Asian television broadcasted the glitz from Hollywood, on Oscar Night, but with a slight twist. They CENSORED IT.  From all accounts, when the screenwriter and actor for the movie Milk were on stage, and mentioned the ‘gay‘ word, it got, well, dropped.

Some television viewers in Asia are angry after the annual Academy Awards broadcast in the region censored the words “gay” and “lesbian” from acceptance speeches.

Pan-Asian satellite TV network STAR carried the glitzy Hollywood ceremony in full during the live telecast — held in Los Angeles on Sunday evening, but seen Monday morning in Asia. ( source – CBC News )

It is interesting to note, that there were protestors outside in Hollywood, protesting the movie, and its possibilities of winning awards. And to give Sean Penn credit, and the screenwriter Dustin Black, they spoke out about those protestors.  As they should have.

The censorship by Asian television, highlights that the struggle for Gay Equality is still far off. It is still a matter of breaking down the barriers, that exist, and frankly, rests with the Religious Leaders who help promote this Racism.

Both the Mormon Church & Catholic Church have LED  the fight against Gay Rights, and yet they are the one’s who should be OPPOSING SUCH DISCRIMINATION. It shows that we all love sex, but hate to have it discussed in public.

Why should it matter to anyone, what kind of differences there are between us? And to censor words, shows how afraid they are, of what is really, a natural fact of nature.

Proposition 8 is winning, or so the Polls say and that is rather disconcerting. I do not understand why so many are willing to oppose equality for Homosexuals, or why they have such a fear of us. We are no different than them. We have our bigots, our idiots who are inconsiderate, who are criminals, who are deceitful, but we have a lot more who are kind, generous, and law abiding citizens. Many desire to openly serve their country, yet are denied that privilege. In many OTHER countries, people are FORCED TO SERVE, yet many Gays want to serve their country, yet somehow that is not taken into account.

Those OPPOSING PROPOSITION 8 NEED YOUR SUPPORT HERE.

I normally don’t put up links for people to donate money, but there has to be a place where we, as a community, draw a line, and say NO MORE HATE, NO MORE BIGOTRY.

Proposition 8 & Opposing Its Passage could be that line, that invisible barrier where we say NO TO THE BIGOTS. Opposing this hateful proposition is about PROTECTING TRUE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. Unlike the supporters, many Gay’s believe people should be allowed to support whatever religion they like, not be forced to accept any narrow definition by a vocal minority.

Opposing Proposition 8 means that people can worship as they please, that Churches can determine whose marriage they will accept or not.  While that is what the supporters claim, truth is, only by OPPOSING PROP 8 can that happen.

As a Canadian, I used to take pride in my country. Even our so called Conservatives were not like they are in the United States, filled with hate and with corruption. Least until Brian Mulroney got himself elected, then helped turn his party over to the ultra right wing party led by Stephen Harper, that is now our Prime Minister.

Today the people of Canada returned this evil man, with a slightly larger number of seats, still short of a majority, thankfully, but returned him they did. It is sad to see, because like George Bush, Harper has used every dirty trick, every type of attack possible, while hiding his true agenda, his true colors.

Call it sour Grapes, but you know, the world sucks and people more than normal. Yes I am bitter, because I really did believe Canadians were better than that, that hate was not something we tolerated, or accepted. I believed in a dream, that came crashing down tonight, but it maybe began earlier, when the news broke about Alex Sanchez being rebuffed for speaking at a New Brunswick school district.

Alex Sanchez is a well noted Gay Author, who talks about what it is like to be gay, a teenager, and how to cope with the way society looks at Gays. He is a man renowned for his speaking, his compassion, and to have a school district agree, then cave to pressure from the Religious Right, was depressing enough.

A plan to have an acclaimed gay author speak to students in Charlotte County high schools has been scrapped after a few parents objected.

Alex Sanchez writes books about gay youth and their struggle to find acceptance, but local school principals were not comfortable allowing him to address their students. (source - CBC News)

What really is depressing, and maybe a sign of the times, is how much venom the people who commented on this story are. How vile their words are, as they call homosexuals perverts, sick, sinners, evil, and suffering from mental disorder. How cruel they are in their equating being gay as nothing but being child molesters. That perhaps shows what was to come tonight, as these are also the same people who support Stephen Harper and his Conservative Party.

