Saturday, January 23, 2010

Outrage...A "Must See" Movie


Brace yourself...this ones going to be a long one...but I do not want to sacrifice the message of this post for the sake of brevity. My apologies in advance and please pull up a chair....

this post could alternately be called, "Why are we our own worst enemy?"

In a recent Towleroad article, GLAAD anounced why it chose to ignore Kirby Dick's documentary "Outrage" at the GLAAD Media Awards. The movie centers on outing closeted politicians that, while having sex with men secretely, also pretend to be Family values and work to  block pro-gay legislationand persecute the gay community. GLAAD's response to why they  did not include it in their film festival was this comment:

The GLAAD Media Awards are about elevating and promoting the fair, accurate and inclusive stories of LGBT issues, people and allies that have increased awareness, understanding and respect for our lives and our pursuit of equality.



Outrage is a fine movie and an important one that focused attention on anti-LGBT politicians whose efforts put our community and our families in harm’s way. But the GLAAD Media Awards aren't the Academy Awards, they are about highlighting media that move America by telling the stories of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people - not those who run from who they are.


The decision to come out as LGBT is an extremely personal one that benefits the individual and the people who know them. While there is certainly an argument that is made for speculating on the sexual orientation of anti-LGBT politicians in an effort to hold them accountable for the harms they inflict on our community, that sort of speculation doesn't promote awareness, understanding and respect for our lives and thus does not fit the criteria for the GLAAD Media Awards.

Outrage had been controversial film from the word go. There are many out there, Like GLAAD, that don't feel that involuntary outing is EVER a good thing. However, after reading this Towleroad article I was moved to write about it...but, I needed to watch the movie first and see what all the fuss was about.....Oh my....after seeing it I HAD to post. I wanted to shout it from the rooftops!

I have really struggled the last two days in how to present this...because I don't want to completely parrot the movie or there would be no reason for you to see it. Plus, I had to come to terms with my own feelings about outing people against their will. In addition to what I present here...the movie contains so much more. My opinion will follow after discussion of the movies content and you will see why. Needless to say...GET THIS MOVIE!.... Netflix it, watch it in ten minute chunks on Youtube...whatever you need to do to get it...you need to see it to understand why things are so bad for gays in American politics.

Larry Craig:
The film begins with Republican Senator Larry Craig and his vehement denials that he is a homosexual, even after being busted by a policeman while attempting to solicite sex in a bathroom stall. What I did not know, was that this was not the first time that Larry had been in this position. In 1982 there was a similar scandal involving sex with Pages. Larry weathered that one by coming out vocally against the charges. But thats not the end of Senator Craigs escapades...

One David Phillips tells the story of meeting Senator Craig at a nightclub/bar when he was a younger man. Senator Craig  took Phillips home with him and had sex with him in his families home. After he was done, Senator Craig then told Phillips, " Remember, you never saw me, you've never been here.". ....followed up by, "Remember, I can buy and sell your ass a thousand times."

To me, this quote was the most illuminating in the entire movie because it showed the level of remove our leadership has from being a "representative of the people". People are not a commodity to be purchased.

Craigs voting record is a horror show. He voted NO on domestic partnerships twice, No on gays in the military also twice, NO on gay marriage three times, and no on ENDA also three times. He voted NO on hate crimes protections four times and NO on HIV/Aids bills a whopping eleven times over his voting career.

But elicit sex with men in public restrooms got a resounding YES!

David Catania, who you will remember as standing up to Catholic Charities in Washington D.C.'s marriage equality struggle, had this to say about Craig and others like him:
 The fact that Senator Craig, and those like him, can engage in homosexual activity one minute, and then try to write us out of existence the next....There is no punishment harsh enough as far as I am concerned.
Mike Rodgers of BlogActive, outed Craig in 2006 and figures prominently in the movie as a man with a mission to out all politicians, like Former Senator Craig...regardless of their political stripes.

David Mehlman:
Many people look at the Bush Cheney administration as being one of the darkest times for gay and lesbian politics... but what NONE of us knew is that their 2004 campaign manager was a gay man by the name of David Mehlman. Mehlman worked to elect Bush on a very conservative platform...one of the tenents of which being a staunch resistance to gay marriage. So we have one of the worst anti-gay presidents being helped to office by a gay man who knew quite well what he was doing.

