Seriously -- Read this.

Harvey Fierstein writes with blazing truth (just check out the film Torch Song Trilogy) -- I feel that writing my own ideas would simply diminish the power of his. So I am shutting my mouth, and sitting on my weary keyboard-hungry hands -- taking a moment to contemplate the gift of someone who speaks what I'm feeling -- someone who is seamlessly able to put into words... that unspeakable knot in my stomach that single-handedly propels this blog. God bless that gay. I did not write this. But you should still read it.

A Bit of Mandatory Reading (unabridged) from the New York Times on April 13th

AMERICA is watching Don Imus’s self-immolation in a state of shock and awe. And I’m watching America with wry amusement.

Since I’m a second-class citizen — a gay man — my seats for the ballgame of American discourse are way back in the bleachers. I don’t have to wait long for a shock jock or stand-up comedian to slip up with hateful epithets aimed at me and mine. Hate speak against homosexuals is as commonplace as spam. It’s daily traffic for those who profess themselves to be regular Joes, men of God, public servants who live off my tax dollars, as well as any number of celebrities.

In fact, I get a good chuckle whenever someone refers to “the media” as an agent of “the gay agenda.” There are entire channels, like Spike TV, that couldn’t fill an hour of programming if required to remove their sexist and homophobic content. We’ve got a president and a large part of Congress willing to change the Constitution so they can deprive of us our rights because they feel we are not “normal.”

So I’m used to catching foul balls up here in the cheap seats. What I am really enjoying is watching the rest of you act as if you had no idea that prejudice was alive and well in your hearts and minds.
For the past two decades political correctness has been derided as a surrender to thin-skinned, humorless, uptight oversensitive sissies. Well, you anti-politically correct people have won the battle, and we’re all now feasting on the spoils of your victory. During the last few months alone we’ve had a few comedians spout racism, a basketball coach put forth anti-Semitism and several high-profile spoutings of anti-gay epithets.

What surprises me, I guess, is how choosy the anti-P.C. crowd is about which hate speech it will not tolerate.

Sure, there were voices of protest when the TV actor Isaiah Washington called a gay colleague a “faggot.” But corporate America didn’t pull its advertising from “Grey’s Anatomy,” as it did with Mr. Imus, did it? And when Ann Coulter likewise tagged a presidential candidate last month, she paid no real price.

In fact, when Bill Maher discussed Ms. Coulter’s remarks on his HBO show, he repeated the slur no fewer than four times himself; each mention, I must note, solicited a laugh from his audience. No one called for any sort of apology from him. (Well, actually, I did, so the following week he only used it once.)

Face it, if a Pentagon general, his salary paid with my tax dollars, can label homosexual acts as “immoral” without a call for his dismissal, who are the moral high and mighty kidding?

Our nation, historically bursting with generosity toward strangers, remains remarkably unkind toward its own. Just under our gleaming patina of inclusiveness, we harbor corroding guts. America, I tell you that it doesn’t matter how many times you brush your teeth. If your insides are rotting your breath will stink. So, how do you people choose which hate to embrace, which to forgive with a wink and a week in rehab, and which to protest? Where’s my copy of that rule book?

Let me cite a non-volatile example of how prejudice can cohabit unchecked with good intentions. I am a huge fan of David Letterman’s. I watch the opening of his show a couple of times a week and have done so for decades. Without fail, in his opening monologue or skit Mr. Letterman makes a joke about someone being fat. I kid you not. Will that destroy our nation? Should he be fired or lose his sponsors? Obviously not.

But I think that there is something deeper going on at the Letterman studio than coincidence. And, as I’ve said, I cite this example simply to illustrate that all kinds of prejudice exist in the human heart. Some are harmless. Some not so harmless. But we need to understand who we are if we wish to change. (In the interest of full disclosure, I should confess to not only being a gay American, but also a fat one. Yes, I’m a double winner.)

