In a landmark action towards welcoming diversity in our community, at its Wednesday, May 4, 2016 meeting, the Grand Junction City Council will officially declare May 2nd through May 8th, 2016 “Grand Junction Pride Fest Week.”
The full proclamation, available as a link on the City’s website (click on May 4 agenda), states in part:
“WHEREAS, Colorado West Pride was established five years ago and is dedicated to the creation of an inclusive community in Grand Junction through events, outreach and education; and
WHEREAS the Colorado West Pride Board now has 11 diverse board members which [who?] represent the depth and breadth of the local Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer community; and
WHEREAS Colorado West Pride will sponsor various activities and events throughout the week of May 2nd through 8th, 2016 to promote and build a positive environment and relationships” which will include the Grand Junction Gay Pride parade and festival,
“NOW, THEREFORE I, Phyllis Norris, by the power vested in me as Mayor of the City of Grand Junction, do hereby proclaim the week of May 2-8, 2016 as “GRAND JUNCTION PRIDE FEST WEEK…and urge all citizens to learn about and help create a positive environment for he LGBTQ community.”
The proclamation is the first official action the Grand Junction City Council has ever taken to call attention to the need to welcome and respect diversity in town.
Now, if we can just get City Council to stop praying to Jesus at the beginning of their meetings, the City will truly be in accord with multiple official proclamations on its website that the City does, in fact, embrace diversity. The City says on its website,
“We are mindful that this 21st century brings a new diversity of citizens. We must strive to make our government sensitive to the values of Americans with minority views, whether religious, political or otherwise.” [Italicized emphasis added.]
Okay, City Council members, it’s time to stop paying lip service and make the promise real.
A couple of real experts I see!
They both missed the boat.
Its about a group of people who have been beaten and killed on that same street…
Walking it, and being able to be PROUD of who they are without repercussions.
Its about everyone of them having the same rights as everyone else to live happy,
fulfilled lives with whoever they WISH to.
Its about people dressing in a way that makes THEM happy, not society.
Its about ALLOWING others to just be themselves, no matter how sparkly they are.
Its about seeing your child treated differently his entire life, but now is making a
difference for others.
I don’t disagree with you at all. I’ve defended that exact position on several forums, in fact. My reply to Daniel was merely pointing out that his equivocation of the LGBT community with neo-nazi’s, and other such groups was incorrect. I really don’t disagree with his reply, either.
I’m afraid Mel Safken has missed the point. I agree, we should all be free to be ourselves(unless it obviously hurts others) and be accepted for being a human being. However we have been discussing something else, ie., what
‘ethical’ behavior is and the system of ethics that one believes in. That varies world-wide and throughout history. Otherwise this blog and the comments here, would not exist or be necessary. Everyone would agree. (In this case that the LGBT lifestyle is perfectly fine)
So it looks like we are stuck with 7.5 billion people on this planet believing different things, agreeing with like-minded folks and arguing with the others.
It’s called Human History.
But: if we find our own reaction to someone else’s beliefs or arguments full of negative ‘energies’, such as anger, sarcasm, uncertainty, etc., we probably are full of those same ‘passions’ or ‘attachments’ previously mentioned and need to open up to other ideas. I would argue that it is only those who are the most outspoken about their beliefs being the right ones, and intolerant of any opposition, who are the most uncertain about the truth or ‘correctness’ of their beliefs.
Certainty brings a calm openness to criticism because the truths seem evident. Contrary ideas don’t feel threatening. And paradoxically there is an openness to discovering that I, myself, may be totally wrong, don’t have the whole truth and may have to change. The only search we really should be pursuing is for ‘Truth’. The hardest thing. Takes a lifetime and is uncertain! Enter humility, forgiveness and self examination.
I wish both the LGBT gay rights believers and the christian groups-of-many-colors would realize they are both very stuck in mutual incomprehension. So they bash each other. Negativity and ‘uncertainty’. Yet both have valid concerns.
Sorry this is so long….
We all want to be ‘inclusive’ in a healthy way. But the question really is not ‘who’ should, must, be included and cared for and given equal human rights, since that would be, ‘everyone’. But the question should be ‘what’ is to be included.
My own background and experience with many gay and lesbian friends over the years is that the choice to follow the LGBT route is not healthy for ‘being human’.