The Reagan Years:
The movie also discusses the Reagan years and Terry Dolan, President of the National Conservative Political Action Commitee. This man was responsible for raising money for conservative candidates and causes, while he was himself gay. Remember that, during these years, so many were dying of AIDS and the president wouldn't even say its name let alone do anything to help. In addition the head of the N.I H., responsible for acting on infectious diseases..himself also gay...refused to move on AIDS for fear of being outed......Fan frigging tastic....

Jim McCrery:
The film also outs Representative Jim McCrery (R) of Louisiana. McCrery regularly sought out men at a Sigma Nu frathouse for his sexual encounters. His voting record is as awfull as Senator Craig's. He voted NO on HIV/AIDS support five times, NO on gays in the military twice, NO on gay adoption twice,  NO on hate crimes legislation three times, and NO on gay marriage SIX TIMES!....but, of course it was YES to cruising college guys on the side.

Gary Cathey was one of the men who had an sexual relationship with McCrery at the Sigma Nu fraternity house. After the death of one of Cathey's friends to AIDS complications...he decided it was time to out McCrery so he went to the advocate who printed the story. oddly..Cathey was the one who recieved the backlash and McCrery continues to serve in the House. In fact, he is getting close to retirement completely unscathed by the scandal.

David Dreier:
Representative David Dreier (R) of California is the ranking republican in the House Rules Committee.....he is also reported to be gay and in a relationship with his Chief of Staff Brad Smith. Mike Rodgers uncovered that they often traveled together...one day apart, and on the government dime to locales like: Micronesia, Malta, India, Spain, Australia, Nepal, Chile, Greece, Russia, New Zealand, Italy, and Jamaica.....WOW! sounds like the worlds longest romantic getaway to me....don't you think their might be some rules about this?...Hmmmm...

His voting record belies his percieved sexual orientation. NO on ENDA twice, NO on gays in the military twice, NO to domestic partnerships four times, NO to gay marriage three times, and NO to HIV/AIDS support TEN TIMES!....but...YES to romantic getaways with your also closeted partner. Representative Dreier also had the gall to say on radio, "I'm voting for ALL the people.".....heh...yeah right.

Ed Schrock:
Representative Schrock was also outed by Mike Rodgers of BlogActive after tapes of Schrock on a gay phone-dating service, surfaced. The tapes contained explicit dialogue describing the type of man he was looking to hook up with, and what type of sex he was looking for.

Representative Schrock's voting record: NO on domestic partnerships, NO on gay marriage twice, NO on hate crimes legislation.....but YES to phone sex hookups. After being featured by Rodgers on BlogActive Schrock resigned, even though he never acknowledged whether or not the recordings where his voice.

Ed Koch:
Former New York Mayor Ed Koch, had quite an extensive segment in the film. His extramarital affair with David Rothenberg before becoming mayor is detailed. Also detailed is the fact the Rothenberg was asked to leave town so that he would not become and embarrasment to Koch... who also made it impossible for Rothenberg to get work in New York thus ruining his life as well. Rothernberg told a friend that this was the the incidence of homophobia that hurt him most because it was at the hands of someone he had loved. Later...Rothenberg attempted to contact gay activists in New York in an attempt to out Koch. But he recieved physicall and financial threats such that he left New York fearing for his safety. Rothenberg later died of AIDS complications.

Act Up founder Larry Kramer makes the claim that Koch did nothing to help the gay community when AIDS struck. He is quoted:
San Francisco AIDS organization was getting money from their mayor in huge amounts. We weren't getting anything and it pissed me off more and more and more because we all knew he was gay.
Koch takes offense at this characterization and points out that he was the first mayor to even appear in the cities pride parade and that he helped introduce a bill outlawing discrimination based on sexuality in New York City.....I Personally, will cast no judgements on Mr. Koch for his voting record, only his conscience can speak for him in this regard....but I do think Mr. Rothenbergs memory deserves better and his story needs to be part of the record.

And now the centerpiece of the movie:

Charlie Crist:
This is the segment that is truly frightening. Florida Governor Crist is responsible for upholding Florida's ban on gay marriage and gay adoption and the appointment of some rabidly conservative State Supreme Court justices. In addition....he has been reported as having relationships with at least two men while at the same time projecting the image of the "Bachelor" Governor.

