Charter for Compassion

The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.

It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others—even our enemies—is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.

We therefore call upon all men and women ~ to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings—even those regarded as enemies.

We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensable to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.

http://charterforcompassion.org/share/the-charter

Via AmericablogGay: DADT HBO documentary to air September 19th at midnight, just as DADT goes away

HBO: Documentaries will be ringing in the inclusion of openly gay and lesbian servicemen and women with their documentary, "The Strange History of Don't Ask Don't Tell." It is to air on September 19th at midnight and then re-air on September 20th at 8:00 p.m.

Via AmericaBlogGay: Great AP story with all the latest on DADT’s demise come Tuesday

Just a great story  Long and interesting.  Read it.

Via JMG: Married After 58 Years

Fire Island News managing editor Michael Lavers tips us to yesterday's wedding of Robert Scherffius and Victor Alfieri, who met 58 years ago.

Labels: Cherry Grove, Fire Island, gay weddings

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Harry Potter And Homos! Oh Noes!

Televangelist John Hagee, who preached from the stage at Rick Perry's Christ-A-Thon, is probably most famous for his claim that God sent Hurricane Katrina because of wicked homosexuals. He's also called for a preemptive nuclear strike on Iran.

 

reposted from Joe

Via AmericablogGay: Kristin Chenoweth drops gay bombshell on Tulsa, Oklahoma

Kristin Chenoweth dropped a gay bombshell on Tulsa, Oklahoma by appearing on Piers Morgan and announcing support for LGBT Americans. 

"I am a Christian, and I would call myself conservative in some ways and not so conservative in some ways," she told Morgan, which was reported on piersmorgan.blogs.cnn.com

"And I don't think the gay issue is a political one, but I do think it's a civil rights issue," she said. "I believe as a woman, as a Christian, as an actor and as an artist that people who love each other should be allowed to be married, and I know that doesn't go along with what Mrs. Bachmann and everybody that proclaims that, but that is why I believe," the Tony and Emmy award winner told Morgan on the show.

She also told him: "If it was a sin to be short, what would I do? Well I'd be right on the hell bus ... I believe that's the way God made me, and I don't believe God makes mistakes, and that includes a person's sexuality."

One of the reasons this particular interview makes so much difference is that Kristin Chenoweth hails from a very conservative Tulsa suburb, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

I'm a firm believer that any kind of activism by celebrities that forces people to challenge their ultra-fundamentalist beliefs in the conservative areas of our nation, like Broken Arrow, is a very good thing. Those areas are overrun with backwards, hateful Michele Bachmann types, and should be ground zero for positive change. Kristin Chenoweth's statement makes her a heroine for our community, and especially the young LGBT kids who struggle to survive in an environment that can be downright dangerous for them.

Be sure and read the comments below the story in the Tulsa World.

Via AmericablogGay: NYT TV critic thinks it’s time for Anderson Cooper to come out

NYT: 

The one thing he hasn’t done yet — and the lacuna grows more obvious and awkward with each show — is talk about his love life. It’s hard to see how he can continue to leave that out selectively and preserve one particular zone of privacy while building a confessional talk show wrapped around his good looks, high spirits and glamorous adventures.

Gossip magazines like Us and People, and Web sites like TMZ.com follow his exploits, but he has so far managed to avoid mainstream prying. As he put it in a 2007 interview, “The whole thing about being a reporter is that you’re supposed to be an observer and to be able to adapt with any group you’re in, and I don’t want to do anything that threatens that.”

The whole thing about being a talk show host is that you stop observing and make a spectacle of yourself, and that usually entails losing control over what you disclose and what you hold back. “Anderson” raises the question of whether Anderson is quite ready for that, and its success may hinge on the answer.

I've defended Anderson in the past. He's done good work for the community on his show, and never commits hypocrisy. Sure, it'd be nice for him to come out, but I understood his desire not to, and respected it. I think what the Times is getting at is the fact that it was once a secret, but not any longer. At this point, it's almost interfering with his show(s): knowing the truth, but knowing that it must not be spoken.

I'm still not terribly worked up over this subject, but if the Times is writing about it publicly, then perhaps it's time to just get it out of the way.

