Tuesday Male Beauty

Censorship at Brigham Young University

Apparently, the concept that gays exists and that - God forbid - some people care about us and support us was just too frightening a concept to be allowed at Mormon controlled Brigham Young University. As a result, a student's fine arts project was quietly and without notice removed from the fine arts department art display at the University. At BYU, I guess the homophobes believe that if they make LGBT students invisible, somehow they will cease to exit. Sorry folks, but we're here and not going away. The artist, Michael, describes on his blog, My Journey, the nature of his project and what happened to it. Here's the project description (some of the paired photos are set out below) by its creator:

*

These are some of the final images for my fine art photography project. These portraits are of students of BYU who identify themselves as homosexual and a person that supports them. With all of the dissenting views regarding this topic in the past few months I have felt very strongly about this project. The portraits will be shown in pairs. The idea is that there are gay and lesbian individuals not only in the Mormon culture, but also at BYU. I also chose to photograph someone who is a support to this person. This could be a family member or friend. This support person may also identify themselves as homosexual and both people may provide support to each other. I am not telling the viewer who identifies themselves as homosexual, because I hope the viewer will realize that placing a label with the portrait only creates divisions in our society and furthers stereotypes. It is my hope this body of work can be a vehicle for tolerance, support, love and change.

*

I photographed all the portraits using similar lighting and cropping. I also used a tilt shift lens to achieve selective focus, so that the subjects eyes are the only part of the image in focus. This was purposefully done to force the viewer to look in the eyes of these individuals. I hope that through this project we can realize that all men (and women) are created equal in the eyes of God.

*

Here is how Michael describes in his own words what happened to his beautiful and most thoughtful and (I believe) amazing project at the hands of the University leadership:

*

Apparently the topic of homosexuality is a bit much for the BYU audience and my part of our Fine Art Classes show was taken down today. It seems that censorship is favored over support and love. This really saddens me. I found out because a friend of mine went to the show and said that my pieces had been removed and the show had been rearranged. While I knew this topic would be controversial (in fact I expected that this would ruffle some feathers) I never thought that they would bring it down. Also I wish that they would have asked me to remove it, or at least had the courtesy to ask that I remove it or discuss it with me prior to its removal.

*

This project for me became a journey of truth and enlightenment. I see a bit of myself in each of these portraits. When looking at these images one may see their friends, their family, or a classmate. I admire the individuals who were brave enough to become the faces of this project – Thank you for your time and honesty. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” This is an amazing philosophy that suggests that change starts within each of us. It is my hope that this body of work will be a vehicle for tolerance, support, love and change.

*

Obviously, BYU is afraid to permit a true quest for knowledge and understanding and it obviously is a poor example of what a university should be all about. I applaud Michael's work and his courage in submitting the project to an obviously bigoted faculty.

Oklahoma Race For Governor Reveals Anti-Gay Conspiracy

As Gossip Boy, Good As You, and other blogs are starting to report, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett wants to be Oklahoma's next governor and it has been revealed that he thinks the way to the governor's office is via a concerted anti-gay jihad, including packing the Metropolitan Library Commission of Oklahoma County with anti-gay extremists. Not surprising, another figure in the conspiracy is nutcase Sally Kern's husband, Steve Kern, pastor of the Olivet Baptist Church. We have always known that anti-gay rhetoric is cynically used by far right candidates to court religious extremist voters, but it is rare that we find such revealing evidence of a plan to dupe and manipulate the fundie voters. Here are highlights from Gossip Boy:

*

A special investigation has revealed Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett has his eyes on the state executive office and is working closely with religious extremists to fill the Metropolitan Library Commission of Oklahoma County with anti-gay members in order to court the fundamentalist vote.

*

Cornett and Steve Kern, pastor of the Olivet Baptist Church and husband to State Rep. Sally Kern, are being accused of teaming up to rid the library system of all gay and lesbian materials, as well as those their church-based philosophies find objectionable. A source close to Cornett alleges, “The Mayor is looking to become Oklahoma’s next governor in 2010. With the conservatism rampant in the state, he feels now is the time to fully side with fundamentalist Christians in order to get their backing. He believes one way of doing that is going on an all-out assault on gay citizens. Even if things are done that would later be overturned in court at a great cost to the City, he will walk away a hero to certain people.”