Governor Crist has been linked to a "Young staffer" who was, at that time, working for Katherin Harris. His name was Jason Wetherington. Wetherington made admissions to having a sexual relationship with Crist and that after his election to Governor he had hoped for an appointment in his administration and to continue his sexual relationship with Crist. The Governor was also linked to a man by the name of Bruce Carlton Jordan, a "veteran Republican pilot". The girlfriend of a friend of Carlton testified in a deposition that Carlton confessed to having a sexual relationship with Governor Crist. Crist himself, denied ever even knowing Carlton... a fact which Carlton's father contradicted, saying of Crist and Carlton, "They were longtime friends."

Crist's exbeard...er girlfriend Kelly Heyniger, was approached by the filmmakers for a comment and was told by her:
I think I should just keep my mouth shut...Call me in ten years and I'll tell you a story.
My favorite quote from Crist:
I believe that marriage is a sacred relationship between a man and a woman. I've always felt that way and I still believe that now. Marriage is a relationship like my mother and father had, like I had....until I got divorced.
Heh...O.K....that comment taken by itself is enough to elicit chuckles. Heres the scary part....Crist is a frontrunner for the Republican nomination for President in 2012... O.O (yikes!)

James McGreevey and Dan Gurley:
There were also impassioned appearances by former New Jersey Governor James McGreevey and Former Republican National Field Director Dan Gurley, both of whom are now out of the closet by their own hand. Both gave their perspective on what lead to their decision to come out...whether it was McGreevey's affair with Israili Defense Force veteran Golan Cipel....or Gurley's decision to come out rather than be forced out in Mike Rodgers blog. Both gave their perspectives of what its like to be in the closet and attempted to illuminate the tortured thinking of a closeted gay man in politics.

McGreevey himself says he knew he was gay from a young age, so he went and looked up what it meant to "be gay"....the messages that he recieved where that it was a "curse and an affliction", leading to his life in the closet. I can sympathize with Mr. McGreevey because I think we all know how that feels....its not hard to go down the road he did...you just have to follow societies signposts and ignore the ones in your heart. Great discussion was also given to the spouses of the men who live these lives and the pain that they go through....It can't help but be tragedy for all concerned. McGreevey discussing the decision to come out:
Dammit...You know what the right value is? The right value is truthfullness...the right value is honesty. The right value isn't living someone else's truth...its living your truth.
Media Coverups:
Oh boy this one gets the kettle boiling. if ever there was the notion that American news is censored, this proves it. Whether it's the Downplaying of gay media personalities like, Foxnews star Shepard Smith.....or more recent attempts to keep Anderson Cooper in the closet(fat chance), the credibility of mainstream newmedia gets a bodyblow here.

The worst example of this is the segment of Bill Mahar on Larry King. On it, he outs Ken Mehlman of the Bush/Cheney campaign. The movie shows the unedited section in which Mahar specifically mentions that Mehlman is gay and then the version that they aired with Mehlman's name removed. Some may call this sensitivity....I think it further advances the idea homosexuality is a taboo topic and a shame to those associated with it. Don't the American voters deserve to know that one of the most anti-gay administrations was helped to office by a gay?...that is censorship...not sensitivity.

famous quotes and my conclusion:
This movie got ALOT of people hot under the collar. "How dare you out them without there consent!" they said. Even in the movie, Andrew Sullivan is qouted as:
I just feel sympathy for them. I think every gay person know what it's like to have your privacy ripped apart.
This is an understandable opinion, but these men are not living nuetral lives...they are actively working to persecute a community they should be defending. As much as I believe that forgiveness is a requirement for a healthy soul, its very hard to forgive someone while they are still hitting you...As is the case with Governor Crist. To me, when you cross that line......you deserve to be outed. When you make the statement, "I can buy and sell your ass a thousand times".....you NEED to be outed. As Barney Frank put it:
There is a right to privacy but not a right to hypocrisy. It is very important that the people who make the law, be subject to the law. People who are not subject to the laws, will make harsh laws because they don't have to live with them.
Rich Taffel, a former Executive Director for The Log Cabin Rebublicans tried to give the reasons that some politicians remain closeted. he qoutes their attitudes to him as an out gay man as:
Rich your a weak gay because you came out. I'm a stronger person because I remain, not part of a gay, liberal community. I am still a conservative and I am everything I want. I dont puch my agenda on anyone and straights don't push their sexuality so why should we?
And on the other side of the coin Elizabeth Birch, former Executive Director of the Human Rights Campaign, had this to say about the internal pressure gay politicians face:

