Richard Mack, who with his father, successfully sued the State of NJ over the legality of their gay bar, has died at the age of 79. Prior to the advent of the contemporary queer rights movement, most LGBT people would meet in bars, which were somewhat safe space. That said, these bars were a favorite target of local police officers. As reported in the Asbury Park Press:

The New Jersey State Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) attempted to suspend the Den’s alcohol license in 1963 when the bar — now in the Somerset section of Franklin — was at 111 Albany St. in New Brunswick. Using the language of the day, the ABC deemed the congregation of homosexuals in “inordinate numbers” was against “public morals.”

The Macks — including Richard’s father, Emanuel, who owned the bar at the time — joined with Val’s in Atlantic City and Murphy’s Tavern in Newark to take the ABC to court. They won a landmark 1967 decision in the New Jersey State Supreme Court that gave homosexuals the right to gather in bars in New Jersey.

The decision was two years prior to the 1969 Stonewall uprising, which is considered the beginning of the gay rights movement.

What makes this case even more exemplary is the Macks were non-queers fighting to maintain a queer friendly business in the not so very gay 1960s. Please check out this story. And rest in peace, Mr. Mack.

Yesterday, the Boy Scouts of America voted to accept gay boys as members. Yet, they refuse to allow to have queer adults serve as Den Mothers and Scout Masters. While some queer activists see this development as progress, Michelangelo Signorile is not impressed.

… continuing to ban lesbian den mothers and gay scoutmasters is sending a horrible message to American youth, including the scouts, gay and straight. The BSA made this change to take some of the heat off, and no matter what equality advocates hope for, that will happen.

Please check his post out. I think it’s absolutely spot on.

 

Harvey Milk would have been 83 years old today. In his honor, here is his HOPE speech. And it’s still as spot on today as it was in 1978. “Ya gotta give ‘em hope!”

They have created a VERY funny parody of the Village People’s hit song YCMA and also managed to teach the sad tale of Edie Windsor at the same time.

I wonder if Justice Scalia will be watching??

HT: Joe.My.God.

I’ve really been doing a lousy job of maintaining this blog. Additionally, my scholarly writing has been taking a big hit as of late. Over the last few months, while the switch to Enbrel has helped, I had a major failure trying to taper Prednisone (aka “Satan’s tic tacs”) that made me as sick as I was prior to starting treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. For example, in March, I was falling asleep while driving–always a very bad sign. The ensuing weeks of being sick as a little yellow dog has forced me to sit down and make some hard realizations and decisions.

1. I have gone from having early stage Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)  to severe and aggressive RA in a fairly short amount of time. To wit: Over the Christmas holiday, a nephew who is a baby medical student helpfully pointed out all of the joint damage in my hands. He had just had the rheumatology unit and was more than eager to share ALL that he had learned (like an over-eager puppy–*SIGH!*). And last year, my podiatrist promised me that I would keep a “functional foot.” As my toes now move towards becoming joint origami, I now have a much better understanding of what that promise actually entails.1

2. While feeling horrible during this March and April, I decided to look at the long-term outcomes for folks with RA, and have had some hard “come to science,” as opposed to “come to Jesus,” moments. RA does eventually kill, reducing your life-span of 3-15 years on average,  but first you get to have nifty neato joint replacements and, if you’re really unlucky, cardiac-vascular events (heart attack, stroke, etc.). Stroke is what eventually killed my Grandma who had RA (at age 80), though she started having mini-strokes about 3 years before she passed. Last year, I joked with colleagues that I was saying “no” to professional opportunities because “they weren’t worth a hip replacement.” Unfortunately, today that looks like a more benign outcome. Also, the disability data are dismal. Of everyone who is diagnosed today with RA, 30% will be on permanent disability in 4 years. That percentage goes to 60% in 10 years. So, time is not on my side with an incurable and progressive disease. I need to do all that I can to avoid becoming very ill and to delay becoming permanently disabled and unable to work.

3. Last year, my orthopedist wisely banned all professional travel–permanently. At the time, I was utterly appalled since the research conventions, where one presents their research for critique, is the expectation for professors. But, she was and is correct. I’m really too sick, and will always be too sick, to ever participate again. To be blunt, the conventions are not worth a hip replacement–much less a stroke. Fortunately, I’m blessed with smart and ambitious doctoral students. So, I am increasingly co-authoring with them and they will go to the conventions and present.

