Morally Bankrupt

in the 1960’s, the church led on civil rights. fifty years later, an American Taliban is the final roadblock to marriage equality

In the wake of President Barack Obama’s endorsement of equal marriage rights for same sex couples, communities traditionally opposed to LGBT equality have responded in a variety of ways. The African-American community (seems) to be rapidly evolving on the issue, and while no one expected conservative Christianity’s response to be positive, the line coming from fundamentalist Christians is disturbing, ugly, and very likely to incite violence. From Maryland pastor Dennis Leatherman:

Kill them all. Right? I will be very honest with you. My flesh kind of likes that idea...

Kansas pastor Curtis Knapp:

"They should be put to death -- that's what happened in Israel," Knapp proclaims. "That's why homosexuality wouldn't have grown in Israel."

And the chart topper from North Carolina’s Charles Worley:

"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!"

It’s easy to dismiss extreme language like this as “exceptions to the rule”, mainly because to many of us, this type of language seems so incredibly foreign that it’s hard to believe there is someone out there who literally wants to see LGBTQ Americans herded into concentration camps and being left to die.

The church’s leadership in the African-American civil rights movement of the 50’s and 60’s has been well documented, all the way up to Rev. Martin Luther King. While it’s easy to disregard extremist language from Christian theocrats as the “exception to the rule”, at what point do we draw the line between “exception” and “rule”? Is it when the cheering of the death and damnation of LGBTQ Americans switches from pulpit to congregation?

The congregation in the church, which has been identified as the Apostolic Truth Tabernacle Church in Greensburg, Ind., gives a standing ovation after the child sings, "I know the Bible’s right, somebody’s wrong...ain't no homos gonna make it to heaven."

The obsession, venom, and hate coming from the “American Taliban” (aka fundamentalist Christianity) towards the LGBTQ people of America is so dramatically un-Christlike that it would be a challenge to find anything “Christian” about the far right voices that seem to be drowning out those who preach a message of tolerance, indeed, not just “A” message of tolerance, but the message of tolerance that Jesus himself preached in the Bible.


Look, there is a line between being against marriage equality and promoting or quietly assenting to such disgusting rhetoric (and violence) against LGBT Americans. If you truly believe, in your heart, that your Christianity prevents you from supporting full civil marriage rights for all Americans, then while you may be extremely wrong, you at least have a consistent, non-violent, non-incideniary leg to stand on. I challenge those that I grew up with in the church, and Christians who believe in the message of tolerance, redemption, and love, to stand up and shout down the bigotry of a few that seems to have engulfed mainstream Christianity in the wake of the marriage equality controversy. Just remember: How will your grandchildren judge you in 40 years?

Quote for the day...

"Where free unions and collective bargaining are forbidden, freedom is lost" - Ronald Reagan #wiunion #p2 #CTL #tcot #forward #topprog

— Zachary Cook (@zjcook23) May 28, 2012

What about Tyler?

In the wake of Dharun Ravi’s sentencing for his role in Tyler Clementi’s suicide, not many seem concerned about the boy who ended up dead

The Shame of Dharun Ravi: The Boy Who Can't Say Sorry

Sandip Roy, writing for The Huffington Post, hits on some good points in the above article over the lamentations of the family of Dharun Ravi, the former Rutgers University student that was convicted of “bias intimidation” for his role filming Tyler Clementi’s encounter with another man. At Ravi’s sentencing, Ravi’s mother stated:

Ravi's tears came when his mother told the court how the last couple of years had been a living hell for him.
His smile and bright eyes are gone, lamented his mother. For the past 20 months, Ravi, she said, had not gone anywhere to "even grab a sandwich." "He literally eats only one meal a day as he suppresses his hunger. He has lost more than 25 pounds going through his ordeal," she said tearfully.
One mother is mourning a dead son. The other mother ended her statement to the judge with this line
I am hoping and waiting to see Dharun eat as any 20-year-old would.

How is this even remotely morally acceptable? Indeed, the Ravi family, including Dharun himself, have seemed at best, indifferent to the fact that their son contributed in a very major way to Tyler Clementi’s suicide. Perhaps that was born of the very justified outrage that Ravi could be sentenced to a decade in prison at the maximum. Perhaps there’s latent homophobia in the family, or perhaps it’s the cultural differences, as the Ravi family are immigrants. The ten year sentence was unacceptable for  a kid being immature – 30 days seems fairly appropriate. A large block of prison time was never the answer – pranks that are just as bad happen on a daily basis, and while it was a mistake on Ravi’s part, it certainly shouldn’t cost him a decade of his life. Yet, the one thing we have not heard so much from Dharun Ravi is an apology for what he did – accepting accountability for his actions. Instead, we hear lame excuses as to why he shouldn’t say sorry:

Ravi cannot find the words to apologize. However, he somehow found the words to explain why he did not apologize. "Anything I say now would sound rehearsed and empty and nothing I say is going to make people hate me any less," he told the Star Ledger newspaper. ""Whatever I say will never change the Clementi’s mind about me, or how people see me."

The idea that Ravi is truly sorry doesn’t even cross his mind – the only concern that Dharun has is for how the public and the Clementi family see him – which shows how little he has learned from the incident, how little concern he has for others, and his own obsession with himself and his justification for his passively homophobic behavior. To see his team of lawyers appeal his 30 day jail sentence is almost a direct slap in the face to the Clementi family and LGBTQ Americans.
The bottom line is this – while a 10 year prison sentence, or all those felony convictions, are or would have been a complete overreaction, a 30 day jail term is not. And Ravi’s inability to apologize or show remorse for his behavior is just as unacceptable as that 10 year prison sentence. Shame on the Ravi family. Sandip Roy puts it best:

But Dharun Ravi, it's not about you. You don't apologize to change people's minds or how people see you. You apologize because something you did caused terrible damage, even if unintended, in someone else's life. You apologize for what you have done, for what has happened. A true apology comes without strings attached. And it has nothing to do with whether the Clementi family were as supportive of their son as they should have been.