I've literally had members of Congress crying in my arms because they don't know how to come out
I think most of us understand that feeling well but these individuals often consider themselves at a remove from the rest of the American public...as Former Senator Craig's comments demonstrate. David Catania further illustrates this in a comment about Mary Cheney:
If she were stripped of her fathers title, she would be subjected to the same gratuitous discrimination that affects so many gays and lesbians in this country. She is protected by her position and her money.

Why these men feel it necessary to come out against gay people while they themselves are gay was touched on by Michelangelo Signorile, who admitted that when he was young, to combat the comments that he was a gay, he used to help the neighborhood bullies pick on other gay kids so the attention wasn't on him. But as former Mayor of Tempe Arizona, Niel Giuliano added later:
Every act of violence against gay, or lesbian, or transgendered people...usually starts with some form of, very visible, and very loud defamation.
And many of these men have done exactly that, through their speaches and through their voting records. Our lives literally depend on the truth being told. Money is becoming the new monarchy...again...in America.

History often points out that we are our own worst enemy...from the homosexuals in Hitlers cabinet who encouraged that other homosexuals be purged from the Reich....to men like Roy Cohn, another closeted homosexual who helped Joseph McCarthy persecute homosexuals in the 50's...and now to men like Governor Crist who have no problem enjoying clandestine relationships in the same breath that he bans gays from marriage and adoption.....The closet kills.

Mike Rodgers says in the film:
I'm going to tell people who these horrible traitors are...and they are traitors to their people. I believe that....and I felt that it was time to start reporting that as hypocrisy. Not outing people who are gay but reporting on individuals who are working against the community that they then expect to protect them.
The result we hope for would not be shattered lives, but something Rich Taffel expresed:
I think in the cases of the members of Congress...they do change their voting record, because once your out of the closet, your delusional thinking falls by the wayside
So Should they be outed? I believe so...I think it should be shouted as loudly as it can be, and the word spread to anyone who will listen. Especially given todays political events in gay marriage and federal trials. We deserve justice....not revenge....just a simple setting things right. Hopefully we can find that in the honesty of disclosure. Come out! Come out! Where ever you are!

So... thank you so much GLAAD for bringing this movie to my attention by your ignoring it. You have shown us yet another example of how in colusion large gay organizations can be, with the powers that want to keep all this hidden.....I recommend this movie to all my readers.....Don't let this topic remain in the closet.

39 comments:

  1. yes I know there are spelling errors but it took me all day to get this dam thing written and another day to collect the information to write it...I just needed to get it put up. I hope its intent comes through and not its errors.

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  2. First, this movie is great and the fact that GLAAD ignored it is ridiculous. But I have a LOT of issues with GLAAD.

    Second, do you guys use Firefox internet browser? Spell check is part of the browser and catches my errors before I publish.

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  3. As a gay man, I've always held it a priority to never out another gay man. And believe me, I've had plenty of reason to.

    I went to a small, private, Christian college, and was threatened (once to the point of death) daily. I could have easily deflected some of this by pointing out any of the other dozen gay men I knew on campus (all of them closeted), but didn't because of this self-held moral.

    However, after reading this blog, and thanks to you, I've changed my beliefs. I totally agree with what you say here. Hypocrisy, especially to the degree that it hampers the rights of the hypocrite himself, deserves no respect.

    Thank you, and your family, for everything that you are doing. I've become a fast fan, and hopefully friend.

    - Michael

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  4. @ thanks michael ....and thanks for commenting. I need to reiterate that whats advocated here is not outing for its own sake but revealing individuals who are actively working to harm the gay community.

    @Hayofray...sadly...no I use internet explorer. Blogger just released an updated editor and it no longer includes spell check so I have had to go back and do a detailed proof read of everything before I post....I have since fixed todays article....in the words of Maxwell Smart, "Sorry about that Chief!"

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  6. o.k...I get it...my posts are atrocious and unreadable...I will try firefox on monday...after I'm done crying in the closet and drinking alone...

