Fierce

Fierce....It's one of those terms that has passed from the gay lexicon into main stream consciousness. When some one dresses to kill for a Saturday night out we can say that they "look fierce". Well I wouldn't...but you might. While few of us could define it if put on the spot, all of us know it when we see it. It's that invisible something that makes you stop and stare in awe and(hopefully) admiration. Online definitions list it as having the qualities of savagery, aggression, and violence. And yet there is another side to being fierce, one that has nothing to do with aggression or how we look on the outside and can only come straight out of the soul. It is that quality of intensity, courage, defiance, and a rock solid core of inner strength that shines through no matter what may be happening to us.

It is most often that measure of the word that makes us stand up and take notice. Individuals, who for one reason or another have make us stand up and cheer for their sheer grit. This week I was inspired and humbled by two stories that reminded me what the true definition of "fierce" is. The first is a report about a Pride event held in Uganda..."kill the gays" Uganda. And Second is the drama unfolding with gay rights in St. Petersburg Russia.

While both may seem on the surface to be unfolding tragedies of human rights....they have also both offered us beautiful glimpses into the heart of courage and how we survive....

Breaking Developments...Uganda

Unfortunately bringing light to an issue doesn't automatically mean that change will occur. However in Uganda, it seems to be working even if in degrees. The individuals who comprise groups like "The Family"(total mob overtones there) reley on the fact that no one is watching what they are up to. But when it DOES then they backpeddle away from it. Thats what they are doing now. As Ugandan lawmakers remove the Death and imprisonment clauses from their "kill the gays" bill...so do the evangelicals who helped influence its creation attempt to quietly back out of the scene.

Uganda has given us a frightening example of how much influence foreign lobbyists can have. Even Richard Cohen, who's ex-gay manifesto and credibility have been thouroughly trounced still wields an influence on lawmakers there. but why listen to me...Rachel Maddow does a much better job of breaking it down....video after the fold.

Then They Came For Me...

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me.

Sorry for the melodrama, but today it truly fits. Reading around to all the blogs yesterday I came across an article on Pam's House Blend that talks about a topic that I mentioned here, earlier this week...Uganda and how America has a hand in whats happening there. The article from The Blend detailed a conversation between the author, Maura Hennessey, and a friend discussing the Ugandan bill that will result in imprisonment and/or death for Ugandan gays. While I can't agree with all of the articles sentiments, it does make some interesting observations about future implications if America continues to remain silent about Uganda's "final solution".

Spreading The Light...Uganda and America's Fundamentalists

Not so long ago, America's largest export used to be things that we had built with our own two hands. However, these days, we export ideologies more than products.

Our latest gift (/sarcasm off) to the developing countries of the world has been through the efforts of christian fundamentalists, who are again turning to African and Asian countries to find new believers and to advance their causes. A big goal of the American churchs, is to put gays back in the closet...or worse.

It has already been posted in comments on this blog how much the exgay movement in the U.K. owes its funding to American evangelicals here in the U.S. These churches sure seem to have inexhaustible funds to be able to support these oversees efforts AND resist marriage equality back home. Now there most recent efforts have put them in bed with some nasty bedfellows.