UN: United against Homosexuals?

The United Nations has historically stood up for human rights and the protection of human life. But recently, it came into question whether the lives of gay people are worth protecting. Surprisingly, or not surprisingly, the majority of nations who voted...voted NO, gays shouldn't be protected.

This controversy surrounds an amendment proposed by the small country of Benin to remove sexual orientation from the UN provisions for the protection of human life. The final tally:

79 votes in favor

70 votes against

17 abstentations

26 absent

Let's break it down:

Major votes in favor of removing sexual orientation: Afghanistan, China, Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Egypt, Russia, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, and Vietnam

Major votes against removing sexual orientation: every European nation present, India, Korea, most of Latin America, all of North America, and Israel.

Excuse me for being a bit ethnocentric, but those "in favor" countries are RIDICULOUS. The United States is normally portrayed as a bully who pushes its will upon the rest of the world. And in some regards, it is. But this is an area where the world should get pushed a little bit. This is beyond a cultural issue, it's an issue of human life. Some may say it's not our duty to step in and meddle with the affairs of others. And I agree that stepping in might not be the best term for it. But as human beings, we should advocate for all human life, especially those that are being unjustly extinguished. By being apathetic to the death of innocents overseas, we express our silent approval, which is why abstaining is just as bad as voting in favor. If choose not to act, where are effectively disrespecting human life altogether.

Now I may get some hate mail for this next part, but I wonder what the difference is between the nations for and against. Many of the nations in favor of the oppressive amendment have communist governments and histories of discrimination (such as Apartheid). There is also heavy support from undevelopped and developping countries. On the other hand, those against are mainly Westernized or influenced by Western culture. Perhaps the strength of the education system plays a role in how countries voted. Now I don't want to say the countries wanting this amendment are uneducated, but I gotta admit it seems like a pretty uneducated decision.

Ohhh Radio Shows

Hey folks! Feel like it's been forever. Moving into finals week for my Masters program now. I can't believe I'll be all done this time next week! Hopefully a passing CPA score will come in for Christmas and I'll be all set =)

There's a bunch of back-logged things I wanna blog about. I'll get to them eventually, but today I was driving into the community college to volunteer as a tutor and heard the most outrageous radio show. OK, so it probably wasn't outrageous to normal people, but my socially sensitive mind was really disturbed about the on-air conversation.

So a woman calls in upset that her fiance told her that he won't marry her unless she takes his last name. Then the phone lines open up and the stupidity ensues. Most callers tell her she should hyphenate, or take his last name to appease him, or that it depends on whether he has a bad last name. But NO, it doesn't depend on what his last name is. His last name could be Cullen (the coolest last name in the world). But that is not the point.

The issue here is that this woman is being coerced into something that she doesn't want to do. Now I'm not married myself, but I have feeling that coersion would probably be a bad starting point. How are you expected to stand at an altar (or other symbolic place) and vow that you love someone unconditionally when there are express conditions put on your marriage?

A recent study came out that found that many Americans were considering marriage obsolete. I think that's because many people are losing sight of the fundamental purpose of marriage. No, not the fundamentalist purpose, the fundamental purpose. We are all caught up in what the man should do and what the women should do when the only thing that the two people should do is love each other. And no, love doesn't conquer all, but it's an awful good place to start.

Oh yea...IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!!

No I Haven't Died

Hey y'all. Just a quick post letting you know I'm still around =)

Taking the REG part of my CPA exam tomorrow and then my life should be a whole lot freer to think about things other than taxation and business law.

What Would You Do?

Hey y'all. So I'm finally getting around to another blog post!! Sorry for the delay. This is probably going to be a weekly or biweekly blog for the next month or so instead of the more frequent postings that I was doing before (I know...bummerrrr!!!). But, I have less than two weeks left of CPA studying and just a little over a month until I finish my Masters. So the finish line is close and my sanity could not be any happier!!

So I was taking a little study break in my favorite online spot...that's right, Facebook minifeed...and I came across a TV show my friend posted. What was meant to be a two-minute break quickly became a 20-minute break because I just had to watch the entire thing. It gave amazing insight to tolerance in America and it's called What Would You Do? (Linked to Hulu below)

In this episode, the show staged a scenario where a gay couple sitting in a restaurant with their two kids was refused service and asked to leave because of their sexual orientation. The actor playing the waitor made things worse by making rude comments about the couple's sexual life and the supposed inadequacy of their family. The disturbing thing is that out of a hundred or so patrons, there were only around a dozen instances where a bystander said something. This is after both the couple and the children appeared to be very upset.

Their usual response: "It's none of our business." And this, my friends, brings us to the definition of an ally. Those who say, "It's none of my business," fall into the category of friend, tolerant, apathetic, sympathetic, otheretic, "etc. However, it's those people who choose to speak up and say something that make up our true allies. That whole "but I have gay friends" line is nothing more than a copout to help people rationalize their refusal to get involved with the movement. But if they truly had a gey friend, then I would think they would want to speak up and show their support.

Being an ally isn't saying that you are one or wearing a button, it takes actual work. Being an ally isn't an easy job because you do have to stir the water every once in awhile. So if you think you can slap the title on yourself, I'm sorry to reinform you, but you have to EARN it. I think the last guy said it best, I won't tell you what he said though...I want you to watch the episode =)

http://www.hulu.com/watch/150913/what-would-you-do-gay-parents-are-refused-a-meal#x-4,vclip,1,0

Best Music Video of the Year

Happy Halloween everyone! I was going to do a whole Halloween post, but I really don't get into it that much except for movie marathons on Disney and ABC Family (btw, who's excited for HP7?!). But this Halloweekend was actually a lot of fun. Went to an Obama rally yesterday during the day with UConners and the Trail of Terror at night with family. It was only moderately terrifying though, unless you count the fear of spraining an ankle on the uneven ground and of contracting Tetanus from the old rusty sets. But we had fun anyways. Then today was back to my boring online student life, handed out candy between readings (costumes were really lame this year except for the adorable toddler dressed as a skunk).