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  7. i have to see this movie. great post bryan. there's so much i want to say but i don't have the words for it.

    thanks for the post!

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  9. Very glad you posted this and very disappointed that GLAAD took the position it did.

    This documentary made me very angry because not only are these people being hypocrites (there are plenty of those to go around) but their hypocrisy is born out of the victimization they have caused the very citizens they are elected and paid to serve.

    Although I know only too well the difficult process of coming out; I can't sympathize with bullies who suck cock and spew hatred from the same mouth.

    And an aside; I think it a bit trivial to target spelling errors on blogs; especially on one that is as consistently well thought out and executed as yours. Perhaps Firefox should include a "thought check" ?

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  10. I have to disagree with some here about outing.

    I think lots of people deserve to be outed, not even just those in the public eye.

    If you are married to a woman for the look of the thing you are fucking up her life and you are a selfish twat.

    If you are openly homophobic you are a twat.

    If you are a bisexual man and you are cheating on an unknowing wife repeatedly you are a twat.

    I don't care that lots of us have been through those stages. When I was 15 and messing up a teenage girl for 2 months I deserved to be outed.

    It is the people that have a wife they aren't actually in love with that annoy me the most. They are liars they are literally soaking up someone else's life for their own selfish means.

    One of Jake's best friends from school was like this. He was getting married for the look of the thing. He actually tried to sleep with Jake on the stag. His wife knew about it but thought he could change, she believed all his bullshit.

    Here we are four years later, he is constantly depressed, has a baby he goes through stages of not wanted to see, and has had about 4 affairs with men (that the wife has told us about).

    The trying to sleep with Jake was the last straw for me. I punched him in the face and told pretty much everyone what he had be doing. The sad thing is that his wife is too in love with him to ever dump him, and he is using her to wallow in his own pit of self pity every day.

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  14. I agree with most people here - its completely understandable to need some time to come to terms with who you are, but its not ok to be hurting others in the mean time.

    Been meaning to watch outrage for a while, may finally get round to it today.

    Also... can I be added to the list of firefox fans please :)

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  15. @K!r!lleXXI

    ...Can't...see...comments...through the tears...

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  16. Really... Spelling?!

    With What bryan post here you check on spelling? Seriously...

    I´ve been outed before, But nothing serious, friends telling friends... But I´m not 100% that´s a good idea. But i don´t know.. this kinda people, I´ll do it... regual folks, maybe they live with a lot of preasure of life and stuff like that...

    I worte this one in like 1 minute, if you don´t get it, it´s ok

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  18. I was only kidding lexxi...wow..never take my sarcasm that seriously everyone...I know lexxi meant it with positive intent as constructive criticism and I took it as such...I think this conversation left the realm of joking into seriousness

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  24. For Bryan and for anyone who likes to see gay&lesbian movies, tv shows or documentaries, I refer you to this forum: http://www.rootforum1.com/

    If you register, you can watch all kinds of gay&lesbian movies, also older ones, for free, online. Scroll down a bit and you will find the section for it. Ive found movies there I couldnt find anywhere else. Enjoy.

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  26. Hello Brian, Here Steven from Holebis-YT-channel, (I don't have an account on Blogger or 1 but I don't find i anymore, so I'm not a follower yet).
    HERE I GO :
    Yeah this is indeed a tricky subject "OUTING".
    But it's from all era's, I guess. Gays (in OR out) are human too.

    As you know I'm in part of the GLBT movement in Belgium-Flanders (24 yrs now). I've seen many things that gays do to each other. Something of it is very perrsonal and I will tell this once in a PM or a letter in the future.
    But one thing is very striking : Gays that are out, don't understand why gays can still believe in Jesus. I get discriminated in my own country by other gays. Even my organisations get discriminated, by part of gay moment because the director (me) of these organisations is "somebody who still believes in Jesus"

