Archive for October, 2009

Two Heroes, One Legacy

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Matthew_Shepard_head_shot I remember October of 1998.

Specifically, I remember October 12, 1998. I was a college freshman at Ohio University, and during that week, I watched the tragic news unfold of Matthew Shepard's torture and death in Laramie, Wyoming.

To say I was shocked is putting it mildly.

For the first 18 years of my life, being out and gay was not even on my radar. Of course, I had thought about it, but I also recognized that I lived in Ohio and wasn't sure how out, and safe, I could be. In high school, I was one of 120 students in my class. At Ohio University, I was one of 20,000. The ability to be lost in a crowd gave me the confidence to explore the LGBT lifestyle.

Matthew's unimaginable experience hit me about two months into college. It was a rude awakening for me. Call it ignorance, or call it isolation, but I was absolutely frightened at the thought that my life, my being, could be the cause of such hatred and violence in others. What happened to Matthew forced my own closet doors, which were slowly opening, to be shut and locked for some time.

Earlier that year, on June 7, three white men chained James Byrd, an African American, to a pickup truck and dragged him to his death. The outpouring of sadness across all communities for Byrd's death was simply overwhelming.

Flash forward to October 28, 2009. President Obama signs the "Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act." The law basically expands existing hate-crime protections to outlaw attacks based on sexual orientation or gender, in addition to race, color religion or national origin. In his speech following the ceremonial signing, the President referenced a powerful statistic– during the past 10 years, there have been more than 12,000 hate crimes committed because of sexual orientation. And those are just the crimes that are reported. There are undoubtedly thousands — or dare I say it, millions– of others that go unreported because of a fear of law enforcement reaction.

Will the law create a safer place for the LGBT community in the U.S.? It's a giant leap in the right direction. What needs to follow is a grassroots campaign among LGBT organizations and local law enforcement agencies working together to establish clear, two-way communications strategies and create a safe haven for all people violated because of just being themselves.

Thank you Matthew and James. Your time on this earth was cut so tragically short, but your legacy will live on forever.

 

| October 30th, 2009 No Comments »
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Chiefs Player Tweets Too Much

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J0407434 The leaves are changing colors and the sound of cheering rings in the air. Yes, it’s football season. For those like myself who are football widows, Sundays become a day of refuge and, well, errands. However, last Sunday I came across an alarming and very local, football story that did catch my eye.

Though the Kansas City Chiefs aren’t known for their athletic prowess and they aren’t regularly seen on national news or glossy covers, one Chief’s player did make major headlines for something else. Chief’s running back, Larry Johnson, posted a few negative comments about his coach and inflammatory remarks about gays via Twitter. Now, I could jump in and talk about the importance of an online governance plan, but I’ll save that for later.

Johnson not only used gay slurs online, he also made another derogatory comment to reporters, after refusing to speak with them. Let’s just say, it was the other F word. For those Kansas Citians, Johnson’s outburst doesn’t really come as a surprise. However, his discriminatory statements are unnecessary, inexcusable and unforgiveable.

Day in and day out, we stress the importance of communications and their role in perpetuating negative stereotypes. Social media allows such ignorance to survive. With so many voices and messages, social media also has the power to positively impact many with just over 100 characters. It is our responsibility to ensure these social media platforms are utilized in a respectful way.

Furthermore, for local media covering the story, please don’t forget about his anti-gay messages. This is more than just a story about an upset player talking negatively about his coach. Media has a responsibility to report the news, giving readers/viewers the whole story. Lack of media representation continues to be a challenge for the LGBT community, and this is another example of needed progress.

For more information, check out GLAAD's call for the NFL to speak out against Johnson. One quick update, as of this morning, Johnson has been suspended for two weeks.

| October 28th, 2009 No Comments »
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As the Gay World Turns…

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Tgif Anyone else ecstatic that it's Friday?

