not. I also read, from a not so credible source, sixbillionsecrets.com, that all girls are bisexual. I know for me, and it may be because I'm a woman, or just because I'm odd, sexuality is highly linked to emotion. Nine times out of ten, I have to know someone at least a little to be attracted to them. I can walk through a mall and pick out pretty girls, but I can't walk through a mall and pick out even one person I'd sleep with, even if the usual social cues and moral standards were thrown out. So I like the idea of being with a woman, because a woman would, likely, understand me better, understand how I react, understand why I react, and touch me accordingly, because she feels it herself. A man may the sweetest, kindest, most understanding man in the world, but because he doesn't experience attraction as a woman, he can't instinctively respond to mine. Obviously, there are plenty of exceptions; I am talking generally.
So, there is actually a reason to choose to be gay. Allow me to reiterate. Perhaps one or two people on Earth today are crazy enough to take a reason like that as good enough to choose to be gay despite all the reasons I mentioned above to choose to be straight. One or two would pick being in constant danger of being treated as a pervert, a sinner, a weirdo, someone who doesn't need or deserve friends or basic human kindness, or even life, over the idea of having a relationship with an unprecedented level of mutual understanding. Especially considering how many straight couples get along just fine, and how many gay couples break up anyway--the two sets are equally volatile. The pros and cons don't balance. There is no basis for a conscious choice.
There is, however, just possibly, enough for an unconscious choice, especially for a woman.
But if you can't tell me to change my faith, you can't tell me to change my sexuality.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Monday, June 4, 2012
Born or Made, Still OK
Born this way or not? Does it even matter? This is what I've been trying to say.
Monday, May 28, 2012
The Letter Q
I want this book.
It's called The Letter Q: Queer Writers' Notes to their Younger Selves, and it's just what it sounds like: Things queer authors would say to their younger selves if they had the chance. As a queer writer myself, I can only imagine how amazing it would be to read stories of people who were once, very much in my boat. A bit like It Gets Better, only for writers. (On that note, there is actually a book of It Gets Better stories, if you didn't know. I didn't. I might get that one, too. It even got better reviews.)
This quote is on the Amazon page, attributed to Sarah Moon:
"Just between you and me, we both know that the weirdest thing about
coming out on your first day of high school in this tiny cow-town is
that you haven't even kissed a girl, yet. All you're going on is that
feeling in your stomach when you see those pictures of the Spice Girls.
It feels a little strange to go around proclaiming that you're a lesbian
when you're not even sure that, you know, you'll like it. That quiet
fear that this isn't the right thing, that you're going through all of
this trouble for nothing, that if you had Angelina Jolie right there in
front of you, you wouldn't know what to do with her, it's very scary. I
have good news for you: The trouble is worth it, and you'll learn what
to do; and that will be fun."
This speaks exactly to me. This is a fear I have had. This is a fear I still have. Although I don't live in a 'tiny cow-town', and I don't stare at pictures of the Spice Girls or Angelina Jolie, this could be a letter from MY future self. That, I think, is one of the things that binds us together. We have had the same fears, the same thoughts, the same problems, even though we are very different people living very different lives. Sarah Moon and I have never met. She has never heard of me (unless by some very strange coincidence, she knows one of my teachers or something) and I had never heard of her until today, though I love her name. But Sarah Moon knows exactly what I'm thinking, because she has been there too.
Misconceptions the 'Good Guys' Have
Today I saw a picture that said, "I am gay! I have the constitutional right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
Can you guess what's wrong with this statement?
Answer: The 'right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' is not in the Constitution. It is in the Declaration of Independence, which doesn't actually determine our laws. You have the constitutional right to freedom of religion, freedom of the press, a trial by your peers, and a few other things encoded in what's basically an appendix to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights.
That's not the point.
The point is that if you don't check your facts and know your material cold, why should your opponent take you seriously? How can you argue with an anti-gay-rights person that your rights are being infringed upon if you don't know what your rights are? How can you convince them that you have a point if you say something that's merely in the right spirit, but not factually correct?
