How gay is that?
I just walked over to the gas station to get a sugar fix. Pulling away from the store as I walked up was a guy in a Jeep Wrangler . . . with a Yorkie on his lap. Sad thing is, in this county, assuming it is his dog and assuming he is gay, the odds that he knows it are pretty low.
Willie Nelson joins PFLAG…sorta.
Today from the BBC:
Country music star Willie Nelson has released a tune about gay cowboy romance for Valentine's Day.
Nelson said the release, Cowboys Are Secretly, Frequently (Fond of Each Other), was timed to coincide with Oscar hopeful Brokeback Mountain.
The song, originally written in 1981, was played for the first time on Howard Stern's radio show on Tuesday.
"The song's been in the closet for 20 years. The timing's right for it to come out," said Nelson.
'Special meaning'
"I'm just opening the door," added the performer, who recorded the track at his home in Texas last year.
The song is being exclusively released for download via the Apple iTunes music store.
Speaking to the Dallas Morning News, Nelson's manager David Anderson, who revealed that he was gay two years ago, said he wanted the song to reflect well on the singer.
"This song obviously has special meaning to me in more ways than one," said Mr Anderson.
"I want people to know more than anything - gay, straight, whatever - just how cool Willie is and ... his way of thinking, his tolerance, everything about him," he added.
The Broken Lizard Comedy Troupe are to film a video to accompany the song, which will also be available via the iTunes online store.
Nelson also features on the soundtrack of Brokeback Mountain, singing He Was A Friend of Mine, which hit number 54 in the US charts earlier this year.1
Yes, I've already downloaded it. I didn't really have any idea what to expect, but it's actually a very sweet song that manages to acknowledge both realities at the same time. Here are the lyrics for you.
Well there's many a strange impulse out on the plains of west Texas
There's many a young boy who feels things he can't comprehend.
And a small town don't like it when somebody falls between sexes.
No a small town don't like it when a cowboy has feelings for men.
And I believe to my soul that inside every man is the feminine,
And inside every lady there's a deep manly voice loud and clear.
Well, a cowboy may brag about things that he's done with his women,
But the ones that brag loudest are the ones that are most likely queer.
Cowboys are frequently secretly fond of each other.
Say what did you think all them saddles and boots was about?
And there's many a cowboy who don't understand the way that he feels for his brother.
And inside every cowboy there's a lady who'd love to slip out.
And there's always somebody who says what the others just whisper.
And mostly that someone's the first one to get shot down dead.
So when you talk to a cowbody don't treat him like he was a sister.
You can't fuck with the lady that's sleeping in each cowboy's head.
Cowboys are frequently secretly fond of each other.
Say what did you think all them saddles and boots was about?
And there's many a cowboy who don't understand the way that he feels for his brother.
And inside every lady there's a cowboy who wants to come out.
And inside every cowboy there's a lady that'd love to slip out.
Would you like a little cheese with that whine?
UPDATE: I have edited this post, because, well, I was wrong. If you remember or can find an archived copy of the original somewhere, you will see the changes made. Otherwise, yea for me.
I am getting really tired of all the pissing and moaning about showing respect for religious beliefs. I have two big issues with this whole conversation. One is the martyr act these people adopt, trying to play the vicitim of hate speech. Saying that Pat Robertson is losing his grip on reality and needs to shut the hell up isn't hate speech. Rude, maybe, but not hate speech. Drawing Mohammad with a bomb for a turban is not hate speech. In a country where two men have been assassinated for speaking out against Muslim extremism, on a continent subjected multiple times to suicide bomb attacks on crowded commuter lines, it's not an unreasonable criticism. Nor is it reasonable to expect a non-Muslim to adhere to Muslim proscriptions. For future reference, this is hate speech. So is this, and this.
As tempting as it is to call this, this and this hate speech, you can't really. It's simply offensive, and, to my way of thinking, ignorant.
Which brings me to number two. Interesting, isn't it, how those griping the loudest have no issues being offensive themselves? They are not interested in a "kinder, gentler" society. They simply want their critics silenced. You can say any damn fool thing you want as long as you have some scriptural reference to point to in support of your belief statement.
If you want the freedom to speak your religious beliefs with impunity then you better find the intestinal fortitude to take criticism of your beliefs. End of story.
Now let's bring this back to those stupid cartoons one more time. The KKK seems to have cleaned up its act. It's still a bunch of racist bigots, but, publicly at least, they have dropped much of the violent and hateful rhetoric. You don't hear of lynch mobs in white sheets any more. When the occasional burning cross does appear on a lawn in the South it's easier to believe the KKK that they had nothing to do with it. Why? Why the change? Because society pressured them to do so. Less and less were they able to find support for their expression of their religious beliefs. Their core values have not changed, but they way they express themselves has. (Hint KKK: A good next step would be to find a "racialist" web designer with some talent, because . . . damn.)
Do you think if they had continued to find support for their rhetoric and violent actions, they would have changed? Do you think if John Kerry lived back in the KKK's hey day to denounce cartoonists in the North for satirizing men in hooded white sheets the KKK would have had any incentive to change? Of course not. The world is a much larger stage, and more complex, but the principles remain the same. As long as people make apologies for statements critical of [one segment] of Islam, as long as excuses are made on Arabs' behalf—"they come from a harsh environment," "they are steeped in a culture of violence," "the West is reaping what it has sown in the Middle East"—as long as fellow Muslims remain largely mum, those perptrating acts of violence have no incentive to change.
Happy Singles Awareness Day!
And I thought people on cell phones were bad…
I'd like to think that I have a right to be a little shocked at my experience in the men's room at work yesterday. As I was standing at the urinal, minding my own Christian business, I heard a strange sound coming from an occupied stall.
Spread the word.
A friend of mine, an Australian citizen, is facing forced separation from his life partner because the law does not recognize their relationship. In my circle of friends, it is the second such relationship to be threatened in as many years. I am sad to report that the first union was severed by a bureaucrat; I am hoping that for this, the second, perhaps things will turn out better.
[snip]
Like most of my readers, I do think it is unlikely that heterosexual marriage will suffer if same-sex marriage becomes a reality. It's quite arguable that same-sex marriage will strengthen the institution of marriage among the liberal-minded, who might otherwise come to see the institution as unfair and therefore presumptively wrong.
I know with certainty, however, that same-sex couples are suffering right now, and that something should be done to help them.
Read the whole article. It includes a letter from the party in question and information on how you can help change things.
This is the sort of thing that just burns my shorts. They're not protecting Holy Matrimony. They're protecting Holy Sanctimony.
GRRRRRR….
I must be moving up in the world. All of a sudden I'm getting comment spam out the wahzoo. Over 100 bogus comments over the weekend. The hassle is annoying, but the comments themselves I actually find insulting. The first line is always some ego stroke.
"Some friends told me about this site, and now i'm glad they told me about it."
"Excellent! I enjoyed reading your material."
"It's the first time i ran through your site and I found it very informative and interesting. Nicely done!"
Okay, how stupid do they think I am? Do they really think I only read the first line? Do they think I'm going to let the comment post because of shameless (and hence worthless) praise?
Bastards. Or Idiots? Ahhhh...idiot bastards.
I'll be setting up some spam blocking plugins this evening. I'd do it now, but there is something whacked about my Internet connection at work and I can't log in to the Word Press site for a software key to activate one of the plugins. Figures.
Sticks and Stones
You know for a group who, we are constantly told, value strength, Muslims sure get their feelings hurt easily. With all the hullabaloo over the "hate speech" cartoons in Europe, I was expecting something like this. However, when I went to the Brussels Journal1 to finally take a look at the cartoons, I was stunned . . . by how harmless they appeared to me. They're political cartoons, the likes of which you will find in any western newspaper. If that's hate speech, every political cartoonist in the U.S. is in deep doo doo.
