Has "Hate" Become a New American Value?

What is going on in this Country?  It seems that more and more people are screaming, yelling, shooting and throwing things at one another.

In the "olden days", it seemed that we were a more civilized country. People didn't shoot their neighbors if their Bougainvillea was hanging over the property line.  There were peaceful Church socials and picnics and neighborhood block parties.





During WWII, people came together and sacrificed their personal needs for the good of the country. There was a national need to win a war at any cost.  There was much suffering though and people made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we so dearly hold close to our hearts.

We have had serious disagreements in this country.  The Civil Rights era brought a lot of turmoil and hatred to persons of different colored skin.  We have seen the news reels and TV shows that have documented the plight of blacks in this country.  We still have inequality when it comes to people of different color.  Have we learned anything from the 1960s?


Something in the mean time has changed.  With the Supreme Court decision on Same Sex Marriage, hatred has once again reared it's ugly head.  Gay men and women have been objects of ridicule, hate and often death.  We have seen the many scenes of brutality brought against us from people who have considered us different, apart, worthy of scorn and worthy of death.

The far right now has shown that this fight is not over.  Many Religious Freedom laws and acts threaten to overturn the strides that we have made.  Politicians have often said that they will not honor the law of the land and threaten to change all the good that we have done.

Another national concern is the way that Police do their jobs.  Shooting people in the back, shooting people who are not clearly a threat to the law enforcer's  life and shooting the innocent. Our nation has seen a slaughtering of people played out on every newscast, media outlet and especially on social media.

Ultimately with the current Presidential election year,  hatred has come front and center once again. Donald Trump's rallies have turned into a free for all brawl at every event.  We see scenes of people being punched, kicked, choked and physically dragged out of rallies.

Ultimately, have we always been a nation filled with hate?  Has our country really been a nation of tolerance and "live and let live" mentality?  What causes people to come to hatred? Is it innate?  Is it circumstance?  Is it just the human condition?

The New Faces of LGBT

Well, I was born in 1958 and didn't realize that I was Gay until I was around 6 years old.  I didn't KNOW that I was Gay, because I had no concept of what Gay was.  All I know is that I liked this boy named John D. in 1st grade.  I wanted to look at him and be around him.

When I was in 5th Grade, I learned that Judy Garland had died.  I liked Judy at that time and didn't know what a great Gay Icon she was, but I knew a great entertainer had died. Of course, when I was older, I worshiped Judy.
I used to play her Carnegie Hall album in my college dorm room.  I also knew that the guy next door was Gay and that he would appreciate hearing it too.





 As I grew up, I found out about other Gay icons such as Marilyn Monroe.  She didn't have the same impact on me as Judy did, but I came to realize the impact she had on other young Gay men.  It wasn't until I was much older that I appreciated her more.  Films like "Some Like It Hot" solidified my belief that Marilyn and Gay men went hand in hand.





Fast forward to 2016.  The greatest day for me in a Gay man's life was the Supreme Court Decision on Same Sex Marriage.  I understand that not all Gay men want to get married, but for me, it was a day of liberation and acceptance.  I wish that this day had come sooner.  It is a landmark day in history.

Today, Gay men have so many people to look up to and admire and feel a kinship with.  As more and more men came out of the closet, so did Gay Celebrities.  The coming out of so many Gay Celebrities  has brought so much more acceptance and allies.

With movies like "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", "Philadelphia", "The Band Played On", "Milk", "My Beautiful Laundrette", "Parting Glances", "Brokeback Mountain" and most recently, "The Normal Heart", Gay love and Gay marriage has come into the mainstream of our consciousness.  I could never have imagined these films being made when I was young.
It's not only the movies that have changed, but so many forms of media: TV, Internet, Blogs, etc.

One couple that has really touched my heart is Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka.  Neil is an extremely talented man.  From his hosting appearances on the Tony Awards to his starring in the Broadway production of "Hedwig And The Angry Inch", he has put Gay front and center.

Neil Patrick Harris opened the 65th Annual Tony Awards with a song titled, "It's Not Just For Gays Anymore".  And he won the 2014 Tony Awards for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical.

