tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664827225899899598.post8185526717570136891..comments2023-10-05T07:45:03.745-04:00Comments on The Fabulous Tom Judson Blog: Down With Down EastTom Judsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12624216151842526727noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664827225899899598.post-6384630890430217652009-11-16T11:15:45.849-05:002009-11-16T11:15:45.849-05:00Here in Europe we have been thinking for more than...Here in Europe we have been thinking for more than half a century that the USA were the leaders in the world as far as civil, human, social ...or any rights are concerned. It's rather unbelievable - and shameful - to hear that only now (21st century) the Us Government "starts" considering social security for every US citizen. In the Benelux-countries e.g. this system of social security already exists since World War II.<br />As for gay rights I guess these same countries may claim the leadership: The Netherlands and Belgium started even legalizing gay marriages - which according to me personally is not a necessity, but who am I to judge other gays choices? It's a pity though to hear that religious extremists from "allochtonous" origin (more particularly in The Netherlands)are trying to "re-demonize" homosexuality:-((<br />Greetz Tom!...Looking forward to your interesting topics!wilmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05184695850620068385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664827225899899598.post-22956757773011067212009-11-11T12:16:17.292-05:002009-11-11T12:16:17.292-05:00"I think people who believe in God and are me..."I think people who believe in God and are members of organized religion are deluded idiots who shouldn’t have the right to vote in the first place"<br /><br />Well Tom, I believe in God and am a member of an organized religion, yet I would wager that I vote in support of the same things you do. And I have a friend who is a minister, and she and her husband are outraged at the continued persecution of gays in America and speak out to that affect. Another straight friend is a lay worker at a church in Indiana who is working to educate the members on LGBT issues. IMHO, blanket statements of any kind are just another form of bigotry. I'm just sayin'.<br /><br />Keep fighting the good fight, but choose your enemies carefully.dpastehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10813652943621759603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664827225899899598.post-76209313597188501082009-11-08T10:58:14.949-05:002009-11-08T10:58:14.949-05:00I want to hear more about your disillusioned view ...I want to hear more about your disillusioned view of Obama, please.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664827225899899598.post-85529342575824721522009-11-07T07:49:26.462-05:002009-11-07T07:49:26.462-05:00I posted this over on Pam's House Blend a few ...I posted this over on <a href="http://www.pamshouseblend.com/diary/13941/do-you-hate-the-white-man-now-grandfather" rel="nofollow">Pam's House Blend</a> a few days ago, but it's just as applicable here (emphasis in the original):<br />____<br /><br />TODAY, BLACKS ARE NO LONGER THE LITMUS PAPER or the barometer of social change. Blacks are in every segment of society and there are laws that help to protect them from racial discrimination. The new "niggers" are gays. No person who hopes to get politically elected, even in the deep South, not even Governor Wallace, would dare to stand and publicly argue that blacks should not have the right to use public accommodations. Nobody would dare to say any number of things about blacks that they are perfectly prepared to say about gay people. It is in the since that gay people are the new barometer for social change.<br /><br />Indeed if you want to know whether today people believe in democracy, if you want to know whether they are human rights activists, the question to ask is, "what about gay people?" Because that is now the litmus paper by which the democracy is to be judged. The barometer of social change is measured by selecting the group which is most mistreated. To determine where society is with respect to change, one does not ask, "What do you think about the education of children?" Nor does one ask, "Do you believe the aged should have Social Security?" The question of social change should be framed with the most vulnerable group in mind: gay people.<br /><br />-- from 'The New "Niggers" Are Gays', a speech by Bayard Rustin, March 1986, (taken from <i>Time on Two Crosses: The Collected Writings of Bayard Rustin</i>)<br />____<br /><br />For those unfamiliar with the name, Bayard Rustin was one of the key figures of the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s and later, both in teaching MLK nonviolence strategies and organising the 1963 March on Washington.Tavdyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10109151555493408645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664827225899899598.post-26921359955456695902009-11-07T07:19:16.689-05:002009-11-07T07:19:16.689-05:00I called my senator... you are correct in saying t...I called my senator... you are correct in saying that Gays are the final frontier of easy hate targets... I'd like to see it change in my lifetime.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664827225899899598.post-58555806307144644842009-11-06T19:51:07.267-05:002009-11-06T19:51:07.267-05:00Buuuuut....what about the loveland thing?? Us long...Buuuuut....what about the loveland thing?? Us long-partnered people need to hear about this kind of thing!Billy Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15773336429810369206noreply@blogger.com