Granted, I'm not a Muslim. I don't have Muslim sensitivities. Still, I was once an active member of one of the most ridiculed religious groups in the U.S., the Mormons. Mormons are mocked to this day for plural marriage (even though the Church stopped sanctioning the practice over 100 years ago) and for their "magic" underwear. Folks, some Mormons might ascribe magical or divine properties to their underwear just like some Catholics find the image of Jesus or Mary in their toast, but to most it's just a garment they wear close to their skin to remind them who they are and what they believe.
Mock them for choosing underwear instead of something more along the lines of a yarmulke or a turban or facial hair if that suits you, but do you think Mormons really give a shit what you think of their underwear? Nope. Have Mormons ever made death threats against people who have accused Joseph Smith of being nothing more than a treasure hunter and a pedophile? Nope. Whatever else they might be, Mormons are generally a peaceful bunch who are centered enough in their faith that their world is not rocked by the fact that many people see them as kooks.
I think growing up Mormon gave me the thick skin needed for any homosexual trying to make his way in the world. Ann Coulter and other right wing pundits insult homosexuals on a fairly regular basis. While my opinion of them slips lower and lower each time, it hardly affects my daily life. What kind of life would I be leading if I took every invective hurled at homosexuals personally? I'd be upset and pissed off all the time. Frankly, I choose not to live that way.
Perhaps this is a new experience for Muslims. Coming from Islamic nations where everyone holds the same ideas of what is sacred, they aren't used to having their beliefs challenged much less ridiculed. Welcome to the West. If you want to live here, get used to it. I absolutely support the Danish newspaper for refusing to apologize. The cartoons are hardly out of line with any other cartoon that has ever been published lampooning any other group or individual. We should absolutely not compromise our belief in the freedom of expression because the new culture on the block is having a hard time adjusting to the idea.
The other part of this that bothers me is Muslims take no responsibility for the behavior that has inspired these cartoons. If it is so offensive that Mohammad is depicted as a terrorist, why are they not as deeply offended that Osama bin Ladin is preaching death, hate and violence in his name and on his authority? If Islam is really such a peaceful religion (and I have no doubt whatsoever that there are many fine, peace-loving individuals who practice Islam) why is there no public condemnation of the radicals advocating death to infidels? (Which includes homosexuals, by the way.) Where were these peaceful Muslims when Pim Fortuyn and Theo van Gogh were murdered? Were is the Muslim organization dedicated to promoting the image of a peaceful Islam?
Muslims living in Europe are no longer living a sheltered life. It will be a difficult transition for them to make, to be sure. I understand that and can sympathize, but make it they must or it will end in violence. We once believed WWIII was going to be fought over ideology: communism v. capitalism. It's looking more and more like if there is a WWIII in our future, it's going to be fought over religion. Iran is the new U.S.S.R. Welcome back to the Dark Ages.
Update: I had forgotten that human imagery is forbidden in Islam. That Mohammad was depicted at all is mainly what Muslims are up in arms about. That he was depicted in a less than flattering light was only fuel to the fire. Still, once again, we are in the West. We tend to believe that religious groups don't get to impose sanctions of any kind on those who do not adhere to that religion. Another western principle we should stand by and defend.
Self-loathing
Joe.My.God has once again penned a entry describing an aspect of homosexuality that I think is spot on.
From the moment we know what gay is, and that it's what we are, we endure and internalize an incessant, heavy, debilitating, enervating barrage of anti-gay messages from our families, our churches, our teachers, and our leaders. Every bit of popular culture, from sappy Lifetime romance movies to saccharine hit singles on the radio, underscores our outsider status, our otherness.
Processing these messages, exorcising our internalized homophobia, is a lifelong exercise. We are never done working through it. Never. Just as coming out, once begun, is a never-ending experience, we must always work towards becoming self-actualized, to make the most of our unique abilities as gay people. Only a completely self-deluded queer can ever sit back and say "That's it. I'm done. I am now totally free of self-loathing and my being gay no longer has any influence on how I see myself and my place in the world."
Read the whole thing.