Terrapin Station

1 of every 10 people

 
From a Facebook status:

‎1 of every 10 people is gay. That means 1 of every 10 people is instantly put down, labeled, left alone, put in a minority and so much more, all for something they didn't choose. Many gay teens are committing suicide as a way of escaping. If you want to tell them life will get better and you respect them for who they are, copy this into your status. Most of you won't, but let's see the 5% who will.

I almost never copy in these FB status things.  Mostly because they tell me to do something, and I don't want to be told what to do.  They make bets on whether I'll do it; the answer is, I won't. 

But the 1 in 10 is an important number for me.  My sophomore year of college, I did a speech in Technical Speaking class on Ryan White.  You remember him, and if you don't, follow the link.  (It was news to my class that day.) 

In my speech, I mentioned (from my careful research) that 1 in 10 people is gay.  I remember the professor saying, "1 in 10!  That can't be right!"  I assured her that my (impeccably documented) source said it was.  She and the rest of the class shook their heads in utter disbelief.  I could not convince them. 

There were 30 of us in that class.  It was Texas A&M in the mid 1980's.  It was an insanely conservative place, but also the home of the Corps of Cadets, which (anecdotes say) has at least its fair share of homosexuals. 

So, probably two to three people in the class were, indeed, gay.  Closeted, almost certainly.  In the years to come I'd go to "the gay bar" in that town with friends.  It was a scary time.  Would it get raided?  The building was a warehouse, completely unidentifiable from the outside.  No one bought mixed drinks then; bottled beer was it, because there was a theory that you might get AIDS from a poorly-washed glass but beer bottles were safe.  One of my friends from that era died, within 10 years, of AIDS, but I am entirely certain he didn't get it from a glass. 

So if there were three people in that class when that statement was made, and refuted...how did they feel?  Marginalized.  Invisiblized.  Nullified. 

It's been 20 years and we are still trying to put forth the facts.  It's time we spoke, shouted, screamed, loudly enough to be heard. 

 

"Afghan Boys Are Prized, So Girls Live the Part"

Mehran Rafaat, 6, left, and her twin sisters, Benafsha, center and Beheshta, near their home in Badghis Province, Afghanistan. (New York Times photo)

Two friends that I respect (one of them an anthropologist) posted a link to this article on Facebook, noting that it was very interesting. 

I found this article interesting, indeed, but also deeply upsetting.  

Working in international education, I'm accustomed to trying not to judge other cultures against my own (practicing cultural relativism).  Comparisons are odious, you know.  However, I am very disturbed by the injustices perpetrated on the women in the article. 

I have no idea how that can be changed, or if it's my business.  I THINK it is.  You've got your UN Declaration of Human Rights, and your Millenium Development Goals.  And then there's the proposition by Ayaan Hirsi Ali in Nomad, which I mentioned in this post. 

Thoughts? 

Uganda

(demonstration outside the Ugandan mission in New York - CNN photo)

I'm a big fan of getting local news about something, and talking with someone "on the ground."  I've had too many panicky parents call and say, "there was an earthquake in Mexico!" wondering if their child is okay...not realizing that their child is as far from the earthquake zone as they are from Iowa, and he or she doesn't know it happened.

Today I was in a meeting with a person from Uganda.  Someone else in the meeting asked, "so what do you know about that anti-homosexuality bill?"

She told us she had called a relative to ask that question, and he told her that yes, the bill would certainly pass, because the populace was definitely behind it.  But that no one would be executed!  They might be put in jail, but they would definitely not be executed.  And that, really, it would be awfully hard to prove homosexuality anyway, wouldn't it?

Unless you were looking for it, I thought.  No matter whether the person really was homosexual.  What is proof, in that system?

Besides, it's not just "go to jail."  It's "life in prison."

Persons found to be HIV positive can also be executed. 

Here's a CNN story.

I can't say that my colleague and her relative are wrong.  But I surely do wonder.  And oh, I am praying.

World AIDS Day

One patch from the AIDS Memorial Quilt. 
 

I remember Brian, and so many others.  Don't ever forget. 

My Mama Writes

If you haven't already done so, please go read my mama's great blog post about the book The Pain and the Promise .  I found this book at Half-Price Books one day, browsing through the Civil Rights section looking for Ralph Ellison's The Invisible Man. 

I SNATCHED it up, because while I never lived in Tallahassee, it and the surrounding area are a big part of me.  My mother grew up there, and we went there every summer.  In addition, my mom's stories of growing up in that idyllic small-town, deep-South milieu were always fascinating to me.  I can't tell you how much time I spent poring over her yearbooks and wishing that I were there, then.  Of course, the truth (I am certain!)  is that those beautiful girls with the pageboys, those handsome young men in their letter sweaters, having the dates in the malt shop, were every bit as insecure and teenagedly miserable as I was 40 years later! 