I recently watched Oprah's interview with Neil and David for her "Oprah's Next Chapter" series.  Neil and David invited Oprah into their home and showed her a small slice of their lives as a couple and parents to twins.  You can find the interview (Part 1) on YouTube here:  YouTube.

Not only have the movies and TV brought Same Sex Marriage to the front and center, but so has the Internet.  YouTube stars such as Tyler Oakley, Joey Graceffa, Shane Dawson, Michael Buckley and so many have made a huge impact on LGBT awareness on all fronts.

Tyler Oakley                                                                                                            Noah Galvin

So, I must say that we have come so far.  I'm always excited to see new projects come to life.

One new TV show that is based on Dan Savage's life is "The Real O'Neals" on ABC. It premiered on March 2, 2012.  It tells the story of a supposedly normal Catholic family that turns out to be far from normal. The Gay character Kenny, played by Noah Galvin is hilarious.  He comes OUT in the first episode at the Catholic Bingo organized by his mother who is played by, Martha Plimpton and all hell beaks loose.

One last show that I'd like to talk about is an original series on Hulu called "Difficult People".  It stars Billy Eichner who is the comedian that runs up to people in New York City and screams at them with funny questions and sometimes a celebrity at his side.The series was created by Julie Klausner, who stars alongside Billy Eichner as two struggling and jaded New York comedians. It premiered on August 5, 2015.

I'm looking forward to the future of all types of media that will be coming along.  It's a wonderful world!

LGBT strides under fire

Will Religious Freedom Bills tear down LGBT advances?

With the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage, LGBT persons won a major victory
towards LGBT and Civil Rights in this country.  Now, LGBT rights are in danger by
Religious Freedom Bills and remarks by Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio.

The Georgia Senate passed a Religious Freedom Bill. House Bill 757
passed the Senate 38-14 after three hours of debate that was, at times, heated.
Last week it passed the House 161-0. CNN


Ted Cruz Launches Anti-Gay ‘Religious Liberty’ Advisory Council (Towleroad.com)

On Monday, Ted Cruz announced the formation of a “religious liberty” advisory council intended to help the Texas senator sound the dog whistle of “religious freedom” and advocate for discrimination against LGBT Americans.

Cruz is following in the footsteps of Republican rival Marco Rubio who last month created a “Marriage & Family Advisory Board.” The expressed purpose of that board is to overturn the Supreme Court’s gay marriage ruling. Honestly, it’s surprising it took Cruz this long to follow up with his own anti-gay advisory council given his propensity for fomenting bigotry.

Rubio creates anti-LGBT ‘marriage and family’ board

Ahead of the South Carolina Republican primary, Marco Rubio has created a “marriage and family” board for his campaign that seems intent on reversing marriage rights for gay couples. According to a campaign statement, Rubio established the “Marriage & Family Advisory Board” because he believes family is the most important institution in society and “everyone benefits” when marriage and family thrive. Washington Blade

Did Marco Rubio Just Propose a Constitutional Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment?

"We are going to be a country that says life begins at conception and the life is worthy of the protection of our laws. We are going to be a country that says a marriage is between one man and one woman."

"Unless Rubio is talking about mass brainwashing, because the majority of Americans are supportive of same-sex marriage, he means the government when he says “country,” and the only way the government can “say” that marriage is between one man and one woman is through a constitutional amendment. It’s possible that Rubio was just playing footsie with religious conservatives, and has no intention of making good on that promise, or maybe he does. Someone should ask him about that during one of his many appearances on Sunday."

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The 88TH Academy Awards--

Well, the 88th Academy Awards have come and gone and once again,
there was a lot of controversy, political and social
commentary.

I understand that the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences is made up of mostly older white people.  This demographic has shown, once again, how they vote.

Chris Rock decided to host the oscars and he said, "You realize,
if they nominated hosts I wouldn’t even get this job.
You’d be watching Neil Patrick Harris right now".  Truer words
could not be spoken.  The Academy did not include one
Black actor or actress in it's nominations.  Is Hollywood
racist?  Is the Academy racist?  The Academy and Hollywood
are not racist, rather, there aren't enough Black producers,
directors and screenwriters.

