Politics and Homosexuality

Issues such as same-sex marriage and gays serving in the military have played an important role in American politics for at least the past 10 years and may do so again in next year's presidential and congressional elections.

During such an era, gay life is inevitably touched by the politics that surround it, but has it been overly influenced by it?

And we have done more in the two and a half years that I've been in here than the previous 43 Presidents to uphold that principle, whether it's ending "don't ask, don't tell," making sure that gay and lesbian partners can visit each other in hospitals, making sure that federal benefits can be provided to same-sex couples.
Barack Obama

We must make it clear that a platform of 'I hate gay men and women' is not a way to become president of the United States.
Jimmy Carter

From a religious point of view, if God had thought homosexuality is a sin, he would not have created gay people.
Howard Dean

There is so much work to be done to treat gays and lesbians and gay and lesbian couples with the respect that they're entitled to. They deserve, in my judgment, partnership benefits. They deserve to be treated fairly when it comes to adoption and immigration.
John Edwards

I'm used to being in the minority. I'm a left-handed gay Jew. I've never felt, automatically, a member of any majority.
Barney Frank

Moment of Zen: Exercise

Exercise definitely gets endorphins flowing in the body. Endorphins ("endogenous morphine") are endogenous opioid peptides that function as neurotransmitters. They are produced by the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus in vertebrates during exercise, excitement, pain, consumption of spicy food, love and orgasm, and they resemble the opiates in their abilities to produce analgesia and a feeling of well-being.  Whatever endorphins do,  coming across hot guys like this exercising gets blood flowing in other places.  Which is a nice moment of Zen also.

The Blahs

Since I had the day off today, I had planned on blogging this morning when I got up, but when I woke up, I still had a bit of the blahs.  We probably all have them at some point, so I decided to take the day for myself.  So I remained lazy all day today.  Sorry for not posting my usual post, but I hope that you all will forgive me.  The good thing is, I am currently feeling better.  I think that maybe I have actually caught up on my sleep deficit, and the blahness that I was feeling yesterday is not so blah anymore.  I hope that you all have had a wonderful day today, I know that I have had some wonderful sleep.

Not Up to Snuff

You may have thought my most recent posts have been a little lackluster, and truthfully, the last few days, I have, as my late grandfather would have said, not been feeling up to snuff.  It could be the recent weather being warm, then rainy, warmer, then rainy again, and now growing colder.  Whatever it is, I have just had no energy the last few days, have had a headache, and just generally feeling blah.  I get  a four day weekend this weekend, so hopefully, I will recuperate and get back to my normal self.  Until then, I thought I would give you the meaning of my granddaddy's old saying "not up to snuff."

"Up to snuff," meaning "satisfactory" or "measuring up to the required standard" turns out to be quite an interesting phrase. First of all, "snuff" all by itself is an intriguing word, or should I say "words," because there are really two different "snuffs." The older "snuff," of unknown origin and dating back to the 14th century, meant the burnt part of a candle wick. As a verb, this "snuff" meant "to extinguish a candle" and it is from this sense that we get our modern metaphor of "snuffing" someone's hopes (or, in slang, actually expunging the person). 

The other kind of "snuff," meaning powdered tobacco inhaled through the nostrils, came along a bit later, in the 1680's. The root of this "snuff" was probably the verb "to snuff," meaning to draw up into the nose (think back to your last "snuffling" head cold), and it apparently began as an abbreviation of the Dutch word "snuiftabak," or snuffing tobacco. "Taking snuff" was a popular habit in Europe for hundreds of years, so its not surprising that it showed up in a metaphor for "satisfactory" or "usual." What remains a little unclear about "up to snuff" is whether the phrase refers to a level of acceptable quality of snuff itself, or to the wide-awake and perky attitude of someone who has just taken snuff.

The phrase, "up to snuff," likely dates from Britain where it is recorded in 1811 with the meaning "knowing; not easily deceived". In America in 1831 its meaning had changed to "up to standard". The British meaning arose from the notion of being old or experienced enough to take snuff, and the American form was an expansion of that meaning.

Same-Sex Marriage

Research has shown that marriage provides substantial psychological and physical health benefits due to the moral, economic and social support extended to married couples. Conversely, recent empirical evidence has illustrated the harmful psychological effect of policies restricting marriage rights for same-sex couples. Additionally, children raised by same-sex couples have been shown to be on par with the children of opposite-sex couples in their psychological adjustment, cognitive abilities and social functioning.

The American Psychological Association. Aug. 11, 2010 press release “American Psychological Association Reiterates Support for Same-sex Marriage”

Yea Alabama

Yea Alabama



Yea, Alabama! Drown 'em Tide!
Every 'Bama man's behind you,
Hit your stride.
Go teach the Bulldogs to behave,
Send the Yellow Jackets to a watery grave.
And if a man starts to weaken,
That's a shame!
For Bama's pluck and grit have
Writ her name in Crimson flame.
Fight on, fight on, fight on men!
Remember the Rose Bowl, we'll win then.
Go, roll to victory,
Hit your stride,
You're Dixie's football pride,
Crimson Tide, Roll Tide, Roll Tide!!

