Josh Ritter Defends Gay Rights At Christian College Performance

 

It takes balls to make a strong statement when one is in a hostile setting.  And few settings are more hostile toward gay rights that so-called "Christian" colleges that preach an anti-gay mantra and often require students to sign statements of faith, etc., that condemn homosexuality.  Messiah College in Pennsylvania is one such college, yer singer Josh Ritter lobbed a bomb if you will during his recent performance at the campus when he spoke out for gay rights.  No doubt the powers that be at the college were less than happy.  Huffington Post looks at Ritter's challenge to bigotry.  Here are highlights:

Singer-songwriter Josh Ritter is making headlines after speaking out in defense of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community during a performance at a private Christian college which allegedly has an anti-gay policy in place for its student body. 

After his performance at Pennsylvania's Messiah College, Ritter took to Facebook with the following message:

"Messiah College requires all students to sign a 'Community Covenant,' promising to, among other things, 'avoid such sinful practices as…homosexual behavior….' This policy, which I see as exclusionary and bigoted, could not run more counter to my personal beliefs. If I had done my homework, and read about Messiah's policies ahead of time, I would never have agreed to play there."

When he took to the stage, Ritter says he "chose to use the opportunity to talk to the students -- to encourage them to seek openness and change," adding, "I spoke honestly about my personal views -- that we should all have the right to love -- and to marry freely, no matter what our sexual orientation. Everyone was respectful and kind, and it is my hope that they'll continue to demand a change to the Community Covenant."

Vowing never to perform at Messiah College again "until they welcome, in word and deed, all members of their faith regardless of sexuality," Ritter is donating his earnings from the performance to The Trevor Project, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth advocacy organization. 

In 2011, Messiah College's "Community Covenant" made headlines when an openly gay student opted to transfer out of the school, saying he had been harassed by fellow students and even a professor because of his sexual orientation. 

No one is less loving than the "godly Christian" folks.

Jason Collins' Matthew Shepard Tribute

One surprise that came out during NBA star Jason Collins' coming out is that he chose his jersey number to honor Matthew Shepard who was murdered in 1998.  Even Shepard's parents were surprised to learn of the tribute to their son.  Huffington Post covers this disclosure.  Here are excerpts:

In his Sports Illustrated editorial, the 34-year-old Collins reveals he wore the number 98 in 38 games this season while playing for the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards as a silent tribute to Matthew Shepard, the 21-year-old gay college student who was beaten and left to die outside Laramie, Wyo. in October 1998.

Collins writes:

"My one small gesture of solidarity was to wear jersey number 98 with the Celtics and then the Wizards. The number has great significance to the gay community. One of the most notorious antigay hate crimes occurred in 1998. Matthew Shepard, a University of Wyoming student, was kidnapped, tortured and lashed to a prairie fence. He died five days after he was finally found.

That same year the Trevor Project was founded. This amazing organization provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention to kids struggling with their sexual identity. Trust me, I know that struggle. I've struggled with some insane logic. When I put on my jersey I was making a statement to myself, my family and my friends."

You can read Collins' full editorial here.  Matthew's parents, Dennis and Judy Shepard, told Fox Sports they were honored by the tribute.

Meanwhile, the Christofascists are grumbling and having a cow over the positive reception that Collins has received to date.  AFA's hate merchant in chief, Bryan Fischer was his usual vicious self:

"Everybody is talking about how brave and courageous Jason Collins is and I'm going to submit to you that he's not being brave and courageous at all," Fischer declared. "This is just a shrewd marketing move to wave the rainbow flag right at the time when it can be of the most benefit to him. A year from now, when he's been out of the NBA for a year, nobody is going to care.  This is the only time this would be of any benefit to him ... This is why this is not courageous; he's become a hero to the deviancy cabal and their allies in the political world and academia and the media, like President Obama"

Openly Gay Climber Poised to Conquer "Seven Summits"

When not depicting us as sexual predators and pedophiles the Christofascist like to promote the myth that gays are effeminate "Nellie boys" and other less than flattering things.  The truth never means anything to these people.  Enter 20 year old Carson Crane (pictured above) who is out to conquer the so-called "Seven Summits" - the highest mountain on each of Earths seven continents.  Besides changing the image of gays, Crane is also using his endeavor as a fundraiser for the Trevor Project. So far he has successfully climber five of the seven highest peaks and will so be taking on Mt. Everest.  After that, he plans to climb Mt. McKinley in Alaska.  I wish him great success.  Here are highlights from the South China Morning Post:

An American student who once attended school in Hong Kong is well on his way to becoming the first openly gay mountaineer to conquer the highest peak on each continent - known as the "Seven Summits".

Cason Crane, 20, already has five of those mountains under his belt and was yesterday due to begin his quest to scale the highest of them all, Mount Everest.  That will be followed by his final target, Mount McKinley in Alaska, which will make him the fifth-youngest person to achieve the feat.

