Monday, March 31, 2014

Via JMG: First & Last Lines From Noted Gay Novels


Boy Culture blogger Matt Rettenmund has compiled the first and last sentences from nearly 100 well-known gay novels. Andrew Holleran's Dancer From The Dance, for example, opens and closes this way: First: "Ecstasy, it's finally spring down here on the Chattahoochee—the azaleas are in bloom, and everyone is dying of cancer. Last: “Go out dancing tonight, my dear, and go home with someone, and if the love doesn't last beyond the morning, then know I love you." Of all the novels cited, Larry Kramer's opening line in Faggots is the one I remember best: "There are 2,556,596 faggots in the New York City area." Hit the link for an enjoyable time-waster.


Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: Employment Protections Map


 
Lambda Legal notes:
All government employees are protected by the U.S. Constitution against irrational discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. In addition, some measure of protection already exists under Title VII based on gender, which has been held to include gender identity and expression. The U.s. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and several courts have interpreted Title VII to protect transgender employees, and the EEOC has interpreted Title VII to cover sexual orientation discrimination. The Supreme Court has held that the EEOC's interpretation of Title VII are entitled to "great deference."
Notice that New York shamefully continues to lack statewide gender identity protections, despite such a bill passing in the state Assembly six times. Maryland will join the 17 states with full LGBT employment protections when Gov. Martin O'Malley signs the transgender rights bill approved by the state legislature last week. There's only one way to turn the entire map green: ENDA.


Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: College Football Player Comes Out


 
Outsports reports that NCAA defensive end Mitch Eby came out to his Chapman University teammates earlier this month. Eby first told his two roommates, both also players, then opened up to his head coach, who agreed to allow Eby to address the full team. An excerpt from his speech:
"I came up here today to talk to you guys about something that I've been dealing with for quite a while. It's something personal that I've always thought I could just bury away, but I can't. We live life so worried about how other people view us that we forget about ourselves. I can no longer go on living in fear, repressing myself because of how society may view me. I can no longer lie to my friends, family and teammates. It's time I lived life for myself for a change. With that being said, I am ready to share with you all that I am gay. It has taken me years to accept myself for who I truly am, so it's irrational to expect everybody to unconditionally accept me right away. However, the one thing that I hope that I can count on from each of you, my teammates, is your respect. Your respect as a friend, your respect as a teammate, and your respect as a man."
According to the above-linked report, the team applauded Eby's revelation.  Athlete Ally founder Hudson Taylor reacts via press release:
"Mitch is demonstrating great courage and leadership by publicly coming out as gay while still actively playing college football. While the decision to take this step is a deeply personal one, it impacts countless other young closeted athletes who will wrestle with how to compete and live their lives authentically. Today represents another important step in making sports a welcoming environment for all."

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Daily Dharma


The Nature of Anger | March 31, 2014

Because we imagine anger is never a good thing, it is easy to think we should practice simply not being angry. But that approach is too general and abstract. It’s important for each of us to be precise, to be real, to be personal and honest, to find out exactly what my anger is. To do that we need to ask ourselves lots of questions about its actual nature. 
 
—Nancy Baker, "Precious Energy"
 

Via Tricycle

March 31, 2014 | New at Tricycle: We continue our ongoing mission to eliminate Buddha misquotes; a visit to S. N. Goenka in 1970s India; Roshi Pat Enkyo O'Hara gets intimate; we host an Enlightening Conversation; and we offer you a last chance to watch Souls of Zen, our Film Club selection this month. 


MAGAZINE: WHAT THE BUDDHA NEVER SAID
There are lots of fake Buddha quotes floating around, but the granddaddy of them all is “There is no self.” Theravada Buddhist monk Thanissaro Bhikkhu goes all the way back to ancient India’s debate culture to explain the origins of this dubious quote.

Via JMG: Mozilla: We Support Marriage Equality


Internet giant Mozilla, the makers of the popular Firefox browser, have issued a statement which emphasizes their support for same-sex marriage. Controversy erupted last week when Mozilla appointed CEO Brendan Eich, who in 2008 donated to the backers of Proposition 8. An excerpt from the statement:
Mozilla’s mission is to make the Web more open so that humanity is stronger, more inclusive and more just. This is why Mozilla supports equality for all, including marriage equality for LGBT couples. No matter who you are or who you love, everyone deserves the same rights and to be treated equally. We realize that not everyone in our community or who uses our products will agree with this. But we have always maintained that as long as you are willing to respect others, and come together for our larger mission, you are welcome. Mozilla’s community is made up of people who have very diverse personal beliefs working on a common cause, which is a free and open internet. That is a very rare and special thing.
Hampton Caitlin, a Firefox developer who with his husband last week announced a boycott of Mozilla, has tweeted his pleasure with this development. 

 
UPDATE: Mozilla Foundation executive director Mark Surman today weighed in on the flap. His statement concludes:
I worry that Mozilla is in a tough spot right now. I worry that we do a bad job of explaining ourselves, that people are angry and don’t know who we are or where we stand. And, I worry that in the time it takes to work this through and explain ourselves the things I love about Mozilla will be deeply damaged. And I suspect others do too. If you are a Mozillian, I ask that you help the people around you understand who we are. And, if you have supported Mozilla in the past are frustrated or angry with us, I ask you for kindness and patience. What Mozilla is about is working through these things, even when they’re hard. Because the web need us to. It’s that important.

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: Westboro Baptist To Picket Liquor Store That Mocked Death Of Fred Phelps


 
 
 

 
Reposted from Joe Jervis