It has to do with the natural sexual and ‘mating’ drives, referred to as ‘passions’ in some traditions. When misdirected, as love can be (eg., an over-protective mother can distort her childrens’ growth) it causes us to become ‘less’ fully human-beings.
The Buddhist tradition is such; it discourages these type of attachments. Most other deep spiritual traditions teach a similar danger of ‘attachment’ to worldly desires that can distort our path. Christianity teaches the same: love the person, accept and affirm each persons value, but try to show the dangers in any choice.
Hatred and intolerance of the individual is not a part of any of these traditions. It has to do with something much more profound (and accepting ultimately).
We are all caught in some web of confusion in some are of our lives.
My personal experience is that this is one of them in our culture at this point of US history.
I’m sorry, in advance that some will take this in a negative way, but the intent is positive. The ‘conservatives’ and ‘liberals’ in our Western culture would do well to really listen to each other’s point of view. Each has some validity. There are no ‘bad guys’ in this, only ‘bad ideas’ to some degree.
So the upshot for me, is that I am unhappy with the decision of G.Jnctn’s mayor to affirm a Gay Pride day. It is something different in my experience (this is not an idea, but personal experience with friends over the years)
As an excercise in thought, imagine being required to be inclusive toward a neo-Nazi group, KKK, anti-Semitist group, pedophile group, etc, wanting an “xyz” pride day for their beliefs. We would need to embrace it given the understanding of the Mayor.
We need to discern the deeper issues here. Not a strong point with us Americans. (look at the wars we start and the politicians we elect, on both sides!)
Peace to all of us.
The difference, of course, between LGBT groups and Neo-Nazis, the KKK, anti-Semites, and pedophiles is that those groups are dedicated to violating the rights of others, which is unconstitutional. LGBTs are not, and are not unconstitutional. So this is what we call a strawman argument, because you are equating two things that are not the same.
I thought I might receive this sort of comment. The point I was trying to make, altho poorly and I apologize (all analogies ‘limp’ they say), is that the believers in any system of thought, or ideology, are usually True Believers, whether it is a true or healthy system or not. We are loath to abandon our beliefs in any case, but especially when the mentioned ‘passions’ or ‘attachments’ to inner desires, drives, needs are involved. A true-blue Fascist, the NWO folks, Wall street kingpins, a convinced Satanist; or a Mormon or a fundamentalist Christian, all share a strong belief that they are correct and ‘politically correct’ in some way. (I met an old Nazi at the beer hall in Munich in 1980 who had ‘evolved’ over the years and now had none of the surety regarding his honestly held beliefs when he was a young soldier in WWII)
We are all human and fallible.
But some things do not bend to modern US relativism in matters of ethical health/truth. It’s a hard road and most of us seem to take the shorter path of ‘if it feels good do it, if it seems harmless’.
So I was trying to highlight the sameness of intensity of beliefs, not the truth of each ‘way of life’ we each advocate. Our dedication to the truth of our beliefs does not prove the truth of those ideas.
An addendum: the ‘man-boy-love’ movement (not as visible publicly in the LGBT community) does not believe they are violating the rights of children but liberating them into a ‘natural’ sexual expression that is ‘freeing’. They can point to anthropological studies of Polynesian Islanders from centuries ago by renowned researchers that show the naturalness of initiating children into childhood sexual experiences by the elders of the tribes. (you mentioned that pedophiles ‘are dedicated to violating the rights of others’. I would argue they honestly believe they are doing good). Hard to argue against it without some competing world view that has some weight to it. So where does that leave, eg., the Roman Catholic priest pedophile scandals?
We can argue, reasonably, practically any viewpoint if we try (Sophistry is base on this ‘technique’)
So where does that leave us? Perhaps with the humility to listen carefully to all points of view and respect that people we think are totally wrong, could perhaps be correct? That is the challenge of being human and morally so.
But we should not demonize anyone. Even a tyrant, a Greedy Wall St hedge fund manager, or a corrupt politician, loved his/her mother. There is good in all people.
We just get sidetracked by our inner passions run amok and hurt all of society unwittingly. There really are few truly ‘bad guys’ out there, but much delusional thinking. (I know that one from experience; lots of days and years past I was a true believer in many different things, which passed away over time). Main thing: share ideas, feelings and experiences openly and listen well. It takes a lot of work; not media sound-bites or festivals.