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Volume 3
Issue 17 27 April 2002 |
Friends of Allen News is a weekly newsletter for gay teens and gay-friendly others. A spin-off of The Journal, the emphasis is on gay rights and suicide, though anything of interest may appear below. You can cut & paste the links provided. |
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I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands: one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
USflag.org
New report raises doubts on abstinence-only programs"Abstinence-only" sex education programs have had trouble engaging parents and local schools, according to a national evaluation released Tuesday.
MSNBC
Questioning the Big BangWhat if inflationary Big Bang theory is wrong? Two theorists are taking aim at the leading theory of the universe's birth.MSNBC 'AstroMom' and singer vie for space shotAn "AstroMom" is in a friendly competition with a pop singer to take the first commercially sponsored trip to the international space station.
MSNBC
Old, dim stars tell the age of the universeThe Hubble Space Telescope has read the embers of burnt-out stars to confirm that the universe appears to be 13 billion to 14 billion years old.
MSNBC
Creeps, crime and online datingA recent news report out of Japan finds that crime linked to online dating sites is on the rise. Headline news analysis: Creeps and weirdoes may log on, yes, but hey, they don't dwell only on the Internet.MSNBC KaZaa back on Download.comSoftware for the popular file-sharing service KaZaa, often cited as successor to Napster, will once again be available for download at CNET Networks' Download.com Web site
MSNBC
Download.com
Drought leaves Southwest high, dryNew Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson will declare a statewide drought emergency Friday, according to local reports.
Read or submit a story Visit today! Steps to Recovery from Bible AbusePreacher and theologian Rembert Truluck responds to those who use the Bible to oppress gays and lesbians. Get his views on the ex-gay fraud.
Because The Bible Says...the Bible says homosexuality is wrong, and therefore anyone who has homosexual feelings is an abomination to God.
Being Gay and Christian
Gay news tickerThe Matthew Shepard Historical Archives |
G ay Pride by Sir Mugsy FOA columnist On April 13, the city of Phoenix, Arizona, ushered in another season of Gay Pride events around the nation and the world. This weekend marks the start of the 10th Annual Pride Fest in Philadelphia, PA, according to the organizers the nation’s premier celebration of GLBT culture, hosted by international leaders of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community. The weeklong event includes everything from arts and entertainment, to civil rights and education, events geared towards youth, politics, and, of course, lots of parties. Most of us have grown accustomed to seeing the images on the nightly news, or photos in our newspapers, and may not think much of it. We see Rainbow Flags around the city, Rainbow stickers on cars, everywhere, yet this bursting out of the communal closet has only been accomplished in the last 30 years or so. I am not a historian, so my abbreviated account may be oversimplified, but one thing is undisputed – the Stonewall Riot is a turning point in our history and, arguably the catalyst that blew open the closet doors. On Friday evening, June 27, 1969, a popular gay bar called the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village was raided by some of New York’s finest, the tactical police force. Now, at the time this was not unusual and customers had grown accustomed to such harassment, usually offering little resistance. For one reason or another, however, this particular raid erupted into violent protests as the patrons of the bar decided not to take this crap any longer and, instead, started to fight back. Several nights of protests followed, which have become etched in the gay history books as the Stonewall Riots. Now this whole events could well have gone the same route to obscurity as other events before had it not been for the fact that one year later a commemorative march and rally was organized. Indeed, without the Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee – who organized the march to commemorate the event – the Stonewall Riot might well have suffered the same fate as the “Annual Reminder” demonstrations held annually from 1965 to 1969 on the Fourth of July outside Independence Hall, Philadelphia. At these Annual Reminders, activists from around the country gathered outside the place where the U.S. Constitution was drafted and signed, to remind the nation that not all of the United States’ citizens have equal rights under the law. Yet few outside the Philadelphia gay community may remember these marches. What set Stonewall apart was that a group of young, militant activists, who had learned some lessons from the social protests of the 1960s, capitalized on the resistance offered by the patrons at the Stonewall Inn, and managed to turn the event into a rallying point for the national gay community. Almost immediately after the event, organizers started planning the first anniversary march, which drew thousands of people in New York and other cities across the nation. In 1979, the first nationwide GLBT march was held in the nation’s capitol, Washington DC. And now, more than 30 years later, Gay Pride events have spread around the world, drawing in millions of participants. Over the years, the Rainbow colors have become our symbol of pride, proudly displayed on our houses and cars. Amazing how quickly this symbol has spread around the country and the world, and firmly established itself as the symbol of Gay Pride. The first flag was designed by Gilbert Baker, an artist in San Francisco, in response to the request of a local activist seeking a symbol for the gay community. Baker came up with a flag with eight colored stripes, each color representing an aspect of life: pink (sexuality), red (life), orange (healing), yellow (sun), green (nature), blue (art), indigo (harmony), and violet (spirit). The first flag was hand-sown by Baker, but soon thereafter, Baker approached the Paramount Flag Company in San Francisco to produce his gay flag in larger quantities. Baker had used dye to color each stripe, but as it turned out, the color “hot pink” was not commercially available – imagine that – so the flag lost one of its stripes. Whether or not it was coincidence that the stripe lost was the one representing sexuality will probably remain a mystery forever, but it makes one wonder. Whatever the reasons may have been, one stripe was lost from the flag. Another one was to follow in the next year when the organizers of the 1979 Pride Parade in San Francisco decided to show the community’s strength and solidarity in the aftermath of the murder, in November 1978, of the city’s first openly gay supervisor, Harvey Milk. The Pride Committee decided to use Baker’s flag as a symbol, but eliminated the indigo stripe so that three colors could be shown on one side of the parade route, and the other three colors on the other side. The six-striped version has become the international symbol of Gay Pride around the world, proudly displayed by those who are not ashamed of who they are and what they believe in. Over the years, the nature of Pride parades has changed from the initial protests against how the GLBT community is treated by society at large, to more of a celebration of who and what we are. And, yes, these marches even make the national news, most often showing scantily clad young guys “strutting their stuff” or flamboyant drag queens working the crowd of onlookers. Yet there is much more to these parades and festivities than that. There are many different groups participating, ranging from Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), to religious groups supporting and accepting gays and lesbians in their churches, and children of gay parents who are proud of their parents and not afraid to say so. The link below (Gay Pride 1999) shows some of this diversity. This same diversity has, at times, driven a wedge among the gay community. The “mainstream” gay and lesbian rights movements have attempted to portray homosexuals as “normal” people, nothing like the “deviants” most of society believes we are. And along comes the flaming drag queen, as if to reinforce society’s stereotypes against us. Is it any wonder then that for the mainstream GLBT community, these marginal groups are considered a liability, impeding our struggles for equal rights and general acceptance? When will we learn? Here we are, demanding that society accepts us for who and what we are, embraces diversity, yet even within our own community we have a hard time accepting diversity, let alone value and celebrate this diversity. Now, I agree that news programs, by focussing on the more extravagant aspects of gay culture and life, may give its viewers, most of whom are heterosexuals safely settled into the Ozzie and Harriet routine, may paint a skewed or one sided picture of the GLBT community, but then again, what does the average gay look and act like? Or, for that matter, is there such a person as a mainstream Gay or Lesbian? And let us not forget that it was for the most part drag queens and hustlers who acted up in June 1969, when police raided the Stonewall Inn. Now, lest you think these Pride Fests are all about showing off to society, let me correct you. The parade itself is only a small – albeit the most visible – part of the celebrations. There are many other activities, ranging from candlelight vigils commemorating those we have lost to AIDS, to lectures about gay culture and gay rights, and the carnivalesque festivities after the parade is over. For the most part, these are no different than your average block party or community fest – food stands, information booths, street entertainment and, of course, the music provided by whoever the main attraction may be. Perhaps the most important aspect of today’s Gay Pride is that it gives us an opportunity to have fun with people like ourselves, outside the confines of dimly-lit bars and dance clubs. So, get out the Rainbow Flag if you want, and take this opportunity to be proud of who you are and have fun while doing it. We’re Queer, we’re here, and we’re not going to disappear. -Sir Mugsy Pride events:
Stonewall Riots
Gay Pride 1999
History of the Rainbow Flag
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The one thing everybody knows about the Roman Catholic Church is that you're supposed to confess your sins. Everybody, that is, except the church's leaders. First they failed to come clean about sexual abuse by priests. Then they failed to come clean about having covered up the abuse. Every time they assured the public that nothing else would come out, something else came out. Now the bishops, the cardinals, and conservative interest groups have a new story. The problem, they say, is homosexuality. If the church gets rid of gay priests, everything will be fine. But the more questions you ask about this story, the more contradictions you find. The cardinals' problem isn't that they can't keep the priesthood straight. The problem is that once again, they can't keep their story straight. Here are four key points on which their new alibi doesn't add up.
Continued on Slate
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Stop Teen Suicide chat and Dating Problems and Solutions chat on MSN have combined forces to give you better service 24/7 Three owners; multiple hosts experienced in the problems that plague teens: suicide, relationships, pregnancy, parents, drugs, whatever comes we will talk to you about your problems. Buscamos ayuda bilingue. More hosts needed! Visit today with the link above, or apply to be a host Chat http://chat.msn.com/ chatroom.msnw? rm1=Teen+Crisis+Center Community http://communities.msn.com/teencrisis
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This weeks music is
"There's A Love Song" by Fintan
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