ISBL Asshats of the Week: Deplorable Pride

We’re the LGBT community, which means all of us, gay lesbian, bisexual and transgender, are community; we should stand with, and for, one another, always.

And, yeah, you can go a couple of letters further and call us the  LGBTQIA community ... Q could mean queer or questioning while I might mean intersex or intergender, and A is for asexual or ally, but we’re still a community and we need to be there for one another when anyone comes for any one of us.

So, please to explain Deplorable Pride, a group of gay Republicans and supporters of _____, protested at Charlotte Pride in North Carolina especially on the heels of the Bigot-In-Chief signing his ban on transgender military personnel.

“Join us in Charlotte North Carolina on August 27th. Come and show your support for your fellow _____ supporters who are LGBT and are being persecuted by their own gay community. Help us show them that WE ALL STAND UNITED!”

Um, I don’t know if you’re being persecuted, Deplorables, but how you support a man who does not condemn racism, and who, in fact, promotes anti-LGBTQIA agendas is beyond me.

The Deplorable protest is in response to Charlotte Pride’s decision to bar Deplorable Pride’s pro-_____ entry into the event’s parade and it set Deplorable co-founder, Brian Talbert, right, on edge:

“I’m very proud of my country, proud of my president, and was once proud of my community. I’m very proud of my vote. I don’t regret my vote. I will vote for Donald _____ again.”

Charlotte Pride maintains that they reserve “the right to decline participation at our events to groups or organizations which do not reflect the mission, vision and values of our organization.”

Good on Charlotte Pride not to allow a group who supports racism, because, let’s be really really queer, if you support _____ and he supports racism and discrimination, then you do, too, no matter you spin it.

Better still, you might think of it like this:

_____ first came for the transgender community, but I didn’t speak up because I was not transgender.

Then he came for the Bisexuals and I didn’t speak up because I was not bisexual.

Then he came for me and there was no one left to speak up.

Asshats, the lot of you.

NCRM

Hey Governor McCrory? Say His Name! Keith Lamont Scott

With each passing day, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory seals his fate and will very probably be drummed out of office in November.

First he passed Hate into law, and then lied about it; then he tried to divert funds from the state’s natural disaster relief fund to cover the costs of the lawsuit brought on by Hate, and then he accused every group who chose to take their business out of the state of extortion, and now this …

In the days following the shooting death by police officers of Keith Lamont Scott, McCrory held a news conference and never once mentioned the dead man’s name.

Instead, he scolded the media for not discussing the flooding in the northern part of the state and suggested they get out of Charlotte and make the floods the national news story … not the murder of another black man in America.

He continued, ignoring the big story, by heaping praise on the first responders to the flood relief and bragged about how they gave him a blue shirt; he bragged about getting a shirt just seventy-two hours after Keith Lamont Scott was gunned down.

A man was shot to death in the street, but I got this cool new shirt!

And then, making sure he’d be voted out of office in November, McCrory praised law enforcement officers — not citizens — for maintaining order during last Thursday night's peaceful protests; he went on to call those who caused damage “outside agitators” and “anarchists.”

“There are groups from out-of-state that want to cause anarchy. This state, this governor and Charlotte will not tolerate those individuals who want to cause harm to our basic society norms. … Thank you very much to National Guard. I saw people hugging, them hugging back. The best in America that we saw. We saw the best of Charlotte in tense situations, where we had community leaders and members of the clergy step in between the Guard and people who didn’t want to have a peaceful situation.”

And so as he talked about everything but Keith Lamont Scott, one news outlet online began posting split-screen images from the video taken by Rakeyia Scott, the wife of Keith Lamont Scott, and McCrory; they also posted images of the protests, and even of one man apparently trying to clean tear gas from his eyes.

All this was shown while McCrory praised Charlotte police officers for their efforts, and then offered sympathy and support to the police, noting what a challenging week this has been for them — without, again, ever mentioning the victim; no words of sympathy for the Scott family … not Keith Lamont Scott, not his widow, Rakeyia Scott, and not his seven fatherless children.

But why should he have sympathy for the family? He’s working, along with Charlotte police chief Kerr Putney, to keep the video of the shooting from ever being seen; McCrory signed a law, which goes into effect October 1, that makes it illegal for such videos to be released unless ordered by a judge.

So there will be no video of what happened, either to prove or disprove how the police say this went down.

