Ignorance

It is nearly impossible to argue with a theist even the possibility that logic does allow any form of higher being to exist. They are content with being blissfully ignorant in their beliefs and do not feel that it might be neccesary to find some additional information as to whether or not they might be wrong. When I research a controversial issue, I look at both sides. Granted, I have some difficult getting passed my own biased opinions, but at least I acknowledge the possibility that I might be wrong. I just refuse to believe in anything that isn't logical or scientifically proven. When the day comes where undeniable proof is shown to me, I will gladly step down and say, "I'm sorry. I believe now." I guess that makes me almost as stubborn as they are.


Sometimes people, in order to be satisfied with themselves, need only say, "God said it. I believe it.

That settles it." How can people not realize how ignorant that seems? Martin Luther King Jr. said "Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."

Inspirational Advertisement

While browsing the internet, I stumbled upon something that I found to be the most inspirational thing that I've witnessed for quite some time. It has to be on of the best LGBT acceptance ads in history. See for yourself.

GetUp! in Australia released a commercial on Thanksgiving  from the viewpoint of one half of a gay relationship. It increases in suspense until that final scene that emphasizes what they want legalized-- the right for a couple of any orientation to be able to officially confess their love for another. By showing only one perspective of the couple, the video infers that a gay relationship is no different than a straight one. They don't cover the ad in rose-tinted paint making it seem like gay marriage is superior and should be idolized, but rather stress that both homosexual and heterosexual relationships have their ups and downs.

Advertisements are becoming more and more gay-friendly. I've also found a McDonald's ad that was promoting equality and acceptance with the slogan, "Come as you are."

Why haven't I seen ads like this in America?

Corrupt Schooling

After seeing this, I was immediately enraged. This picture is from a UK report by Essex County Council. It infers that students being targeted by hoomophobia are bringing it upon themselves by "not acting straight enough." Why do I keep coming across more and more news articles about corrupt teachers screwing over their students chances of getting any protection from bullying. The answer to not being bullied isn't to bottle yourself up and act like everybody else. It's to stand up and speak. When students are being told to style their hair differently, speak in a lower register, sit differently, dress differently, and even walk differently just so that they don't come off as gay to the other students, they're promoting the idea that being gay is wrong and that it's something that people should hide. People can go further than this and sometimes become completely desensitized when an actual tragedy takes place. For example, A teacher in Missouri at Joplin High school, named Jim Whitney, reponded to a student commiting suicide from homophobic bullying with the comment of, "Moral of the story: Don't be gay." When Whitney was asked, "How many more kids have to die before someone realizes that this is an actual issue?" again, the insensitive responce was,  "11-13 ought to do it. Somewhere in that vicinity."

I find it disgusting.

When do people grow up?

When I was in kindergarten, my best friend, Jacquelin, refused to tell me her weight. I was curious about how fast I was growing up compared to my friends. All of my other friends told me how much they weighed, but she kept up her defenses up and wouldn't let them down. Finally, I asked her why she wouldn't let me know something that mattered that little. And her responce was, "My mommy told me not to tell anybody anything about myself that couldn't already be seen. She said that as people get older, they get meaner." My mom had told me differently. My mom told me that as I got older, people around me would get more mature." I wish I could go back to my kindergarten self and tell Jacquelin that, for the most part, she was right.

As far as people go, they get less compassionate. When you're in kindergarten, everyone  just wants to be friends. They accept anyone who wants to join and the most hurtful thing that anyone can say is, "Well, I'm not your friend anymore!" But everything changes as the years go by. People hold grudges, they find new ways to hurt others both physically and emotionally, and they betray those close to them usually for selfish reasons. Words like "stupid" and "butthead" become "faggot" and "whore" and it seems that hardly anybody retains even the slightest ounce of innocence that they had all those years ago.

What's in it for us?

The LGBT community has so much to thank President Obama for. People say that he hasn't done anything eben though he's done quite a lot. It just goes to show how politically unaware people are when they open their mouths. Check out these things that he's done for us since his election.

