What Am I Missing Here?

In all honesty, it didn’t surprise me that much when I heard the story on the nightly news – basketball player Tim Hardaway doesn’t like gay people:

Well, you know — you know, I hate gay people. So, you know, I let it be known. I don’t like gay people. I don’t like to be around gay people. I don’t — you know, I’m homophobic.

What surprises me is how much talk there is about Hardaway. He’s been on the news and in the newspapers … so many blog posts, I don’t know where to begin … it’s starting to seem like every time I turn around – whoops – there’s Tim Hardaway again.

You can see Tim Hardaway naked on YouTube, with not one, not two, not three, but four separate videos (and probably more than that, too)…

The openly gay mayor of North Miami, Kevin Burns, has openly reached out to Hardaway, inviting him to spend some time with his family…

Charles Berkley has said some public words to Hardaway…

There are people who think that Hardaway is up for the Asshole-Of-The-Year Award – and there are those too who are proud of Hardaway’s homophobia.

But, I get the feeling we’re missing something here. Let’s see … how did all this start? Oh, yeah – some basketball player said he was gay, and Hardaway said he hates gay people. And then … Oh. Wait. That’s it! Someone came out of the closet. Who was that? Why can’t we hear half as much about him as we have from Hardaway? (Oh, yeah…)

John Amaechi is that gay basketball player. He’s been blogged about and had a few news reports about him. (Just not all that many.) And, it seems that most of what I’ve seen (so far) has been more about Amaechi’s response to Hardaway than his original comment. Amaechi was reported to have said:

”His words pollute the atmosphere,” Amaechi said. ”It creates an atmosphere that allows young gays and lesbians to be harassed in school, creates an atmosphere where in 33 states you can lose your job, and where anti-gay and lesbian issues are used for political gain. It’s an atmosphere that hurts all of us, not just gay people.”

Please don’t get me wrong here. I think his response was great and well-said.

I just think we need to support John Amaechi a little more!

The Year In The Rear-View Mirror (2006)

In some ways, 2006 was a great year… In other ways, it kind of sucked.

We saw Britney Spears Crotch shot by the paparazzi … We heard what Mel Gibson thinks of the Jews … We heard what Michael Richards (who played Kramer on Seinfield) thought about hecklers. No wonder the Jib Jab people think we’ve gone Nucking Futs!

Sigh. Thank god 2006 is over! But, you have to admit - we’ve been through a lot this past year…

It is easy to point the finger at some of worst cases of blatant intolerance - such as James Dobson’s attack on Mary Cheney or Ann Coulter’s many many many anti-gay statements or Don Imus’ and Chris Matthews homophobic review of Brokeback Mountain… But, the truth is that we still live in a time when public “fag-bashing” is still, somewhat, socially acceptable.

Several celebrities came out of the closet this year… Neil Patrick Harris, Lance Bass, and T.R. Knight, for example. Oprah Winfrey, on the other hand, came out as heterosexual.

Two of the most (shockingly) successful movies this year included Brokeback Mountain and Transamerica. The NBC comedy Will and Grace aired their final episode.

Gay Marriage was, off and on, a hot topic - especially in areas like New Jersey.

Chicago (where I live) was host to the Gay Games… and I got to be a part of that.

The 25th Anniversary of AIDS occurred this year as well, and it was published that gays were not the origin of HIV (the virus that causes AIDS.)

Yes - this is just a small reminder of a few of the events that took place over the past year … it serves to remind us not only how far the gay community (in general) has come … but also serve as a reminder about how far we still have to go.

The Time To Speak?

One of my new on-line acquaintances, David Shelton, recently posted in his blog about one of the candidates running for Mayor of his home-town of Clarkesville, TN. One of the candidates had, earlier this year, written a letter to The Leaf-Chronicle (the city’s newspaper) criticizing them for writing an article about this year’s gay pride parade, and asking them to not “give impression gay lifestyle is healthy” [sic].

