A Vermont Mother Speaks Out

Berry said:
Still sick.
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Agreed. It is sick, but it is a learned sickness, unfortunately. It is a shame that some adults feel the need to project their own insecurities, prejudices, and neuroses on their children.
 
VamPyroX said:
Great letter! I agree.

Not only is it about gays, but everyone else as well. There are always kids being picked on for SOMETHING.

OMG! You're a fag!

OMG! You're a nerd!

OMG! You're a geek!

OMG! You're a fatty!

OMG! You're a retard!

OMG! You're a baldy!

OMG! You've got a crater face!

It never ends. I was once called a Christian geek because I went to church with my parents all the time and people thought I was a geek. :roll:
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Most of these things depend primarily on how you take them. A lot of this of course depends on who says it and how it is said. How they feel about you, how you feel about them.

I just asked my gay grandson if he is joining the fag army that is taking over Vermont and he told me Vermont is just too cold this time of year.

Somebody else will have to do the good work, but he will be glad to cheer them on and suggested Margaret Cho for the next Governor.

Does she have to buy a seat or can she be elected?
 
SFShawn13 said:
How does your grandson feel about you calling him a FAG?
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I checked and see you are in California. Most people I know out here are more laid back about the term, while in the more redneck areas it seems to always be used as an insult, never in play.

On this particular occasion though I'm not sure he derived the same implication you derived from this comment, as I know I would not have. I did not get it from this article, which is fairly mild, but from googling "Vermont homosexual agenda" and following a few links. They are getting pretty paranoid over there. In this particular case I am discussing the position of the people who are in a panic, not mine.

In this particular context it is not me calling him that, it is me making fun of the position of the homophobes in Vermont.

As far as anything we may say to each other -- that situation is even more simple: you should know who loves you and who doesn't. If you can't tease and joke with those you love and who love you without having to worry about them taking offense, then the bond of love is not very strong and you might as well go deal with a stranger.
 
This is the same situation of the Lifetime movie "Prayers for Bobby," based on a true story, which aired twice on 1/24/2009 (last Saturday).

That movie was about a religious mother's intolerance to his 20-year-old son's homosexuality, and repeatedly attempted to convert him to heterosexuality. Bobby even had only one girl cousin who is FULLY accepting of who Bobby is. Bobby went to a gay bar with his cousin and met a guy, David - wow he's really cute - was this close to having a boyfriend, but unfortunately nope. About halfway through that movie, Bobby committed suicide via jumping off (well actually falling backward off) a highway bridge and letting a truck hit him while falling.

It's obvious that he couldn't take it anymore. That religious mother (and the rest of her family) was *really* torn by the news of Bobby's death. The mother asked like several reverends why this happened, including the reverend of the GLBT church. She eventually came to a conclusion that she misinterpreted the Bible and that God loves all people, whether "clean" or "unclean," if they didn't commit any sins, like murder, rape, torture, etc. ..... leaving homosexuality out of the sins. She realized that it wasn't God Himself that caused her son to commit suicide; it was her own fault for not accepting who Bobby is. So, she then quit being religious and became a gay rights activist in memory of Bobby.

It truly touched me in every way, and the weird thing is I was at a gay bar at the time when the movie started. Several other gay guys and lesbians watched that movie with me.
 
Berry said:
I checked and see you are in California. Most people I know out here are more laid back about the term, while in the more redneck areas it seems to always be used as an insult, never in play.

On this particular occasion though I'm not sure he derived the same implication you derived from this comment, as I know I would not have. I did not get it from this article, which is fairly mild, but from googling "Vermont homosexual agenda" and following a few links. They are getting pretty paranoid over there. In this particular case I am discussing the position of the people who are in a panic, not mine.

In this particular context it is not me calling him that, it is me making fun of the position of the homophobes in Vermont.