4. Clearly, the days of researching and writing for hours on end during the academic year are, well, at an end. I can teach and I can coach dissertations, but if I have anything extra to do on that specific day (like complicated business meetings, medical appointments, LOTS of reading, writing, etc.), I will crash the next day. Consequently, the “wages of sin” include bone crushing fatigue and pain after enduring the 3 AM joint flare from hell–it feels like my bones have been set on fire. If I have too many of these “crashes” in a row, I will become dreadfully ill (think of the worst combination of flu, bone-crushing pain, mononucleosis, and a hangover–for weeks on end). My summers are now reserved for writing when I can, since I’m clearly too sick to write during the academic year.

5. Yet, what has really helped me think things through has been the example set by the best teacher I will ever have, Nathen E. Jones (“Doc” Jones, for those in the know). But that story is for my next blog post. Stay tuned!

Notes

1. Lots of surgery–WHEE!!!

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on March 26, 2013, in the case testing the Constitutionality of CA Proposition 8, the state constitutional amendment banning marriage equity in California. Quite a number of professional and research organizations have filed Amicus Briefs with the Court, detailing the benefits of marriage equity, especial to children. From the Organization of American Historians, to the American Sociological Association, to the National Education Association, have all chimed in on the side of equity and justice.*

BUT NOT AERA.

Now, the leadership of AERA will justify its SHAMEFUL silence as remaining “above politics.” This in and of itself is CLEARLY a political stance. The research is overwhelming regarding the harm, and in particular, the harm to children, inflicted by anti-queer legislation. Nevertheless, much like the Reagan-era executive branch, AERA would rather be on the WRONG side of science, the WRONG side of social justice, and the WRONG side of history than take a research stand that could be remotely seen as pro-queer. As I wrote in September 2010:

The extant research is clear that queer children suffer enormous physical and emotional violence in many US public schools. That AERA, as a collective body, is afraid of being “soiled” by being involved with advocacy for queer American school children misses the reality that they/we already are quite morally filthy by remaining silent in light of decades of the dismal data. I’ve asked this question repeatedly, but so far, to no avail: “How many dead queer kids will it take for AERA to finally give a damn?”

Clearly, although more than 2 years have passed since I first raised this question, the queer body count remains “insignificant” for the AERA boo-bahs. *SIGH!* How awful that I belong to organization that remains committed to homophobia that is strongly reminiscent of the Reagan era. To that end, I will remind the AERA boo-bahs that their continued SILENCE=DEATH.

* Additionally, The American Psychological Association, The American Medical Association, The American Academy Of Pediatrics, The California Medical Association, The American Psychiatric Association, The American Psychoanalytic Association, The American Association For Marriage and Family Therapy, The National Association Of Social Workers and Its California Chapter, and The California Psychological Association, have all filed a joint Amicus Brief. So have NFL players. Chris Kluwe and Brendon Ayanbadejo.

UPDATE:

The American Sociological Association’s Amicus Brief to the Supreme Court is simply terrific.  It totally destroys the anti-queer parent study by Mark Regnerus. In fact, it will be nearly impossible for the haters to use the Regnerus study in future legal filings or in testimony without inviting some pretty intense methodological spankings. This is something that AERA *SHOULD* have done, *COULD* have easily done—but it doesn’t “do politics.” The conclusion from ASA’s brief just is terrific.

CONCLUSION

The social science consensus is both conclusive and clear: children fare just as well when they are raised by same-sex parents as when they are raised by opposite-sex parents. This consensus holds true across a wide range of child outcome indicators and is supported by numerous nationally representative studies. Accordingly, assuming that either DOMA or Proposition 8 has any effect on whether children are raised by opposite-sex or same-sex parents, there is no basis to prefer opposite-sex parents over same-sex parents and neither DOMA nor Proposition 8 is justified. The research supports the conclusion that extension of marriage rights to same-sex couples has the potential to improve child wellbeing insofar as the institution of marriage may provide social and legal support to families and enhances family stability, key drivers of positive child outcomes. The Regnerus study and other studies relied on by BLAG, the Proposition 8 Proponents, and their amici provide no basis for their arguments, because they do not directly examine the wellbeing of children raised by same-sex parents.