*

The insider also stated, “The Mayor is aware that Ernest Istook is returning to Oklahoma to join the governor’s race again. Istook has the conservative base locked in, so the Mayor must shake loose Istook supporters if he is to get past the Republican primary. Gays are easy targets for him. He tried to use them in 2006, but it backfired. This round he wants to make it clear he is without a doubt against gay rights.”

*
Gossip Boy received other tips regarding Cornett’s ambitions and the scheme to appease Christian extremists, who sided against him in the 2006 race for 5th District Congress, and began a covert ploy to expose it. A reporter posed as a citizen working with the Mayor to push gay and lesbian literature out of city libraries and contacted Steve Kern.

*

Here's what Steve Kern had to say about gays: We have to get rid of that [information on gays in libraries] and start curing those sinners. It’s past time that this nation stopped placating sin and start putting them in education programs. Courts can force drug offenders into treatment centers and violent people into anger management. There’s no reason our courts can’t do that with homos.

*

The Gossip Boy post deserves a full read because it also looks in detail at the hold the Christianists already have over the Metropolitan Library Commission. The picture that emerges is one that makes it clear that the Oklahoma City area is NOT one in which any remotely progressive business should consider as a relocation option. I shudder to think what it must be like to be gay and live in such a homophobic area of the country.

Blackwater Shootings Were 'Without Justification'

The United States Justice Department has concluded that the shooting of 17 Iraqi civilians back in September of last year by Blackwater USA mercenaries were without justification and has brought indictments against five Blackwater USA employed mercenaries. I did a post here last year that looked at the horrible way in which innocents were callously killed. For newer readers, Blackwater USA is the Christianist owned and led mercenary firm located in nearby Moyock, North Carolina (about 25-30 miles from here). Blackwater is headed by Erik Prince whose mother, Elsa Prince Broekhuizen, gave $450,000 in support of Proposition 8. In 2004, Broekhuizen was the top West Michigan contributor to Michigan's anti-gay marriage amendment, adding $75,000 to the cause.

*

I do not condone the use of mercenaries and as one blogger noted last fall, the presence of private armed forces in Iraq is a byproduct of the Chimperator Administration's determination to keep the Iraq War a "luxury conflict" which relies solely on a volunteer military and avoids conscription, no matter the consequences to the institutions of the armed forces or the people who serve in them. I hate to say it, but I can just imagine the reckless, macho Rambo types who go to work for outfits like Blackwater. Living in an area with a huge military personnel presence, one cannot help but encounter some real jerks who thing shooting people up and destroying things is a great entertainment. Add to that the Christianist attitude that non-Christian Iraqis are little more than animals and the result is toxic and fatal. It is noteworthy that the indicted men will try to have their trial in Utah where they apparently believe the Mormon dominated populace will care less about the murder of innocent non-Christians. Here are some highlights from the Virginian Pilot's coverage:

*

Federal prosecutors confirmed today that five security guards, employed by Blackwater Worldwide face federal charges that could put them in prison for the rest of their lives over their roles in a September 2007 shooting spree that left 17 Iraqis dead at a busy intersection in downtown Baghdad. The five include an ex-Marine once stationed in Norfolk. A sixth Blackwater employee pleaded guilty on Friday to one count of voluntary manslaughter and one count of attempted voluntary manslaughter, the prosecutors said. As part of a plea bargain, Jeremy Ridgeway is expected to testify against the other defendants; Assistant Attorney General Patrick Rowan would not confirm that however.

*

The defendants - Paul A. Slough, 29, of Keller, Texas; Nicholas Slatten, 23, of Sparta, Tenn.; Evan Liberty, 26, of Rochester, N.H.; Dustin Heard, 27, of Maryville, Tenn.; and Donald Ball, 26, of West Valley, Utah - each face 14 counts of voluntary manslaughter, 20 counts of attempted manslaughter and one count of using a firearm during a violent crime. Heard served with the Norfolk-based first fleet anti-terrorism security team between 2000 and 2003, according to his service record.