Crane's seven-summit challenge is also a fund-raising effort for The Trevor Project, an organisation based in the United States that is the country's sole 24-hour suicide lifeline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning (LGBTQ) youth.  Crane calls his LGBTQ awareness-building initiative The Rainbow Summits Project, and he puts a rainbow flag on his tent on each of the mountains.

He was spurred into action following the suicide of New York university student Tyler Clementi, who jumped from a bridge in September 2010 after his roommate and others targeted him through cyber-bullying over his romantic relationships.  "I didn't know Tyler at all," Crane said. "But I felt like I knew him."  Crane himself has experienced some bullying at school, but that has not stopped him from becoming a successful openly gay athlete since age 15.

The oldest of five children, he showed early signs of mountaineering skills. At just 15 years old, he went with his mother, a mountaineer and ultramarathon athlete, up Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain.  He has also reached the summits of Mount Aconcagua in Argentina; Mount Elbrus, a dormant volcano in Russia; the Carstensz Pyramid or Puncak Jaya in Indonesia; and the Vinson Massif, Antarctica's highest peak.

Being out, proud and destroying stereotypes is something that all of us can do.  And in the process, we often open minds and change hearts.  Kudos to Crane.   To learn more about his ambitious effort, check out his web page here.

Broadway Stars Sing "It Gets Better"

A group of young Broadway stars came together to record a song with a theme from Dan Savage's "It Gets Better" project in the hopes of calling further attention to the problem of suicide among LGBT youth. Among those involved are Marty Thomas of Xanadu and Kyle Kleiboeker of Hairspray who the boyfriend and I met last month in New York City at a party to benefit the American Foundation for Equal Rights. Our LGBT youth need as many positive messages as possible. Meanwhile, Republican Colorado Senate Candidate Ken Buck (pictured below) has compared homosexuality to alcoholism and says being gay is a "choice"and provides one more bit of proof that the Tea Party candidates are thinly disguised Christianist extremists. Here's a video of the Broadway group:
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As for Mr. Buck and his statements on Meet the Press, here's some of his disgusting batshitery that can only help push gay youths to consider suicide:
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GREGORY: In a debate last month, you expressed your support for "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and you alluded to lifestyle choices. Do you believe that being gay is a choice?
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BUCK: I do.*
GREGORY: Based on what?
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BUCK: Based on what? I guess you can choose who your partner is.
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GREGORY: You don't think it's something that's determined at birth?
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BUCK: I think that birth has an influence over it, like alcoholism and some other things, but I think that basically, you have a choice.
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I guess to Buck, breathing is a choice too - after all you could stop breathing.

Yet Another Gay Suicide

The gay teen death toll keeps rising - I'm sure that Maggie Gallagher, Pope Benedict XVI, the Mormon Church and all who strive daily to make gay lives a living Hell must be smug and satisfied with all the recent deaths. Personally, it sickens me beyond description. As does the failure of our president and Congress to do anything meaningful to repeal DADT, repeal DOMA, and enact ENDA. I'm way over false promises such as the latest out of Nancy Pelosi that are pretty much aimed at suckering LGBT voters into voting for do nothing Democrats next month. The latest apparent casualty of our homophobic society is Raymond Chase, a student in Connecticut. I suspect that between the influence of other recent gay suicides and the feeling that nothing is progressing as rapidly as it should to give gays legal equality under the civil laws, an already often very toxic atmosphere has been intensified. Great work Maggie, Barack, Nancy and Harry and all the rest who bear varying levels of responsibility. Perez Hilton has these details:

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We have just lost a 5th young soul this week - that we know of - who is either gay or the victim or gay bullying. The 5th suicide in less than three weeks and the 3rd death just this week alone!

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It is just devastating for us to report that we have learned that Raymond Chase, an openly gay sophomore at Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island , studying culinary arts committed suicide on Wednesday, several students have informed us.

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The 19 year old is believed to have hung himself in his dormitory. Ronald Martel, Ph.D., Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students, sent the following email to students on Thursday: Today I contact you with the deeply sad news of the passing of Raymond Chase, sophomore, 19, culinary arts major. The campus community is mourning the loss of this vibrant young man who leaves many JWU friends and teachers, and a loving family of Monticello, New York.

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Suicide is never an option! Please, please, please, TALK to your sons, brothers, cousins, friends, roommates! If someone you know is gay or questioning and going through a hard time, OFFER YOUR HELP.

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Sometimes people just want to know someone is there to listen. And, if you need someone to talk to yourself, please call the trained professionals at The Trevor Project and speak anonymously!