To change minds, your arguments have to be airtight. You want to be the one poking holes in their arguments, not the one scrambling while your arguments are falling apart. Granted, you'll probably have more success changing minds by standing up and saying, "I am a gay second class citizen, and this is my story," but when the people on the fence call out to you and say, "Hey. Why should I help you get married?" what are you going to say?
Well, for starters, if you want to do any good, you won't quote the Constitution without having article and paragraph numbers.
For another thing, you won't say something like, "Being gay is entirely genetic." Quoting scientific findings is a lot like quoting legal decisions. You're better off having someone who understands the field putting it in layman's terms. Thankfully, I'm a lot better at deciphering science-speak than legalese. I wrote the paper on this, literally. (You'll get to see it soon.) Here's what we know or think we know:
Can you guess what's wrong with this statement?
Answer: The 'right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' is not in the Constitution. It is in the Declaration of Independence, which doesn't actually determine our laws. You have the constitutional right to freedom of religion, freedom of the press, a trial by your peers, and a few other things encoded in what's basically an appendix to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights.
That's not the point.
The point is that if you don't check your facts and know your material cold, why should your opponent take you seriously? How can you argue with an anti-gay-rights person that your rights are being infringed upon if you don't know what your rights are? How can you convince them that you have a point if you say something that's merely in the right spirit, but not factually correct?
To change minds, your arguments have to be airtight. You want to be the one poking holes in their arguments, not the one scrambling while your arguments are falling apart. Granted, you'll probably have more success changing minds by standing up and saying, "I am a gay second class citizen, and this is my story," but when the people on the fence call out to you and say, "Hey. Why should I help you get married?" what are you going to say?
Well, for starters, if you want to do any good, you won't quote the Constitution without having article and paragraph numbers.
For another thing, you won't say something like, "Being gay is entirely genetic." Quoting scientific findings is a lot like quoting legal decisions. You're better off having someone who understands the field putting it in layman's terms. Thankfully, I'm a lot better at deciphering science-speak than legalese. I wrote the paper on this, literally. (You'll get to see it soon.) Here's what we know or think we know:
- If one identical twin is gay, the other twin has a 50/50 shot at also being gay.
- Identical twins share the same genes. Anything that is entirely genetic will be the same for both of them. Always.
- If a gay man has a gay uncle, they may tend to share a gene on the X chromosome.
- Just because two things tend to happen together, doesn't mean one causes the other. There's a whole bunch of ways things can be linked. For example, you notice that the tree leaves in your neighborhood are turning yellow and falling off. Is the turning yellow what causes them to fall? Is the falling (or preparation for falling) what causes them to turn yellow? Or is something else causing both?
- Fraternal (non-identical) twins are more likely than ordinary siblings to both be gay.
- Some people still claim to have changed sides or chosen their sexuality.
News and Politics
I know I've been absent for a couple months, but I've been racking up the news articles to send you. Warning: NYTimes.com only lets you view ten free articles a month, so think carefully before clicking the links. I can get around that by getting them sent to me in my inbox, but even I can't view my bookmarks.
So, Biden's big announcement in favor of same-sex marriage. I'm sure you've heard about this. Drove the White House a little crazy, rushing to make sure everyone knew this was Biden's personal opinion and not the official stance, and forcing Obama to say something one way or the other. I feel for the big man--he got voters from both sides by walking the line, and this doesn't help his cause. Quite frankly, I'm worried about what will happen if Mitt Romney gets in office. It really feels like he sets his stance based on what he thinks the public wants to hear, and changes it accordingly. What is the problem with Obama? I hope this is the article that talks about this--I keep getting a message that says I've read my free articles for the month before I can even read enough to see if it's the one I want. Basically, Romney's telling us Obama lost the country jobs--well, in his first few months of taking office, before his policies could take effect. And now he's trying to get us to return to the same policies that got us into this mess. Who really believes two terms are enough to dig the country out of its hole? Who thinks that a man who won't take a stance of his own and says what he thinks you want to hear will make a good president? (Apparently, a lot of people.) And Romney won't support same-sex marriage--he says so himself, although he also apparently has friends who are gay. Yes, ObamaCare may be in line with socialist ideals. But guess what? So is public education. It doesn't make him evil. We're so close to getting many of our rights, despite some waffling in the White House--Obama Won't Order Ban on Gay Bias by Employers--some of the original top supporters of DOMA are trying to get it revoked, and the public mind is changing all the time. Don't let the country take two steps back for every step forward. Pull out your common sense. Leave the states vs federal debate and the abortion debate for another day. Debate them in your own time, please do. Work to change people's minds for the things you really care about. But the whole country's going to suffer if you elect Mitt Romney. Re-elect Obama. Pass it on.
