It’s Not Significant “Other”
This weekend Tony and I went to a graduation party somewhere out in Pennsylvania that isn’t as progressive as New Hope, New York, or Philadelphia. And I ran into people I haven’t seen in a long time. While we were there, this happened:
A Family member introducing Tony to someone: This is Tony, Ryan’s “significant other.”
Tony: No, I’m not his “significant other,” I’m his husband. We were legally married after 23 years in January 2014.
If Tony hadn’t jumped in and said that, I was ready to do that for him. I understand that many people don’t know how to deal with gay married couples yet. I get that. However, to call someone a “significant other” after they’ve been legally married and been together for over 23 years is not only an insult it shows you still see shame in gay marriage.
We laughed it off, in that uncomfortable way gay people have been laughing these things off for years. But we did the get the point across in a polite way, too. And it’s not that we were painfully offended. We understand the person who did this didn’t mean any harm. They just don’t get it.
However, to other gay couples that experience this, don’t let people do that to you. You deserve better.
Pastor Hates On Caitlyn Jenner
Sometimes I post things like this just for personal blogging purposes. In other words, someday I might want to go back and revisit topics like this, or reference them…to see what life was like in 2015.
In this case, I’m talking about Steven Anderson, pastor of the Faithful World Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona. This is still going on in 2015.
First, Anderson called Jenner “wicked” and a “trans freak” who is being “crammed down the throat” of “literally hundreds of millions of people” and who therefore deserves to “die.”
Lovely Christian sentiment.
Then he said: “This person is just the evangelist of sodomy and filth to the world. And then people are like, ‘Oh, we need to pray that he finds Jesus.’ I’m going to pray that he dies and goes to hell!”
To make sure he drove his point home, Anderson continued: “I hate him with a perfect hatred. I have no love, no love for this Bruce freak. I hope he dies today. I hope he dies and goes to hell. He’s disgusting! He’s filthy! He’s reprobate! … I pray that his heart would explode right now!”
The rest of his vicious words are here.
Police Censor Gay Slurs
It’s being alleged by a gay man who was violently attacked near an Alabama bar that the police left significant parts of his story out of the police report.
According to Bravo, however, police neglected to include the hate inspired language in the report on the incident.
“You’re an officer of the law,” Bravo scolded. “You should not object to putting something in a report. Everything should be taken down. It should not be ignored just because I’m a gay man and you don’t want to hear it.”
Darryl Lawson of Huntsville PD denied the details were left out because Bravo is gay, saying the department doesn’t include “he said this, she said that” narratives in reports.
You can read the rest here. The comments pretty much agree on all points. If this is true, it’s not the first time I’ve seen this kind of self-censorship happen in order to cover up something that’s hate crime related.
Penn State Frat Pledge Raped
This time a man named Reginald Stewart alleges that a man named Charles Gibson raped him while he was intoxicated during a rush party where Stewart was hoping to get into a fraternity.
According to court documents, Stewart was escorted back to his dorm by Gibson and another frat brother. When he regained consciousness, Gibson was penetrating him anally without his consent, but he was too drunk to fight off the attack.
And it gets worse.
Stewart claims he contracted HPV and had to undergo reconstructive surgery to repair damage to his rectum.
Gibson is claiming that the sex they shared was consensual. The rest is here. I hope they follow up on this. I’m interested in seeing how it turns out.