*

All five men surrendered to federal authorities in Utah earlier today. They are expected to fight to have their cases tried there, where defense lawyers apparently believe jurors may be more favorably disposed toward them than jurors in Washington. “While there were dangers” in Nisoor Square, the site of the shootings on Sept. 16, 2007, “there also were ordinary people,” headed to work, their homes or to market, Rowan said. The defendants shot into the crowd “without justification or provocation,” he asserted.
*

The killers must pay for their crime against innocent civilians. Justice must be achieved so that we can have rest from the agony we are living in," said Khalid Ibrahim, a 40-year-old electrician who said his 78-year-old father, Ibrahim Abid, died in the shooting. "We know that the conviction of the people behind the shooting will not bring my father to life, but we will have peace in our minds and hearts."

*

Blackwater is the largest security contractor in Iraq and provides heavily armed guards for diplomats. Since last year's shooting, the company has been a flash point in the debate over how heavily the U.S. relies on contractors in war zones. The company itself was not charged in the case.

Catholic Hierarchy Disingenuousness

Sometimes I honestly cannot help but wonder whether or not the members of the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy think everyone other than themselves are utter morons or have all recently suffered lobotomies. Do they truly believe that thinking people with IQ's over say even 85 are too dim witted to figure out that the authors of so-called pastoral letters don't mean a damn word they write? Or do they just think we all have the gullibility of a three year old child? A case in point is Cardinal Roger "Lets Protect the Child Molesters" Mahoney of Los Angeles who has floated a "pastoral letter" to gay Catholics in his archdiocese. Mahoney apparently believes that notwithstanding all of the efforts of the Catholic bishops and the Knights of Columbus to secure passage of Proposition 8 that gays are so incredibly stupid that we will believe his false claims that the Roman Catholic Church doesn't really wish us ill. Tell lies about us, malign us, imply we are all child molesters, call us "inherently disordered" or perhaps even call us evil, but deep down we are supposed to believe that the Catholic hierarchy actually care about us. Sorry Cardinal, but we are not as dumb as you think. Here are some highlights of the bullshit shoveled out by Mahomey:

*

As Bishops of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, we are addressing this message first of all to the homosexual members of our Church. Given the controversy generated by the passage of Proposition 8, we want to reassure each of you that you are cherished members of the Catholic Church, and that we value you as equal and active members of the Body of Christ.

*

The passage of Proposition 8 in the State of California does not diminish in any way the importance of you, our homosexual brothers and sisters in the Church. Nor does it lessen your personal dignity and value as full members of the Body of Christ.

*

Proposition 8 was never intended, directly or indirectly, to lessen the value and importance of gay and lesbian persons. Your intrinsic value as human beings and as brothers and sisters continues without change.

*

We welcome thoughtful and civil dialogue with you so that we can deepen our realization that all of us cherish God's creative life which we equally share. We are committed to find ways to eliminate discrimination against homosexual persons, and to help guarantee the basic rights which belong to each of us.

*

As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words and the Roman Catholic Church's actions make it most clear that LGBT individuals are regarded as little better than human garbage by the Church leadership. Talk is cheap and disingenuous lip service doesn't change the true reality of the situation. Why any LGBT individual would remain a Catholic defies (in my view at least) comprehension.

More Monday Male Beauty

CRISIS: 40 Stories of Growing Up Gay in America

A week or so I book marked a webpage about a book I saw mentioned in an article in Out Magazine which I found interesting for obvious reasons given that this blog was initially started as a vehicle for me to describe my own coming out story later in life after 24 years of marriage and after fathering three children. The name of the book: CRISIS: 40 STORIES REVEALING THE PERSONAL, SOCIAL, AND RELIGIOUS PAIN AND TRAUMA OF GROWING UP GAY IN AMERICA. The book is written by Mitchell Gold, the furniture magnate who much to my amazement I met in person this past Saturday night at the Blogger Summit. Since I had not yet purchased the book, I told its author that I planned to buy it soon to which he responded that he'd send me one. Here are some highlights about the book which I look forward to reading:

*

What is it like to be called an abomination by your religious leaders?