    NOW about what you're saying about the movie- I didn't see the movie yet- and outing, the following =
    I can understand your reaction, very well. But
    I want to say the following : We should get a certain line, when outing should be done, and when outing should NOT be done.
    When I read your comment about that politician saying "I can buy and sell your ass a thousand times", I was shoced, but I know this happens.
    And in this case I also would bring it out. This is not human anymore.
    Too much gays marry a wife, and take their secret along with them in their grave when they die.
    NOW I don't work only in the gay movement (esp. the gay movement to help young people), but also in organisations founded to prevent child- and especially boy-prostitution. East-Europeans come here and also Belgian guys protituting themselves. Guess who are the clients of these boys ?
    Nearly all are married (to a woman) gay persons.
    Sometimes I'm furious also about things as this.
    Sometimes I get bisexuals on our helpphone, and I have to pull myselve together and I try to be as polite as possible. But they're making many victims, and I try to say to them : "Whatever you do (mostly it are married men), try to hurt as less people as possible, and the truth will set you free, but also think about others and choose the RIGHT MOMENT to tell it.

    ABOUT OUTING there have been discussions here also between several gay-organisations.
    Certainly in the entertainement business, lot's of artists don't come out. Even here.
    They are afraid of their carreer.
    But more and more come out.(And some have been outed here).
    As for politicians. The or a (former or still ?) vice-prime-minister of Belgium has outed himself years ago. It's Mr Elio Di Rupo (with Italian ancestors). He always wears a red strick. (You should google once to see his face, or on Yt :) ).
    Some people against him tried a decade or more ago to accuse hime from pedosesual acitvities in gaybars in Brussels, what wassn't true. And he survived it politically, and is the most important or most influencial politician of the South of our country (certainly for 15 years already).
    Now of my part of the country (Flanders), Mr. Pascal Smet, the new Flemish minister of Education and Schools, is an openly gay person.
    So it 's getting better. But I'm sure there are a lot more.
    (And sadly just heard/saw the news yestarday : the Roman Catholic Church has a new Artsbisshop in Belgium, who isn't so fond of gays, as the one that has retired).

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  27. NOW I'm coming to "the gay movement", YOU TALK ABOUT.
    You mention GLAAD.
    I don't agree with what they say, as you quote them. BUT 1 thing is very important to understand about people working in Gaymovementhelplines and centers = for a person in the gay movement who's helping people who contact gay organisations, it's not always easy to listen to people, and give them good advice. AND when somebody "a celebrity or a normal gay guy", tells his story on the phone, or comes to the centre(s), 1 of the most important things is confidentiallity !!. So the profession (even volunteers) of helpers in the gay movement need confidentiallity like a social worker has it's confidentiallity or an attorney. And that has to be respected a bit. That's maybe why GLAAD probably is cautious with this movie. But I think that every case has to be looked at seperately : What we hear about politicians you mention is apalling. But in every of these cases the're are many factors that play a role.

    I'm very touched with what Elizabeth Birch, said :
    "I've literally had members of Congress crying in my arms because they don't know how to come out"

    ALSO HERE it's important to draw a LINE, when you know somebody that should be outed or not : but this is a tricky subject.

    NEVER I SAW A BETTER MOVIE WHERE "CONFIDENTIALLITY" of PROFESSION has been so important and making things difficult, then in the GAY MOVIE "PRIEST", (Great Brittain), of a decade ago or 15 years ago. DO LOOK TO THIS MOVIE. It's breattaking, and showing how difficult the line is between promissing confidentiallity, and what to do if you hear about a crime being committed, adn authorities should be warned.

    I ALSO WANT TO ADD THE FOLLOWING = Scientific investigation showed that nearly HALF or HALF of the HOMOPHOBIC PERSONS, are GAY themselves, pushing it away. (There are video on Youtube about this). When they watch gay movies and their penis's movments are measured by an electrode, lot's of them get aroused, what suggests they are gay themselves !!! A kind of inner fear, makes them homofobic. This has to be a psychological or social problem they have. (anjd maybe spiritual : remember Prayers for Bobby).

    AND FINNALLY : Something else, that maybe will cheer you up a bit :

    Did you know that GLAAD's Youtubechannel has been suspended by Youtube some months ago ?
    I don't know if that's a good or bad thing for you :)

    Let's pray things will get better someday.
    And I just heard Luxembourg is going to approve gay marriage and adoption very soon (look in the gayrightsgroup to see more of that).
    Anyhow : I hope I'll get time soon to look to the movie you wrote about here.

    Gaygreetzz from Holebis ♥♂♂,♀♀♥

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  28. Kirrilex, first, I have no idea how to actually write down your username, and from the start you and me have commented to eachother here, I have spelled your name the way I did above. So no, no intention whatsoever from me to criticize you by misspelling, how to spell your username is still unclear to me.