In other news:
Homophobic? Maybe You're Gay
All you have to do is watch Glee to know some of the most vehement anti-gays out there are in the closet and scared to death. A good reason to turn the other cheek and be kind to those who hate your guts.
Methodists Vote Against Homosexuality Rule Change
Basically, the Methodists have it written down that homosexuality is incompatible with their teachings, and they decided not to rewrite it.
Harming the Troops
Military Chaplains officially can't marry same-sex couples, even in states where it's legal. I think. Legalese confuses the heck out of me. I shall never be a politician.
Malawi President Wants to Repeal Nation's Antigay Laws
Malawi, a country in Africa, currently has laws prohibiting homosexual acts, but its president wants to repeal them if she can.
And:
Rutgers Webcam-Spying Defendant Sentenced to 30 Days
This is the kid who spied on his roommate having gay sex using a webcam, and posted about it on Twitter, leading to the young man's suicide.
So, Biden's big announcement in favor of same-sex marriage. I'm sure you've heard about this. Drove the White House a little crazy, rushing to make sure everyone knew this was Biden's personal opinion and not the official stance, and forcing Obama to say something one way or the other. I feel for the big man--he got voters from both sides by walking the line, and this doesn't help his cause. Quite frankly, I'm worried about what will happen if Mitt Romney gets in office. It really feels like he sets his stance based on what he thinks the public wants to hear, and changes it accordingly. What is the problem with Obama? I hope this is the article that talks about this--I keep getting a message that says I've read my free articles for the month before I can even read enough to see if it's the one I want. Basically, Romney's telling us Obama lost the country jobs--well, in his first few months of taking office, before his policies could take effect. And now he's trying to get us to return to the same policies that got us into this mess. Who really believes two terms are enough to dig the country out of its hole? Who thinks that a man who won't take a stance of his own and says what he thinks you want to hear will make a good president? (Apparently, a lot of people.) And Romney won't support same-sex marriage--he says so himself, although he also apparently has friends who are gay. Yes, ObamaCare may be in line with socialist ideals. But guess what? So is public education. It doesn't make him evil. We're so close to getting many of our rights, despite some waffling in the White House--Obama Won't Order Ban on Gay Bias by Employers--some of the original top supporters of DOMA are trying to get it revoked, and the public mind is changing all the time. Don't let the country take two steps back for every step forward. Pull out your common sense. Leave the states vs federal debate and the abortion debate for another day. Debate them in your own time, please do. Work to change people's minds for the things you really care about. But the whole country's going to suffer if you elect Mitt Romney. Re-elect Obama. Pass it on.
In other news:
Homophobic? Maybe You're Gay
All you have to do is watch Glee to know some of the most vehement anti-gays out there are in the closet and scared to death. A good reason to turn the other cheek and be kind to those who hate your guts.
Methodists Vote Against Homosexuality Rule Change
Basically, the Methodists have it written down that homosexuality is incompatible with their teachings, and they decided not to rewrite it.
Harming the Troops
Military Chaplains officially can't marry same-sex couples, even in states where it's legal. I think. Legalese confuses the heck out of me. I shall never be a politician.
Malawi President Wants to Repeal Nation's Antigay Laws
Malawi, a country in Africa, currently has laws prohibiting homosexual acts, but its president wants to repeal them if she can.