Is that how we work to resolve this disconnect between the public and the police? By allowing police to hide evidence in these shootings?

Governor McCrory needs to go; when the governor cannot be bothered to even mention the name of a man gunned down by police, but instead, praises the police and signs an idiotic law that allows police to keep evidence of the shooting out of public view, he does not have the best interests of the people of North Carolina.

He needs to go, North Carolina, and you can do it.

NCRM

Wells Fargo Lights Up Charlotte Highrise In Support Of Trans Rights

Wells Fargo not only signed that open letter from major corporations demanding the repeal of North Carolina‘s new anti-LGBT law, but they also took their support to the sky, and the skyline of Charlotte.

In honor of International Day of Transgender Visibility the company made a dramatic statement of support by lighting the 48-story Duke Energy Center tower in pink, white, and blue.

Carlos and I keep our money at Wells Fargo … just sayin’.

LGBTQ Nation

North Carolina Passes Hate Into Law

While all eyes were on Georgia and it’s Okay To Hate The Gays Because Jesus Bill, the Republican-controlled Legislature of North Carolina — in response to one city, Charlotte, passing an anti-LGBT discrimination ordinance — has passed a bill that makes it legal and acceptable to discriminate against LGBT North Carolinians just because you believe the Bible told you so.

The legislation was led by Republican — of course — Speaker Tim Moore who called a special session, at taxpayer expense, for the passage of Hate; the bill voids all local nondiscrimination ordinances, and orders that all public accommodations ordinances, all minimum wage ordinances, and all employment discrimination ordinances come only from the General Assembly — the state lawmakers — making it impossible for individual North Carolina cities to pass anti-discrimination laws of their own.

The vote passed the House 83-25, and was sent to the Senate, who took up the debate almost at once — lest, you know, a trans person have to pee — and right in the middle of the “discussion” North Carolina Democratic Senators walked out of the room because the GOP refused to listen to their side, refused to compromise, refused to discuss the issue; with no Democrats voting, it passed unanimously.

The bill was instantly sent to Republican — of course — Governor Pat McCrory’s desk where, late last night, he signed Hate into law.

But this is nothing unexpected, because from the moment Charlotte passed its anti-LGBT discrimination ordinance, McCrory demanded the full House pass a bill banning that ruling. His Hounds from Hell — Lt. Gov. and Senate President Dan Forest, Senate President pro tempore Phil Berger, and House Speaker Tim Moore … all Republicans of course — drafted the extremist legislation and pushed it through the legislature. Lawmakers were given five minutes to review the bill before debate began.

McCrory, right, said his reason behind signing Hate into law so quickly was to remove any question s and take the spotlight off his Hate State.

Good luck with that, Governor, because when businesses pull out of North Carolina, and sporting events avoid your state like the plague, and movie companies refuse to do business will you, and the state starts to lose a whole boat-load of cash, we’ll remember who is responsible.

Now, for some good news …

Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of North Carolina, and Equality North Carolina have all announced that they are exploring challenges to the discriminatory law:

“Today was a devastating day for LGBT North Carolinians and particularly our transgender community members who have been subjected to months of distorted rhetoric culminating in today’s display of bias and ignorance by North Carolina lawmakers. We are disappointed that Governor McCrory did not do right by North Carolina’s families, communities, and businesses by vetoing this horribly discriminatory bill, but this will not be the last word.” — Chris Brook, Legal Director of the ACLU of North Carolina.

And, naturally, we need a grassroots movement against the state, from regular folks; those of you who live in North Carolina can start by voting Blue, seeing that is was all, and only, Democrats who opposed this bill; you can vote out your GOP legislators who used your tax dollars to rush Hate into law; you can wait for Governor McCrory to come up for reelection and vote him out.

For those of you who don’t live in the state, maybe avoiding it is the answer; maybe take your vacation dollars elsewhere. And for big businesses who value all their employees, including their LGBT staff, maybe you ought to think about relocating; maybe you should take your businesses, your conferences, your meetings, your sporting events, out of North Carolina and into any state that doesn’t pass bills making it okay to Hate.

Teach North Carolina a lesson.

NC Legislature Passes Hate Bill

NC Governor To Sign Hate Bill
ACLU Flor North Carolina

Blake Brockington is King

Blake Brockington is a 17-year-old senior at East Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte, North Carolina and was recently nominated by his fellow students to run for homecoming king. The winner was determined by whoever raised the most money for an international charity.

