An amazing moment of intelligence, humour and freaking wonderful-ness from a punter (Okay--I don't know what that is...) for the Vikings (Okay--I don't know who they are....)
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You think, make a decision...
I read that politician's comment yesterday and (again) was bowled over by how little understanding so many elected officials have of the constitution, their job, and basic commons sense.
And the dude is a democrat. Just going to show once again that stupidity is bi-partisan.
'There are three sides to every story. My side, your side, and the truth. And no one is lying. Memories shared serve each one differently'
-Robert Evans-
PB--I bought his jersey from an official NFL vendor and I've e-mailed the story to everybody in my contacts. What else can an eager and able-bodied Man do to be an >ahem< athletic supporter???
(Please don't make me go to Minnesota....)
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You think, make a decision...
Just when I thought I couldn't love this Man any more than I do, I found this picture of some of Chris Kluwe's favorite books that he tweeted during last year's NFL lockout.
He reads Charles Yu! To paraphrase my favorite Phyllis Rogers Stone quote--I think I may have an aneurysm...
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You think, make a decision...
Again, like Playbilly said, this is always major news when a male professional athlete steps up to just be pro-gay rights. Very few sports teams did an 'It Gets Better' video and some teams just turned to doing anti-bullying largely because taking such a stand toward a specific anti-gay directed bullying was too out of players' 'comfort zone'. Homophobia is a notably rampant part of the professional jock culture to the point that the very few players who come out are already retired from the game. Heck, imagining an out gay athlete still active would be interesting on many levels, especially fan response (telling an athlete that they are gay is almost a default razz fans have toward an opponent). Taking a stand like Kluwe and Ayanbedejo may be seen as a baby step but seriously, having these kinds of guys having your back in the locker room can have tremendous impact for gay athletes.
As Taz pointed out, this was already posted (OK, I don't click on every link...). But still very clue.
Addi--Garth Ennis' run on Hellblazer is my fave comic take over aside from Alan Moore and Swamp Thing. Preacher is awesome, even if Ennis delves into his love of hardcore violence, IMHO, a bit too much in parts.
I did not understand from Taz's comment that he had read about Kluwe here on the board--I apologize, belatedly, for the redundant thread. I've been away for a week and just did a cursory check of thread titiles--too cursory apparently--and thought the situation had not been addressed.
Eric--agreed on Hellblazer!
You think, what do you want?
You think, make a decision...
(Thanks for the clarification, Taz. Is there a mechanism for searching OT thread topics? It seems that the little magnifying glass field only yields threads from the main board? Maybe when they have a free minute, someone who knows can PM me the answer. )
I assume that all right-thinking people always have the NYTimes site open on their desktop, but in case I am wrong about that, here's a link to the Newspaper of Record's article this morning on l'affaire Kluwe. He has a gay brother-in-law, apparently, reminding us all of the overwhelming importance of coming out to our friends and families.
In addition to helping us, individually, lead happier, healthier, more fully-integrated lives, the benefits to the larger society can be enormous and are often un-predictable. If Kluwe's brother-in-law were closeted, Kluwe might well be another stereotypically closed-minded NFL jock. Instead, the personal connection to a gay man helped him find his way to being the GLAAD award shoo-in that he is today.
It's been great to see so many different friends sharing this on my Facebook feed. This is exactly the kind of story that needs to be shared widely. And celebrated.
Who knows, there may even be some new football fans among us! Try it, you'll like it!
"Two drifters off to see the world. There's such a lot of world to see. . ."
Cheyenne Jackson tickled me. AFTER ordering SoMMS a drink but NOT tickling him, and hanging out with Girly in his dressing room (where he DIDN'T tickle her) but BEFORE we got married. To others. And then he tweeted Boobs. He also tweeted he's good friends with some chick on "The Voice" who just happens to be good friends with Tink's ex. And I'm still married. Oh, and this just in: "Pettiness, spite, malice ....Such ugly emotions... So sad." - After Eight, talking about MEEEEEEEE!!! I'm so honored! :-)
I so want to believe that this is epoch-making. I want this guy's perfect mix of attributes--smart, funny, brave, secure in his masculinity--to really effect a sea-change in how the jocks and the gays see and think about each other.
It's the same giddy, starry-eyed excitement I felt at the Democratic convention in 1992 when Bill Clinton gave a speech that made me believe that it really mattered who was president.
The same irrational, hopeful enthusiasm I felt on November 4th, 2008, when I thought we had somehow--miraculously--elected a man with the perfect mix of attributes to really effect a sea-change in how our government was run.
I post threads saying "I give up", but of course I never do. The universe keeps calling my bluff and sending just enough Hope to keep me fighting.
And now I own an official NFL jersey. Who woulda thunk it?
You think, what do you want?
You think, make a decision...