Like David, I am also saddened every time this rhetoric is hurled from the pulpits, every time the Bible is used to justify bigotry or condemn anyone who might share different social values. But, we have to remember that this is nothing new - just look throughout history over the past couple thousand years and you’ll see examples that will make your head spin. The Bible has been used as justification for genocide - just look at the history of the Crusades - anyone of non-christian faiths (like the Muslims, Pagans, etc…) were slaughtered; even Christian Sects like the Cathers were pretty much wiped out, all justified by what was written in the bible. The Cathars were, obviously, an important part of history - a portion of history that will forever be lost because … well, there ain’t none left to tell their side of the story.

Throughout history, the bible was used to justify slavery. The bible was used to justify the oppression of women, even today, remnants of this can still be seen. How many times have we heard that women can’t do something because of Eve’s involvement during the events in the Garden of Eden.

Even in the modern day, the Bible has been used to justify everything from hate groups (like the Klu Klux Klan) - Timothy McVeigh used the bible to justify his actions in blowing up the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City - or, how about how the bible has been used to justify the murder of abortion doctors or the bombing of clinics where abortions take place.

I do not want this post to sound like I am anti-Christian, although I know that a lot of people will think that. I am not attacking Christianity, but rather the actions of certain (but not all) Christians.

I firmly believe that one of the great things about living in America is that we have a right to voice our opinions, as long as it is done in an appropriate manner. I do not fault Clarksville Mayoral Candidate Mark Hiehle for voicing his opinion. Even though I do not agree with his opinion, I’m glad he was able to voice it.

But … where are the voices that oppose that line of thought? How many letters were sent to the editors of the Leaf-Chronicle praising them for the story they wrote about their gay pride parade? Where are the voices that say there is nothing wrong with the gay lifestyle? Where are the voices that say it might be a sin according to your religious beliefs, but not to mine?

Why haven’t we heard more from these people?

Or, how about those out there who don’t support gay rights, but don’t believe in condemning it either? Where are those voices?  And where are the voices reminding us of passages such as Matthew 7:1? (Judge not lest ye be judged.) Or, how about John 8:7? (So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.)

I, for one, would like to hear more of those voices…

Gay Games Comes To Chicago

When I first heard that the Gay Games were going to be in Chicago this year, my first thought was: “Run! Hide! The city is gonna become a zoo!”

In All honesty, I had no idea what to expect. Chicago is no stranger to really big gay events, considering it’s hosted the International Mr. Leather (IML) Competition since it began in 1979. While neither our Pride Fest nor our North Halsted Merchants Association’s Market Days match the scope of either the Gay Games or IML, they’re both local achievements the local gay community is actually pretty proud of.

I first learned about the Gay Games in 1994, when several people I knew went to New York to compete. None of them won any of the events they competed in - but they all came back saying that that didn’t matter - what mattered was that they were there, they competed, made new friends, had a lot of fun, and they’re likely to remember those experiences for the rest of their lives.

Now that the Games have arrived, I have mixed feelings. After watching the Opening Ceremonies last night at Soldier Field, I was reminded about the spirit of the games. Hearing several of the presenters talking about how Dr. Tom Waddell started the Games in the 80s, his vision to bring together gay people from around the world. But, there were also constant reminders of politics.

Other than brief references to the current state of gay politics (such as the gay marriage issue) there was also some talk about the politics of the games themselves. For example, Dr. Tom Waddell first called the event The Gay Olympics, however in 1982, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) filed a lawsuit which forced them to change the name to the Gay Games. The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) has, since the Amateur Sports Act of 1978, exclusive rights to the word “Olympics.”

Many people believe this decision was homophobic in nature - considering that when the lawsuit was filed, the USOC didn’t seem to have a big problem with either the Nebraska Rat Olympics or the Police Olympics. Then, there’s also the Special Olympics where people with disabilities are encouraged to compete.

This year’s Gay Games are not without their controversey as well. The Games were originally slated to occur in Montreal (Canada) but after some disagreements between the city of Montreal and the Federation of Gay Games (FGG) their sanctions were pulled and the Games were moved here to Chicago.