You need to get Tucked.

my visit to Tuck Shop, the most delicious hipster haunt in town.

after the closure of My Florist and the fast-food/chain takeover of the 7th Avenue/McDowell intersection, the market for independently owned great food in central Phoenix has gotten even smaller. but, for my birthday, we kept it in the neighborhood and headed to Tuck Shop, which bills itself as “neighborhood comfort food”.

Located in a very charming but non-descript building deep into the Coronado Historic District, the lights and traffic of the city seem far away, which adds to the neighborhood feel of the place. Many people ride bikes or walk to dinner, especially since there are only a few on-site parking spots.  the décor and ambiance is good, although it is VERY “modern”. The paint is a calming green and the lights are set fairly low, which provides a relaxing experience.

The menu is an edgy compilation of richly flavored starters, small plates and bigger dishes labeled “for sharing,” with a full wine menu available. There is no fountain soda, although Mexican Coke is available – about the only drawback. I found the service very friendly and attentive. The menu is unique – but not too unique. Mostly typical American dishes, but with at least one twist – for example, I had the Mac & Cheese with Lobster – which was incredible. The Cheese Curds as an appetizer were out of this world as well – they literally melt in your mouth. While popular with the “hipster” crowd that is all around the Coronado area, Tuck Shop is no hipster fad – it is quite simply the best food I have had in a very long time.

tuck shop * 2245 n 12th st, phoenix // tuesday – saturday, 5pm-10pm

http://www.tuckinphx.com/  * 602-354-2980

View Larger Map

this post is part of a series on the coronado historic district’s hidden gems.

Morning in Gaymerica

On heels of President Obama’s endorsement of marriage equality, supporters have grabbed a decisive lead in national polling

Opposition to gay marriage hits historic low - WaPo/ABC Poll

Opponents who claimed that President Obama may be political trouble because of his endorsement of same sex marriage may have to face up to the music soon – as the President’s recent announcement has solidified the continuing upward trend in public support for same sex marriage. The Washington Post/ABC Poll puts support for same sex marriage at it’s highest in a national poll in American history, with 53% supporting and 39% opposed, a +14 favorability that seemed almost unfathomable even three weeks ago. Even more incredible:

The poll also finds that 59 percent of African Americans say they support same-sex marriage, up from an average of 41 percent in polls leading up to Obama’s announcement of his new position on the matter.

The media meme, post-endorsement, was that the President was risking losing all kinds of black voters to Mitt Romney, which is insane on face, for any variety of reasons. Instead of turning away from the Obama campaign, black cultural icons and organizations have placed their bets with the President. Music legend Jay-Z offered this powerful endorsement of marriage equality in an interview last week, and the NAACP offered their endorsement in the last week as well.
The simple fact is that it was the time and the place to endorse marriage equality – and good leaders know when the time to lead has come. The President’s legacy will forever be intertwined with the fact that his endorsement could very well have given the marriage equality movement the final push it needed to get over the finish line. With support increasing at even half this rate, we should expect federal marriage equality within 10 years, if not sooner.

Oh boy. Here we go.

Hey all,
Thanks for coming by. There is some older content on here, this is actually my old blog kind of “re-branded”. Ever since my release from prison, writing has been an outlet for me, but occasionally, I need more than 500 words for it, so that, with my combined passion for making incredibly complex, time consuming web pages, brought this out. This isn’t going to center on one particular topic, but over the next week, I’ll be speaking out regarding some important things. Anything I post is public – you’re welcome to participate. You don’t have to register for Blogger – I spent 3.5 hours getting that “Facebook Comments” thing to work, so utilize it, it’s pretty cool. I’ll write something later today, or tonight. Until then…
Check out the About Me page, which kind of has “a story so far”.
And I’d love for you to read one of my previous posts from a few months ago if you get a chance…
I'm Coming Out (Again)
Some may have read it already, if so, that’s great. Here’s a clip:

With that being said, the whole experience of being locked up in a prison is very much walking on eggshells--if you mess up it could be very bad for you, so you have to be alert at all times. Prison is by far the most polite place I have ever been to -- excuse me, thank you, sorry, was almost required if you didn't want to piss someone off. I got off lucky because I've generally been a polite person my whole life. I was never involved or even came close to being involved in any type of altercation -- generally, I found that if you minded your own business, didn't borrow from a person and run up a bill, and stayed polite, you will most likely not have any problems. 95% of the people in a prison are there to do their time and go.
With that being said, it was a difficult adjustment. My general life experience has not been with a group like this, and I had never even been arrested before this charge. I found it difficult to relate, and will probably always. Convicts and felons live in an entirely different world that non-offenders, down to the places they stay, things they prioritize, relationships, upbringing, and language. In order to really "get along" in prison, your entire paradigm on life has to change. I heard things I never thought I would hear. Generally, almost every single person is in there because of something drugs drove them to do -- even if it's assault, forgery, ID theft, etc, so that's generally the back story. Most of these guys are not bad people at all -- in fact, after my release, I find some to be some of the more real and helpful people I've ever met -- and they are extremely loyal to the people that are close to them. When convicts are released, 95% of the time they have no intention of re-offending, they want to stay sober, but the problem is that because all they have done for the last X amount of years is spend time with other felons, it's extremely hard to go back into a world of people who aren't.

 
Anyway – thanks for checking me (it/this?) out.