Messages of Hate to Toronto Pride

It is often easy to forget that the anti-LGBT animus that LGBT Americans face in our daily lives is not something unique to America even though our nation is still "the most religious" of any of the world's developed nations.  Truth be told, the same toxic poison that creates homophobia and anti-LGBT hate in America is the root cause of such hatred and ill-will worldwide: RELIGION.  The Toronto Star looks at some of the utterly vile and hate-filled things being said to Toronto Pride which fields its pride event in the coming weeks.  To illustrate the point, in a video posted by the Toronto Star members of Pride Toronto read some of the letters and e-mails that the organization has received.  Here are story highlights:

Homophobia and hate is still rampant in our society — just ask Pride Toronto.

Every day, the organization receives hate mail — usually from anonymous people who don’t believe in Pride’s mission to make the city safer and more accepting for LGBTQI people.

“If you were my child and you turned out gay I’d burn you alive,” said one particularly vile message.

In a video, employees from the Star read these tweets, letters and emails to members of Pride Toronto in order to show the damage that hatred has on our community.

“It’s a little surreal, it almost seemed fake to hear the words out loud,” said Michelle Cherny, a member of Pride’s board of directors. “The hate is out there.”

Rachel Lauren Clark, another member of the board, says the worst part of hearing the hate mail read out loud wasn’t the message’s content, but the fact it is so commonplace. “When you’re a person who hears that stuff everyday, you become numb to it,” she said.

Clark says people who want to spew this kind of hatred typically hide behind the veil of anonymity, rather than confront anyone face to face and actually learn something.  “It’s a bit cowardly to do what they do,” she said.

Clark says the message that shocked her the most was from someone who said that as a transgender person, no one could love her.

“Actually my parents love me very much . . . I have a really great job, I volunteer with my community and I have a really great life,” she says. “It’s pathetic, they don’t know me at all and they just spew these things forward.”

Andrea Delgado, who works in media relations for Pride and participated in the video, says the volume of hate mail proves that Pride still needs to exist.

“It’s so sad that we’re working so hard to try and put ourselves out there and make a difference, but at the end of the day there will still be those people who don’t want to listen,” Delgado said.

Pride may not change a hateful person’s mind, Clark says, but it can help change the tide for future generations.  “We need to have Pride so that those voices can be heard, we are far from liberation, we are far from being equal,” she said.

To me the most numbing things is this statement: “If you were my child and you turned out gay I’d burn you alive.,”  As the parent of three children, I cannot comprehend such a statement.  How does one get so warped and hate-filled?  In a word, religion.  Be it fundamentalist Christianity or fundamentalist Islam, the hatred is the same and all of the putrid mindset traces back to the Old Testament.  When is the larger public going to say "No More!" and start shutting down and shunning anti-LGBT religious extremism?

Toronto: Unofficial Capital for Gay Iranian Refugees

America continues to tout itself as the "land of liberty" and home of "religious freedom."  The truth, of course is something very different with Christofascists granted special rights - the Hobby Lobby decision underscored this reality - and those of differing religious beliefs relegated to second class status under the civil laws all too often.  So where id the true land of liberty and religious freedom?  Increasingly, it is Canada, America's northern neighbor where not only religious freedom exists but where the middle class is still thriving.  Because of this gays fleeing the threat of death for their religious nonconformity in Iran and other Middle Eastern nations see Canada as the beacon of freedom.  Here are highlights from a piece in The Daily Beast:

When Ali escaped Iran and arrived in Turkey in 2012, he had already decided where he wanted the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to place him. “I told them I’m choosing Canada because I’m going to go to university [and] Canada is cheaper than U.S.; Australia is too far; and in some states in America gay marriage is not allowed and never will be allowed — so I don’t want to go to a country where they don’t give me my rights.”

