If you don't...

Everyone has skeletons in the closet

There seems to be a formula in life that looks something like this: “the louder a person decries the behavior of another, the greater the chances are that there are skeletons in their closet.”
When a person uses their energies to demagogue the immorality and inferiority of other people’s lives, it seems that it will eventually be inevitable that their own cracks in their armor will be glaringly brought to light.
We all have cracks in our armor. We all have skeletons in our closets. And yet, most of us at one point or another have probably felt compelled to shine the spotlight on someone else’s dark corner of the room. There is a reason someone said “people in glass houses shouldn’t  throw stones.” I am dismayed to say that in the past I have flipped on the proverbial flood light, or picked up stones during my life. Those are never our finest moments, so why do we all do it? There could be many reasons. But one could be that it is much easier to tear another down than to do the work to elevate our own thoughts and behaviors.

We are all so fragile in many ways. We are all riding the waves of our own cognitive dissonance--trying to maintain balance and not be enveloped by the pull of the undertow.
I just found a quote that ties in perfectly with this post, and I am thankful that I ran across it at my friend's blog.

"Remember that the first step is not to speak ill of others. All human beings have weaknesses and faults. They have their imperfections. Therefore, before trying to find faults in others and speaking ill of them, try to find your own weaknesses and correct those." 

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

♫ "Find out what it means to me"... ♬
You know the song... 
But do you think our President knows what it means to the LGBT community that he has finally come out in support of the Respect for Marriage Act (important legislation that would finally repeal DOMA)? 

For one thing, it means that we can have the same rights, protections and privileges that opposite sex couples are afforded automatically by saying "I do." (Here's a list of some of the more than 1000 protections of "marriage").
It means that partners can be there by the side of their loved one without distant family members making the life-saving (or changing) decisions while the partner is left out in the cold. 
It means that LGBT people could actually have legal respect for the hard work they put in with their partner's children... and actually be acknowledged as a valid parent. 
It means so much more than these things. 
It means something different to each and every individual. 

What does it mean to you?


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dykes behaving badly

HA!! Made you look!

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ignorance is bliss

... or at least it is for the unaware, unconscious, uncouth and unenlightened.
Yesterday at work a group of employees in another department started holding forth at a volume hard to ignore. Their topic for the day was unbelievably uneducated opinions about religion and the rapture. I just sat there shaking my head. For two reasons. One, generally talking about religion in the secular workplace is a no-no. Two, I have never heard such wacky opinions about "the rapture." Understandably this was a popular topic after that guy mispronounced the "rapture and end of the world" last Saturday (of course, now that it did not come true, he has changed is date). But, I had to let it go because, unlike the kids in that department, the adults in my department had work to do and interventions to make.
Then today at work the same employees in that other department started loudly expressing their misinformed and misguided opinions about gay people as "fact." Some of the low-lights included: "people are gay as a result of their environment," and "I know there are a lot of kids that need homes but gays shouldn't adopt." My ire was a rising... especially compounded after yesterday. I could not believe that such ignorance is still so pervasive... especially among the under 30 crowd. (This group has also offered their toxic teachings on political party issues and abortion -- doesn't seem to just be an isolated incident or two).
Again, I had too much work to perform to attempt an intervention with those half dozen people in an attempt to enlighten and edify them. I did, however, let the management know that a group of employees were creating a "hostile work environment" with their bullhorn level discussions on loaded topics. We'll have to see what happens. 

To quote a line from one of my favorite movies: "morons, your bus is leaving!" Follow the arrow to escort the ignorance out of the building. 


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If there was a "hell no" button

14th amendment to the constitution:

"No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." 

Minnesota is not the 1st State in the Union to attempt to write discrimination into their State Constitution. I am intrigued by this speech by the St. Rep. in the above video. But it would seem that his approach to this topic would be in the minority. (Especially since the MN. House did pass the bill). 

Voters in 28 states have approved constitutional amendments or initiatives that define marriage as "the union of a man and a woman." Has any political figure, or voter, in any of those 28 States read the quote at the beginning of this post from the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the USA?

The next clip is quite telling about what matters, in the end, when it comes to equality for all people in the USA. LGBT individuals are good enough to fight for our freedoms all over the world, but not good enough to deserve full and equal protection of the laws in America? If only there was a "hell no" button.



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We're Here - We're Queer...

"You know keeping people from saying the word 'gay' is not really going to keep people from being gay. Being Gay isn't like Beetlejuice -- if you say it out loud too many times, you're gay." Jon Stewart

That's just one humorous quote from Stewart's recent segment on The Daily Show covering a measure seeking to prohibit teaching discussion of homosexuality in schools.

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