KnowThyNeighbor.org

Shame on Some Massachusetts Legislators

Boston Globe Editorial Calls Laws and Constitutional Amendments Banning Same- Sex Marriage a "Mark of Shame"

Over three hundred years since the setting and time chosen by Nathaniel Hawthorne for his novel of Puritan New England yet it may be time to issue another Scarlet Letter, but this time for those demonstrating "Intolerance" as well as those who facilitate it.  And what better a place to start handing out these modern letters of shame than the Massachusetts State House to any legislator who will vote for discriminating against the LGBT Community directly or who will facilitate the process by allowing this Equal Rights Issue to be determined by popular vote.

In today's Boston Globe Editorial the writer hits the nail right on the head in saying, "In time, we believe, people in states with laws or constitutional amendments banning gay marriage will come to see those provisions as a mark of shame.  States that offer marriage to straight couples and marriage-lite to gays will recognize the absurdity of the situation -- and the insult to gay couples inherent in it."

This has always been KnowThyNeighbor's opinion and one of the reasons why the posting of the names of signers of the anti-gay petition was so important.  Not many people know this but KTN was very much influenced by a film from 2003 called "American Lynching: A Strange and Bitter Fruit" by Gode Davis.  His collective work showing the actual photographs taken during the lynchings in our country of African-Americans was a testament to the natural progress of intolerance when left to its own.  However, what burned into my conscience more than the images of the victims were the images of the bystanders who came out to watch, many dressed like they had just came from church (and probably had).  One woman wearing white gloves in particular will forever be immortalized as she was not even watching, but was laughing and facing away from the lynching, chit-chatting with friends.

That is what I am talking about.  Unfortunately, there will always be victims of intolerance.  Some have paid with their lives, others with their rights and dignity.  But who is to blame for this intolerance?  Those ladies in their Sunday best as well as the men who threw the ropes over those tree limbs.  The bystanders, those who turned their heads, those who laughed because it really did not affect them.

And whom is to be blamed for the intolerance against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and trans people which is exhibited in this anti-equality amendment?  Not just VoteOnMarriage and its alliance.  But the Legislators who will vote for this amendment, those who will vote for the amendment in order to "pass the buck" to the electorate.  Those who willingly signed this nasty petition, those who signed, may have been duped, and still don't care to help us.  And others, our fellow citizens and neighbors who feel for us but really don't get involved.  White gloves continue to be a fashionable accessary to any badge of intolerance.

Tom Lang, Director

Hillary Clinton Losing Prominent Gays

Goodridge Plaintiff, HRC Board Member and MassEquality Board Member, David Wilson says "not so fast" about  putting his name on list of support for Hillary Clinton

Well, it seems that I was not the only one to call out prominent, local LGBT's for too hastily attaching their names to Hillary Clinton's big Boston fundraiser last month.  Evidently, The Washington Blade and many others have been contacting David Wilson about this too, by Wilson's own account.  Laura Kiritsy over at BayWindows wrote about this today.

David Wilson backpaddles in Kiritsy's column as he says, " I committed to the March 30 event (for Hillary Clinton) in Boston but I need to really be clear that going forward I need to explore all the candidates.”   Again, as I alluded to in my blog post, "Hillary Clinton Fundraiser Tonight But Gays Should Not Be Supporting Her So Soon"  David Wilson and his husband, Rob Compton as the most prominent Goodridge Plaintiff couple, need to be careful in publicly supporting any candidate for President of the United States who, as in Hillary Clinton's case, is not yet on the "Equal Marriage Boat."  Clinton, you remember is a "Civil Union" candidate.

Now we can and should debate as LGBT who we think is the best candidate for President for this country, for us, and for our families.  Maybe Hillary Clinton will prove to be the best choice, maybe she won't.  But my issue here is not as much with Hillary Clinton as it is with our LGBT leadership, spokespeople and power players.  When prominent LGBT, especially those who represent Massachusetts and OUR fight for Equal Rights put their names to a fundraiser, they are essentially giving an endorcement of that candidate. 

David Wilson and Rob Compton owe the Massachusetts LGBT community an explanation for appearing on Hillary's Fundraising Committee list.  Hopefully this time Wilson won't blame Mark Walsh like he did in BayWindows.  Mark Walsh's reason for supporting Hillary might have alot to do with the money he and his husband are receiving from the Clinton campaign.  But we need to know what David Wilson's reasons are and how he reconciles marriage with civil unions.

Tom Lang , Director   

No Groundswell of Public Support Against Gay Marriage

Only three VoteOnMarriage volunteers turn out for major North Shore strategy meeting.