"Django Unchained" was written and directed by Quentin Tarantino.
"12 Years a Slave: was Directed by Steve McQueen.
One stand out in movie production and direction is Spike Lee who
was given an honorary Oscar and he did not attend the ceremony.

Given that, the same applies for women.  Can you name one
successful woman producer or director?  In recent years,
Amy Poehler and Tina Fey have made in-roads into the business
of movies.  With works like "Bridesmaids" and "Pitch Perfect",
other women have made a mark on the movies.  The "Pitch Perfect"
screenplay was written by Kay Cannon, but directed by
Jason Moore .  "Bridesmaids" was written by Kristen Wiig and
Annie Mumolo, but directed by Paul Feig.  Actresses
have had a long hard struggle, but the women who make the movies have had it even harder.  Men still are the movers and shakers in this business.

The shining moments for the LGBTQ community were the nominations for the movie "Carol" an adaptation of "The Price of Salt" by
Patricia Highsmith, "The Danish Girl" a fictitious love story
loosely inspired by the lives of Danish artists Lili Elbe and
Gerda Wegener, Lady Gaga's performance of "Til It Happens To You" and Sam Smith and Jimmy Napes accepting the Academy Award
for best original song, “Writing’s on the Wall,” for the 2015
James Bond thriller “Spectre”.

Although Sam Smith's comments on "being the first openly gay man to win an oscar" is totally false.  I did enjoy this: in his comments he said, “I stand here tonight as a proud gay man, and I hope we can all stand together as equals one day."

So, I'll say that there is much hard work ahead for Hollywood and the Academy for Black Americans, women and LGBTQ persons.  We all have so much to contribute and these days, we have so much opportunity so lets get out there and make some Art.

Paul John Senules

A Queer thing: Discrimination a la carte.

Federal, State, City, and workplace anti-discrimination laws and policies can seem like a very muddled and confusing thing. It's almost like an "a la carte" type of governing.

Federally, you cannot discriminate based on race, color, sex, religion, age, disability and national origin. Many states do have protections against same sex discrimination, but then, some states have this protection and the cities in the states do not. Conversely, some cities protect against discrimination of homosexuals, but the state does not. This is all very confusing and can cause some horrific scenarios when it comes to businesses that discriminate.

Then, there is the issue of City Government protection. Some City Governments have protection from discrimination of homosexuals while their state does not. For example, in Pennsylvania, homosexuals can get married, but homosexuals can be denied housing and other services and can be fired from their jobs for being homosexual. The city government of Pittsburgh has an anti-discrimination policy, but other communities don't. A workplace can have an anti-discrimination policy and the State, City and local governments don't. Here's an excellent article from The Washington Post about States that are allowing gay discrimination:
Washington Post

To find out exactly what kind of protection your city, county, and/or state provides to prohibit sexual orientation discrimination, you can visit the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund website at LambdaLegal.org. Lambda maintains a list of state-by-state antidiscrimination laws, as well as other laws specifically affecting gays and lesbians. If you need additional information, you can contact the Lambda office in your region. There, an intake volunteer will either answer your question or, if you need more help, connect you with a volunteer attorney.

The time has come for a Federal anti-discrimination law.

Can you believe this from the Osmonds?

Marie Osmond has a lesbian daughter and here is a snippet of her comments regarding LGBT and gay rights:

Said Osmond: "You know, I think each of us has the right to choose who makes that medical decision for us, I think everybody should have the right to share homes and finances with somebody that they care about. You know on those types of things I'm very supportive. When it comes to marriage, ... I think that civil rights need to be for all. When you start mixing religion into that and beliefs, you know, I do believe in the Bible. My daughter understands my beliefs. And, and, uh, you know, God said to be married and be productive with your children and, and, you know, replenish the earth or whatever. She understands those things. My daughter is sharp. And we have a great relationship and I think she would tell you that." Read more: www.towleroad.com