*

To live in fear of losing your family’s love?

*

To be afraid to go to school because of the torment that awaits you?

*

To lie to everyone about whom you love?

Mitchell Gold asked forty gay Americans to share their very personal answers to these difficult questions. Many discuss their long-buried feelings here for the first time. Several young adults open up about the depression, fear, and isolation that are still a part of growing up gay in many areas of the country today. Gold calls this a silent epidemic and mental health crisis affecting hundreds of thousands of gay teens. And he emphasizes that this crisis can be solved, with compassion and fair-mindedness— and by getting those whose words and deeds cause harm to stop.

*
The book’s contributors reveal what made them feel alone and unloved— and at times so hopeless suicide seemed the only option. And they suggest ways to help the next generation of teens. These stories are also lessons in perseverance and achievement, showing the inner strength of the contributors and inspiring us all with their triumphs against the odds. Learn the harm religion-based prejudices cause, see the dangers of “cures” like reparative therapy, and get insight into the question of sin and homosexuality that divides many churches and families today. Become better able to help gay kids in your family, congregation, or classroom. Understand the importance of electing candidates who support equal rights and strive to protect all our children.

Biblical Argument for Gay Marriage

While it's clearly of a story coming out several months too late, Newsweek has a new article that looks at the Bible and makes the argument that the message of love argues FOR supporting same sex unions. Needless to say, some of the fundies are having their heads explode and the spittle is flying as they convulse on the floor over Newsweek's heresy as evidenced by some of the comments to the story. Apparently, the wingnuts are upset that someone has had the audacity to look at other things the Bible supports if it is taken literally as argued by the Christo-fascists when it comes to maligning gays. As I have argued many times, if the Bible is inerrant and to be taken literally, then ALL of it is to be taken literally rather than on the highly selective basis utilized by fraudulent bigots like James Dobson, Tony Perkins, et al. I will not be the least bit surprised to read in a few days that the article's author, Lisa Miller, has received numerous death threats from "godly Christians" and that AFA is calling for a boycott of Newsweek. Here are some highlights from the article:

*

Let's try for a minute to take the religious conservatives at their word and define marriage as the Bible does. Shall we look to Abraham, the great patriarch, who slept with his servant when he discovered his beloved wife Sarah was infertile? Or to Jacob, who fathered children with four different women (two sisters and their servants)? Abraham, Jacob, David, Solomon and the kings of Judah and Israel—all these fathers and heroes were polygamists. The New Testament model of marriage is hardly better. Jesus himself was single and preached an indifference to earthly attachments—especially family. The apostle Paul (also single) regarded marriage as an act of last resort for those unable to contain their animal lust.

*

The argument goes something like this statement, which the Rev. Richard A. Hunter, a United Methodist minister, gave to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in June: "The Bible and Jesus define marriage as between one man and one woman. The church cannot condone or bless same-sex marriages because this stands in opposition to Scripture and our tradition."

*
To which there are two obvious responses: First, while the Bible and Jesus say many important things about love and family, neither explicitly defines marriage as between one man and one woman. And second, as the examples above illustrate, no sensible modern person wants marriage—theirs or anyone else's —to look in its particulars anything like what the Bible describes. "Marriage" in America refers to two separate things, a religious institution and a civil one, though it is most often enacted as a messy conflation of the two.

*

In the Old Testament, the concept of family is fundamental, but examples of what social conservatives would call "the traditional family" are scarcely to be found. Marriage was critical to the passing along of tradition and history, as well as to maintaining the Jews' precious and fragile monotheism. But as the Barnard University Bible scholar Alan Segal puts it, the arrangement was between "one man and as many women as he could pay for." . . . . Ozzie and Harriet are nowhere in the New Testament either. The biblical Jesus was—in spite of recent efforts of novelists to paint him otherwise—emphatically unmarried. He preached a radical kind of family, a caring community of believers, whose bond in God superseded all blood ties. Leave your families and follow me, Jesus says in the gospels. There will be no marriage in heaven, he says in Matthew. Jesus never mentions homosexuality, but he roundly condemns divorce (leaving a loophole in some cases for the husbands of unfaithful women).