In 2009:

• Created Federal government to extend key benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees.
•  Hosted the first White House LGBT Pride Reception in history
• Created a National Resource Center for LGBT elders
• Signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law

In 2010:

• Ended discrimination based on gender identity on federal government
• Ensured hospital and visitation rights for gay and lesbian parents
• Allowed trans Americans to recieve true gender passports without surgery
• Clarified the Family and Medical Leave Act ensuring family leave for LGBT employees
• Released Ameica's first comprehensive plan to prevent and end homelessness which includes LGBT youth
• Awarded a grant to the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Sevices Center to work with LGBT foster youth
• Recorded "It Gets Better" video
• Led a United Nations measure the restored "sexual orientation" to the definition of humam rights
• Signed the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

In 2011:

• Ensured government housing programs can no longer discriminate against the LGBT community
• Proposed more funding for LGBT prioities such as HIV/AIDS prevention and education as well as bullying and teen suicide prevention
• declared the Defense of Marriage Act as unconstitutional and announced the administration will no longer defend its constitutionality in court
• Hosted a conference on bullying prevention at the White House
• Completed an institute of Medicine study on LGBT health, the first of its kind
• Clarified the meaning of family to include LGBT relationships, helping to protect bi-national families threatened by deportation
• Supported lesbian widow , Edith Windsor, in her suit against DOMA
• Issued guidance to foster safer working environments for transgender federal employees
• Strengthened enforcement of same-sex hospital visitation rights and decision making
•  Implemented the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

*All credit for the found information goes to Obama for America. Please don't sue me. Just trying to spread the word.

Think of the Future

I'm going to take a small break from my usual rants about the civil rights of  the LGBT community to touch on another important topic. Future Planning.

Everyone has something that they're good at. My best friend is a composer, writes music, and plays piano. My boyfriend plays bass guitar and he's an excellent cook. I have friends who are artistic, athletic, coordinated, organized, and/or courageous. Everybody can specialise in something. So how do so many people have virtually no idea what they want to do with their future.

 I, for one, can write fiction, draw and people bow to me when the see me play guitar hero. (Which isn't neccesarily a skill that I can earn a living off of, but it helps with my hand-eye coordination and has helped my abilities when I play my clarinet.)

Video of my playing, not necessarily relevant ==>


As I get older, I plan to be a novelist (or writer or author or whatever the proper nam for the profession is). My main goal is to create something that I will always be remembered for when I'm gone. For example, after J.K. Rowling is gone, do you think Harry Potter will still be as famous? And practically everybody knows about C.S. Lewis and Narnia. Those two people created two entirely new worlds for people. That's what authors do. They create an escape from the actual world into a new world that still isn't as ideal as we'd like, but it's still a lot more interesting than the monotony of our daily lives. Authors help people relieve stress and put their worries into the problems of fictional characters rather than their own.

My best friend, (who can be found at http://myndithemartiangirl.blogspot.com/) doesn't write songs just because they sound cool or because she thinks it'll sell well. She composes her songs about what matters to her and what she thinks we, as a society, should change about ourselves. She takes situations from her own life finds a melodie to describe the emotions to go with that situation. After high school she hopes to attend the California College of Music.

I know it takes some longer than others to find their true potential. Some never reach it. It all depends on how willing you are to pursue it.

A Word on Gay Marriage

The U.S. Census Bureau released the following on same-sex couples...
In the United States of America there are:

• 131,729 married same-sex couple households
• 514,735 unmarried same-sex couple households

Some people would say that 131,729 marriages is a pretty decent number and we should be proud of ourselves for accomplishing that. I think that it's a nice step, but we could do better.If only ~26% of gay couple households are married and only 24% of our states even allow same-sex marriage, than those don't seem like very promising numbers to me. Don't get me wrong, I am extremely happy for those married couples and hope they have long happy lives together, and I do acknowledge that marriage isn't right for some people and that some others aren't ready for that step in their relationship. I am speaking for those couples who want to get married, but have to travel a ridiculous distance in order to find some place that will even recognize their union.
 I find it some peoples' reactions to allowing gay marriage in states somewhat disgusting. I've heard what they tell people in those churches. The last time I attended church was April of 2009. Gay marriage had just being legalized in Iowa and the pastor at my chirch was infuriated. He spent an entire two weeks preaching about how homosexuality was immoral and wrong. He kept talking about how evil and sinful it was and how it would eventually destroy our race. At that point I stood up, yelled that he was wrong, threw my bible at him, and walked out of the church. I was excommunicated and and started crying as soon as I reached my house. There my have been some overreaction on both of our parts.
I guess I can understand where they are coming from. Even if you go to dictionary.com, It specifically states that marriage is between a man and a woman. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/marriage) It's completely not fair. I wonder. I enough states accept same-sex marriage as a custom, is it possible to change the definition of a word? Has it been done before? I know it's possible for society to develop a new connotation for a word, but what about its denotation? How much controversy would it cause? Would it be for better or worse, or even worth the trouble? I think it would. I guess this means that the LGBT community has a little bit more to work for. I know I'm willing to put forth the effort.

Auto pilot

 

13 years and three days ago, 22 year old, Matthew Shepard was attacked, in Laramie, Wyoming for being gay. He was beaten, tied to a fence, pistol-whipped, and left for dead only to be found nearly 18 hours later by a passing cyclist. The only part of him that wasn't covered with blood being the streaks down his face that showed that he'd been crying. Matthew was in a coma when he was found, and never regained conciousness before he died on October 12, 1998.

Last year, I traveled to the University of  Northern Iowa where Matthew's mother, Judy Shepard, was spreading awareness against homophobia and hate crimes, and telling her son's story as an example of how cruel and merciless they can be. She told us how horrible it was to see her son on life support, knowing that he wouldn't survive, but still never giving up hope. She told us how she spared the murderers from the death sentence and have them face life in prison instead because she knew that seeing that they died wouldn't bring her son back.She told us her memories of her son, his childhood, his education, his coming-out, and their final moments. And finally, she told us how everybody should remember her son not just for the way he died but for the wonderful life he had and what his future might have been.

At the end, She asked the audience to put forth any questions or comments regarding anything that they were concerned about. After gathering the courage to ask, I found myself last in line to speak with her. One by one, the questions and comments went by, to some Judy replied with jokes and laughter, to others she responded with sympathy and compassion. And then there was me. I was standing in front of the microphone, listening to the sound of my breath being amplified by speakers around me. I took a breath, and said,

"I just wanted to say that I think it is outstandingly courageous what you do and what you stand for. If I may ask, How is it that you have the strength to talk about your son in such detail from life to death, without bursting into tears?"

She then, caught me completely off-guard, and burst into tears. I didn't understand. How did my single comment send her over the edge? It was like she was on Auto pilot and my comment brought her back to Earth.  Confused, I went on-stage to do the only thing I know how to do when a person has reached the point of tears. I climbed onstage and gave Judy Shepard a hug. Following my example, more people climbed onstage and joined us. The giant group hug soon ended and as people returned to their seats, Judy was applauded as she walked offstage. I will never forget this experience.

Gratitude to my mother

OPEN CURTAINS

September 2011, a local gas station in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Enter MAE BRUCE, an African American woman of slightly below-average height, carrying a large black purse. a MAN offstage is yelling at her.

MAN: Hey! Hey, Come here!

MAE continues walking and ignores the MAN, hoping that he's talking to somebody else. Enter the MAN, running. He catches up to MAE, and taps her on the shoulder. She stops walking and turns around, irritated.

MAE: (through her teeth) Is there something I can help you with, sir?

MAN: Yeah, I know you.

MAE: I don't think so.

MAN: (smiling) Sure, I do. You're the one with a faggot for a son, aren't you?

MAE drops her bag and punches the MAN in his nose, breaking it. Blood starts dripping down is chin.

MAN: Ugh! You bitch!

MAE punches the MAN again, though this time, in the mouth. By now the blood has reached and started staining his white shirt and he is on the ground.

MAN: (crying) I'm sorry! I didn't mean any disrespect!

MAE: (yelling) HOW THE HELL CAN YOU GO AROUND SAYING THINGS LIKE THAT WITHOUT MEANING ANY FORM OF DISRESPECT! IT'S PEOPLE LIKE YOU THAT ARE CAUSING SO MANY KIDS TO COMMIT SUICIDE! ARE YOU EVEN AWARE OF HOW PITIFUL YOU ARE!?

The MAN stumbles to his feet and runs away, bloody and crying. Enter a WOMAN, who runs into the scene and next to MAE.

WOMAN: Thank you so much for standing up to him. My daughter is a lesbian and he's been hanging around our neighborhood for over a week saying awful things like that to people. I'm glad someone had the courage to give him what he deserves.

MAE nods and smiles, then turns in the other direction. Both women walk offstage in opposite direction as the scene fades to black.

END SCENE

Indecisive

Definition of a Democrat

Definition of a Republican

Okay, so maybe Urban Dictionary isn't a reliable source of information. But some people sure know how to get their point across. I can't say that all republicans are bad. However, I can say that it is my belief that religion has greatly misguided the morals of the majority of them. But there is still hope for them yet. It's been quite a while since reading a news article actually made me smile rather than yawn. But after reading this, I somehow felt a huge sense of accomplishment. It seems that these huge brick walls that these supposed conservative republicans might not be all that sturdy anymore. That doesn't mean that democrats are all perfect. In 2008, even Obama didn't believe that marriage could be more than a union between a man and woman.

Music News

It seems like sides are flip-flopping all over the place. I'm not entirely sure how to keep track of it all right now. Has politics always been this confusing?

Lives at Stake

We are told that everyone gets bullied. We are told that being bullied part of growing up. We are told to trust the adult to handle the situation. We are told that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. But who tells us that bullying actually does kill people?

I've heard some weird theories about bullying, such as:

• "Bullies are just trying to hide their own insecurities." 

• "The bully's parents obviously didn't do their job properly." 

•  "Everybody gets bullied. Enduring it is like an initiation into adulthood." 

•  "People don't know how to react when they see something different.

Does that really seem fair? Somebody doesn't have enough self-confidence so they build it by tearing down someone else's? Do people have such little regard for their actions that they only care about the consequences when someone's very life is at stake? Some don't even stop there! Should we stand for this? What can we do? We've dealt with so many tragedies such as Billy Lucas (see video). How many more kids have to die before American School realize, hey, we have a serious problem here...

Teenagers are so desperate that they feel that their is no other option. That there is no going on for them. They don't care what happens as long as it makes their suffering end.

 "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."

 It is my belief that whoever came up with that load of ****, was most definitely high on something. Of course words can hurt you! It's called Verbal/Emotional Abuse! Everybody has insecurities and people zero in on them like some sort of merciless scavenger and drink from your self-consciousness as if it were a fountain of youth. Does anybody know what we can do about this? No? I'm not surprised. We'd rather just sit and watch with a chair and a bag of popcorn and laugh at how clever the insults are, or how stupid their face looks when they start crying. What's wrong with us? If reading this has somehow made you feel guilty, there's probably a reason for that. We need to learn to stand up for people who can't defend themselves. I, for one, am tired of sitting back and watching.

Apparently, I'm Evil

I am so tired of being told that I am going to go to Hell. I've heard that bible verse so many times that it is most likely permanently written on my brain.

• Leviticus 20:13 If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

Do people actually believe this? Are human beings just that gullible that we believe that we are supposed to base all of our morals and lifestyles on some sort of almighty book? I thought that the American dream was supposed to be freedom and independence, not surrendering your free will to a stack of paper that is supposedly the words of some "devine creator."
I mean, I understand how people can believe in this stuff as children. The minds of children are naive and easily manipulated. They will just as easily believe in God as they will Santa Claus. But once they get older they realize that logic does not allow the existance of Santa. so they dismiss him. But why can't the same principle be applied to God? He's just as illogical if not more?
How can people say that who I'm attracted to defines whether I'm a good person or not? That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Shouldn't it be my actions and/or contribution to society that determines what my motives are as a person? Around 53% of Americans believe that homosexuality is immoral and wrong. Wouldn't you think that it would be slightly difficult to contribute to a country when half of it thinks that anything I chose to "live a life of evil?"

It Gets Better

Tyler Clementi, age 18.

Billy Lucas, age 15.

Harrison Chase Brown, age 15

Cody J. Barker, age 17

Seth Walsh, age 13

Those are a few of the names of the teenagers who have recently commited suicide because of homophobic harrassment. They couldn't see that there was a life worth living past all of the bullying. And because nobody had the courage to speak out to them, they will never have the chance to know that life gets better.

Writer, Dan Savage has created something to prevent more tregedies as described above. He and his husband, Terry Miller, created a Youtube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IcVyvg2Qlo) to tell the LGBT community that there is much more that makes life worth living. A week later, there were over there were over 1000 response video and thus, the It Gets Better Project was born.

As an American teenager, it is not uncommon that I have had periods of severe depression in my adolecency. And as a member of the LGBT community, depression tends to hit us harder than most. So unfortunately, yes, I've had suicidal thoughts before. When my closest friend discovered the pitiful state I was in, she sat me down and made me watch some of the videos of this program and I realized that no matter how hard life gets, it's not up to me to decide when it should end. If I had chosen to go through with those tragic ideas, I'd have missed out on so much.

Of course I'm going to go through bad times. It's virtually impossible to avoid.

• I've been pushed against walls
• Told I was going to hell
• Called a fag
• Emasculated
• Beaten up
• And kicked out of my grandmother's house. (My "grandfather's" words were "Get out and don't come back until you know how to be a man!")

But I never let myself forget all of the blessings I have.

• I have extremely supportive parents, especially my mom. (She once punched my grandfather in the face when she heard him say the word "fag" in reference to me.)
• I have plenty of friends that greet me with smiles and hugs every day upon meeting me.
• I have more than enough people that I can talk to about my problems.
• Most importantly, I have a wonderful boyfriend who does everything he can to make sure that I'm taken care of and smiling. (insert dreamy sigh here)

All in all, if I'd decided to "pull the plug," I wouldn't have been able to see the future. I'm glad I know now that life gets better.