She May Not Be Miss America, But Miss Mississippi Rocks

I don’ watch beauty pageants; I am not that gay, and by that I mean I am not that kind of gay. But if I did watch them, I might be cheering Hannah Roberts, Miss Mississippi, this morning.

See, Roberts, a biochemistry graduate from the University of Southern Mississippi, set fire to social media the other night when, during the Q&A, she was asked this question:

“Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis was jailed for defying the Supreme Court’s order to issue same-sex marriage licenses. She claims the order violates her religious freedom. Does it?”

Roberts was given twenty seconds to answer but said her piece with time to spare:

“It absolutely does not violate her religious freedom. That is her job that she was voted into doing, and that law is a federal law throughout the rest of the country. So, yes, she did violate the law there. Thank you.”

No, Hannah Roberts, thank you.

Djuan Trent Comes Out

In the last year we’ve seen all kinds of folks come out of The Closet; professional basketball players, college athletes, celebrities, politicians, and even a prospective professional football player. It just proves what I’ve said all along: The Gays are like the Visa card, we’re everywhere you want to be.

But, one area in which we haven’t yet shown our visibility is in the area of beauty contests but maybe one day, some day …

Wait. What?

 Djuan Trent, Miss Kentucky 2010, has come out of the closet this week on the heels of that federal judge ruling that Kentucky must recognize same-sex marriages from other states.

“For months, I have been contemplating how I would write this post, how I would position it, when would be the right time to post it. Should I make it funny? Should I make it mysterious? Should I make it serious? Should I pick a special date to do it? Should I build some kind of anticipation around it?

Hmmm...ain't nobody got time for that. I have written and re-written and deleted and restarted this post more times than I care to share, and after all of that I have finally realized: "There ain't nothin' to it, but to do it." So, here we go folks...I am queer.”—Djuan Trent.

A gay beauty queen? Who’da thunk it. And then she continues with her story of coming out, and then having to come out again, as so many of us do:

“I could write about what it was like to come out to my mom for the third and final time at the age of 26 (the first time was when I was in the 4th grade and the second time was in college).

I could write about the years I spent praying to a God whom I wanted so badly to serve with all of my heart, but couldn't understand why this God made me "wrong".

I could write about all the times that people have asked me if I have a boyfriend and I've purposely chosen to just say "no" with no further explanation.

I could write about all the reasons I have been told I shouldn't be gay (that's an interesting list).

I could write about all the times I talked about how gross it was when a girl had a crush on me, even though I may have secretly liked her too.

I could write about how scared I have felt that I would have to watch friends and family members walk out of my life if I ever decided to come out.

I could write about how disappointed I have been in myself for being an open supporter by day, and living it up in the safety of the closet by  night. 

I could write books about all of those things...but what has really fueled my passion in writing today, has been this...

Last week, U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II ruled that Kentucky's prohibition violates the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal protection under the law by treating queer folks ‘differently in a way that demeans them.’

You can imagine the conversation that this ruling has sparked amongst Kentuckians — those who support as well as those who oppose. I have listened to people talk about "the abomination of our nation" and "Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve." I am not surprised that some people would react this way...I mean, if people didn't react that way, then there would be no need for a movement, no need to fight for OUR rights (ooh, "our"...that felt good).

This is not to say that I approve of the commentary, it's just to say that I am not surprised. But what has prompted my writing today has been my questioning people's constant assumption that a) I am hetero and b) I concur with their views and opinion.”

Welcome out Djuan, and thanks for breaking that stereotype of what it means to be  a beauty queen, for you have the beauty inside and out, and it matters not your orientation.

And since you’ve come out, well, we have some gifts for you: the Official Coming Out Toaster Oven and a copy of The Gay Agenda — with its one-word pronouncement: Equality.

Welcome out, Djuan, welcome out. 

Miss unAmerica? Really?

I am no beauty pageant queen; queen, yes; into beauty pageants, no. Unless, and here’s where I go all shallow and hypocritical-like, it was a male beauty pageant. That’s a horse of a different color, you know.

So, not being into beauty pageants—and not even the scholarship contest they pretend to be these days though what winning a scholarship has to do with evening gowns and bikinis, I do not know—I didn’t watch the Miss America pageant last weekend.

But I did hear the news the next morning that Miss New York, Nina Davuluri won, and became the first women of Indian descent to win the tile, and I thought that was a cool thing. I mean, Miss America is usually blond and has big teeth and comes from one of those square states in the middle, so this was kinda cool.

Until the asshats and the racists took to — what else? — Twitter to spew their particular brand of ignorance mixed with stupidity topped with racism and served with a side of xenophobia.

Upon receiving her title and a crown and flowers because that screams scholarship, Davuluri, who is studying to be a doctor, said:

“Everything happens for a reason. If it’s meant to be it’s meant to be. It’s a win-win just to be in it.”