Onto this post's topic. Best music of the year...and the Vu Music Award (VMA) goes to...*drumroll* Katy Perry for Fireworks! This is what responsible media is all about folks. Great song with empowering lyrics accompanied by an inspiring music video that addresses overcoming obstacles from all different types of issues, including being gay, body image, domestic violence and bullying. It's all about bursting out and showing everyone how wonderful you truly are.

I included the lyrics and took the liberty of putting the poignant parts in blue (yes, that did involve making all of them blue)

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag
Drifting through the wind, wanting to start again?
Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin
Like a house of cards, one blow from caving in?

Do you ever feel already buried deep?
Six feet under screams but no one seems to hear a thing
Do you know that there's still a chance for you
'Cause there's a spark in you?

You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine
Just own the night like the 4th of July

'Cause baby, you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go, oh
As you shoot across the sky

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make 'em go, oh
You're gonna leave 'em falling down

You don't have to feel like a waste of space
You're original, cannot be replaced
If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane comes a rainbow

Maybe you're reason why all the doors are closed
So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road
Like a lightning bolt, your heart will blow
And when it's time, you'll know

You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine
Just own the night like the 4th of July

'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go, oh
As you shoot across the sky

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make 'em go, oh
You're gonna leave 'em falling down

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
It's always been inside of you, you, you
And now it's time to let it through

'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go, oh
As you shoot across the sky

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make 'em go, oh
You're gonna leave 'em falling down

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon

Sorry Clint McCance...Apology Unaccepted

Arkansas school board member, Clint McCance, put out a statement today expressing his intent on resigning from his position, and rightfully so. Most of you who read my blog can tell that I'm a big supporter of our Constitutional rights, especially the freedom of speech, but some of the outrageous posts published on Mr. McCance's Facebook is not the type of speech that is meant to be protected. I consider them more on the side of hate speech. Some of his comments were:

"Seriously they want me to wear purple because five queers killed themselves. The only way im wearin it for them is if they all commit suicide. I cant believe the people of this world have gotten this stupid. We are honoring the fact that they sinned and killed thereselves because of their sin. REALLY PEOPLE."

"No because being a fag doesn't give you the right to ruin the rest of our lives. If you get easily offended by being called a fag then dont tell anyone you are a fag. Keep that shit to yourself. I dont care how people decide to live their lives. They dont bother me if they keep it to thereselves. It pisses me off though that we make a special purple fag day for them. I like that fags cant procreate. I also enjoy the fact that they often give each other aids and die. If you arent against it, you might as well be for it."

"I would disown my kids they were gay. They will not be welcome at my home or in my vicinity. I will absolutely run them off. Of course my kids will know better. My kids will have solid christian beliefs. See it infects everyone."

The last comment falls into the realm of acceptable speech. Sure Mr. McCance may still have been fired for it because we have employment-at-will in the U.S., but the comment itself falls more into the category of a close-minded opinion from an ignorant person. The first two comments, however, are potentially dangerous. They express support for the suicide of queer people and the death of queer people from AIDS. These kinds of hateful words could encourage violence by anti-queer individuals ("yea, he's right they should all die") and suicide from queer youth ("wow, even this guy my own school board is telling me that queer people should die"). Mr. McCance's actions were flat-out wrong and I'm glad to know that he will no longer be in a position of influence in regards to educating our youth.

Accompanying his resignation was an apology. He claimed, "I would never support suicide for any kids...All I can do now is extend my apologies for my poor speech...I give everyone a chance and try to love everyone." Forgive me, Mr. McCance, if I don't necessarily believe you. But please, I invite you to prove me wrong. Right now, I don't see how someone who doesn't support suicide, someone who is so loving, could ever write those atrocious posts. And there is surely more that you can do. How about trying to further educate yourself about queer issues? You say you give everyone a chance - PROVE IT

The Closing of a Chapter

I observed the Rainbow Center Speakers' Bureau for the first time today. I'd been a speaker on it since I was a freshman at UConn and then became the coordinator when I was a junior, but today is the first time I found myself on the other side of the classroom and I gotta admit, it was a surreal experience.

But those days are gone and it's time to move on and reassess my role in the queer community. In college, being gay was literally part of my job. I would do workshops and visit classes and I knew what I should do to get involved. But now what? What does activism in the real world look like? Well, here are a few actions steps I did figure out:

1) Be a good person. I always considered this the greatest form of activism, more than any rally or protest. I think it is so helpful when straight folks can see gay people and recognize them as human beings before sexual beings. So I may be an intelligent gay accountant, but that's not how I want people to see it. I would rather them say that I'm a smart accountant that happens to be gay. They should be able to look favorably on my character before judging me based on my orientation. I also want to serve as a good role model for gay youth.

2) Affect your own communities: This really starts with friends and families by speaking up when derogatory or ignorant comments are made. I know, I know, easier said than done. But try your best and keep it light if you need to. Say something like, "That joke is whack" (except use something you cool cats are actually saying these days). Friends and family are just my starting point though, I want to do more. So I'll be visiting my high school within the next couple weeks to see if I can help out their GSA (updates to come).

3) Be informed, be active and vote: A week from today, you all know what to do. Make sure the candidates you vote for support equal rights. I won't tell you who to vote for because that's a political choice. But whoever you are, remember to vote because if the population doesn't participate, the government doesn't work.

This list will probably evolve over time, but I'm new to this whole non-university thing.