How sad, that evil exists, and worse, how hard it is to realize that it is in your own backyard. This election was mean spirited, cruel and nasty, and yet I never really understood it, until I began to read the comments in the story. How so many could hate, without even knowing a gay person, without even knowing me or David, how they can hate us. We did nothing to them, nor have any other gays, and yet they hate us with every fibre of their body & mind, simply because we are different.

Government leaders, like Bush & Harper have done their level best to divide nations, to pit brother against brother, in order to sneak through and seize power. People like Sarah Palin who uses their authority to further her own gains, is on a ticket to become Vice President. Stephen Harper who lied under oath has won re-election as Prime Minister. This polarization of countries is an old tactic, but today it is working better than ever before. Today it is putting evil into the seats of power, such as Bush, such as Harper.

That frightens me, as we head into an economic abyss, and it will not get better soon. Minorities of all kinds need to once more watch their backs, as the hate is coming out more and more. To see and read such hate, and to see so many support it, is unsettling at best. Yet that is what is happening, and it makes me wonder, why? When did God become one of hate, one of intolerance? I don’t believe he is, but so many who call themselves his, seem to believe so, as that is what they preach, in his name.

How sad tonight is, how scary tomorrow looks.

Up here we don’t hear too much about Gay Bashing, least the media doesn’t report it, as such, if it happens. But, make no mistake it does happen. A recent man was walking down the street, holding hands, and was accosted by 4 younger men with anti gay slurs. Then one hit him, and he went out for the count.

“It’s my first experience with any type of violence for being gay, but I think it goes on and, unfortunately, people in the gay community just tolerate it because they’re used to being ridiculed,” Smith said. “It just doesn’t seem to stop, and I think, really, something has to change.” (source – CBC News)

What is worthy of note, is that the Police have apprehended one and are charging him Monday, not just with bodily assault, but tacking on a Hate Crime charge as well. And that is as it should be, because this man was attacked, not because he was drunk, in the way, but was simply holding hands with another man.

Also of note, is that the attack was broken up by a group of witnesses who shouted and came to the man’s aid, which in itself perhaps mitigated the assault. There is little doubt, in the minds of Police, that this attack would have progressed, and who knows, this might be a story about a dead man. Thankfully strangers interceded, and thankfully the Police aren’t turning a blind eye to it.

Yet it clearly highlights WHY HATE CRIME LEGISLATION IS NEEDED.

Anyone care to explain why the Mathew Shepard Bill still hasn’t been passed by the DEMOCRAT MAJORITY?

I suppose, given the state of the economy, that something like open season on a minority take a backward position in the affairs of legislation, but why should it? When economic times are bad, this is when legislation like the Mathew Shepard Bill are needed. People do some crazy stuff when they are about to lose their home, or lose their job. It makes them lash out, and the targets are usually a minority. Today that minority is Gays.

It is Open Season on Gay’s in America, and what is any politician going to do about that?

Another think tank has come out, suggesting that DADT[1. Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy of the US Military] be repealed, as there is no evidence to suggest that openly Gay service people will cause any form of Unity Disruption, as the Conservatives claim.  What makes this a bit more interesting is that panel who came up with this conclusion are former Military Leaders. These aren’t scientists, or some Gay Rights Activists, but bona fide retired Generals and Admirals.

The study was conducted by four retired military officers, including the three-star Air Force lieutenant general who in early 1993 was tasked with implementing President Clinton’s policy that the military stop questioning recruits on their sexual orientation. (source – Fox News)

While the Conservatives seem to want to keep us Gays back in the closet, it really is amazing at how this issue keeps popping up. I mean, what is it about Homosexuality that has the Conservatives in an uproar all the time? What threat are we to them? I mean a lot of Gays are fiscally prudent, and hell, most people are far more fiscally prudent than George Bush, so what is the beef?

