SOUNDBITES — “Since we clearly have a separation of church and state, how could a conversation about laws have anything to do with religion at all? I’m writing about basic civil rights. We’ve been here before, fighting for the rights of African Americans or women to vote, or the rights of Jewish Americans to worship as they see fit. And, just as whites fought for African Americans or Christians for Jewish Americans, straight people must stand up and be a voice for gay people. … A civil union has to do with death. It’s essentially a document that gives you lower taxes and the right to let your faux spouse collect your insurance when you pass away. A marriage is about life. It’s about a commitment. And this argument is about allowing people to have the right to make that commitment, even if it doesn’t make sense to you. Anything else falls under the category of ‘separate but equal’ and we know how that works out.” —Singer Rob Thomas on the state of marriage [HuffPo]
Rob Thomas
AlanInSLC
This man gets sexier and sexier everytime he makes his presence known. Whether its how hot he looks of his confidence in who he is and what he chooses to stand up for, he’s one hot man.
Bri
‘Straight people must stand up and be a voice for gay people’
I know he means well but does this rub anyone else the wrong way? As if we are voiceless and helpless creatures that need to be coddled by straight people.
strumpetwindsock
@Bri:
Are you so blinded by hubris that you can’t see we are 10 percent and cannot do it alone, and that straights are actually human beings like us and that a good many of them support us?
And by contrast, if you think there are no boneheads, racists and homophobes in our camp I think you should pay a bit more attention to the threads on this site.
Bri
@strumpetwindsock: Err I am not saying that straight people are bad or that we don’t need their help. I did say he means well. I am just saying I didn’t like the wording. Don’t get your panties in a twist.
Nickadoo
@Bri: No, because he didn’t say “the voice,” he said, “a voice.” That’s an important distinction.
daftpunkydavid
@Bri: where have you been for the past 40 years, my friend? the sad, sad reality is: you are helpless, and hopeless and need straight people. i’m with you that we shouldn’t, that our rights are protected under various provisions in the us constitution. but that is clearly not how things are playing out, is it? so yeah, we need all the help we can get from “the straights”
Bri
@Nickadoo: Okay, I see what you mean. Just rubbed me the wrong way, I was like what? Gay people are the voice for gay people, straight allies are good and well and necessary but they speak for straight people.
Bri
@Nickadoo: And thanks for not being so reactionary.
strumpetwindsock
@Bri:
‘Scuse me if I seem a bit jaded, but frankly I think we have more true friends and real human beings among straights than we do in our own camp.
Drawing battle lines is a sure way to make sure we never win this struggle.
TANK
alright, ladies, bri’s got a point. YOu can put your straight fetishism to bed right now. Helpless is a state of mind, not reality.
strumpetwindsock
@TANK:
Yes dear. And how many Kapos did you string up last night?
Bri
@strumpetwindsock: “I think we have more true friends and real human beings among straights than we do in our own camp.”
How do you figure? I mean, I am not Larry Kramer here saying that gay people are better than straight people, but I am also not going to say the opposite either.
TANK
@Bri:
He doesn’t figure anything, bri. There’s no metric that extends beyond his faith and vacuous opinions. He’s got some serious self loathing issues.
TANK
@strumpetwindsock:
You need some neurocosmetology.
strumpetwindsock
@Bri:
Exactly. I’m not saying we need them for validation, but the fact is there are a lot of them who DO support our cause. Let’s not ignore that, and if I misunderstood your intention, excuse me.
Also, if it comes down to votes, as seems to be the case in much of your country) you ARE going to need their support.
Fortunately I think it is just a matter of time before you get it.
Bri
Am I the only person who didn’t know what a kapo is until just now?
“Kapos received more privileges than normal prisoners, towards whom they were often brutal. They were often convicts who were offered this work in exchange for a reduced sentence or parole, however they were usually murdered and replaced with a new batch of prisoners at regular intervals.” from wiki
So slang wise does it mean jewish or straight? urbandictionary says jewish.
TANK
@strumpetwindsock:
and that doesn’t mean helpless, dickhole.
strumpetwindsock
@TANK:
Sorry, just checking to see if you were backing up your words with action, or just bullshitting.