I read the book, identified many of the names and families, was horrified, and eagerly took it to mom to read, fascinated to know how much if it she would recall.  And the answer was:  almost none.  She had been quite completely protected from it, as the white men running the city intended.  She had an entirely different experience of Tallahassee in the 50's and 60's than described in the book.

Enough from me.  Go read what she has to say.  It's eye opening. 

Stonewall 2009?

From Hope for Peace and Justice at the Cathedral of Hope

As you may have heard, in the early morning hours of Sunday, June 28, the Fort Worth Police Department raided the Rainbow Lounge, a new, primarily gay bar in the city. As you also know, Sunday, June 28 marked the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, considered to be the beginning of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights movement in the United States. For many, this coincidence is a chilling reminder of the fact that, while we have come so far, the journey to equality is not yet finished. The Cathedral of Hope and Hope for Peace & Justice issued the following statement yesterday in response to the actions of the Fort Worth Police Department:

World’s Largest Gay Church Decries Actions of Fort Worth Police:
Dallas-based Cathedral of Hope calls raid “unacceptable”

Dallas, Texas – June 28, 2009 – The Dallas, Texas-based Cathedral of Hope, known as the world’s largest lesbian and gay church, has issued the following statement regarding the raid on the Rainbow Lounge early this morning by the Fort Worth Police Department:
June 28 is celebrated throughout the United States and elsewhere as the beginning of the lesbian and gay civil rights movement in this country. Surely this did not escape the knowledge of the Fort Worth Police Department as they raided the Rainbow Lounge early this morning. In a scene eerily reminiscent of the raid on the Stonewall Inn in New York City’s Greenwich Village 40 years ago, the police reportedly entered the bar unprovoked, harassing and arresting patrons without reason. The Cathedral of Hope and Hope for Peace & Justice call on Chief of Police Jeffrey Halstead to issue a full report and apology immediately. This kind of targeted humiliation and harassment was unacceptable 40 years ago, and it is unacceptable today. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, and their friends, families and allies have had enough.
Reverend Michael Piazza, Dean of the Cathedral, in condemning the raid, said, “After more than a generation of progress, this action shows that there is still much work to be done to ensure that all Americans enjoy ‘equal protection under the law.’ It is tragic that lesbian and gay taxpayers are still abused by the very people who are paid by our taxes.”

Praying for Diocese of Fort Worth

Today the bishops of two dioceses, Dallas and Fort Worth, will meet.  The outcome of the meeting is of great importance to me, and to many in this area, and to my friend Elastigirl.  Please keep these two men in your prayers today, as well as Elastigirl and others who will be affected by decisions made. 

Oh, God!  I'm waiting to see your will done.  And I greatly hope and pray that it may align with my will.  If not, I'm used to it.  But, please.  Please. 

Amen.

 

- Rebirth, Eric Tamm

As I continue to pray for healing and rebirth in the newly-living Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, I point your attention to this great post at Katie Sherrod's place: 

Litany for Healing Homophobia.  Written by the Rev'd Joseph A. Harmon, Pastor, Church of the Incarnation, Jersey City, NJ.  Permission freely granted for liturgical use, with attribution. [I did not take the time to seek permission so I am just pointing you to Katie's place, where she did so.]

Thank you, Barack

Have you read Barack's speech from this morning?  Great stuff. 

http://www.drudgereport.com/flashos.htm

Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Wednesday night Ayaan Hirsi Ali spoke at UNT in the inaugural EncoUNTers international lecture.  I have been listening to her book, Infidel, on CD for the last several days (still haven't finished).  It is phenomenal. 

She is a well-known critic of Islam and she is in great danger.  We were not permitted to publicize her appearance here by any electronic media (including e-mail or blog) or in newspapers due to the security issues, but it was a packed house. 

She is a Somalian woman raised in Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Kenya and Ethiopia.  She fled to Europe to escape an arranged marriage, became a Dutch citizen and then a member of the Dutch Parliament, and eventually worked with filmmaker Theo van Gogh on a movie about domestic violence against Muslim women.  Due to his role in producing this film, in 2004 Van Gogh was murdered in the street as he rode his bicycle home, and a note was left pinned to his chest threatening Ali's life.   

The security was very tight but there were no real problems.  You can read a newspaper article about the talk here. 

I urge you all to read this book.  It's causing me to think about many, many things in ways I have not before, and while I read a lot, I don't usually get that from a book.  This woman is a true hero.