All well and good, you know, no big deal, except that Blake Brockington is transgender. And he says winning the title of Homecoming King would raise awareness and provide an example for other transgender youth.

“I honestly feel like this is something I have to do.”

Brockington says winning will mean the most for several younger transgender students he mentors, including a nine-year-old boy.

“He really looks up to me. That’s my heart. He has support now and he will be able to avoid just about everything I’m going through and I don’t want him to ever have to be scared. I feel like if I do this, that’s one red flag for everybody to say, ‘Nobody should be scared to be themselves and everybody should have an equal opportunity to have an enjoyable high school experience.’”

That’s not the experience Brockington had; he came out as transgender at the end of his sophomore year and while his mother was receptive, his father rejected the notion. At school, it was more of the same, with Blake being taunted and bullied, mostly by the boys, and facing a group of teachers and administrators, and even guidance counselors, who suffered from their own of understanding and education in the matter.

“It was pretty black and white; there was no gray area. It was either they were really supportive or really not supportive, and it’s still like that. … I’ve had a hard time with counselors. They’re like, ‘You’re not a boy. This isn’t your name. We’re not going to call you that.’”

Blake says he’s known he was transgender since he was a child, but he never knew what it was called; still, he has always identified as male, and he remembers an especially heated argument with his mother when she told him he was a girl at six years old. It took several more years before Blake learned there was a name for what he was feeling, for what he was, and for a way for him to express it.

“It was winter break my sophomore year and I was on Tumblr. I found out what transgender was and said, ‘Okay, that sounds like me.’”

Shortly after that he came out to his friends and family, and even attended the Queer Youth Prom held by Time Out Youth Center, a Charlotte LGBT youth support and services organization. He realized he didn’t need to feel ashamed or afraid; he no longer had a need to hide.

Still, that doesn’t make his transition from female to male any easier. That first year was rough, and even changed his family dynamic; Blake now lives in foster care, but says life at school and elsewhere has gotten better. He’s a good student and an even better athlete, playing rugby for a student club at the school and hoping to play for the Charlotte Royals, a local, LGBT-inclusive rugby team when he turns eighteen.

And he’s found a strong support group in some of his teachers, his foster parents, and doctors and therapists who have made all the difference. Next fall, he’ll attend the University of North Carolina-Charlotte where he intends to study mathematics with a minor in music and education but for now it’s all about being King. Blake set out to raise the most money for the charity, Mothering Across Continents, an international non-profit looking to build a school in South Sudan, in the hopes of not just being on the Homecoming Court, but of being King.

And he did it.

Last Friday Blake Brockington became the first transgender teen crowned Homecoming King in North Carolina with an announcement made during a halftime ceremony at the school gym.

"Throughout my life I haven't always been treated equally as a male, so I've always wanted this and everybody has told me I couldn't do it. ‘You are a girl,' even though I've always identified myself as a male."

Blake’s foster parent, Donald Smith, said he was proud of Blake’s perseverance to overcome the challenges he faces: "He really is hoping that it helps those behind him going through the same challenges and struggles."

And one of Blake’s teachers, Bill Allen, the student advisor for the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance, says East Mecklenburg is known as a school of diversity and hopes that Blake’s achievement is the first step in representing what many of the students believe: "Our young people understand we are all different. We have all races, genders and religious backgrounds. We have kids representing 30-40 languages in this school and people learn to accept each other as they are, and I think this is an example of what is going to be happening in North Carolina."

Blake, for his part, wants to keep it kind of simple, with a simple message to inspire students to never give up on their dream:

"They can be themselves regardless of what anybody else says. Even though you go through some things and have some negative encounters in your life, anything is possible. You can do anything you set your heart to."

Bravo.

Transgender student nominated for homecoming king

East Meck crowns transgender homecoming king

Jonathan Ferrell Needed Help But Instead He Was Shot To Death

There are times when the universe seems to align and things just fall neatly into place as though it was meant to happen that way. Like, say, some time ago, when a guy, new to the internet, was in an AOL chatroom — Remember those days? — and started chatting with another guy.

Where are you?

I’m in Cali ….

And the first guy, being from Mexico, took Cali to mean Cali, Colombia, while the second guy meant Cali as in California.

That little misstep started Carlos and I chatting online and here we are over thirteen years later.

