Pushing the gay agenda

Maybe this is old news for everyone else; but, I just became aware of a TV advertisement that played in the UK for Heinz deli mayonnaise which caused quite an uproar and was pulled a week later.

The ad opens with a family on a normal morning routine with a young boy and girl getting ready for school and their father preparing for the office. The young boy and girl go to the kitchen to get their sandwiches, which are being prepared by a man with a New York accent, dressed in a deli serving outfit, who they refer to as "mum". When their father goes to get his sandwich he says to mum in the kitchen: "See you tonight love." However, mum barks back "Hey, ain't you forgetting something?", at which point the two men share a kiss. Mum then sends the father off with the words: "Love you. Straight home from work, sweet cheeks."

The ad agency which produced the TV spot said

... the concept behind the campaign is that the product tastes so good, "It's as if you have your own New York deli man in your kitchen."

So, what do you think (survey on right)? Was this innocent ad that was, perhaps, misguided and misunderstood? Or was it a blatant attempt to push the homosexual agenda?



Interestingly, the TV ad carried an "ex-kids" restriction by the UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), meaning it cannot be shown in or around children's programming, because ... [wait for it] ... Heinz Deli Mayo falls foul of TV ad restrictions relating to products that are high in fat, salt and sugar.

UPDATE: Here are the results from the survey

Unfortunate

LDS Church officials urge California members to support marriage amendment

We ask that you do all you can to support the proposed constitutional amendment by donating of your means and time to assure that marriage is legally defined as being between a man and a woman.

Juneteenth

Today, June 19th, 2008, commemorates this day, back in 1895, when Union General Gordon Granger and 2,000 federal troops, arrived on Galveston Island to take possession of the Texas and enforce the emancipation of its slaves.

The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.

Juneteenth is an official state holiday in Texas and is traditionally celebrated with parades and picnics feasting on barbecue, cakes, and pies served potluck style.

Those familiar with history will notice that this was nearly three years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation (September 22, 1862). In Texas, we may be a bit slow sometimes; but, eventually we do right. May this tradition continue so that, eventually, we'll do right for people today being denied basic privileges.

A question

The people who write recipes for newspapers, do they actually cook them and eat them? This morning our newspaper has a recipe for "Grapefruit-Mint Shrimp" - Ewww!!!

Gay pride

Apparently, June is Gay Pride month. Why doesn't anybody tell me these things?

No, I'm not getting my thong out to wear at the next gay Pride parade - although, if I did, I might cause many homosexuals to rethink heterosexualism :)

We may or may not agree with how others celebrate gay rights; but, the simple fact of the matter is, all of us here in the Mormon queerosphere owe a certain debt of gratitude to the brave souls who have risked incarceration, violence, even death, in the fight to be recognized as legitimate - to be granted a basic human right - the right to exist.

All of us benefit from events such as the Stonewall riots of 1969. Imagine being a homosexual in a climate as existed back in the 1950's or 1960's. How many of us would risk having a blog if the mere admission that we are attracted to those of our same gender would brand us as sick perverts? Imagine being subjected to aversion or shock therapy in an attempt to be turned into a heterosexual.

While the gay community has reason to celebrate, their methods of doing so are often self defeating and tend to bolster negative stereotypes - IMOHO. Society views gay culture as one of drugs, promiscuous sex, limp wrists, effeminate behavior, marching in thongs, etc.. It's small wonder that many in society are repulsed by gay culture if that is how they view it.

In order to gain greater acceptance, society needs to see more gay people who are like everyone else in every way - except they happen to have an affinity towards members of their own gender. They need to see people who are in their work place, standing in line with them at the ATM, worshiping with them at church. In short, they need to see more people like us.

We're like Marilyn of the Munster family - the most "normal" one of whom the rest of the family is vaguely ashamed. We're part of the silent gay majority who don't cause people to cringe, to turn the other way and to cover their children's eyes when they see us. We hide in plain sight.

I'm not advocating that we should all march proudly in the next gay pride parade. I'm not suggesting we should start wearing rainbow ties to church. I am merely saying that we should not be judgmental of our gay brothers and sisters who do so.

Those damn homosexuals

Sunday morning I was in a meeting with the bishop; and, we were chatting a bit while waiting for everyone to arrive. He spoke about some new show that he had read about in the newspaper - "Swingtown" - as an example of how network television has degraded over the years. From there the conversation moved into TV shows in general. As we were ending the casual conversation to start the meeting, he finished, with a tone of utter disgust

"and these days it seems they all have to have a gay character too."

The thing is, until that last statement, I was pretty much in agreement with everything being said - we have a bazillion channels and nothing to watch. About the only thing I watch on network television these days is the local news; most of my TV time is spent with the Food Network and SciFi channel.

So, why does that closing comment bother me?

A couple of years ago, while still in deep denial, I very well could have said something similar myself. But, now that I've accepted my gayness, I am bothered by comments which besmirch fellow members of my gay family. So, I really cannot blame him for his comment - I can only pray that the Lord will forgive him for he knows not what he does.

We have a young man in our ward, who recently received his mission call, come to a ward activity dressed in shorts, knee high striped socks, and bowling shoes. When someone commented that he looked gay, he smiled and said "I can't be gay - I'm going on a mission." I wanted to correct him to say that you can, in fact, be gay and still serve a mission, you just can't act on your gay attractions. But, I didn't, I just sat there in silence, like I always do.

While we are generally not as blatantly homophobic as some other churches, it is part of our Mormon culture to diss homosexuals. But, I find myself wondering how might the saints change their tune if only they could come to know the people I've become acquainted with over the last 18 months here in the Mormon queerosphere (both those who remain active in the church as well as those who have chosen to leave the church behind). It's easy to denigrate homosexuals when they are this amorphous group of people defined by their proclivity for promiscuity and generally hedonistic lifestyle. But, once you put a face to us then you begin to realize that most of us are not like that. We are the person living in your neighborhood, the guy standing behind you in line at the grocery store, the person in the car next to yours at the traffic light, even the person sitting next to you in church. We are real people - real people with real feelings.

When I hear comments by my fellow saints disparaging homosexuals, I don't feel anger; I don't feel resentment. The emotion which best describes my feelings is sadness - I just want to look them straight in the eye and ask "do you really hate me that much?"

I am also saddened when I read comments by visiting general authorities in California saying things like "same gender marriages is one of his [satan] greatest evils." Is same sex marriage really that bad? Is it worse than abortion? More degenerate than child and spousal abuse? More evil than pornography? I'm sorry, but I just can't accept that - so I disregard such statements. What else can I do? Am I supposed to accept, at face value, statements which leave me feeling a stupor of thought? Are our leaders really so out of touch that they don't realize how many of us are sitting in church each Sunday, how many of us are attending stake conferences? Do they not know how much it hurts to hear them say such things - even for those of us who choose to not participate in that part of our gay heritage? Do they not understand how we have to constantly reaffirm to ourselves intellectually that certain things are wrong - knowing that, in our hearts, they don't feel wrong - and that hearing them say such things serves only to weaken our resolve? Or perhaps they do understand ... and losing us is merely collateral damage in the fight against evil.

So, I'm feeling a little melancholy this week. Perhaps it is exasperated by my recent expenditure of hundreds of dollars to fix the A/C in my office, or because my nearly brand new car is in the shop being fixed having been rear-ended by a driver who then fled the scene, or because it's June in Texas and it's just dang hot. But, I'm praying for my fellow saints and for my leaders, that God may touch their hearts so that they can feel a little compassion for the queers in their midst.