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There is no gay mafia...
Nov. 25th, 2009 12:36 am...But if there WAS Stephen Fry would so get my vote to be it's godfather
Nov. 25th, 2009
rape and murder of openly gay teen in Baltimore
Trans woman connected to political scandal murdered in Italy
FBI says hate crimes
- and anti-gay hate crimes (and fail on them for not listing transphobic hate crimes) are rising. Same as in London. The violence continues and worsens
Closer to home: gay teenager hurt in homophobic attack in Liverpool.
On the better news Gordon Brown marks transgender day of remembrance it is good to see the powers that be playing attention - noticing and at least making a gesture of awareness
Trans woman connected to political scandal murdered in Italy
FBI says hate crimes
- and anti-gay hate crimes (and fail on them for not listing transphobic hate crimes) are rising. Same as in London. The violence continues and worsens
Closer to home: gay teenager hurt in homophobic attack in Liverpool.
On the better news Gordon Brown marks transgender day of remembrance it is good to see the powers that be playing attention - noticing and at least making a gesture of awareness
The obvious good news of gay civil unions coming to Austria. It’s not marriage by any stretch and it is still limited - and I’m firmly opposed to settling or stopping on civil unions - but it’s a step forwards. And every step forwards is a cause for celebration
In the UK School children will learn about transphobic bullying, gender equality and gay relationships. For the future to be one of respect, the next generation has to be taught it
Australia's first civil union is performed. Pray it lasts since the law looks likely to be overturned :(
Another less obvious piece of news is the Dragon Age: Origins computer game.
Here is a (possibly NSFW) trailer of the gay man/elf action in the game.
Now I know you’re probably looking at me think I’m really dredging the barrel here but, really, I think this is quite a main thing. This is a mainstream game - it’s not marketed at gay people. It’s for all. And yes, other games have played with gay characters to a degree before - but to this eye catching extent?
It’s a sign of normalisation. It’s a sign of mainstream acceptance. Well, it’s a sign that the computer game designers believes they’ll pick up more pro-gay people (or neutral gay people) then they’ll lose in frothing anti-gay people.
Now someone let the right wingers know, I fancy laughing at some outraged flailing.
In the UK School children will learn about transphobic bullying, gender equality and gay relationships. For the future to be one of respect, the next generation has to be taught it
Australia's first civil union is performed. Pray it lasts since the law looks likely to be overturned :(
Another less obvious piece of news is the Dragon Age: Origins computer game.
Here is a (possibly NSFW) trailer of the gay man/elf action in the game.
Now I know you’re probably looking at me think I’m really dredging the barrel here but, really, I think this is quite a main thing. This is a mainstream game - it’s not marketed at gay people. It’s for all. And yes, other games have played with gay characters to a degree before - but to this eye catching extent?
It’s a sign of normalisation. It’s a sign of mainstream acceptance. Well, it’s a sign that the computer game designers believes they’ll pick up more pro-gay people (or neutral gay people) then they’ll lose in frothing anti-gay people.
Now someone let the right wingers know, I fancy laughing at some outraged flailing.
I really do. It has always been my preferred party. I lamented so much of what Tony Blair did that I simply couldn’t bring myself to vote for your party again.
He is gone. I want to vote Labour again. I want to support Labour for all the good it’s done - and yes, it most certainly has done a lot of good for this country after so many years of Tory misrule. I, particularly, want to vote Labour to support them for the great strides they have taken for GBLT rights. In the teeth of Tory opposition, you fought for us. Sure, it wasn’t perfect and I’m not happy with all that has been done and hasn’t been done - but the record is impressive and even though I have criticisms, I also have a lot of praise.
I also like you as a Prime Minister. You’re not charismatic - which I like. Unlike Blair you don’t rely on pretty speeches and dazzling smiles to win you past awkward times. You’re in many ways simple, stolid and practical. You’re the kind of man I like to see in the Prime Minister’s spot. I also have a lot of pity for you, inheriting Blair’s legacy.
In terms of the three parties currently in the offing, Labour is by far and away the best. Nick Clegg has lead the Lib Dems further and further into obscurity. The Conservatives continue to be homophobic arseholes and further compound it by being generally unpleasant on all fronts - and anything bad that Labour does, well, they did first and they did worst.