Via Bjork Espana:

Foo Fighters sing to Westboro in counter-protest

Jay Leno confronts Michele Bachmann on gay marriage

Via AmericaBlogGay: Boehner’s lawyer suggests being gay is a choice. Does that mean Boehner is into dudes?

On pages 11 and 12 of a recent brief in the Edith Windsor DOMA case, US House Speaker John Boehner's lawyer argues that sexual orientation is a choice. Really? Then I guess it's time to ask the Speaker if he simply chooses to sleep with women, but could just as easily choose to do a dude.

Windsor filed an affidavit in response to Boehner's absurd suggestion that people choose their sexual orientation.

Via AmericaBloggay: Imminent demise of DADT could have far-reaching implications for gay rights

Next Tuesday is the day. 

From Chris Johnson at the Washington Blade: 

“They really took the time to train and educate the force on the various assets of this policy and hypotheticals,” Nicholson said. “It was an hour of instruction on gays and lesbians, on gay families, on gay partners and it was a really a normalization routine. It was really exposed to millions of America’s most conservative youth to the normality of gays and lesbians.”

Among the situations that the training addressed, Nicholson said, were gay troops holding hands, going on dates or participating in military events with their partners. Nearly 2 million service members received the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” training before certification took place on July 22, according to the Pentagon.

Workplace discrimination against LGBT people could be an issue that gains new focus after “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal. No federal law exists to protect LGBT workers against discrimination. Firing someone for being gay is legal in 29 states and firing someone for being transgender is legal in 35 states.

Krehely said open service could generate support for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit discrimination against LGBT workers in most situations in the public and private workforce, or encourage other employers to add protections for LGBT workers.

“The military is probably one of the biggest and most visible workplaces in our country,” Krehely said. “I think Sept. 20 is a clear indication that this discrimination should not be there any longer, and that we need to move forward on ENDA, and educate people about the broader workplace issues that we’re up against.”

Via AmericaBlogGay: Are gay public figures supposed to remain celibate?

Shame on the Desert Sun newspaper and its reporter Kate McGinty. 

It seems reporters now think it fine to report on single public figures seeking love, or just a roll in the hay, online.  Good.  Then let's also report on all public figures, including reporters, who aren't married and who have sex.  Because that seems to the be standard for this story - oh, and the guy is gay too, so that just makes it all the more salacious, doesn't it?

Seriously, what is wrong with a local city councilman, who is single and openly gay, looking for sex in his off hours?  Do single straight people have sex?  I think they do.  Do they sometimes have it with people they've just met, at bars or parties?  Why, yes they do.  So is that the new standard - if you even vaguely intimate that you're interested in sleeping with someone else, it's news!  Because straight guys, when they go to bars, they never go looking to get laid.  Oh no.  It's only for a friendly platonic drink with friends.  No sex, please, we're straight.

There are a few things going on in this story. First, homophobia.  How salacious that a gay man was looking to get laid (oh my!).  Second, Internet-phobia.  How salacious that someone used the Internet to try to meet another human being.  Kate McGinty likely wouldn't have written a story about an unmarried heterosexual city councilman using eHarmony to meet women (and he indicated in his profile that he actually might just consider sleeping with those women!).

Oh, and let me guess.  Had this guy been "caught" going to a gay bar to meet guys, then the story would have been about him frequenting sleazy gay bars.

If there were any kind of hypocrisy here, I might understand the paper's rationale.  But what's going on here is that the hetero paper is simply not familiar with how people date in the modern era.  Especially gay people.  Straight people can reasonably assume that most "hot chicks" they meet are straight - I'm not saying they will be straight, I'm saying that in our society the assumption is that you're straight, so no one would look at you funny if you made a pass at someone of the opposite sex who ended up gay.

Try being gay.

Imagine what it's like being a gay man and wanting to make a pass at a cute guy at the office, at the bus stop, at church.  I'd be damn careful about doing any of those unless I knew, or strongly suspected, the other guy was gay.  Straight guys don't have that problem, worrying about getting the sh*t kicked out of them if they make a friendly pass at a woman who happens to be a lesbian.

There's a reason gay people were early adopters of online dating.  Other than a few bars (and the Whole Foods), there's nowhere else we can safely assume the other person is actually gay.  And I mean safely.

It's abominable that this newspaper thought it relevant to write about this.