Monday Meme: Poetry

Happy Monday! Back in the early 20th century nice Japanese authors didn’t write about sex, political change and death. But Yukio Mishima did. Life for this gay provocateur wasn’t easy and he eventually died by ritual suicide at age 45. However, today Japan and the world over has recognized the man’s courage and talent.

Write a poem for someone you love in one of our cards! 

Daniel Radcliffe Gives Coming Coming Out Advice…. Sort of.

Actor Daniel Radcliffe, aka Harry Potter, is straight.  He is also an amazing gay ally.  Recently he was asked to answer young people’s questions on BuzzFeed (see video below).  As the ‘Agony Uncle’, he offered his thoughts on when to start having sex, how to survive a long distance relationship – “Skype” – and infidelity.  One question gave him pause.

One letter read:

‘I’m 21 and gay. My close friends know but I’m terrified about telling my parents. Should I keep it quiet or if I should tell them how’s best to break it to them?

The 25 year old had the perfect answer:  ‘Okay dude. I’m very sorry, this is not a question for me. I cannot give advice on this. I don’t know your parents…I don’t know the situation.

He went on to say that they will probably need to know at some point and that they’ll love him because they are his parents, but he advised talking to people who  “know your parents.”

Coming  out is scary.  Horribly scary.  Even with the most liberal and accepting friends, there is always the fear of rejection or at the least, judgement.  Radcliffe was clear.  I don’t know the situation… it needs to be done, but talk to someone closer.

The more I see of him, the  more I like (and respect) him.

Make sure you see him in his new movie – Horns

http://youtu.be/0PjO24-hZB0

Editorial – Time To Let Gay Marriage Ban Go, Utah

An editorial published today in the Salt Lake City Tribune tells the citizens of Utah to let go and let live.  The entire article is worth a read, but here is a snippet:

If Utah’s leaders feel blindsided by those decisions, then they haven’t been paying attention. Same-sex attraction, far from being unnatural, has been around since the dawn of time, and in recent decades mainstream America has come to accept it as something other than deviant. The American Psychiatric Association has considered homosexuality a normal sexual variation, not a mental disorder, since 1973. The Supreme Court in 2003 made same-sex sexual activity legal in every state, and then last June the court took that step of saying same-sex couples have a due-process right to marry.

Younger people by and large take a more libertarian view of same-sex relationships, and that is what has fueled the nation’s shift since Utah passed its ban in 2004.

There are 32 states with laws still in effect banning gay marriage, but only one state has passed such a law since 2006. Since that time seven state legislatures have passed laws to allow same-sex marriage, and three more states did so through popular vote. Court decisions have struck down the laws in another seven states, including Utah. One of those states is California, where state officials stopped defending their same-sex marriage ban when it became obvious where the future lies.

Utah’s ban passed with 66 percent of voters approving it, but it’s a legitimate question whether it would pass today if another election were held. Even the LDS Church has gone from actively participating in the marriage wars to simply explaining its own beliefs and practices.

The tide has turned. It’s time for Utah to turn with it.

Good advice for the 32 states with same sex marriage bans still in place.  Its inevitable… we’ve won…. move on.

Watch: Marriage News Watch for 1-6-14