"The violent imagery of Tracy's rant was disturbing to me at a time when homophobic hate crimes continue to be a life-threatening issue for the GLBT Community. It also doesn't line up with the Tracy Morgan I know, who is not a hateful man and is generally much too sleepy and self-centered to ever hurt another person. I hope for his sake that Tracy's apology will be accepted as sincere by his gay and lesbian co-workers at 30 Rock, without whom Tracy would not have lines to say, clothes to wear, sets to stand on, scene partners to act with, or a printed-out paycheck from accounting to put in his pocket." - Tina Fey, in a statement released to TMZ.Saturday, June 11, 2011
Via JMG: Tina Fey On Tracy Morgan
"The violent imagery of Tracy's rant was disturbing to me at a time when homophobic hate crimes continue to be a life-threatening issue for the GLBT Community. It also doesn't line up with the Tracy Morgan I know, who is not a hateful man and is generally much too sleepy and self-centered to ever hurt another person. I hope for his sake that Tracy's apology will be accepted as sincere by his gay and lesbian co-workers at 30 Rock, without whom Tracy would not have lines to say, clothes to wear, sets to stand on, scene partners to act with, or a printed-out paycheck from accounting to put in his pocket." - Tina Fey, in a statement released to TMZ.
Three from AmericaBlogGay:
Kevin Rogers, guy who broke Tracy Morgan story on Facebook, had to come out to his mom today before going on CNN
Class act, this guy. Kevin Rogers. He's the guy who attended the Tracy Morgan stand up show and was so outraged by what happened, he wrote it up on Facebook, and it spread like wildfire. He got called by CNN today, to talk about what he saw. But first, he needed to come out to his mom. There's video of him being asked about this on CNN. It's heart-wrenching. He tears up. It starts at 6:16 in the video below. Adorable. And what a guy. I mean deciding to come out to your mom because you need to go on CNN in order to make a difference for your community. Damn.
make the jump here
The story needs to be put in context. Morgan made the anti-gay comments in Tennessee, where they're trying to ban the mention of gays by teachers in public schools, and they just repealed every municipal civil rights ordinance on the books, at the request of the religious right and the business community, both of whom were upset with Nashville's new gay and trans civil rights ordinance. It's gone now. And all this happened just a few weeks ago.
And Morgan has a history of gay-baiting in his stand-up routines (he said being gay was a "choice" in a previous routine), but that's nothing like what he did last Friday.
He reportedly said he'd stab his son to death if the boy turned out gay.
That was after he said that people are born gay, and he knows this because "God don't make no mistakes." Get it, we're mistakes.
He said lesbians don't exist, they're just women who hate men.
He then took on the recent news on "bullying", and the fact that it's caused a number of gay teens to recently kill themselves. Apparently that's funny too. He told bullied kids to quit whining and stop being pussies.
That's when he added that he'd stab his gay son to death.
The audience ate it up with lots of "you go, Tracy!"
Yeah, well, you gone Tracy.
A reader explains the problem with Tracy Morgan's apology
From reader Elloreigh:
As apologies go, this one attempts to hit the right notes while avoiding being a non-apology. But I note the following:via AmericaBlogGay: And I'd note that Ken Mehlman has actually DONE something to make up for it. He's raised a ton of money, and lobbied Republicans directly, for marriage equality.
No attempt to dispute the content of the reported remarks. That being the case, this apology is not sufficient given the depth of hatred, bordering on incitement, contained in those remarks.
He apologizes for his "choice of words". I'm left scratching my head, wondering what possible words could have made the ideas expressed funny, in any context. None come to mind.
Morgan states that he "went too far". This leads me to question why he went there at all.
So here's the message I'd like to get across to Tracy Morgan, and those who would emulate him:
The pain and suffering that so many gay men and lesbians have experienced at the hands of bullies and murderers is NOT a subject to be exploited for comedic purposes. We were not put on this earth for your entertainment. We will not be your punching bag, and we're not going to stand for being your punchline, either.
Sometimes saying that your sorry isn't enough. Sometimes even saying it and really meaning it is likewise insufficient.
Consider for a moment the case of Ken Mehlman - a gay man whose role in campaigns against legal marriage for same-sex couples has made it impossible for many in the LGBT communities to forgive him.