    Now, to clarify what went wrong. If you state this 'Don’t you think it would be more appropriate to post direct links?', you are actually impyling and assuming I intentionally put up those links, and have people struggle to have access to the documentary. That assumption to me is arrogant, because you dont know. And as Ive explained, that was not my intent. Also, I considered putting up the links directly, but wasnt sure if that would work. Also, if people could see the forum, they could look around and maybe find more films. I just chose the way I chose it and yes, not realizing people had to register. I would have preferred if you actually alerted me on my mistake, so I could correct. But, it was okay you corrected. If you had left that remark to out, it would have been fine.

    I dont think you should leave here and I apologize to you I made you feel bad and I will delete my post to you. And I think Bryan really likes you around here, so dont move on from here, we all need this place. Summer.

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  29. OMG this comments thread has gotten really dramatic in the best history of the internet.

    I am going to come in here and act all superior by saying that we all have to remember that you can't read tone of voice very easily and that English isn't everyone's first language.

    Also I love the sex adds! This is the most amazing comment thread on this entire blog :D

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  30. We saw this movie a month ago. I wish all Americans would see it. Lindsey Graham (R) of S. Carolina is another one!!! He is about as straight as Liberace!!!

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  31. Sex adds removed...sorry I didn't get to them sooner but I didn't sheck in here on sunday and look what happens. and seriously...straight porn in a gay blog? I hope I don't have to put the comment verifier back in.

    And this minor dissagreement is my fault. had I just said "thank you for the advice" and moved on, none of this would have happened. instead I chose humor and sarcasm and that is a dangerous combination when...as goblin said...youcan't tell tone of voice. At any rate...lets all remember that this is a happy place, with butterflys, bunnyrabbits, and unicorns :)

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  32. Ok, back form the dead.

    @Bryan, you weren´t out of line, you where joking and i think Lexi got it.

    @Kirilexxi ( I have to agree your nick is awfully weird...XD j/k) Word of advice, don´t take things to seriously, It´s a blog... on the internet... we all know how the internets are... and happy birthday ^_^

    @Summerwen... really? If bryan wanted and apology he would ask for it himself. After all this is his blog, don´t talk for the no one, if this blog as one rule his "All of us has a voice" even when we are joking.

    Now Like Goblin said, we cannot hear your tone in your writing.

    Now.. let´s move along.

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  33. This is my summer camp all over again! In 2001, when I was 16, I went to this summer camp in the woods. It was great! Everything was great! People were great; food was great; the place itself was great; we’ve had some great activities, both outdoors and indoors! I loved it there! We even had our own newspaper (well, more like pieces of paper on the wall with handwritten texts on them). I had a nice (girly) handwriting, so I was on the editorial team. And one day we’ve had some kind of a disagreement: I wanted to do something my way, and the others wanted to do it their own way; no matter how hard I’ve tried to explain why my way was better, they wouldn’t concede. And this whole thing turned into a huge fight — I fought with my new friends; I felt alone, clueless why they wouldn’t understand that my way was better (I don’t remember now what it was all about, but I was completely sure I’m right and my way is really better). Eventually, I had to concede — I was in a minority (of course, back then I didn’t know which minority was that — now that I know I’m gay I understand why I was such a bitch and drama queen).

    Wendy, I’m sorry my English was so awful that because of it I ended up looking like a smart ass who tried to make you look bad; that wasn’t my intention at all.

    However, I hear it loud and clear that when I want to help somehow I should be either extra careful, or just shut the hell up. I guess, I’m gonna have to choose the latter, it’s safer and won’t cause any conflicts, for, clearly, I can’t handle a conflict gracefully.

    By the way, Bryan, word verification is still here (at least, for me). :( Either you turned off something else by mistake, or it doesn’t work for some reason. I though you decided to leave it anyway.

    And here’s the funny end for this comment!
    It’s kinda on the topic (but not the topic of this post).

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  34. Hahahahaha!!!!!!...thats priceless...and so true!

