The segment, “What Would You Do?” places actors in real life situations to see how people react to uncomfortable circumstances.
In this episode of 20/20, two gay male actors were placed in a New Jersey straight sports bar to see how patrons reacted when the men were affectionate, and to see how they reacted to other placed actors who pretended to be homophobic. To the surprise of many, many patrons stood up to for the gay couple, with one man even saying “You are beautiful” to the couple.
Dipping into Maury Povich territory, Tyra recently talked to some gay guys who acknowledge that they are gay, but wish to have a wife and kids because they “hate gay people”. Don’t you worry– Tyra gets to the bottom core of this issue.
We already know that Rick Warren, Obama’s choice for the invocation at his upcoming inauguration, doesn’t think too much of gay people, but his defense of this intolerance has always been his heavily-publicized work toward battling HIV/AIDS in Africa.
In an article in The Daily Beast, Max Blumenthal reveals that Warren had tacitly endorsed condom-burning and anti-gay ‘witch hunts’ in Uganda:
“His website contains scant information about the results of his program. However, an investigation into Warren’s involvement in Africa reveals a web of alliances with right-wing clergymen who have sidelined science-based approaches to combating AIDS in favor of abstinence-only education...Warren’s man in Uganda is a charismatic pastor named Martin Ssempa. The head of the Makerere Community Church, a rapidly growing congregation, Ssempe enjoys close ties to his country’s First Lady, Janet Museveni, and is a favorite of the Bush White House. In the capitol of Kampala, Ssempa is known for his boisterous crusading. Ssempa’s stunts have included burning condoms in the name of Jesus and arranging the publication of names of homosexuals in cooperative local newspapers while lobbying for criminal penalties to imprison them.”
Kanye West spoke his mind at one of his shows recently, criticized the anti-gay slurs and homophobia that often goes unchecked in hip-hop and rap.
“Open your fucking minds. Open your minds. Be accepting of different people and let people be who they are. You know how many people came to me calling me gay cause I wear my jeans the fresh way? Or because I said hey, dude, how you gonna say ‘fag’ right in front of a gay dude’s face and act like that’s ok. That shit is disrespectful. Coming from Chicago, where if you saw somebody that was gay you were supppoed to stay ten feet away. It should be time to break out of the intuitions that I was sayin’, the stereotypes, or the fear, the backlash that I would get if you don’t believe in what I believe in, acceptin’ people for who they are…they’re very talented and if they do something special in the world and they’re discriminated. I’ve flown across the world y’all, and I’ve come back here to tell you — open your minds and live a happier life…”
McCain’s recent interview in the New York Times gets into LGBT rights, adoption for same sex couples, and his perhaps unlikely Republican approach of not supporting a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. He instead supports the rights of each respective state to decide its legality there:
Mr. McCain, who with his wife, Cindy, has an adopted daughter, said flatly that he opposed allowing gay couples to adopt. “I think that we’ve proven that both parents are important in the success of a family so, no, I don’t believe in gay adoption,” he said.
. . .
Many social conservatives strenuously oppose California’s decision to allow same-sex marriage. But Mr. McCain, who also opposes same-sex marriage, has always said that the issue is up to the states, and in the interview he said he would stick to that position as president even if California chose to continue allowing gay marriage after putting the matter to a statewide vote in November. “I respect the right of the states to make those decisions,” he said.
Q Mag is a student-run queer magazine at Binghamton University. In its third year of publication, Q offers a unique style and focus, representing LGBT voices throughout BU's campus, the city of Binghamton, and beyond.
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