As far as anything we may say to each other -- that situation is even more simple: you should know who loves you and who doesn't. If you can't tease and joke with those you love and who love you without having to worry about them taking offense, then the bond of love is not very strong and you might as well go deal with a stranger.
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OOOOOOH I get it! Lol, sorry. Thanks for elaborating though. Your grandson is so lucky to have an accepting grandfather.

I was raised in a very conservative mormon family and kicked out of the house when I was 14 (when I came out). So anytime I see or read about a GLBT youth being teased I am quick to jump the gun and go HEY! But clearly that's not the case with you =).
 
SnAzZyStyLe2002 said:
This is the same situation of the Lifetime movie "Prayers for Bobby," based on a true story, which aired twice on 1/24/2009 (last Saturday).

That movie was about a religious mother's intolerance to his 20-year-old son's homosexuality, and repeatedly attempted to convert him to heterosexuality. Bobby even had only one girl cousin who is FULLY accepting of who Bobby is. Bobby went to a gay bar with his cousin and met a guy, David - wow he's really cute - was this close to having a boyfriend, but unfortunately nope. About halfway through that movie, Bobby committed suicide via jumping off (well actually falling backward off) a highway bridge and letting a truck hit him while falling.

It's obvious that he couldn't take it anymore. That religious mother (and the rest of her family) was *really* torn by the news of Bobby's death. The mother asked like several reverends why this happened, including the reverend of the GLBT church. She eventually came to a conclusion that she misinterpreted the Bible and that God loves all people, whether "clean" or "unclean," if they didn't commit any sins, like murder, rape, torture, etc. ..... leaving homosexuality out of the sins. She realized that it wasn't God Himself that caused her son to commit suicide; it was her own fault for not accepting who Bobby is. So, she then quit being religious and became a gay rights activist in memory of Bobby.

It truly touched me in every way, and the weird thing is I was at a gay bar at the time when the movie started. Several other gay guys and lesbians watched that movie with me.
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Yikes. I lived at a homeless shelter for GLBT youth for a while, so many gay youth get MESSED up man, it's scary shit. I'd love to watch the film.
 
SFShawn13 said:
Yikes. I lived at a homeless shelter for GLBT youth for a while, so many gay youth get MESSED up man, it's scary shit. I'd love to watch the film.
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I think you can still watch clips of that movie on Lifetime's website - I think it's either Lifetime.com or myLifetime.com, not sure which one.
 
SFShawn13 said:
OOOOOOH I get it! Lol, sorry. Thanks for elaborating though. Your grandson is so lucky to have an accepting grandfather.

I was raised in a very conservative mormon family and kicked out of the house when I was 14 (when I came out). So anytime I see or read about a GLBT youth being teased I am quick to jump the gun and go HEY! But clearly that's not the case with you =)

.
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I am lucky to have him for a grandson. If the family needs his help he will give it. He would never lie, cheat, steal, or fail to repay a debt to me or other members of the family at the earliest opportunity. Nor would he ever bring a partner into the family who would do these things.

What more can you ask of a grandson than that?

He is not really a youth any more, he is in his twenties.

I am sorry your family treated you so poorly, and at an age when you needed to be taught how to deal with verbal abuse and quite possibly how to defend yourself physically should the need arise.

The God they say they believe in gave some great advice, "When you leave that house shake the dust from off your feet."
 
SnAzZyStyLe2002 said:
This is the same situation of the Lifetime movie "Prayers for Bobby," based on a true story, which aired twice on 1/24/2009 (last Saturday).

That movie was about a religious mother's intolerance to his 20-year-old son's homosexuality, and repeatedly attempted to convert him to heterosexuality. Bobby even had only one girl cousin who is FULLY accepting of who Bobby is. Bobby went to a gay bar with his cousin and met a guy, David - wow he's really cute - was this close to having a boyfriend, but unfortunately nope. About halfway through that movie, Bobby committed suicide via jumping off (well actually falling backward off) a highway bridge and letting a truck hit him while falling.