*

The Bible does condemn gay male sex in a handful of passages. Twice Leviticus refers to sex between men as "an abomination" (King James version), but these are throwaway lines in a peculiar text given over to codes for living in the ancient Jewish world, a text that devotes verse after verse to treatments for leprosy, cleanliness rituals for menstruating women and the correct way to sacrifice a goat—or a lamb or a turtle dove. Most of us no longer heed Leviticus on haircuts or blood sacrifices; our modern understanding of the world has surpassed its prescriptions. Why would we regard its condemnation of homosexuality with more seriousness than we regard its advice, which is far lengthier, on the best price to pay for a slave?

*

Religious objections to gay marriage are rooted not in the Bible at all, then, but in custom and tradition (and, to talk turkey for a minute, a personal discomfort with gay sex that transcends theological argument). . . . . We cannot look to the Bible as a marriage manual, but we can read it for universal truths as we struggle toward a more just future. The Bible offers inspiration and warning on the subjects of love, marriage, family and community. It speaks eloquently of the crucial role of families in a fair society and the risks we incur to ourselves and our children should we cease trying to bind ourselves together in loving pairs.

*

The great Bible scholar Walter Brueggemann, emeritus professor at Columbia Theological Seminary, quotes the apostle Paul when he looks for biblical support of gay marriage: "There is neither Greek nor Jew, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Jesus Christ." The religious argument for gay marriage, he adds, "is not generally made with reference to particular texts, but with the general conviction that the Bible is bent toward inclusiveness."

*

My friend the priest James Martin says his favorite Scripture relating to the question of homosexuality is Psalm 139, a song that praises the beauty and imperfection in all of us and that glorifies God's knowledge of our most secret selves: "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made." And then he adds that in his heart he believes that if Jesus were alive today, he would reach out especially to the gays and lesbians among us, for "Jesus does not want people to be lonely and sad."

Monday Male Beauty

Why Being Out and Proud Matters

As I posted yesterday evening, those of us who attended the LGBT Blogger Summit had the unique opportunity of seeing the movie Milk and then engaging in a discussion session with Clive Jones, Dustin Lance Black and Bruce Cohen. One message that I took away from the whole experience - not to mention specific portions of the movie itself - was that LGBT citizens need to come out of the closet and live openly. The fastest way to dispel the lies put out by our enemies is to allow friends and neighbors to come to realize that we - their doctors, lawyers, fellow business owners, etc. - are just like everyone else save and except who we fall in love with.

*

Being out and open can be a terrifying prospect and I will confess my own failure and shortcomings in that regard for many years. For far too many years I tried to be something that I was not and in the process made myself and often those around me miserable. Unfortunately, I listened to the propaganda and lies put out by churches and a larger society that value control and uniformity over allowing people living their own lives as God made them. In short, I allowed myself to buy into the anti-gay stereotypes and felt myself a freak, reject and victim. But not anymore. Another side benefit of attending the blogger summit was being surrounded by smart, vibrant LGBT individuals who demonstrated that we are as good as anyone else - hence for example the name of Jeremy Hooper's blog, Good As You.

*

Another reality that I have learned is that "coming out" is a process that one does not do just once. Rather it is a daily occurrence as one meets new people and encounters different business and social settings. While I do not broadcast my sexuality, nevertheless, new encounters sometime require that you take a deep breath and summon the courage to not hide who you are. Living in an area such as Tidewater Virginia obviously creates more situations where being out has the potential for adverse reactions and even potential rejection. I have some who tell me that I should be more closeted and I certainly know a number of gays who live double lives of sorts out of fear of rejection in business or otherwise. On the other hand, if one gives into fear and goes back into hiding, the result is that you lose a little bit of your soul each time you allow fear to win out. Personally, I forfeited my soul for too many years to go back into that trap.