Then there is this talk about how being openly Gay will cause distrust among the other members of a unit, that a Gay soldier would be in. Now I don’t know about you, but trust is based on being honest. So how does hiding who you are, what your orientation is, help build up trust among the others? Surely if they find out you are Gay, won’t they wonder what else you are hiding from them?

So the whole issue of TRUST seems a bit wonky to me. But then again, remember General Peter Pace, who claimed that the United States Military had High Moral Standards, hence his support for DADT.  Course the fact that DADT is basically telling Gays to LIE escape the General as to what is and what isn’t Moral.

Certainly going to be interesting to see what happens after the election. Will a win by Obama bring about the end of DADT, a win by McCain? Somehow I don’t think it will, least not right away, and not until something drastic happens. All I do know is that by forcing serving people to hide their orientation, to be dishonest, leaves the US Military highly vulnerable to espionage, and other nasty stuff.

The recent Victory by Senator Barack Obama in South Carolina tops the news, because let us be honest, who would have thought 10 or 20 years ago that a Black Man might become President? I know it was perhaps a dream among many, but did the White World ever truly believe it possible?

Given how ‘racism‘ has actually been on the rise over the last decade, you kind of have to sit back and smile each time Barack Obama wins a Primary, or comes close. I mean it is good for the soul, to see someone rising above the Racism that exists. And when you consider how many advances have been made in just 4 short decades, well nearly 5, but still, it is quite a remarkable feat.

It kind of gives one hope about the Gay struggle for ‘acceptance‘ given that our own ‘Civil Rights’ movement is only a decade or two behind the Black Movement. Yet, in some ways, I am not sure that Gays will reach this kind of pinnacle anytime soon. I mean look at how vehement the opposition is to just simply being allowed to Marry?

Then too, look at the race for President. There isn’t ONE SINGLE CANDIDATE standing up for Gay Rights. Oh I know, many believe that Hilary Clinton is a strong supporter, but frankly I don’t think so. Nor do I believe that Barack Obama is what one could call a ‘good friend‘ to Gay Rights.

In fact, if you heard his speech to a Church Audience long before people thought he could knock off Hilary Clinton, it wasn’t good news for us Gays. Now I know, it would be a real political killer if say he did support Gay Rights, and said so bluntly. I mean odds are he wouldn’t have won Iowa, let alone taken South Caroline or come within a whisker’s hair of winning New Hampshire.

Still, wouldn’t it be nice if Politicians could say that?

I mean what is the attraction of Bigotry & Racism? I don’t get why people need to ‘hate‘ others so much, irrespective of their differences? I mean what did Black People do that so many Whites feared them? Still do in some areas, but what did anyone do to the so called ‘silent majority‘ that made ‘racism‘ so acceptable?

Did a bunch of Gays hit on every Tom Dick & Harry they met? Was there some mass sex assault on Mainstream America that I missed? I mean, okay so you don’t understand how two men can have sex, or two women, with each other. Why should that offend or sicken you? Hey, I don’t like Haggis, but it is a National Dish for the Scots, should I now hate them? Ostracize them because they like Haggis?

Jews don’t accept that Jesus Christ is the son of God. So that means we should eradicate them from the World? That they should be killed at every opportunity as some Muslim Leaders believe, and some Christian one’s too, just seems crazy. And yet that is our world today, and then I see Barack Obama, winning in South Carolina, I hear how Caroline Kennedy has spoken out in support of him, remembering how inspirational her father was.

And I wonder, will hatred end in my lifetime, or will Barack Obama meet the same fate as John Kennedy? There is so much hate, and it isn’t based on anything tangible. People fear and hate homosexuals, because of some ancient passages in a book, but they foam at the mouth when they think a gay person will be able to show their love by marrying their partner. It is insane, and yet maybe, if they can get over the color issue, the barrier that people who have about different skin color, maybe there is hope they’ll get over the fact that I can love another man.

If Barack Obama goes on to become President, I think in the short term it really won’t help Gay Rights. There are just too many obstacles for him or any President to overcome right now. But in the long term, it does give one hope, and maybe that is all we can expect these days. Maybe a win by Obama will make people take stock, and realize how much they have missed out on, by being prejudiced for so long. Maybe at last, the human race is growing up.

We can only hope so.