It's obvious that he couldn't take it anymore. That religious mother (and the rest of her family) was *really* torn by the news of Bobby's death. The mother asked like several reverends why this happened, including the reverend of the GLBT church. She eventually came to a conclusion that she misinterpreted the Bible and that God loves all people, whether "clean" or "unclean," if they didn't commit any sins, like murder, rape, torture, etc. ..... leaving homosexuality out of the sins. She realized that it wasn't God Himself that caused her son to commit suicide; it was her own fault for not accepting who Bobby is. So, she then quit being religious and became a gay rights activist in memory of Bobby.

It truly touched me in every way, and the weird thing is I was at a gay bar at the time when the movie started. Several other gay guys and lesbians watched that movie with me.
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It is a shame that she learned that religion taught her intolerance too late.
 
shel90 said:
It is a shame that she learned that religion taught her intolerance too late.
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Yeah, I agree. The Bible itself is written by man (like, hello? You can see the computer fonts, and it's written in the English language! If it's in some other language, then the Bible would've stayed in that originating country to begin with), and religionists treated it like some kind of top prized possession and used it to thump their hands on.

Besides, Homosexuality originated in Greece hundreds of years before Christ is born. So, some time after Christ was born, some Christian idiot who opposed homosexuality probably looked at the Greeks and decided that it's a sin against God, and created the Bible, or if the Bible already existed, appended the sins of homosexuality to it.

It's sad to know that this has been passed down for perhaps thousands of generations, past and present, ad infinitum. Even the individual states of the USA have the power, not the church. Unfortunately, the state of religion overthrew the governments, like the case of Proposition 8 by the idiotic Mormons.

We need to fight back to take the power away from religion and give it back to the local, county, state, and federal government.
 
SnAzZyStyLe2002 said:
Yeah, I agree. The Bible itself is written by man (like, hello? You can see the computer fonts, and it's written in the English language! If it's in some other language, then the Bible would've stayed in that originating country to begin with), and religionists treated it like some kind of top prized possession and used it to thump their hands on.

Besides, Homosexuality originated in Greece hundreds of years before Christ is born. So, some time after Christ was born, some Christian idiot who opposed homosexuality probably looked at the Greeks and decided that it's a sin against God, and created the Bible, or if the Bible already existed, appended the sins of homosexuality to it.

It's sad to know that this has been passed down for perhaps thousands of generations, past and present, ad infinitum. Even the individual states of the USA have the power, not the church. Unfortunately, the state of religion overthrew the governments, like the case of Proposition 8 by the idiotic Mormons.

We need to fight back to take the power away from religion and give it back to the local, county, state, and federal government.
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:gpost:
 
SnAzZyStyLe2002 said:
Yeah, I agree. The Bible itself is written by man (like, hello? You can see the computer fonts, and it's written in the English language! If it's in some other language, then the Bible would've stayed in that originating country to begin with), and religionists treated it like some kind of top prized possession and used it to thump their hands on.

Besides, Homosexuality originated in Greece hundreds of years before Christ is born. So, some time after Christ was born, some Christian idiot who opposed homosexuality probably looked at the Greeks and decided that it's a sin against God, and created the Bible, or if the Bible already existed, appended the sins of homosexuality to it.

It's sad to know that this has been passed down for perhaps thousands of generations, past and present, ad infinitum. Even the individual states of the USA have the power, not the church. Unfortunately, the state of religion overthrew the governments, like the case of Proposition 8 by the idiotic Mormons.

We need to fight back to take the power away from religion and give it back to the local, county, state, and federal government.
Click to expand...

As long as there has been people there have been gay people. I'm sure that there were cave men who only liked other cave men and cave women who loved cave women. Nobody "invented" it.
 
SFShawn13 said:
I was raised in a very conservative mormon family and kicked out of the house when I was 14 (when I came out).
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It breaks my heart to hear that. I'm so sorry your family was so unaccepting. <sad>
 
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