As I said, there are times when the universe aligns and wonderful things happen. But—and you know with me, there’s always a but—there are other times when the universe misses by that much and all sorts of hell break loose.

Last Saturday night, or rather, very early Sunday morning, Sarah McCartney heard a loud bang on her front door. She was home alone, with just her baby, and thought maybe something had happened to her husband. She opened the door to find a young black man standing on her porch, and she instantly closed the door and called 911 to report an attempted robbery.

“I need help. There’s a guy breaking into my front door, he’s trying to kick it down.”

She told the operator she was home alone, and that her husband had guns, but she couldn’t find them. Then she’s heard saying, over and over:

“Oh my God … He’s in the front yard yelling … I need help.”

Still on the phone with 911 when police arrived, McCartney says:

“Oh, please let them get him.”

The police found the young Black man in McCartney’s yard, and he started coming toward them. One officer shot the man with a Taser, but that didn’t stop him, so another officer, Randall Kerrick, fired at the Black man twelve times, hitting him ten times. The young man was unarmed.

The young man was Jonathan Ferrell, a twenty-four-year-old, former Florida A&M University [FAMU] foot ball player, who had recently moved from that state to Charlotte, North Carolina to be with his fiancée, his high school sweetheart. And he was killed last weekend by police after wrecking his car along the road and then dragging himself to Sarah McCartney’s front door, begging for help.

Officer Kerrick has been charged with voluntary manslaughter; the two other responding officers, Thornell Little and Adam Neal, have been placed on paid administrative leave.

Now, there’s more to the story, of course; there are some who are calling this an act of racism, because Jonathan Ferrell was a black man and Randall Kerrick was white, but we don’t know that right now. We don’t know if Kerrick fired because Ferrell was Black, or if he fired because Ferrell, who had been Tasered, continued to advance towards him.

But, what we do know are a couple of things — and I’ll say this without laying blame:

• Had Sarah McCartney taken an extra minute at her door that night, she might have learned about Ferrell’s accident. Then, her 911 call might have been used to get the young man medical treatment.
• And, had the officers taken a moment longer and seen that Jonathan Ferrell was unarmed—and possibly injured—perhaps Kerrick wouldn’t have fired 12 shots at the man, hitting him ten times.

As I said, the universe aligns every so often to make things happen, and last weekend, had people listened, paid attention, and really seen what was happening, Jonathan Ferrell might be nursing the wounds of a car accident, and not be ready for burial after being shot to death. 

For her part, Sarah McCartney told reporters: 

“I feared for my life and my son’s life.”

All because a black man was knocking on her door at 2:30 in the morning. Now, I’m not blaming her, much, but I will say this, and hope that people listen: not every knock at the door is an attempted robbery, and the man banging on the door isn’t a thief simply because of his skin color. Sometimes they are 24-year-old former football players on their way home to their fiancé.

Georgia Ferrell, Jonathan’s mother, says Randall Kerrick took a piece of her heart that she can never get back, but added:

“He took my son from me, but I can only stand here and tell you that I believe God is the one listening to me right now and God would want me to forgive. If I don’t forgive, it will be on me forever.”

I think it will be on all of us forever, too.

source

The Democratic National Convention Is Coming To Smallville.....

Well, maybe not actually to Smallville, but the 2012 Democratic National Convention will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina, roughly an hour or so from our little town.

Hoo-ray!

Charlotte beat out St. Louis, Cleveland and Minneapolis in the bid to land the convention, which is expected to bring big bucks--some $150-$200 million--to the city. It will also provide a much needed economic boon to the city, in terms of new construction and other jobs for the next two years leading up to convention week.

So, a lot of folks wonder, why Charlotte?

Well, DNC Chairman Tim Kaine says that politics played a big role in the decision to bring the convention to Charlotte. He said Democrats plan to play offense in the South and they feel like choosing Charlotte moves them in the right direction. 

And they're hoping to build on Barack Obama's success in North Carolina. In the 2008 presidential election, Obama beat Republican John McCain in 2008 by some 14,000, which put the state's electoral votes in the Democratic column for the first time since 1976. 

And we must build on that, in North and South Carolina.

Republicans, of course, have a different position on the whole thing. The North Carolina Republican Party chairman, Robin Hayes, welcomes Democrats to Charlotte for their national convention next year, but believes it won't be enough for President Obama to again win the state's 15 electoral votes.

Think again, Hayes.

Change is coming, and Charlotte will pave the way.

source