Technically, this is a fight song, not a poem, but I am still happy that Alabama won the BCS National Championship.

ROLL TIDE!

Roll Tide Roll!!!

Second-ranked Alabama defeats No. 1 LSU 21-0 to win college football's BCS national championship game in New Orleans. 

Changing the Game for LGBT Students in School

I came across the article and thought that it might interest my fellow GLBT educators out there.  I would love to hear what you have to say about it.  I know that with my school, we have a large amount of the faculty that do not support GLBT students, what's worse our principal is one of them.  I hope that one day that will change and all students will be accepted, no matter how they identify themselves.

Changing the Game for LGBT Students in School

By Chris MurrayChris Murray is a social studies teacher and baseball coach at Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, Md.

As a high school teacher and coach in Bethesda, Md., I have found our school to be a generally safe and wonderful place for our 2,500 students and faculty. However, like any community of this many people, there is a wide range of views and opinions in terms of acceptance for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues. But three specific and upsetting instances at school this year caused me to take action.

In September I had an idea for every teacher to display an equal sign in their classroom in order to show faculty support for all of our students. When I proposed this idea to the sponsor of our high school's Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA), she questioned how many teachers would actually put them up. She added that the student club had tried this activity before and was met with resistance.

I was bewildered. It had never crossed my mind that a teacher would not be accepting of a student because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Why would an educator bring their personal beliefs into the classroom when we're supposed to support the needs of each student?Later, in December, I had the opportunity to meet two representatives from the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN)at a social studies conference in Washington, D.C. During our conversation I mentioned that it seemed as if things had been getting better for LGBT people in the country. The look that I received was one of absolute astonishment, as if I were from another planet.

And really, I was. As a straight, white, upper-middle-class male, I have not had to face or endure any true injustice because of the personal characteristics that make me who I am. It was after listening to these representatives that I realized that the D.C. metropolitan area has come a long way but is still far from perfect in the level of acceptance of LGBT issues compared with the rest of the country and world.

But the latest instance was an eye opener and what pushed me to do something for LGBT students. It did not come from a fellow teacher, or a GLSEN representative, but from a member of our student body. I will call her "Emily." I have known Emily as a student for a while, but I never had the chance to sit down and listen to her story. I was astounded by what she had to say.

Thanks to Emily's courage to address the entire staff and administration of our school, she relayed to us with vivid detail what it means to be a gay student in high school. Emily shared the hurtful words and acts that often sprout up, making sure that we all understood that pretending away or ignoring the anti-gay jokes and comments heard in school was not only unacceptable but sending a negative message to all students. Emily made the point that our lack of intervention was telling students that it is not OK to be gay and that it is acceptable for a student to be hateful toward another student who is.

At that moment I knew I had to do more for students like Emily. I realized being a silent bystander was not only hurting people but in essence giving the green light to allow bullying and hatred to continue in my school. I thought a lot after hearing this 17-year-old girl pour her heart out to people in both educational and administrative roles. I couldn't help but ask myself if this really was the kind of world that I wanted my own son to grow up in.

What troubled me even more was that some of my colleagues, mentors like me, didn't applaud Emily for her courage in coming forward. They didn't stand for the ovation at the end of her story and, more strikingly, didn't even acknowledge her speaking. They instead focused on their smartphones.

I am a teacher, a husband, a father, a role model, and a mentor. I am also a coach. I know that my actions in each of these roles influence and affect hundreds of people. That is why I decided to take action and become an ally for students like Emily who are victims of bullying and harassment.

At our high school I am now encouraging all of my school's teams and coaches to take the Team Respect Challenge, a part of Changing the Game: The GLSEN Sports Project. As a coach, I understand that this pledge recognizes the differences that strengthen both our school and community. Our teams have now become the role models by letting other students know that they will not stand by and allow their peers to be bullied or harassed because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, or, more importantly, because a student is different.

I want to thank all my students and players who have begun to accept people's differences as part of what makes our school, community, and the world a better place. It takes a lot of courage to stand up for something that may be unpopular or not cool. But we will give a voice to our LGBT peers so that students like Emily won't have to come forward and ask for something that every student should be offered without hesitation: a safe and affirming school in which to grow and discover their potential.

Contemplation

Moment of Zen: What I Want

This week, I have been teaching about childhood development in my high school psychology class. I had nearly given up on the idea I having children, but after using kids as show and tell this week (so that my students could actually see the differnt stages of developement) I would really love to have a child of my own someday.