Or perhaps I should use your favourite phrase:
“You only speak for yourself”.
strumpetwindsock
@Bri:
Excuse the confusion.
TANK and I have past business, some of which started with him calling me (and everyone else who disagrees with him) a kapo.
More recently he has started talking about killing all of us.
TANK
More recently he has started talking about killing all of us.
REally? Where?
TANK
and if you act like a kapo…in every regard…why get offended when someone calls you one?
strumpetwindsock
@TANK:
*sigh*
Okay, here’s one place:
http://www.queerty.com/cold-shoulder-obama-wont-stop-military-from-kicking-out-gays-20090512/#comment-163445
And last evening:
http://www.queerty.com/breaking-proposition-8-upheld-18k-same-sex-marriages-valid-20090526/#comment-171095
TANK
More recently he has started talking about killing all of us.
Once again, where did I Make this statement? I didn’t. And yeah, in a perfect world, kapos would be dead. They are a toxic poison to lgbt enfranchisement.
TANK
kevin (not that one), is poison…he works actively against lgbt people and rights and insidiously claims the contrary while his prime objective is to defend christianity at any cost.
Chris
He makes an awesome point. And it’s great to have some straight male allies who are high profile.
Alex
@Bri: Yeah, during WWII, the Kapos were Jews who worked for the Nazis. Ever since, the term is used to vilify members of minority groups who in some way assist (or even fail to adequately oppose) the oppressor or perceived oppressor. Think Roy Cohn (for gays and Jews). The Kapos thought they could intercede between the Nazis and the Jews and alleviate suffering (especially that of their families). It didn’t work out that way, but one observes that our opponents, though they are self-righteous bastards, are not intending to exterminate us, so perhaps the term is imperfect.
Also, for the record, at least since the revolutionary war, there really has been pretty unlimited freedom of worship for Jewish people. There has been some spots of persecution, but very little of it.
This brings up another interesting issue, which is that despite it’s widespread lack of acceptance in many major religions, Interfaith Marriage has (I think) always been legal in the US, yet no faith has ever been forced to perform one.
Bri
@Alex: Thanks for clearing that up.
strumpetwindsock
@Bri:
Anyway, as you can see, a person’s politics and prejudices have very little to do with one’s orientation.
As a matter of fact, I think it’s a safe guess that most of the people who voted against prop 8 were not gay, but straight people who simply supported the recognition of human rights.
So if we want to push it over the top next time we should be thankful for our good neighbours and not begrudge their support.
scox86
@Bri:
all he was saying is that he feels that we deserve the same rights and as our straight counterparts and that they should be willing to stand up for the rights that we are entitled to. the fact that you find a problem with this almost in some ways set us back further
getreal
@scox86: I agree, he was saying straight people have a moral obligation to stand up and fight the injustice against lgbt people in this country that has nothing to do with gay people’s inability to be their own advocates but it will take coalitions to get full equality. It does not surprise me that some one chose to attack him. I had a moron on this site tell me that as a straight person who is a gay rights activist I must have no life because why else would I care? If someone is not in lgbt activism they probably have no idea that at least in my state there is a large contingent of straight and often straight married gay rights activists who don’t see gay rights as just a gay issue but an issue of injustice that should matter to all Americans. I have had straight friends of mine ask me why do you care when it doesn’t effect you? I tell them because when my people (black people)were being denied rights white people got on buses and went to the south to march with them they did it because it was the right thing and that deserves respect so I feel like I have an obligation to organize, march, and fight for equality. If someone doesn’t like it because I’m straight I really don’t care at the end of the day I have to follow my conscience just like everyone else and do what I think is right and I don’t really give a shit what random do nothings think about it.
mb00
fuck, why did I even come in here today? I’ve realized how shitty the blogsite is. I totally understood what Bri was saying, but there’s gotta be someone that’s gotta take all up a notch and act all cornered.
And @ Tank, I don’t know who the hell you are my friend, but I like you. I’ve read previous comments by you and you don’t hold back. I think we all need to be like you and not pussy foot around. Specially in the situation our community is in now.