On National Coming Out Day, the Hate Keeps Growing

Today on National Coming Out Day, we see why it is so important for the GLBT community and their many straight allies to speak up against the hate spewing forth around the country.

The right has yet again decided to demonize the GLBT community with hateful statements like those from NY GOP Gubernatorial candidate Paladino in his recent statements before a Jewish group.  (See Zach’s earlier post for the video clip).  We see this in the hateful e-mail of North Carolina GOP state representative Larry Brown calling gays fruitloops.   We also see this in the hateful comments from Mormon church leader Boyd Packer (see video below).

This type of hateful speech is accelerating physical and verbal attacks from those seeing these statements and views as permission to turn their hate on the GLBT community.  We can see the results of this hate in the brutal physical attacks of 3 men in New York City; in the nasty community commentary leading to the suicide of a  gay teen Zach Harrington in Norman, OK (a city that claims to be building an inclusive community!); in the secret live webcam broadcast of gay student Tyler Clementi in New Jersey that led to his committing suicide; in the suicides of countless young teens around the country like Billy Lucas, 15; Asher Brown, 13; and Seth Walsh, 13.

So today on National Coming Out Day, I urge you to step up against hate and to recognize the importance of not standing down when it comes to repudiating the voices of hate coming from throughout the world.  If you are a teen or young adult, who is struggling with your sexuality, listen to the many voices of reason and hope, that say it gets better over time in Dan Savage’s “It Gets Better Project” YouTube Channel and join the cause on the It Gets Better Facebook page.

Here’s one of the many videos on “it gets better” in this case gay comics at New York’s Gotham Comedy Club.

Where are the “fierce advocates” at all levels of government, who through their voice and actions on the many gay equality issues pending around the country could reduce the impact of this hate?  We certainly won’t see this from people like Ron Johnson or Scott Walker or from any of the current or potential future crop of GOP politicos as they continue to deny the reality and the lives of millions of GLBT people around the country.  We also need to see the Democrats grow some and actually make change happen or face the consequences as this video from Get Equal so eloquently points out.

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2 thoughts on “On National Coming Out Day, the Hate Keeps Growing

  1. Well if it’s true that Harry Reid is a Mormon, and this is what his church leaders talk like, then I doubt the Democrats will grow any (as a whole group) anytime soon.
    I hate Harry Reid (oooh! Hate Speech) I find him spineless and over-tolerant of IN-tolerant people, and over tolerant of what I suppose I can call “Patriarchal colonialist bullshit” as a type of shorthand.
    So that isn’t really awesome news, that old piece of leather in a suit up their in the video spewing his poison and calling that “spirituality”. I know it’s “not nice” to judge LDS but I’ve heard enough nasty rhetoric from “them” that I’ve got a negative automatic reaction.
    Too bad the woman challenging Reid is Bat-shit, because I’d like to see the backside of that guy heading thru the doors into the dark recesses of the Old Democrats Home for the Annoying and The Aged never to return.
    BTW, a guy I know who came out earlier this last year , well, now his “humiliated” father uses “his faith” (mundane Protestant) as an excuse to reject and berate his son, “Daddy” feels he has “failed”. Therefore of course this kid is now stamped “failure” in his own father’s mind. An entire childhood of experiences just thrown out the window by this father. The kid consulted their official church statements on G/L – they say they do NOT consider it counter to their faith. he showed his father the evidence… nuthin’ changed. I guess Dad has a hot-line to Holiness. You should know this kid, he excels in so many ways, personal and academic, it makes your head spin. You can NOT help but like this kid. and yet…he’s a “fail”. Just a bit o’ garbage.
    Makes ya sick.
    But as to “fierce advocates”, from a bunch of people who turn pale and urinate every time some in-bred retard calls them a “socialist”, ummm yeah well I kinda doubt it.
    :/

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