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  35. Kirrilex, its allright, Im usually more tactful (unless I talk to the usual homophobe-but even then I try), Ive been too stressed out the past few days and not doing too well and I actually regret having started this whole thing, but I think it's really cool you and me could work this out, I really appreciate that and you for that. I hope you will stay here, and next time I will know you mean what you say with good intentions, so dont retreat from doing that, you are okay :).
    Can you now let me know what to call you (your name) and how I should write it? :0
    Take care.
    Summer.

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  36. Bryan, sorry this went off-topic and thanks for the space so Kirrilex and me could work this out. Much appreciated. Summer.

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  37. The irony, documentary title: 'Outrage, Do Ask, Do Tell'.
    Well, that's what K. and I did lmao :)

    xx

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  38. I finally got around to watching Outrage. I had no idea there are so many closeted gay people we know as celebrities, but not really as gays and lesbians. But that’s not the only reason this documentary was an eye-opener to me. It finally exposed the real face of a major problem our movement faces in American society — internalized homophobia as a significant factor reiterating the message that homosexuality should be hated and under no circumstances tolerated in our civilization.

    Internalized homophobia was mentioned in Perry v. Schwarzenegger trial as an example of what happens with gay people when there is so much hatred and animus toward them, but this condition, as we were shown in Outrage, causes problems not only for the person suffering from it, but also for other gay people, if this person gets to draw bills as our legislator or to make decisions as our elected representative in the government, and, driven by his/her internalized homophobia, this person becomes our worst enemy.

    And that is why outing closeted gay people in power and with internalized homophobia can be morally justified. The only way to eradicate these feelings is to make the suffering person address them, confront them head on, no matter how hard it may seem. The result will be positive for this person, for the LGBT community, and for the society altogether. As Jim Kolbe, one of the speakers featured in Outrage, said, “When you come out, I guarantee you the experience will be better than you ever dreamed it would be.

    And all the talk about stamina to stay in the closet is just one of those lies people make up for themselves to overcome their self-hatred — it’s nothing but a delusion; and it doesn’t take a nut-case to become delusional, each and every one of us is in danger, so no wonder it happens all the time with people who suffer from internalized homophobia — it’s just one step from clinical depression they suffer as a result of their homophobia.

    Not enough reason?
    Being gay and being against gay issues (not just indifferent, but against!) is like being an American and work actively against America — it’s the highest degree of hypocrisy and betrayal, it’s the terrorism against your own people, those like you! And it is our obligation to help those people understand that what they are doing is morally wrong — by outing them and forcing them to face their unfounded fears.

    Not enough again?
    These people are public figures, they decided to be ones, not us. We elect them to govern our state and to represent us, we entrust them with our well-being, with our lives, so to speak, so we deserve to know all there is to know about them, including their sexuality when they work against us because of some perverted thoughts that are rambling in their minds. They can’t be effective representatives for us if they suffer from deep feelings of self-hatred that they transfer onto us — we don’t want to hate ourselves, we don’t want to be hated, we don’t deserve this kind of representation, so if we need to out such hypocrites — we have to do it, for the sake of our lives and the lives of future generations of LGBT people.

    Not enough once again?
    Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy is a perfect example of this hypocrisy: they (our legislators, our government) permit and condone outing gay military personnel on highest official (federal) level, but they think it’s not OK to out them while they are in the office? All those closeted people that voted NO on bills to permit gays serve openly in the military — they are the ones whose feelings we should consider and spare at our own expense? I don’t think so!

    (to be continued...)

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  39. (for beginning see above...)

    However...
    I am absolutely against outing people in power who do not do anything bad for us — they, just like us, deserve to come out on their terms and in their time, if ever. But when, if ever, they start to actively work against their own people — they cross the line and they no longer deserve to stay in the closet for their convenience because they don’t just hurt themselves, they hurt us, too, and for no good reason.

    And Barney Frank is absolutely right when talking about the right to privacy, but not hypocrisy. I think these words of his about being subject to the law are amongst my favorite citations from Outrage. This is the core of this issue and the answer to the question why is it moral and absolutely justified to out people who hurt us.

    In closing, the famous words by Harvey Milk: “If every gay person in this state came out — came out to their family, their friends, we would win. But that means that every gay person must come out to their families so their family doesn’t vote against them; to their friends, if they are indeed their friends; to their relatives; to the people where they work; and to their next-door neighbors. Nobody else. If that happened across the state, we’d win.

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