So, I really really want to vote for you.
But I can’t.
I will not support the ever expanding surveillance culture - from ID cards to CCTV cameras absolutely everywhere - and above all the damn DNA database. It’s the biggest in the world - because EVERYONE arrested - even the innocent, even those who never come close to court - have their DNA placed in it. Police are ARRESTING people just to add their profile to this monstrosity.
But even more - I cannot tolerate this.
I will not ever accept torture. Not now, not ever. You could end world hunger, bring world peace, lead us all into a utopian state of rather tedious bliss and I STILL could not support you if you use torture.
We can talk about how torture harms us. About how useless it is. About how it’s hurting our intelligence and justice efforts
But we don’t need to. We shouldn’t even be having that debate. We shouldn’t even begin to discuss it. It’s WRONG. Pure and simple. It’s evil. End of. Nothing justifies it. It doesn’t matter if it works or not. It doesn’t matter if it’s effective or not. It doesn’t matter if it helps us or hurts us. It doesn’t matter if the intelligence community relies on it or it destroys all the work they do. It doesn’t matter.
Because it is evil. It is one of the worst evils we can possibly commit. That alone is reason enough to unreservedly condemn any and all torture.
I cannot, will not, support this.
So, Mr. Brown, with deep and heartfelt regret, I cannot vote for you. There is some stink that cannot be ignored. There are times when you cannot simply hold your nose and tick the box. There are times when the lesser of 2 evils is just too damn evil to tolerate.
He is gone. I want to vote Labour again. I want to support Labour for all the good it’s done - and yes, it most certainly has done a lot of good for this country after so many years of Tory misrule. I, particularly, want to vote Labour to support them for the great strides they have taken for GBLT rights. In the teeth of Tory opposition, you fought for us. Sure, it wasn’t perfect and I’m not happy with all that has been done and hasn’t been done - but the record is impressive and even though I have criticisms, I also have a lot of praise.
I also like you as a Prime Minister. You’re not charismatic - which I like. Unlike Blair you don’t rely on pretty speeches and dazzling smiles to win you past awkward times. You’re in many ways simple, stolid and practical. You’re the kind of man I like to see in the Prime Minister’s spot. I also have a lot of pity for you, inheriting Blair’s legacy.
In terms of the three parties currently in the offing, Labour is by far and away the best. Nick Clegg has lead the Lib Dems further and further into obscurity. The Conservatives continue to be homophobic arseholes and further compound it by being generally unpleasant on all fronts - and anything bad that Labour does, well, they did first and they did worst.
So, I really really want to vote for you.
But I can’t.
I will not support the ever expanding surveillance culture - from ID cards to CCTV cameras absolutely everywhere - and above all the damn DNA database. It’s the biggest in the world - because EVERYONE arrested - even the innocent, even those who never come close to court - have their DNA placed in it. Police are ARRESTING people just to add their profile to this monstrosity.
But even more - I cannot tolerate this.
I will not ever accept torture. Not now, not ever. You could end world hunger, bring world peace, lead us all into a utopian state of rather tedious bliss and I STILL could not support you if you use torture.
We can talk about how torture harms us. About how useless it is. About how it’s hurting our intelligence and justice efforts
But we don’t need to. We shouldn’t even be having that debate. We shouldn’t even begin to discuss it. It’s WRONG. Pure and simple. It’s evil. End of. Nothing justifies it. It doesn’t matter if it works or not. It doesn’t matter if it’s effective or not. It doesn’t matter if it helps us or hurts us. It doesn’t matter if the intelligence community relies on it or it destroys all the work they do. It doesn’t matter.
Because it is evil. It is one of the worst evils we can possibly commit. That alone is reason enough to unreservedly condemn any and all torture.
I cannot, will not, support this.
So, Mr. Brown, with deep and heartfelt regret, I cannot vote for you. There is some stink that cannot be ignored. There are times when you cannot simply hold your nose and tick the box. There are times when the lesser of 2 evils is just too damn evil to tolerate.