And:
Rutgers Webcam-Spying Defendant Sentenced to 30 Days
This is the kid who spied on his roommate having gay sex using a webcam, and posted about it on Twitter, leading to the young man's suicide.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Marriage legality
I was reading the New York Times today, and came across this article. It's about the fight for gay marriage and the new donor pool it has. The really interesting thing, though, was that I recognized the name of the Republican lawyer, Theodore B. Olsen. I came across him while writing my research paper. He stood out for writing about why conservatives ought to support gay marriage, something I think needs to be a central point in changing minds. You can't change many minds just by saying 'this is right' and 'your way is unconstitutional', you need to add a 'this is why you should want this' to the mix. People are selfish, and often won't do anything unless it benefits them or their values in some way. Anti-gay people know that refusing to pass ENDA and similar laws (not marriage--by legal definition, we have exactly the same right as straight people: to marry the opposite sex*) is pretty unconstitutional. They probably know they haven't got any decent arguments. But the whole idea of gay marriage and gayness at all hits their gag reflex. Plain and simple, they don't like it. So they throw everything they've got, like money and religion, against it. We need to make them like it. We need to tell them why they should want equality for all.
Here's Olsen's article.
*This confuses a lot of people. If you're one of them, I'll put it in black and white.
Susan is straight. She has the legal right to marry a man, whether or not she loves him. She couldn't marry a woman for whatever crazy reason. She doesn't have the right.
Annie is gay. She also has the legal right to marry a man, even if she doesn't love him. She couldn't marry a woman even if she does love her. She doesn't have the right.
There's no actual legal difference. Gay and straight (and bi) women alike have the right to marry a man, not a woman. Gay and straight (and bi) men alike have the right to marry a woman, not a man.
Straights don't actually get any special privileges--they're just lucky enough to have the people they're attracted to/people they're capable of loving in the same category as people they're legally allowed to marry, while gay people aren't.
This is not to say I support this. Yes, I think the federal legal definition of marriage should be changed. Point is, this is how things stand. We can't really shout 'equal rights' on this because we have them. What we're asking for is more rights--the right to marry any legal adult human being we please. It'll extend to straight people as well, who don't have that right either, although they generally don't want to marry someone of the same sex, so no one sees them as missing out.
Here's Olsen's article.
*This confuses a lot of people. If you're one of them, I'll put it in black and white.
Susan is straight. She has the legal right to marry a man, whether or not she loves him. She couldn't marry a woman for whatever crazy reason. She doesn't have the right.
Annie is gay. She also has the legal right to marry a man, even if she doesn't love him. She couldn't marry a woman even if she does love her. She doesn't have the right.
There's no actual legal difference. Gay and straight (and bi) women alike have the right to marry a man, not a woman. Gay and straight (and bi) men alike have the right to marry a woman, not a man.
Straights don't actually get any special privileges--they're just lucky enough to have the people they're attracted to/people they're capable of loving in the same category as people they're legally allowed to marry, while gay people aren't.
This is not to say I support this. Yes, I think the federal legal definition of marriage should be changed. Point is, this is how things stand. We can't really shout 'equal rights' on this because we have them. What we're asking for is more rights--the right to marry any legal adult human being we please. It'll extend to straight people as well, who don't have that right either, although they generally don't want to marry someone of the same sex, so no one sees them as missing out.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Sweet support
Aww. Vermont is for lovers! Check out their gay marriage themed ice cream.
http://www.benjerry.com/hubbyhubby/
And according to polls, more and more Catholic voters support gay marriage. I'm very proud of my church.
New York Times
http://www.benjerry.com/hubbyhubby/
And according to polls, more and more Catholic voters support gay marriage. I'm very proud of my church.
New York Times
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Girl Scout Cookies
A transgender Colorado child named Bobby wants to join Girl Scouts.
So what?
Well, a lot of people are up in arms about it. One teenage girl posted a video on YouTube about it, asking people to boycott buying Girl Scout Cookies to protest. Ironically, she says other transgender kids have been allowed to join in the past. Implied, without an issue, as it should be. Poor Bobby and her family, having to deal with this. Read the story.
