JMG Quote Of The Day

"I am a white heterosexual male. This trifecta of privilege means that I'm not routinely subjected to prejudice. But for a few minutes I got to walk in the shoes of a gay person in a public place. For no good reason I had had a slur marked over my luggage. I was degraded. I was shamed. I was humiliated. For me, this was only a few minutes of one day of my life. If what I felt for those few minutes is extrapolated out every day over a lifetime, then I can fully understand why our gay friends feel persecuted and why they have such high rates of suicide. It is unacceptable. It is said that words can't hurt you. That it is true. But it isn't the words that hurt, it's the intention behind them. 'I am gay' was not emblazened across my luggage as a celebration. It was used as a pejorative. It was used to humiliate. It was used as a slur." - One Sleepy Dad blogger Aaron, whose suitcase emerged on the Perth airport carousel with the above message. The airline has apologized.

Labels: air travel, Australia, homophobia

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: NORTH CAROLINA: State Attorney General Roy Cooper Endorses Marriage Equality

But he's still going to fight defend the state against the lawsuit brought by the ACLU. Via the Associated Press:

Attorney General Roy Cooper says he supports gay marriage but argues his personal views aren't preventing him from vigorously defending North Carolina's constitutional amendment affirming its prohibition from a lawsuit. Cooper opposed passage of the amendment in 2012 but hadn't addressed his views on sanctioning gay marriage publicly until now. He said over the weekend "I support marriage equality" when asked by The Associated Press about the topic. His announcement worries the socially conservative North Carolina Family Policy Council after it questioned why Cooper was speaking next month at a fundraiser for gay-rights group Equality North Carolina.

Equality North Carolina has responded to Cooper's announcement: "The Attorney General has long been an advocate for equal rights for all people and we applaud him for publicly aligning with a fast-growing majority of North Carolinians who now support the legal relationship recognitions between committed LGBT couples." (Tipped by JMG reader Al)

Labels: ACLU, marriage equality, North Carolina, Roy Cooper

Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma October 14, 2013

Taking Suffering Seriously

Taking suffering seriously is an important element of Buddhist practice. To ignore it is to miss a powerful opportunity. Intolerance to suffering motivated the Buddha to find liberation from it.

- Gil Fronsdal, "Living Two Traditions"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through October 15, 2013
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