It still mystifies me...

[terrya]

that there are people here at DU who are indifferent, apathetic, and frankly, downright hostile, to the idea of standing up to bigotry against GLBT people. It sounds so wildly paranoid...but, yet...you see it around here. Time and time again.

[last1standing]

1. And women, and African Americans, and Latinos, and the poor, anc.....

There are far too many here who only care about their own agendas. Everyone else is expendable.

[LaurenG]

2. Bigotry is wrong Terrya

no matter who it's used against it's wrong.

I didn't see what you are talking about but I'm sure you're telling it like it is.

[Tyler Durden]

19. Look here and see the outright HOSTILITY toward a TG person standing up for their rights.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5352614&mesg_id=5352614

Do you see? It's happening on this board all the time! "My agenda trumps your rights. It's not the time. BLAH BLAH BLAH."

[AGirl]

21. I am a she, thanks. I know you are a nice person, just telling you.

[Tyler Durden]

22. I couldn't stand by....

What is wrong with people? The more I see shit like they threw at you, the more I like my dogs.

[AGirl]

23. You dog is very cute, my dog is a maltese and I love him to death.

It's okay, I am a tough girl. :)

[Tyler Durden]

24. NOBODY should have to be that tough...

At least not for those reasons. SHAME on them.

[LaurenG]

25. Wow, and yes I see

:cry:

[Iggo]

3. It's the indifference and apathy that gets me.

The hostility, I'm used to.

[Jamastiene]

15. This should be a signature line or an OP.

Great post. :thumbsup:

[hulklogan]

4. "let it sink" seems to apply to all GLBT-themed threads in GD:Anything

unless they mention McClurkin or Obama.

And now we have the hostile straight Americans coming in here and putting in their two cents in almost every thread!

[mitchtv]

5. Don't you just love when

you get advised how wrong you are on GLBT issues by straity? it seems to be more frequent, The Obama crowd seems to feel obligated to correct any "heresy" we may be indulging in. Some posts are straddling the line, many step grandly over it

[Toasterlad]

32. "Straity"! LOL! I Am TOTALLY Stealing That From You!

Meanwhile, I've pretty much had it with the clueless fucks passing for liberals on this board. No more Mr. Nice Homo. If you see "Name Removed" in any GLBT thread in the days to come, it's probably yours truly. For as long as I last, anyway.

They finally turned me into one of those "militant gays" you've heard so much about.

[mitchtv]

33. Bwahahahahaha

That came out of the White Night riot and ensuing battle of Elephant Walk cry "Let straity pay".At least it's not "get fucked strait boy". My BF was a founder of Gay guns (and a hooker at night)

[foxeyes2]

6. Yep

What gets me is when they say that this election is too important for the Democrats to win for us to be bringing up gay rights and we need to wait until a better time. Of course the truth is there is never a better time. I am so disgusted with the Democrat Party, the Candidates and a large portion of it's adherents.

[frebrd]

7. The "Democrat" Party?

In case you're not aware of it, the word "Democrat" is usually (mis)used as an adjective only by Republicans, and in that usage is generally consideed pejorative,

:(

[foxeyes2]

17. Typo

sorry meant to type Democratic so I am not using it as a perjorative.

[frebrd]

26. Thanks. Glad to hear it.

:)

[pnwmom]

9. For some things -- like court rulings about gay marriage -- there is

a better time. And that's anytime other than the 6 or 9 months preceding a Presidential election -- which still gives us more than three years out of every four.

[mitchtv]

10. ASAP says it all for me

I'll take what I can get, when I can get it. Sorry about costing you guys the last election

[pnwmom]

13. Ralph Nader was the biggest single cause, as it turned out.

But the Rethugs were just as happy to use gays against the Democratic party.

[mitchtv]

27. Rethugs like Dianne Feinstein?

and many more

[hulklogan]

11. For straight people, there's always a better time for GLBT equality

Not too close to the election, not when there are "more important" issue to worry about like flag burning or baseball steroid hearings, not when our majority in the Senate is only 1, 2, 5, 7, 13 Senators...

How much longer do we have to wait? Do we only get a 15-day window between the end of one election season and the beginning of another?

[pnwmom]

12. Some gay people and their families think that there are better times

for court cases than right before a Presidential election which, as you know, occur only every 4 years.

Otherwise, we are the answer to the Rethugs prayers -- the perfect way to pull as many fundies as possible to the polls.