Even my district's Girl Scout council is pulling together for an emergency meeting about attempts to "discredit" Girl Scouts. Some people are agreeing to boycott. Others have decided to up their order.
I'm asking you to do the same. Buy more Girl Scout cookies. And it's not just me. Buck Angel, a transgender former Girl Scout, is asking you, too. Support transgender girls' right to be part of Girl Scout troops if they want. Buy more cookies.
So what?
Well, a lot of people are up in arms about it. One teenage girl posted a video on YouTube about it, asking people to boycott buying Girl Scout Cookies to protest. Ironically, she says other transgender kids have been allowed to join in the past. Implied, without an issue, as it should be. Poor Bobby and her family, having to deal with this. Read the story.
Even my district's Girl Scout council is pulling together for an emergency meeting about attempts to "discredit" Girl Scouts. Some people are agreeing to boycott. Others have decided to up their order.
I'm asking you to do the same. Buy more Girl Scout cookies. And it's not just me. Buck Angel, a transgender former Girl Scout, is asking you, too. Support transgender girls' right to be part of Girl Scout troops if they want. Buy more cookies.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Russia discriminates
Copied from an email from the Courage Campaign.
Aeroflot, Russia's largest airline, discriminates against its gay and lesbian employees as an official policy, according to published reports. Gay flight attendant Maxim Kupreev decided to organize an LGBT employee group to push for equal treatment of LGBT people by the airline. Aeroflot's answer? Marry a woman or you are fired.
Aeroflot is part of the SkyTeam alliance co-founded by Delta and Air France, both of which market heavily in the LGBT community. Ask Delta and Air France to suspend Aeroflot until the airline treats all their employees with respect.
I care about this issue because, since 1983, I've spent a number of years in the USSR and then Russia. Even after I came out in the early 1990s, I was careful about being too "public" in Russia. My sexuality was used against me in business, with some people mocking and attacking my reputation simply because I'm a gay man. So when I read that -- over twenty years later -- Aeroflot was still oppressing gay employees, I had to stand up.
Will you stand with me and Maxim Kupreev and tell Delta and Air France to suspend its alliance with Aeroflot until the company apologizes and sets standards for fair treatment of LGBT employees?
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton historically announced last month that LGBT rights are human rights. Still, major Russian companies refuse to allow their gay citizens to live as real people. Imagine if your employer forced you to marry someone you did not love. We have to stand up for human rights violations wherever they take place, including Russia.
Tell Delta and Air France to set a better example and demand that Aeroflot treat all of its employees with dignity and respect.
Aeroflot, Russia's largest airline, discriminates against its gay and lesbian employees as an official policy, according to published reports. Gay flight attendant Maxim Kupreev decided to organize an LGBT employee group to push for equal treatment of LGBT people by the airline. Aeroflot's answer? Marry a woman or you are fired.
Aeroflot is part of the SkyTeam alliance co-founded by Delta and Air France, both of which market heavily in the LGBT community. Ask Delta and Air France to suspend Aeroflot until the airline treats all their employees with respect.
I care about this issue because, since 1983, I've spent a number of years in the USSR and then Russia. Even after I came out in the early 1990s, I was careful about being too "public" in Russia. My sexuality was used against me in business, with some people mocking and attacking my reputation simply because I'm a gay man. So when I read that -- over twenty years later -- Aeroflot was still oppressing gay employees, I had to stand up.
Will you stand with me and Maxim Kupreev and tell Delta and Air France to suspend its alliance with Aeroflot until the company apologizes and sets standards for fair treatment of LGBT employees?
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton historically announced last month that LGBT rights are human rights. Still, major Russian companies refuse to allow their gay citizens to live as real people. Imagine if your employer forced you to marry someone you did not love. We have to stand up for human rights violations wherever they take place, including Russia.
Tell Delta and Air France to set a better example and demand that Aeroflot treat all of its employees with dignity and respect.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Makes sense to me
A nice, clear explanation of why same-sex marriage is completely different from marrying pets, inanimate objects, corpses, or children. View here. This is what I'm talking about.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)