Montreal was rather upset by this decision, and decided to play hardball. If they weren’t going to be allowed to host the Gay Games, they’d do their own thing that weekend, screw the FGG, the more people in Montreal, the less numbers will be in Chicago, and …

Thankfully before long, people began to realize that the only people who were going to suffer because of this was likely to be the athletes, and that’s not the true meaning of sportsmanship - so they formed the Outgames to be held later this year.

Some of this talk about politics is going to be expected, however I strongly feel that the more talk about politics, the less emphasis is going to be placed on what the Gay Games are all about -

Did We Forget? Volume 2

Maybe the first one was too easy. Let's try this again. Let's see if you can figure out who I am talking about:

1. The circumstances surrounding this person's death directly lead to (and influenced) the Stonewall Riots, starting the gay liberation movement.
2. This person was dubbed "an Elvis for homosexuals" by The Advocate Magazine.
3. This person's father was gay. This person also legally married two gay men.
4. One of the stars of Grease 2 was this person's daughter, who later went on to do such shows as Trapper John M.D.; and making notable guest appearances in shows like The Nanny and Murder, She Wrote.
5. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the National Endowments of the Arts (NEA) both claim this person sung the Song Of The Century (1901-2000) - which happens to be one of the first gay anthems.

Any guesses who this might be?

Did We Forget?

Recently, I was talking with a friend of mine about gay history and was kinda surprised to learn how little he actually knew. There were quite a few people, who - in my humble opinion - he should have known, or at least been partly aware of - and when I mentioned their names or how they contributed to the state of local affairs, I was met by blank stares.

Are we forgetting our own history by not reminding ourselves (and not teaching our younger generations)about our past?

So, let me try a little experiment … let's see if you know who I am talking about.

1. This person was named as one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Important People of the Century (1901-2000) alongside such names as Albert Einstein, Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, Bob Dylan, Lucille Ball, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Walt Disney, Wilbur & Orville Wright, Edwin Hubble, Princess Di, Rosa Parks, Anne Frank, Helen Keller, and Mother Teresa, alongside 84 other highly influential people.
2. This Person started out as a successful (and highly conservative) Wall Street Investment Analyst, and even supported Goldwater for President. In the 1960s, this person got involved with the Broadway production of Hair, which ultimately exposed this person to not only to the counterculture, but also took this person to San Francisco. Starting down a much more Liberal path, this person decided that her or his future resided in city politics. The first three attempts to get elected to public office, however, were rather unsuccessful.
3. One of the producers of Superman, Returns is currently filming a movie about this person's life and death, slated to be released sometime in 2007. This person's death was the focus of a Dead Kennedys song. An indy-rock band named themselves after this person. The San Fransisco Opera performed an opera based on this person's story and also released a recording. A documentary on this person won an Academy Award. A film released in 1999 (based on a play from 1983) also tells this person's story.
4. This person was assassinated, murdered in cold blood. The murder had just resigned from his city counsel position before a gay-rights ordinance was introduced, which he strongly opposed. He asked for his position back, but was denied by the Mayor. The murderer went to great lengths to kill this person, covertly entering the building concealing a gun with extra ammunition, shooting this person first in the chest, and then once this person was down, shooting in the head, again, at close range. The killer also murdered the Mayor before he killed this person. During the trial, the jury was composed only of anti-gay people who would be more sympathetic to the killer, and less sympathetic to the victims. The killer claimed he didn't premeditate the murders, and it seems the jury believed him - finding him guilty of voluntary manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility (eating too much junk food) - sentenced to a mere seven years, eight months. He only served one year of parole before he committed suicide in his wife's garage.

If you think you know who I am talking about - leave me a comment! I'll let you know if you were right.

Yahoo! It’s Gay Pride Month!

Yahoo! It's Gay Pride Month! And when I say "Yahoo!" I'm not talking about jumping for joy, but … you know, the search engine, start page, news service, messenger company … you know, Yahoo!.

One of the latest features Yahoo! offers is its Gay Pride Page (http://events.yahoo.com/pride06/). and it is billed as your one stop shopping area for all things having to do with gay pride. On this page, you'll find links to gay blogs, Pride Parade pictures, information on which city is having their Pride Parade when and where, and so much more!!!

Gotta hand it to those Yahoo! people… WTG guys!