I urge you to look around, or better yet, listen around and become aware of the prejudice in everyday life. We are so surrounded by expressions of intolerance that I am in shock and awe that anyone noticed all these recent high-profile instances. Still, I’m gladdened because our no longer being deaf to them may signal their eventual eradication.

The real point is that you cannot harbor malice toward others and then cry foul when someone displays intolerance against you. Prejudice tolerated is intolerance encouraged. Rise up in righteousness when you witness the words and deeds of hate, but only if you are willing to rise up against them all, including your own. Otherwise suffer the slings and arrows of disrespect silently.

--Harvey Fierstein is an actor and playwright.

The Art of Distraction (Part Deux)

Life has been a bit ridiculous and crazy -- so not a whole lot of amazing insights -- on top of that, I question the literacy of my inner circle-- for them, something easy to comment on ...

The GW Special (complete with hyperlinks)

Oy.

When asked about the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Gen. Peter Pace's) comments that homosexuality was immoral -- GEORGE BUSH ~in his signature bone-headed fashion~ skirted around the subject to say instead, that he stands by the "Don't Ask Don't Tell Policy".

*Slams head on desk* *Flatlines------------*

Eh, this has been hashed out so many times -- not sure I could offer any new ideas --I'm always so overwhelmed with disgust. Everytime I want to voice my disdain for the current administration, my passion catches in my throat, too beaten down with the reality of today's political and social climate to put up a fight. It is times like these that we must get the 'big guns' out -- and for that call to arms - I give you my dear comedienne, patriot,inspiration Margaret Cho: (the following is an excerpt from her funny as shit concert film "Cho Revolution")

"Don't Ask Don't Tell. Don't Ask Don't Tell:" How dare they? How dare they ask you to die for your country and not allow you to be who you are? (applause) As if you could win a war without lesbians. (laughter and applause). "Who gonna read the map?"

Yeah... enough said.

Remember When 'Gay' Meant Happy ?

Ahhh....Easter. Did you know that April 9Th marks the White House's annual Easter Egg Roll? This glorious little tradition is essentially an activity that harkens back to the days of yore, (oh, days of yore -- how I miss you) where families come to Washington DC - celebrating a holiday that promotes familial unity in and of itself. This gathering provided an opportunity to show their love of Easter as well as their undying allegiance to their country (thus killing two proverbial birds with one stone).

However -- some may (or may not) remember last Easter, when gay families that had shown up to the event were shut out of the opening ceremonies and photo ops with First Lady Laura Bush... Happy Easter indeed. Where was the sense of family? Of good will? On Easter of all days? What benevolent, neighborly Easter spirit?

Fast forward to this year -- when families in the GLBT community pre-emptively advertise their presence. This year the families are showing up in droves, with a message about familial identities in the Queer Community, and the importance surrounding the legalisation of same sex marriages. Adverts for this outing state some pretty astounding figures:

* Marriage provides over 1,138 federal (and hundreds more state-level) protections, rights, and responsibilities, along with intangible benefits, to committed couples and their families.
* Same-sex couples are raising children in at least 96% of all US counties.
* Nearly one quarter of all same-sex couples are raising children.
* More than 25 years of research have documented that there is no relationship between parents' sexual orientation and any measure of a child's emotional, psychosocial, and behavioral adjustment, demonstrating no risk to children raised by gay and lesbian parents.

The message here? Come on we are talking about families, people who love each other and simply want that love to be recognized. Is it hurting your ideals? Can America be the land of the free when the first lady refuses a photo op with a large percentage of her husband's constituents? Can we have a Happy Easter when this administration seems hell bent (yes, hell in relation to THEM.... not us) on creating second class citizens?

If we are becoming so obsessed with tradition -- and the common good of man -- why can't we assign new meanings to these time honored traditions of marriage ? Of fairness? Of good will?

I for one, don't remember when 'gay' meant happy -- but for so many reasons (insert sappy music) I wish you all, from the bottom of my disenfranchised heart : a very Gay Easter... one that rivals every Easter that has come before - or will come again.

Just to save face after this sentimental, Easter-laden tirade ~~ A reprieve from my Easter Soap Box: