When I wrote full-time for America’s Oldest Continuously Newspaper, I wrote about what detractors called “the gay agenda,” which, to my way of thinking, simply meant I wrote about equality — as in marriage, as in economic opportunities, as in housing, the whole she-bang.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate advanced a bill that would protect gay marriage, so that neither the vagaries of the electorate or of the courts can interfere. The time is right. The iron is hot.
But I cannot forget that phrase, “the gay agenda” out of my head. I already said what I believe that phrase means. What do you think it means? And how much does it suck to have to continually fight this and other battles?
The transphobia crowd is the new "gay agenda" crowd. I think the use of "gay agenda" is only found is remote pockets now, thank goodness. Hatred of the "others" is alive and well, unfortunately. The center of the target keeps shifting.
I've only heard "gay agenda" used in a derogatory way to infer there was somehow an infringement on straight lives when it was exactly the opposite. We see that repeated over and over (especially by the GOP over the last 50+ years), that a vulnerable, oppressed group wanting equality is somehow a threat to the privileged. It also goes hand in hand with the "War of Christmas", too. It's a made up victimhood by those who have privilege and don't want to accept people who are not like them. At the core, is their own fear & hate. I guess I'm saying, "Gay Agenda" is still a thing dressed in different clothes.
Just a different bunch of words. I was reading a statement from hateful ol' Lindsey Graham this morning about his voting no on this. It was pretty stunning and what he said wasn't just dog whistles.
Ugh! I just looked up his tweet. He and others think freedom to believe for oneself should mean they also should have the freedom to impose their beliefs on others in a way that restricts/affects their lives. In short, freedom to bully others who don't share their beliefs. Well, this time they lost, thank goodness!
I am reminded of that old cigarette commercial where the actor with the black eye says "I'd rather fight than switch." Well, I guess the gQp in the Senate FINALLY gave up the fight and switched because 12 of them did join the D's to move this bill along. The use of "the gay agenda" is the code used by EVILgelicals and their ilk to castigate those that are different than they! Here in the gQp dominated city of Bristol they take joy in debating the rainbow flag while so many other critical issues are not addressed. As we are on the dawn of the "new" McCarthy era I am tired of the battles, yet even in my old age I shall not surrender!
The whole idea of indoctrination is pretty hypocritical, coming from a crowd (my own crowd) that sees "train up the child in the way they should go" as canon. The fear shorts a marked ignorance about homosexuality, which the rest of us know cannot be "taught." It simply is. Now get on over yourself.
Do laundry, grocery shop, fill the car up with gas, rake and bag the leaves, clean refrigerator, prepare for a community board meeting and get a haircut. My gay agenda has little difference with anyone else’s.
Back when I bothered to ask. I would press anti-gay rights people to tell me how equality negatively impacted them on a personal level. To a person, they were unable to answer and most, particularly the men, got angry that I would even ask.
This "agenda" is just one of many reasons I left the church. I had just had enough. I was a music director at a church for many years and I worked with so many gay musicians. The church's stance on this issue made me rethink nearly everything regarding the church. I finally gave up and just started loving everyone, being kind to everyone, assisting everyone, thinking kind thoughts, working to express kind thoughts and filling my heart with kind thoughts. Forget the church. You don't need it.
Tangential: The use of "agenda" as a term of opprobrium seems so weird to me (because I'm literal-minded when the context seems to be literal). What the hell is wrong with coherence as opposed to incoherence?
Non-tangential: I think that the gay agenda is to be accepted as fellow humans with legitimate choices to make and legitimate lives to live, who are no more a Category than those who fear and assail them.
I have two relatives who are gay. One married his partner; had to leave his state and travel to another state where same sex marriage was legal. The other person is in a committed relationship of 5 years. Their “agenda” is to work hard at their professional jobs, love each other, be good neighbors and responsible citizens and have fun with their friends on the weekend. One, the child of a minister, still goes to church, but not to one in the denomination of his childhood church that considers homosexuality a big sin.
Too many homophobes think giving rights to gays will somehow destroy family values, put their children at risk of becoming gay- as if it were a contagious disease- or lead to the downfall of America. Nonsense!
I miss the comment section after your stories. There were only a few of us, I dread to use the word, “lefties” because I really don’t really identify y self as one but in comparison to the far right ding bats, I’m a lefty. And there we went on battling in story after story until The Hartford Courant couldn’t handle it anymore and decided to stop comments. By that time, I had befriended a fellow lefty who teamed up against the hordes. I sensed it would end soon and I asked my then online friend to give me a hint how to get together in real life. He did and we became quick friends. He was an English professor and he assisted me on my book about you know who. Just before finished editing, he told me cancer was found in his lungs and he would be gone and in a few months he was gone. So I dedicated my book to him and his wife was pleased.
What the heck was I supposed to talk about? Who knows. You mentioned in a previous blog that you teach social media and I asked you a few question on topic. Shall I contact you via your email?
The transphobia crowd is the new "gay agenda" crowd. I think the use of "gay agenda" is only found is remote pockets now, thank goodness. Hatred of the "others" is alive and well, unfortunately. The center of the target keeps shifting.
I've only heard "gay agenda" used in a derogatory way to infer there was somehow an infringement on straight lives when it was exactly the opposite. We see that repeated over and over (especially by the GOP over the last 50+ years), that a vulnerable, oppressed group wanting equality is somehow a threat to the privileged. It also goes hand in hand with the "War of Christmas", too. It's a made up victimhood by those who have privilege and don't want to accept people who are not like them. At the core, is their own fear & hate. I guess I'm saying, "Gay Agenda" is still a thing dressed in different clothes.
Just a different bunch of words. I was reading a statement from hateful ol' Lindsey Graham this morning about his voting no on this. It was pretty stunning and what he said wasn't just dog whistles.
Ugh! I just looked up his tweet. He and others think freedom to believe for oneself should mean they also should have the freedom to impose their beliefs on others in a way that restricts/affects their lives. In short, freedom to bully others who don't share their beliefs. Well, this time they lost, thank goodness!
That appears to be the religion of these folks.
I am reminded of that old cigarette commercial where the actor with the black eye says "I'd rather fight than switch." Well, I guess the gQp in the Senate FINALLY gave up the fight and switched because 12 of them did join the D's to move this bill along. The use of "the gay agenda" is the code used by EVILgelicals and their ilk to castigate those that are different than they! Here in the gQp dominated city of Bristol they take joy in debating the rainbow flag while so many other critical issues are not addressed. As we are on the dawn of the "new" McCarthy era I am tired of the battles, yet even in my old age I shall not surrender!
The whole idea of indoctrination is pretty hypocritical, coming from a crowd (my own crowd) that sees "train up the child in the way they should go" as canon. The fear shorts a marked ignorance about homosexuality, which the rest of us know cannot be "taught." It simply is. Now get on over yourself.
I have a big Gay Agenda this week:
Do laundry, grocery shop, fill the car up with gas, rake and bag the leaves, clean refrigerator, prepare for a community board meeting and get a haircut. My gay agenda has little difference with anyone else’s.
Oddly, my gay agenda matches yours -- minus the haircut, but only because there are no more appointments available this week.
Back when I bothered to ask. I would press anti-gay rights people to tell me how equality negatively impacted them on a personal level. To a person, they were unable to answer and most, particularly the men, got angry that I would even ask.
This "agenda" is just one of many reasons I left the church. I had just had enough. I was a music director at a church for many years and I worked with so many gay musicians. The church's stance on this issue made me rethink nearly everything regarding the church. I finally gave up and just started loving everyone, being kind to everyone, assisting everyone, thinking kind thoughts, working to express kind thoughts and filling my heart with kind thoughts. Forget the church. You don't need it.
It's hard to square "love one another" when the silent part is "except gay people." I am thinking Jesus would not be pleased.
Tangential: The use of "agenda" as a term of opprobrium seems so weird to me (because I'm literal-minded when the context seems to be literal). What the hell is wrong with coherence as opposed to incoherence?
Non-tangential: I think that the gay agenda is to be accepted as fellow humans with legitimate choices to make and legitimate lives to live, who are no more a Category than those who fear and assail them.
I have two relatives who are gay. One married his partner; had to leave his state and travel to another state where same sex marriage was legal. The other person is in a committed relationship of 5 years. Their “agenda” is to work hard at their professional jobs, love each other, be good neighbors and responsible citizens and have fun with their friends on the weekend. One, the child of a minister, still goes to church, but not to one in the denomination of his childhood church that considers homosexuality a big sin.
Too many homophobes think giving rights to gays will somehow destroy family values, put their children at risk of becoming gay- as if it were a contagious disease- or lead to the downfall of America. Nonsense!
I miss the comment section after your stories. There were only a few of us, I dread to use the word, “lefties” because I really don’t really identify y self as one but in comparison to the far right ding bats, I’m a lefty. And there we went on battling in story after story until The Hartford Courant couldn’t handle it anymore and decided to stop comments. By that time, I had befriended a fellow lefty who teamed up against the hordes. I sensed it would end soon and I asked my then online friend to give me a hint how to get together in real life. He did and we became quick friends. He was an English professor and he assisted me on my book about you know who. Just before finished editing, he told me cancer was found in his lungs and he would be gone and in a few months he was gone. So I dedicated my book to him and his wife was pleased.
What the heck was I supposed to talk about? Who knows. You mentioned in a previous blog that you teach social media and I asked you a few question on topic. Shall I contact you via your email?