I'm in such a joyous mood. Not only because it's the end of the week, but also because of some important milestones achieved this week in the LGBT community, both here in Ohio and around the U.S. Among the highlights:

  • Legislation has recently been passed in Ohio that allows domestic partners the right to make a decision regarding organ donation in the event their partner passes. The loss of a loved one is tragic, but the loss of an opportunity to save another human being is even more tragic. Kudos to the Ohio House for updating the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act to give us the opportunity to pay it forward.
  • Remember when I gave a shout out to Kathy Greenlee for being appointed as the Assistant Secretary for the Administration on Aging(AoA)? Get this– she's already making some huge differences for LGBT seniors. On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced plansto establish the nation's first national resource center to assist communities across the country in their efforts to provide services and supports for the aging LGBT community. What does that mean, you type? It means that the new Resource Center for LGBT Elders will provide information, assistance, and resources for both LGBT organizations and mainstream aging services providers to create culturally sensitive services for this community. Let's face it–we are getting older (according to HHS, there are between 1.5 and 4 million of us out there age 60 and older). Hurrah to AoA for establishing this. But it's just the first step. Getting the word out there, and getting the right organizations to accept the challenge, will be a huge undertaking. My advice– work with the LGBT community to establish the center. Talk to us about the services we need. Ask us about the organizations we feel could run this center. Let us help you tailor the grant process so the right people get the funding to offer the right services. And, make this Resource Center an incredible online tool with the capacity for social networking. Often, the service that we need the most is a forum to share with each other. Take it to that level. But, let's all agree that we heart Kathy!

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| October 23rd, 2009 1 Comment »
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Ally Up!

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Ally Week Photo

October is shaping up to be a BIG month for the LGBT community and its allies. Not only is October LGBT History Month, we recently celebrated National Coming Out Day and more than 200,000 people journeyed to Washington, D.C. to support the National Equality March. Oh, and it’s Out Front’s birthday! Did you send us a gift?

What you may not know is that this week is the fifth-annual Ally Week. Run by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), Ally Week consists of a week-long list of activities to stimulate conversation about LGBT issues, rally straight supporters and to persuade people to join as allies against anti-LGBT bullying and harassment in schools. Students and teachers are encouraged to sign the Ally Week pledge, which reads:

I believe all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression deserve to feel safe and supported.
That means I pledge to:
•  Not use anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) language or slurs.
•  Intervene, if I safely can, in situations where students are being harassed.
•  Support efforts to end bullying and harassment.

LGBT youth face numerous unique challenges – homelessness, violence, alienation and often, sexual abuse. According to the GLSEN’s National School Climate Study, a terrifyingly large percentage (nearly 9 out of 10) of LGBT students experience verbal harassment at school. Article like this claim that things are no different more than 10 years after the death of Matthew Shephard, yet events like Ally Week and the recent passage of the North Carolina School Violence Act (the first in the South!) provide a huge step forward in creating safe, supportive school environments for LGBT youth.

| October 22nd, 2009 No Comments »
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Sticks and Stones…and Homophobia

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London Homophobia has been at the center of stories coming out of the U.K. this week, both of with jumped off my screen at me. Today, BBC reported a recent study from the Metropolitan Police (Met) that found a nearly 20 percent increase in homophobic crimes in London. There have been 1,192 homophobic offenses through September this year, including the paralysing of a 21-year-old man after multiple stabbings outside a bar and gangs of kids with bottles and sticks attacking people. That's up from the 1,008 the previous year. I frankly don't know which number is worse — a 20 percent increase in violence or nearly 1,200 people attacked!

Two days early, the AP ran a story about Daily Mail columnist Jan Moir's piece last Friday on the death of Boyzone singer Stephen Galey — and the more than 21,000 complaints it received for being "homophobic" and "insensitive." Moir's column asserted the singer's death as "not, by any yardstick, a natural one," and said he died in "sleazy" circumstances. The Press Complaints Commission is reaching out to the newspaper, as their code practice binds all newspapers to adhere to the commission's code of practice which includes respect for privacy and avoiding perjorative references.

These stories reminded me of the false childhood "stick and stones" rhyme. Sticks, glass bottles, knives and words — all can incite thousands and cause immense pain. For a country typically seen as more LGBT friendly and forward, the recent news from London begs the question: have we made progress there anymore than we have here in America? And if not, how do we address homophobia — is it stopping the violence or stopping the words?

Frankly, I don't believe many people, no matter what side of an issue they fall, would argue that paralyzation from stabbing by another human being is reprehensible and against human decency. Yet, words seem more ephemeral, less dramatic, yet I believe this is where communicators and allies must be inserting a transformative message of love.

In America, we are blessed with the freedom free speech in addition to many other freedoms. Yet, we must respect this freedom and understand the power with which it holds. Simple words, possibly even those in a newspaper, can lead to actions, possibly for good or for bad. What was spoken or even thought could ultimately end with the ending of a human life. As LGBT communicators, we must raise awareness of homophobic remarks and actions, instead inserting messages of understanding and cooperation. For these are the message that translate cultures and continents.

| October 21st, 2009 No Comments »
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