Pres Obama awesome talk at the HRC dinner tonight.
Give yourself a treat. . .listen to / watch our President address OUR issues!
http://www.hrcbackstory.org/2009/10/president-obama-addresses-human-rights-campaign-national-dinner/
Peter and I just watched his exciting talk. . . and Peter said I HAD to get this on blog for y'all to hear.
Good night. . . .sweet dreams. . .
Peter and Justin
4 comments:
I predicted elsewhere on the Web last spring that the military policy would be changed, because Colin Powell said it was time that the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy was revisited. Since he backed the old policy strongly as chairman of the JCS, it was logical you could count on a change. It ultimately will be replaced by something like "Don't faunt, don't harass", which will applicable to those of all sexual preferences. Does this mean Gunny R. Lee Ermey's line from Full Metal Jacket that, "I hear they only thing they have in Texas is steers and queers" will be a thing of the past? Don't count on it.
It would appear Gunny R. Lee [J, who is he?] forgot. . .besides steers and queers Texas also has jackasses.
If half the items on Pres Obama's agenda from last nght are accomplished "what a wonderful world this will be."
And the Matt Shepherd Bill finally. .almost. . on its way to being signed into law. . .That is a bill with a lot of emotional impact for me.
A couple years ago I was part of an on-campus presentation of "The Laramee Papers", about a revisit to the town after the torture snd murder of Matthew Shepard 11 years ago right now.
Done as theatre-in-the-round, the audience interaction is a vital part of the drama. I played the role of one of the town kids being interviewed. And every night talking about the murder I teared up/choked up without any effort. . it just was all so real for me.
Well, all this emoting now to say it was a moving speech. He sure is a 'mover'.
Thanks for the link to the Obama speech. I enjoyed it. It's an ambitious agenda, for sure, and I wish the president well. Like they say, every journey begins with a single step. The alternative is not to do anything.
Justin--
Lee Ermey is a retired Marine gunnery sgt. who played the role of the drill instructor in the movie Full Metal Jacket. The first half of the film is a portrayal of life in Boot Camp in the '60's. The performance is simply brilliant. Some kinds of harassment no longer take place, but much of it will endure. Ermey has had a couple of shows on the military and history channels, both dealing with military weaponry and tactics. The first was Mail Call; his latest is Lock 'n Load. You can go to his website RLeeErmey.com and see an animation of him that uses his voice, but nothing beats the movie.
I think it is difficult for young people, gay or straight, to appreciate why drill instructors put recruits through the harassment they do. It's a very necessary part of the training process. I can assure you that the soldier who is undisciplined is most likely to die in battle, and verbal harassment is the least he will face if he is captured. Recruits are taught how to survive torture and homosexual rape (not an uncommon occurance). So don't be too hard on the old Gunny; I really like him and his shows, but, then, I grew up in a military environment. You ought to get to know an old, gay Marine and find out what he has to say about boot camp.(There have always been gays in the military.) I suspect you won't get much sympathy, and he may put a boot to your ass.
Now about the Matt Shepard bill. I oppose federalizing hate prosecutions because I think those laws are unnecessary. Prosecuted under Wyoming's capital murder statute, one of Matt's killers accepted a life sentence without parole in exchange for testifying against his accomplice. The accomplice was convicted but was spared the death penalty only because Shepard's parents intervened on his behalf. So he's got life without parole. I can assure you that existing state law is fully sufficient to send these bastards to the gurney unless you live in a liberal state like Massachusetts; and queer bashers are more likely to be executed in conservative states like Texas than if they were prosecuted in the Federal system. Texas has two of the three men who dragged a black man, James Byrd, to death, on death row, and the third culprit got life without parole. A Dallas jury recommended two months ago that a man who mugged a gay guy receive 40 years in prison, and he's facing another such charge before another jury. I would have loved to have gotten my hooks into one of those fellows when I was prosecuting. I can assure you they would deeply regret their predatory ways. But the Shepard Act is in my judgment unnecessary, and I would rather Matt be remembered for some other endeavor, such as the education of our young to stop thinking that "gay" is a pejorative term.
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