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Post subject: I *love* stories like this!
 Posted: Jun 01, 2007 - 05:43 PM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1195
Location: Valhalla Mountains, British Columbia, Canada
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I *love* stories like this! 
Michele Lawrence (right), her daughter Freya and friends Carrol Wilson and Natasha Kneeland greet a "gay cruise" on Sunday.
‘We didn’t want people to think all of Bermuda thought like that’
Quote:
After watching Bermuda develop a reputation as a homophobic Island over the Rosie O’Donnell gay cruise row, one group of friends did their bit to redress the balance. Teenager Freya Lawrence and her pals dragged themselves out of bed early on Sunday morning, armed themselves with brightly coloured placards and staged an “anti-protest protest” against what they describe as ignorant bigots in Bermuda.
They stood at Dockyard to welcome passengers aboard the Explorer of the Seas — a gay cruise organised in spite of the cancellation of the Rosie O’Donnell trip amid much-publicised opposition from church groups in April.
According to Freya’s mother, gays and lesbians at first assumed the teenager’s group were showing their disgust at the trip. But on seeing their banners with messages such as “Come and stay, we don’t care if you’re gay” and “We are not all ignorant bigots”, the demonstration received a hearty response.
Freya, 16, a Bermuda High School student, said: “We saw what people were saying about the Rosie O’Donnell gay cruise, and we didn’t want people to think all of Bermuda thought like that.
“It’s a big issue and it’s about human rights. We don’t always take rights too seriously in Bermuda. People might think we’re homophobic in Bermuda and that’s really bad for tourism.”
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Mrs. Lawrence [Freya’s mom] sent photographs of the demonstration to gay website PinkNews.co.uk, which has previously been inundated with comments criticising Bermuda over the Rosie O’Donnell cruise. A message on the website states: “God bless you madam!”
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"The dignity of an animal is measured by his capacity to revolt in the face of oppression." -- Mikhail Bakunin
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Post subject: RE: I *love* stories like this!
Posted: Jun 01, 2007 - 07:13 PM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1754
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It is nice to see these straight allies in the streets. They are rare and we should value them.
I note, however, that there are an entire four.
Perhaps Ms Lawrence had innumerable other friends with her at the time (after all, at least one other was likely taking the picture). Perhaps there are fifty like-minded people, maybe even a hundred just off to the left and right of the picture. They were, perhaps, not included because they lacked colorful signs or banners. No matter: I shall not judge my allies on their abilities to make banners.
Quote:
‘We didn’t want people to think all of Bermuda thought like that’
Goodness no -- no one should think of all of Bermuda thinks "like that". Clearly at least four think quite differently. It would be imprudent to judge all, or even a significant portion, of Bermuda on the basis of these four, however.
How many residents of Bermuda are welcoming of Gay cruise ships? The evidence before me says that the answer on this day was four.
And really... I value four -- Bright blessings on all four of them. |
_________________
"If you want the freedom, the abilities, you have to find a way. Just don't be so passive. We are capable of so much more." -- Larry Kramer
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Post subject: RE: I *love* stories like this!
Posted: Jun 01, 2007 - 07:26 PM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1195
Location: Valhalla Mountains, British Columbia, Canada
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Well, to be fair, there are more than just four who "don't think like that"... A year ago, hundreds of them turned out:
Quote:
Hundreds of people have demonstrated on the grounds of Bermuda's House of Assembly, protesting against a wall of silence by legislators on a bill that would have added to sexuality to the Human Rights Act. The bill was introduced by MP Renee Webb and sent to committee where Webb made an impassioned 90 speech.
[...]
When it came up for debate, MPs without saying a word voted it down. The majority of those who came out to demonstrate were not gay, rallied together by a Hamilton human rights group. "I'm ecstatic that so many people came out and stood up for democracy," said Webb, a former Cabinet Minister.
The inclusion of gays in the Human Rights Act was opposed by the island's black church leaders, mainly members of the Methodist Church.
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_________________
"The dignity of an animal is measured by his capacity to revolt in the face of oppression." -- Mikhail Bakunin
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Post subject: RE: I *love* stories like this!
Posted: Jun 01, 2007 - 08:13 PM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1754
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That's nice. Really, it is. I keep hearing about the supposed legions of "righteous" straight people -- as if their existence was a matter of record, something to be assumed.
If their "righteousness" does not extend all the way down to their feet... on the pavement... then it is of no use, and righteousness that is of no use does not really exist at all. If their "righteousness" does not extend all the way to their hands when they mark their ballots, then it is of just as little use. I note that these "hundreds" had no positive effect at all on the bill in question. Shall it have any more effect on the next election, or will more of the same be returned to the Assembly? |
_________________
"If you want the freedom, the abilities, you have to find a way. Just don't be so passive. We are capable of so much more." -- Larry Kramer
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Post subject: Re: RE: I *love* stories like this!
Posted: Jun 02, 2007 - 02:15 AM
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Site Admin
Joined: Aug 26, 2006
Posts: 440
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Feral wrote:
It is nice to see these straight allies in the streets. They are rare and we should value them.
Oh yes, and they most probably run in danger of becoming the next "gay-friends" straight martyrers. Remember those family whose 12-years old son has raised the rainbow over the family hotel? They were harassed and squizzed out of the town. I will be not particularly surprized if in a couple of months we will see our friends hit the news again -- fleeing Bermudas to some friendlier country. |
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Post subject: RE: Re: RE: I *love* stories like this!
Posted: Jun 02, 2007 - 05:26 AM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1754
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vanrozenheim wrote:
Oh yes, and they most probably run in danger of becoming the next "gay-friends" straight martyrers.... I will be not particularly surprized if in a couple of months we will see our friends hit the news again -- fleeing Bermudas to some friendlier country.
Kind of like this?
LGBT-affirming church in Jamaica faces violence
Yes, I know that story like the chorus of an old folk song. I can practically hum it in my sleep, though the tune is not to my liking.
Fleeing Bermuda for some friendlier country is exactly both Kyle and my advice to them -- we said it almost simultaneously while discussing the story earlier today -- they should move -- ideally at once. |
_________________
"If you want the freedom, the abilities, you have to find a way. Just don't be so passive. We are capable of so much more." -- Larry Kramer
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