Yesterday, April 19th, for about five minutes, tensions ran high in the Beverly Farm’s Public Library’s Lecture Hall where the Greater Peabody, Salem, Beverly Marriage & Family Meeting sponsored by VoteOnMarriage was scheduled to take place. Unfortunately for the folks at VOM, the meeting was open to the public because it was held in, yes, a public library. KnowThyNeighbor decided to take advantage of this open forum and contacted certain pro-equality [gay, straight, parents] people who live in the area to come and sit in on the meeting. We were all surprised to see only three VOM people in attendance. Despite Kris Mineau’s suggestion for open dialogue between both sides, the speaker at the meeting denounced us all as classless and tactless for showing up and proclaimed that they were going to move their meeting to a private location. They proceeded to pack up their pamphlets and donuts and stormed out. So much for open dialogue, Kris.

As the small VOM group was leaving the library to go to their “private” location, they begged the librarian for another room to meet in. After she told them that a book group was using that room, they decided to move their “private” location to outside the library and walked in circles around the building, peering into windows, waiting for us to leave. Turns out they didn’t actually have a private meeting point – the lies just don’t stop.

Before the announcement that VOM was leaving, we overheard the speaker mention in passing the other VOM meetings around the area she was speaking at. This is not a one-time occurrence. These meetings are happening almost every night, all over the state.

So what are they going to say about us? That it was because of us they cancelled the meeting? No. Had they more people in attendance, the meeting would have continued as scheduled – such as what happened at the Rockport meeting on April 12^th. For a first hand account of this meeting, you can read Tom Lang’s opinion piece in Bay Windows.

Kris, if you are going to claim that there is a groundswell of public support, I suggest keeping your meetings from public locations because it will make clear the fact that your “groundswell” needs Viagra. Three people coming to the CHIEF North Shore meeting held by five presenters is a little ridiculous, especially considering that Beverly Farms is home to the Bigots Extraordinaire, Kerry Healey, Bronwyn Loring, and Tom Shields.

Gregory Kimball, Treasurer, KnowThyNeighbor

I Think LGBT People Are Way Too Accomodating

KnowThyNeighbor Discusses The Observations of Some of Our Straight Allies

The title of this post, "I think GLBT people are way too accomodating" is a direct quote from one of our straight allies, blog commenters and friends here at KnowThyNeighbor.  Readers may find John's comment in the Hillary Clinton post dated (April 11th, 2007 12:47 PM) in it's entirety and context.

If I may offer my observations that John was responding to a discussion about Washington State's Legislature passing domestic partnership benefits yesterday which will give same-sex couples legal rights in that state (see article).  John apologized in advance if his comments might offend members of the LGBT community and points out that he is "on the outside looking in" but tells us of his wish that there would be enough "like-minded people to take to the streets and demand equality by whatever means necessary."   Of course, in the thought that domestic partnership will give LGBT some rights but not the dignity, societal acceptance and valued self-worth that equality would.  John is one of those amazing people who understands what true equality means and is able to reach out and work hard that others can join "the club" that he, as a straight, married American man, is given free admission to.

This is not the first time that I have heard such sage advice coming from the straight community.  KnowThyNeighbor's own director, Aaron Toleos, who has been to me and the LGBT community more than just an ally or an activist but a true inspiration has spoken similar words on many an occasion.  Aaron says,  "You (meaning the LGBT community) need to fight like equality means something to you!"  And he has said something which if taken out of context would most certainly upset many in our community, "You need to start acting like straight people when you fight for your rights!"  He then qualified this last statement with an example.  He said that if anyone were to try to take rights away from him or from his family like they are doing to the LGBT community in this country, he would do anything he could to protect himself and them.  He uses this scenario to advocate for LGBT rights when he talks to his straight, married friends and they seem to "get it" immediately.

Both John's and Aaron's enlightened views about LGBT not equivocating when it comes to equal rights are in stark contrast to Today's Boston Globe "Cheney the grandfather gets it right".  Here Derrick Z. Jackson calls Vice President Cheney "a credit to grandfathers everywhere" for his love of his lesbian daughter, Mary,and soon to be grandchild, while in just a few paragraph's earlier Jackson writes, 

"Cheney is indeed a poster dad for the nation's struggle to respect same-sex couples. Like many parents, he accepts and loves his child, regardless of sexual orientation. Yet, like many an American, he agonizes how openly to support people like his child."

We all know that we mostly cannot choose our families and certainly we cannot choose who are fathers are, but if we could, our fathers would be exactly like John and Aaron NOT Dick Cheney.  What a wonderful world it would be if parents were fully accepting of their children, loved them unconditionally and showed them, by example, that they should fight for everyone's right to equality like our John and Aaron.  And didn't agonize about how "openly to support" them.

Tom Lang, Co-Director