And maybe that’s true; maybe it happened because we needed a dose of diversity training in this country, if what some folks felt about her win is any indication of where some of our heads are located. See, not all Americans are happy with the win, and some of those who were unhappy, took to social media to whine and complain, like an asshat by the name of Luke Brasili:

I guess he's saying that because she’s a dark-skinned woman of Indian descent—who, by the way was born in Syracuse, a city in one of the fifty states which Little Luke failed to realize—that she had something to do with 9/11. Or that it’s a dishonor to those who died twelve years ago to have an Indian-American wear a crown.

Aly Walansky, another moron with too much time on her hands and access to media, tweeted this:

I guess you’re only American if you come from Kansas, so screw off you other 49 states, you don’t belong here.

Toss into the mix one Todd Starnes, a Fox Radio host—wow, color me shocked—who thinks that:

I guess had Davuluri shot a deer onstage with her own gun, that would make her more American.

Then we have someone who calls themselves Adam of Eve, who Tweeted his blatant racism proudly:

Um, Adam of Eve? You delusional tool? The Miss America pageant has nothing to do with India, and, frankly, neither does Davuluri; just like I don’t qualify to represent Germany or Ireland because that’s my heritage. If you wanted a true, full on American to represent this country, then maybe we should close the competition to anyone who isn’t Native American, the only really true Americans here, since everyone else, including you, comes from somewhere else.

But, not all the Tweeters are ignorant morons; some of them had some fun with it, and so, let’s share a couple of those from Grand Old Parody and Questlove Jenkins:

See, that’s the issue. Nina Davuluri is an American born in America to parents who came here from India. She is not un-American because of her skin color or her name or her ethnicity and heritage.

For me, she’s more American than those morns with Twitter accounts.

Bits'n'Pieces

Signs that the world is coming to an end?
Birds are falling from the skies.
Fish are dying in the rivers.
Calvin is still on The Fashion Show.
Seriously.

I returned to work yesterday after nearly three weeks of scabbage, shingles, pus, and pain, and was greeted with open hostility.
Seriously.
One co-worker was furious that she had to cover for me.
I so wanted to remind her that Shingles is quite contagious, quite painful, and, had it gotten into my eye, I might have gone blind, but she was too busy ranting and raging about being put out.
Seriously.

The GOP is taking control today and their first order of business sis to repeal "Obamacare" and replace it with their own ideas.
Seriously.
But, yeah, um, GOP? Where were your ideas when this was being voted on before?
Oh, right, you were too busy pouting and saying NO NO NO to actually come up with your own plan.
And, you do realize that the Senate won't follow your lead, and Obama can veto your vote, so why do this at all?
Oh, it's symbolic. Yeah, that helps the country.
Seriously.

It was just last summer when Claire Buffie was named Miss New York and announced her 'platform" for her reign would be "Straight For Equality: Let's Talk."
Seriously.
Now, Buffie, a board member of NYC P-FLAG, will be the first-ever Miss America contestant to compete for that title in the name of LGBT rights.
Seriously.
Now the pageant may be more gay than ever!

It seems that after the blog-o-sphere erupted yesterday with the news that Chick-fil-A was sponsoring an anti-gay hate-fest in Pennsylvania, that the restaurant--and I use that term loosely-- has had it's name removed from the fliers promoting the event, and the company is said to be "looking into the matter."
Seriously.
What's to look into? Are you, or are you not sponsoring the event? That shouldn't take long.
And removing your name from a flier doesn't mean you aren't sponsoring the event, it just means you are advertising your sponsorship.
And does anyone seriously believe that a company whose mission statement says they "exist to glorify God," or sell chicken, and has been a major contributor to Focus On The Family for many years, really needs to investigate this?
Seriously.
 
Tea Party favorite, complete wingnut, liar, and asshat of epic proportions, Michele Bachmann is said to be considering a run for president.
Seriously.
Apparently Bachmann plans on traveling to Iowa this month for meetings and advice from political forces close to the caucus process before coming to a decision regarding a presidential run.
Seriously.
She makes Mama Grizzly Bear look like a member of Mensa.
 
T.S. Eliot called it a masterpiece.
Ernest Hemingway pronounced it the source of "all modern American literature."
What is it?
Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Okay, but did you know that Finn is disappearing from grade school curricula across the country? Did you hear that it has been relegated to optional reading lists? Can you believe it has been banned outright?
Why, you ask?
For the use of the n-word.
Now, for the record, that word, for me, is one of the most offensive, and even though I love to use offensive words, I have never used that one.
But to ban the book, hide the book, shelve the book, because of the use of the n-word, is equally offensive. The book was written at a time when that word was commonplace, and not at all deemed offensive. It should be read, enjoyed, and discussed for the content of the story and the context of the era in which it was written.
Seriously.
But now, Twain scholar Alan Gribben and NewSouth Books, want to release a version of Huckleberry Finn, in a single volume with The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, that does away with the n-word, as well as the in-word, as in Injun, by replacing them with the word "slave".
Gribben says this "is not an effort to render Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn colorblind," when, in fact, it's an attempt to sanitize the book. But, when does it stop? Will we rewrite all great books and remove any passage which we find offensive today, even though it wasn't offensive when written?
Seriously.
How can we move ahead when we are bent on changing the past.