[Solon]

16. That's a stupid cop-out...

First of all, there are time limits on when many civil suits can take place, anywhere from 90 days to a year or more after an offense took place, depending on state and the nature of the offense. In addition to this, the only thing that plaintiffs have direct control over, with their lawyer's advice, is the initial filing of the lawsuit. After that, all schedules are based mostly on convenience and the conduct of the defendant. Civil cases can be tied up in court for months, even years, before a verdict is handed out, and even then there are the appeals process, which can be really lengthy. In other words, you cannot, realistically, schedule a lawsuit around presidential elections, hell, some of them will go through two presidential election cycles before they finally end.

Not to mention that those who say that "the time isn't right because of the election" say the same shit when its the midterms, primary races, etc. In other words, to them, the time is NEVER right.

[foxeyes2]

18. That is right

We are being told that we should not be asking for marriage equality support from the candidates.
We are bing told that we should accept what is deemed seperate but equal but as history has taught us well it may be seperate but is sure ain't equal.
We are being blamed for the loss in the last election well actually any loss in any election in the last decade.
So to say that we have to shut up the last 6-9 months prior to an election is ludicrous.

[mitchtv]

28. Beyond ludicrous

The Time is NOW

[Zuiderelle]

29. This gay person and her family are sick to death of gay people like you saying we should all wait.

[terrya]

30. We heard that in 2004.

We're hearing it now.

If, say, Barack Obama is elected in November, we'll hear it again in 2012...because, after all, us pushy homos and dykes will jeopardize President Obama's re-election.

On and on and fucking on. It's that patronizing "there, there, we know what's best for you" crap from heteros when we demand our right to full equality.

[hulklogan]

31. The problem is that the same people who say "just wait until after the election"

suddenly find other things to do for the next three and a half years besides working for GLBT equality. Then when we finally get fed up with waiting, they say "oh, just keep quiet for another six months until after the election." Then they put us on the back burner for another three years so they can pass pointless measures congratulating the Chicago White Sox for winning the World Series.

If we have to wait until after this election, can we at least have some kind of binding guarantee that something will be changed before the next one? Or are we just supposed to have faith?

[Irishonly]

8. GLBT people should not be put on the back burner

I was pretty naive when I first started posting here. I thought all democrats were willing to work for the rights of everyone. Then I saw the House fold and it's gone downhill from there. I just didn't have a clue how bad it was. The hate crimes get largely ignored by the MSM and the indifference is just wrong.

[maddiejoan]

14. Get over it!

Your faux outrage sickens me!*


















*April Fools.

[Tyo]

20. I think that the problem is this

Most people, even most Democrats, don't see us as a minority in the sense that races are or can be minorities. They view gays as more of a special interest group. This stems from the fact that they can only define us by our behavior or perceived behavior rather than by our physical appearance.

They see gay "behavior" or orientation (some prefer the word "tendencies") as malleable, even changeable, while skin color is not. Many straights have had a homosexual experience or two at some point. Contrast this ability to cross over with the fact that no white has ever been black for a night. No Asian has ever been able to decide to see what it was like to be white just out of curiosity. And then there is the whole Kinsey thing.

This puts us in a different class as far as straights are concerned. Ever hear of an ex-Black ministry or an ex-Asian one? No, because it makes no sense. But ex-gay has a certain gut feel of validity about it. Even people who don't think that we ought to change or doubt that we can change our orientation can't help but be influenced by this. Again, they have to focus on the behavior because for them there is nothing else to focus on since they can't get inside our heads. And behavior is by nature changeable.

Race on the other hand is not evidenced by behavior. It is evidenced primarily by skin color, which is not changeable. You can't hide Chinese ancestry for example. You can't decide not act out being Chinese in the sense that you can decide not to have gay sex or you can attempt to butch up your mannerisms around the office. Latino kids don't have to come out to their parents about being Latino. Black people don't have to decide whether to tell their co-workers that they are Black. You can't be in the closet when it comes to race. Race is for most folks clear cut, visual, and clearly immutable. Orientation is invisible and pretty fuzzy and hard to empathize with.

I think that it's this difference between us and what I guess I'd call the traditional minorities that makes it harder for so many straights to take us as seriously as we deserve to be taken. They might sympathize, they might want the best for us and wish us well and many, probably most would be happy to fight for us and our rights but only in the absence of what they see as more pressing issues. In practice this means just about every other problem we as a nation are facing right now. Ergo the perpetual back burner. Anyone who has ever visited GD and GD-P knows the whole line of reasoning.