The Ongoing Epidemic of Gay Teen Suicide

Victoria Brownworth has a very moving and thought provoking - and lengthy - article on 365gay.com about gay suicide, particularly gay teen suicide. As I have said before, I hold hate-filled social conservatives and Christianists in this country, including the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church and Southern Baptist Convention, responsible as the moving forces driving gay teens to suicide literally on a daily basis. All because these religious fanatics are so bigoted and fearful of independent thought and recognition of medical and mental health advances that they cannot tolerate those who are different. Worse yet, in my opinion, they frankly do not give a damn about the lives destroy or the amount of misery and suffering they inflict. To be blunt, I find these folks nothing short of evil. Yes, I concede that this is a highly emotional topic for me because (as long time readers know) I lost a friend to suicide and a former boyfriend's brother killed himself because they could not deal with being gay. Even closer to home, I had my own nearly successful brush with suicide. So much misery, so much suffering, so many needlessly lost lives - and all of it unnecessary. Here are some highlights from 365gay.com:

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Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute in Philadelphia – EPPI - used to be the place where teenagers who attempted suicide ended up. . . . For a time it seemed like every lesbian who ever attended my all-girl’s high school ended up attempting suicide and taking a short trip to EPPI because of it.

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Lesbian and gay teens today needn’t feel the hopelessness or fear that the LGBT youth of my generation felt. Or do they? The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services puts the annual rate of suicide in the U.S. at between 35,000 and 40,000 per year. Of than number, almost 20 percent are teenagers between the ages of 12 and 18. According to HHS, suicide is the second leading cause of death among teenagers in the U.S.

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Psychological autopsies – that is, examination of a person’s psychological state in the time leading up to their death – show an alarming 30 percent of LGBT youth among these dead teens. And psychologists believe that number, too, may also be much higher than actually noted in the statistics, as queer teens are most likely to have the true cause of their death and their sexual identity hidden by family members.

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Yet if even the most basic numbers on LGBT teen suicide are accurate, the statistics are stunning and their ramifications shocking. LGBT teens are considering suicide at an alarming rate, attempting it more often than their heterosexual peers and are, sadly, succeeding in those attempts more and more often.

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Many LGBT teens who feel suicide is their only option have inevitably been bullied to death. . . .New forms of bullying – online and in public forums like MySpace and Facebook – have meant that there are no safe peer-group places for LGBT teens who are feeling threatened.

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Lisa Allen* was 16-years-old and a student at Central High School when she tried to kill herself. “Now, of course, I see I was lucky,” she admits. “I wanted to die then, but I am glad I didn’t now. But if Toni hadn’t found me, I wouldn’t have made it.” Lisa Allen is indeed one of the lucky ones. Bobby Griffith was not so lucky.

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Mary Griffith’s grief and remorse after her son’s suicide – he did a back-flip off an overpass into the path of an 18-wheeler and was killed instantly – led her to talk about her experience and her son’s tragic death. In *Prayers for Bobby: A Mother’s Coming to Terms with the Suicide of Her Gay Son,* Griffith talks at length about how her religious beliefs and those she inculcated into Bobby led inexorably to such self-hatred that suicide seemed the only answer to him.

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Penn State University psychologist Anthony D’Augelli studied hundreds of gay and lesbian teens in 14 cities, including Philadelphia. He says their rate of suicide attempts is more than double the average of heterosexual teens. In an interview, D’Augelli said, “In the studies we’ve done, the numbers get up to 30 percent, 40 percent.” That means LGBT teens are between 30 and 40 percent more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers.

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That’s how Belinda Cummings* felt – as if she could not go on. And didn’t want to. . . . I couldn’t be going to church and feeling like I could overcome it all and then the minute I was at school and seeing other girls–and especially the ones I had crushes on–I felt all messed up again. It was just too much. I have to say, when I cut my wrists open that day and the blood started to spurt out, I felt like I had done the right thing.”

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What’s more, conservative and anti-gay groups have focused attention on teens, denying that any teen has a true gay identity. Traditional Values Coalition charged on its disturbing website that the “claims” of high rates of LGBT teen suicide are “bogus” and nothing more than “recruitment techniques” to force schools to address homosexuality in the classroom.

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Like the two girls in the article and surely Bobby Griffin, the day I swallowed a bottle of powerful pills, I just wanted it all to stop. I truly was not thinking beyond that - just make the pain stop. That's all I wanted. Today, I am very happy that my suicide attempt failed. It would have harmed my children immensely and I would never have known the level of peace and self-acceptance I have now achieved. Nor would I have met my wonderful current boyfriend. Here are some resources:

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If you know someone who is feeling suicidal, or an LGBT teen who needs to talk, contact any of these queer or queer-friendly venues for teens.

Suicide Prevention Hotline:1-800-273-TALK

Teen Health and Wellness (800) 237-9932.

www.TheTrevorProject.org

www.teenwire.com

www.youth-guard.org