These studies therefore do not undermine the consensus from the social science research and do not establish a “common sense” basis for DOMA or Proposition 8.

By stunning contrast, it’s clear that AERA is perfectly fine with being on the WRONG side of science, the WRONG side of social justice, and the WRONG side of history. Just pathetic……

HT: Alvin McEwen.

I’ve entered the “dissertation season” so things are just a tad hectic. That said, in honor of all of my queer brothers and sisters, here’s a lovely version of Leonard Bernstein’s “Glitter and be Gay” (from Candide) as performed by Kristin Chenoweth. I think it may be the best performance I’ve seen of this piece.

ENJOY!

Well, in Sullivan, Indiana, not so much. It appears that some local parents are fairly freaked out that queers would be allowed to go to their public school prom as couples! (the horror!). So, a few more unenlightened souls have decided to sponsor a separate prom lest their little darlings be contaminated by the mere presence of same-sex couples at the prom.

Dan Savage is all OVER this.

According to a local public school teacher, Diane Medley:

Diana Medley is a special education teacher in town. She doesn’t believe anyone is born gay.

“I believe that it was life circumstances and they chose to be that way; God created everyone equal,” said Medley.

“Homosexual students come to me with their problems, and I don’t agree with them, but I care about them. It’s the same thing with my special needs kids, I think God puts everyone in our lives for a reason,” said Madley.

“‘So the same goes for gays? Do you think they have a purpose in life?’ No I honestly don’t. Sorry, but I don’t. I don’t understand it. A gay person isn’t going to come up and make some change unless it’s to realize that it was a choice and they’re choosing God,” said Medley.

This public school educator doesn’t believe “gays” have a purpose in life.” Yup, that’s some Christian love she’s got going on there. Would she have the same feelings about students with special needs? Jewish students? African American students?

There is some very good news in the midst of this homophobic mess: The public school, if not this specific public school teacher, is supporting the queer kids. It’s a few freaked out parents who are pushing for a separate and PRIVATE prom. A mere 5 years ago, and this story would be about public school leaders banning queer couples from the prom. It *IS* progress.

UPDATE:

The following is just fabulous.

HT: Jess Clawson

Sorry for the radio silence. Besides trying to dig out on a couple of late projects, I’m in the midst of another “treatment” failure. Yuck. So, to amuse myself and hopefully you, please enjoy the following.

And yes. My beloved flute teacher, Nate Jones is rolling in his grave, either from the world’s largest belly laugh OR in absolute horror.

Every once in a while an event so horrific leaves me literally witlessly speechless. This is the case with the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Fortunately, Garry Wills was not struck dumb. He has a dandy essay on events in CT and the USA, and frames things that deeply resonates with this ex-Baptist. Here’s a snip.

Few crimes are more harshly forbidden in the Old Testament than sacrifice to the god Moloch (for which see Leviticus 18.21, 20.1-5). The sacrifice referred to was of living children consumed in the fires of offering to Moloch. Ever since then, worship of Moloch has been the sign of a deeply degraded culture. Ancient Romans justified the destruction of Carthage by noting that children were sacrificed to Moloch there. Milton represented Moloch as the first pagan god who joined Satan’s war on humankind:

First Moloch, horrid king, besmear’d with blood
Of human sacrifice, and parents’ tears,
Though for the noise of Drums and Timbrels loud
Their children’s cries unheard, that pass’d through fire
To his grim idol. (Paradise Lost 1.392-96)

Read again those lines, with recent images seared into our brains—“besmeared with blood” and “parents’ tears.” They give the real meaning of what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School Friday morning. That horror cannot be blamed just on one unhinged person. It was the sacrifice we as a culture made, and continually make, to our demonic god. We guarantee that crazed man after crazed man will have a flood of killing power readily supplied him. We have to make that offering, out of devotion to our Moloch, our god. The gun is our Moloch. We sacrifice children to him daily—sometimes, as at Sandy Hook, by directly throwing them into the fire-hose of bullets from our protected private killing machines, sometimes by blighting our children’s lives by the death of a parent, a schoolmate, a teacher, a protector….

Please go read the entire essay. It’s going to ride along in my brain with the horrible images from Connecticut. And it is right and just that it do so.

HT: Balloon Juice