Signorile: It's time for us to be intolerant

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 4/17/15 at 3:59pm

The Gay Rights Struggle Is Not Over

 

It's a great read.  These are just a couple highlights. 

 

"It's time for us to be intolerant—intolerant of all forms of homophobia, transphobia, and all forms of bigotry against LBGT people," writes journalist/SiriusXM host Michaelangelo Signorile in his new book, It's Not Over: Getting Beyond Tolerance, Defeating Homophobia, and Winning True Equality. A call to arms-cum-history of recent injustices, It's Not Over is an invaluable and idiot-proofed argument against resting on our laurels and giving up the fight in the face of recently won advances for LGBT people. Signorile warns against "victory blindness" and "covering" temptations, hits back at Religious Freedom Restoration Acts (he characterizes the term "religious freedom" as "dog whistling"), and points out the lack of equality that isn't even bothering to hide in plain sight in pop culture and on news programs, which regularly trot out discredited anti-gay activists for the sake of hearing "the other side."

We were talking about Obama coming out against conversion therapy on my show [last week] and a man called from Texas who is a pastor, and he sounded like a nice guy. He was saying, "I'm a pastor, and we believe in the word of Jesus Christ and I've counseled many people who've come out of homosexuality. They come into my office and they say they are struggling with this and they talk to me about how they can pray and work against their struggle. What should I do? That's what we believe." I said, "You should tell them that they need to go see a therapist to come to terms with the fact that they're gay, and you need to come to terms with the fact that your religion is preaching hate." He said, "No, we're preaching the word of God." I said, "You're not preaching the word of God in 12 other things. Are you throwing divorced people out of your church? Half of your church will be gone. Are you telling people that they can't eat shellfish?" The point is that we need to simply say no. That is over. That's not a debate. I'm just amazed that I even hear religious discussion on a news program at all as a rationale from the "other side." Those people should not be on TV.

It's time to no longer agree to disagree. That's such an American phrase regarding how we get along. No. I don't choose anymore to agree to disagree. You are wrong. That's it.

Updated On: 4/17/15 at 03:59 PM

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 4/17/15 at 4:17pm

Great indeed. The Sam Smith thing mentioned was interesting too. From last year, but I hadn't read it before.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 4/17/15 at 4:41pm

I hadn't read it before either, but it struck a chord with me.  Smith has bugged me since I first heard his overwrought, sexuality-obscuring "How Will I Know?"

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/17/15 at 4:56pm

He's a longtime gay activist, a great writer--and this is one of his best books.

 

AMAZON: It's Not Over: Getting Beyond Tolerance, Defeating Homophobia, and Winning True Equality

 

 

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/17/15 at 11:57pm

He reminds me of me. It put me in mind of Sue Storm losing it's merde cuz I said "eff tolerance."  Remember that?  Bad times.