Ali (not his real name) picked Toronto because he heard it was big and easier to find work. The 27-year-old arrived there at the end of May 2014 and spent 10 days in refugee housing before moving into his own apartment and logging onto Grindr to connect with others in the LGBT community — an ease of networking he never would have in his homeland. Before long, Ali began dating a Syrian man he met via the dating app and they plan to move in together soon.

In the past few years, Toronto has emerged as the mecca of Iranian gays in exile. Hosting both the second-largest Iranian population outside Iran and a reputation as LGBT-friendly, Iranians fleeing persecution in their native country have built a budding community in a city some call “Tehranto.”

Iran, on the other hand, is one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be gay. Homosexual acts are punishable by flogging or death, and members of the LGBT community go to great lengths to evade police detection.

Ali is one of an increasing number of LGBT Iranian refugees who have sought out the Canadian metropolis for a better life, opting not to relocate to the United States due in part to the comparative lack of rights and protections for gay citizens and a dearth of social services.

“All of Toronto is a gay village,” says Arsham Parsi, executive director of the Toronto-based Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees (IRQR).
The city is nothing if not proud. This year, Toronto’s city magazine put “Because We’re a Beacon for Gay Refugees” as one of the top 10 reason to love the city. And last year, in a scene that would have given former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad an aneurysm, a towering Iranian in a tube top, black skirt, heels, and neon pink wig proudly waved an Iranian flag to guide the group of marchers in Toronto’s gay pride parade. The city even has a gay-friendly mosque.

"Canada has indicated to the United Nations that we are ready to accept anyone, if they're a gay Iranian refugee," former Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said.

[F]or LGBT exiles who have long kept their sexuality under wraps, tolerant Canada is seen as better than its southern neighbor to build a new, open life.

“Life for LGBT in Canada is totally different than life for LGBT in the U.S.,” says Parsi. In a PEW poll last year, Canada came in as the third most accepting country in the world for LGBT people, while the U.S. lagged 10 notches below.

Besides living up to its national claims of freedom, what else does Canada gain?   Talent and creativity and individuals who will likely value their new country more than many of the native born.

Thoughtful New Years Resolutions for the LGBT Community

My friend at "If you could read my mind" has link to a good column in one of Toronto's gay papers which has relevance to all of us. While Canada offers a far higher level of legal equality for its LGBT citizens than is found in the Chimperator's Amerika, and therefore we are still fighting some of the battles already won to the north of us, the column has many points that would be well taken by gays everywhere. Here is a link to the article: http://www.gayguidetoronto.com/1_middle_edge/simp.php?p=jan_2008&back=1

Meet My Readers - Part 2

The second of my readers that I would like to introduce is Jim of Though Lovers Be Lost (http://thoughloversbelost.blogspot.com/) based out of Toronto, Canada. Jim has encouraged me in my Blog effort and believes that telling my story may help others to avoid some pit fall or find their way to self-acceptance. He has a great wit and biting sense of humor as his blog displays. He’s His description of himself:

I'm 43, will be 44 in October. I spent over 20 years in the IT/Telecommunications field, most of it on Bay Street (or as we say, a slave in the concrete jungle). During many of those years, I focused solely on career, so, since 2002, I've been slowly getting my own life back. I work for myself, doing some consulting work, the occasional seminar, some speaking.

I'm a book worm, when in the mood, I can devour a book a day. I love music, I usually am listening to one of my CDs loaded in iTunes while I'm working. I love comedy! Some of the comedians I have seen live over the years are Robin Williams, George Carlin, Dave Allen (remember Dave Allen at Large?), Bob Newhart, Red Skelton, Victor Borge, Bob Hope and many others. I have a truly filthy laugh.

I've always subscribed to leave people better than you found them. Another favourite is listen intently, love intensely.

I enjoy writing, as you can tell from some of the lengthier essays on my blog. I finally got into blogging after a few friends pushed me to give it a go. I can be opinionated at times, grumpy at others :) I have a low tolerance for BS. Working for one firm, I developed a highly sensitive BS detector. :)

I encourage you to check out Jim's Blog.