Tracy Morgan, in some ways what you've done may be even worse than Ken Mehlman's actions. You've advocated, through your "poor choice of words", the murder - MURDER - of a gay son. Granted, a hypothetical son, but it's exactly the kind of thing that contributes to an already hostile environment for persons of same-sex orientation; one in which real murders, beatings and other abuse happen far too often.
So don't think that you deserve to expect our forgiveness. You haven't begun to convince us of that.
"30 Rock" star Tracy Morgan in serious trouble after saying he'd kill his son if he turned out gay
He's in hot water, and his apology today is not being accepted by anyone.And Morgan has a history of gay-baiting in his stand-up routines (he said being gay was a "choice" in a previous routine), but that's nothing like what he did last Friday.
He reportedly said he'd stab his son to death if the boy turned out gay.
That was after he said that people are born gay, and he knows this because "God don't make no mistakes." Get it, we're mistakes.
He said lesbians don't exist, they're just women who hate men.
He then took on the recent news on "bullying", and the fact that it's caused a number of gay teens to recently kill themselves. Apparently that's funny too. He told bullied kids to quit whining and stop being pussies.
That's when he added that he'd stab his gay son to death.
The audience ate it up with lots of "you go, Tracy!"
Yeah, well, you gone Tracy.
Friday, June 10, 2011
via jmg: Friendly Voices - Gwyneth Paltrow
"A few months ago, in the heat of the tragic teen suicides that came about from intolerance of homosexuality, I saw a man on television who was apologizing for wishing death on gays from his facebook page. This member of an Arkansas school board was contrite for the violence in his words, but maintained that his values pertaining to homosexuality would remain, as he felt homosexuality was condemned in the bible. This concept, while foreign to me, is interesting, as it used to justify so much judgement and separation in our society. When my daughter came home from school one day saying that a classmate had two mommies, my response was, 'Two mommies? How lucky is she?!' What does it actually say in the bible that will cause some people to be upset by my line of thinking? Happy pride." - Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow, writing on her personal blog.Thursday, June 9, 2011
Via JMG: Cristina and Monica explain how DOMA rips married, binational couples apart
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Cristina and Monica explain how DOMA rips married, binational couples apart
There's more info. on the issue of binational married couples at Stop The Deportations.
Related posts on AMERICAblog Gay:
Via JMG: Target shareholders pummel CEO with questions about anti-gay donation
Probably not what the Target CEO expected at his shareholder meeting:
Several shareholders and shoppers were disappointed after Target donated money to the group. Musician Lady Gaga, who supports gay rights, walked away from plans to sell a special album at Target in early 2011.We would love to know Target isn't going to give any more anti-gay donations, especially with the anti-gay marriage amendment on the ballot in 2012.
Bill de Blasio, New York City public advocate and trustee of the New York City employees retirement system, which holds about $50 million in Target shares, said on Tuesday that he is "deeply concerned" when he sees those pension investments used unwisely.
A number of shareholders at Wednesday's meeting echoed his comments, repeatedly asking Steinhafel about the donation. Target has changed its review process for donations since the MN Forward donation, but some shareholders would like to see a more explicit apology and broader change from the company.
"Last year was a great learning experience for us," Steinhafel said as he repeatedly suggested moving onto a different topic.
"Does anybody have a question relating to our business that is unrelated to political giving? I would love to hear any question related to something else," Steinhafel said (emphasis added).
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Via JMG: Increased Health Risks For LGBT Youth
According to a just-released study, LGBT youth tend to take greater risks with their health than do their heterosexual counterparts.
High school students who identify as being gay, lesbian, or bisexual are more likely than heterosexual students to smoke, drink alcohol, use drugs, and take part in violent and suicidal behaviors, a CDC survey shows. CDC researchers analyzed survey results from about 156,000 high school students. "This report should be a wake-up call for families, schools, and communities that we need to do a much better job of supporting these young people," Howard Wechsler, EdD, MPH, of the CDC, says in a news release. "Any effort to promote adolescent health and safety must take into account the additional stressors these youth experience because of their sexual orientation, such as stigma, discrimination and victimization."Anti-gay groups will, of course, leap upon this latest study without noting their own complicity in the "stigma, discrimination and victimization" noted above.
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