I’m an middle-aged white gay male living in a senior & disabled public housing highrise building. We have a lot of different races here: Russian, Asian, Hispanic, French, and exactly two African-Americans. One is an elderly female, been here several years. One is a middle-aged male.

When the male moved in, almost a year ago, there was a definite and obvious uptick amongst the elderly white females about the “crime” danger in this building. One woman actually said to me that the Black man should not be allowed to live here! A few have called the police on him with supposed charges like drugs, running a prostitution ring.

If they’d get to know him, as I and others have, they’d know that he lives his life quietly, abhors drugs, and is a really nice guy. But no, they’d rather complain about being afraid to come out of thier apartments after dark. Trying to reason/discuss with them, well, because of the housing authority rules governing social policy, it’s safer for me to just throw my hands in the air and walk away disgustedly.

I find it interesting, especially since WA is in the process of approving gay marriage, that I, as a gay person who is so out and blunt about it that even the resident Born-Again Bigot keeps her mouth shut, suffers almost no prejudice in this building, while a man who just wants to go about his business is harassed often.

I’d say no, I can’t see any improvements in race relations.

Sad, but very very true.

The other sad but true problem is that while Seattle is the largest metro area in the state, and so needing more time and attention, Seattle-ites tend to ignore, shun, or worse, patronize the rest of the state’s LGBTQetc communities. We’re all in this together, we’re all working for Marriage Equality for the entire state, not just King County.

but heterosexual parents, no matter how psychotic they may be, are OK?

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57372394-504083/authorities-powell-planned-fire-dead-boys-found-with-chop-injuries/

“– Authorities say Josh Powell planned the fatal house fire that killed himself and his two young sons Sunday.”

Happy Birthday, Pam! Great pictures! :)

Geez, they forgot Carrie Prejean…..

Here in the PacNW we’ve been having a bit of an opposite problem – for now, anyway. Our early Spring just won’t give way. Sure, we’ve had a couple days here and there of 70+ temps, but as I type this (5:30pm PDT), it’s 63 and raining.

This bodes ill for us, later in the summer. We’re overdue for the kind of weather the rest of the country is experiencing right now, and we’re not able to handle it very well. I live in a senior/disabled highrise that has no air conditioning, and when the temps get above 80 (even if just for a few hours), it’s hard on many people. Please belive me when I say the rest of the country has my sympathy, for if we have that kind of weather here later on, there will be heatstroke deaths. :(

“adult heterosexual boundaries”

Why the specification/distinction?

Amen! :)

Aw, geez, where to begin?

1. THANK YOU!!! You have beautifully articulated what I’ve been dealing with for 22 years. I didn’t choose to become disabled, but here I am. It’s reached the point that when somebody says something to the effect of “funny, you don’t LOOK disabled,” I respond with “funny, you don’t LOOK stupid!” I get so angry – I know most people are well-meaning and sincere, but I’m beginning to wonder if patronization is a DNA trait. -sigh-

2. Stay off disability as long as you can. I know that sounds unusual, but it’s not the “life of Reilly” some people think. Finding competent doctors who will take Medicare or Medicaid (please note the word “competent”) is but one of the many aggravations that can drive a person into serious depression. Then there’s paperwork and dealing with gov’t agencies. Talk about dehumanizing!!! Anybody who thinks we’re just gaming the system needs to go through the disability determination process, and periodic reviews. Only a hardcore gamer would bother (or somebody who is truly disabled).

And my personal favorite: People who think I’m wasting their tax dollars. I got news: I worked for many years and paid those same taxes. What I’m receiving now isn’t some belevolence from the government on high, it’s a Return On Investment! I’m not asking to be treated like royalty, but I will not be treated like a second-class citizen who’s slavishly grateful for whatever gets thrown my way.

Pam, attitude is 90% of the battle, and I admire yours! Best wishes.

Really? It’s devolved to this? We gotta vote for “the good guy” or else the big bad boogeyman will do unspeakable things to you, things that might even make Ron Jeremy blush?

—sigh—

I don’t know if the forms vary by county, but this was in Snohomish County. Hopefully the forms have changed by now.

Given the fact that now anybody can be ordained via the internet in 5 minutes, and that states don’t distinguish internet clergy from any other, to me that kind of makes the whole “religious” meme a sham.

Hmmm, the state could create a new revenue stream by creating an “officiator” license for people who don’t want to find a judge or a clergy… :o

When I first officiated a (non-gay) marriage here (WA), I was surprised that the license had two categories: civil, or religious. There was a notation that any marriage not officiated by a judge (I think it said something about other appropriate state employee as well) was considered religious. Maybe I’m splitting hairs, but to me that’s absurd! To me, the license portion has never been a religious thing, only the ceremony itself. More often than not I’m asked to officiate ceremonies that don’t have even a hint of religion in them. But these marriages are considered “religious” because I’m not a judge. :o

Clarknt67,

Yes, it’s a bad bellwether, but we’ve got other forces at play. This is a gubernatorial election year, and Rob McKenna (R) is popular, he’s probably going to get a lot of DINOs, which gives a bit of a boost to the pro-R74 crowd.

NetAmigo makes a very good point about public information. Hopefully it’ll be a big enough influence against R74.

First, the Devil’s Advocate: a lot of these paid signature gatherers, at least what I’ve seen from Whatcom to Thurston Counties, are people desperate to put food in their children’s mouth.

Having said that, before going further I should note that the illustrious Mr. Tim Eyman, who hails from the Spokane area, the reddest part of the state, was involved in the repeal attempt of the domestic partnership law a few years ago. He claimed, after that abysmal joke, that he would no longer take part in such efforts, since they’re social, not political in nature.

Which brings me to: I wouldn’t be at all surprised on learning about some kind of “agreement” between Eyman and NOM-PMW regarding R74, be it formal or just a phone call. Eyman can supply the signature gatherers, by now I’m quite sure he’s got quite a roster of “good” ones. NOM-PMW can obviously supply the funding. Eyman’s initiative is having some problems, needs a lot more signatures, as, apparently, does R74. It’s a win-win as they see it.

Of course, the esteemed Mr. Rob McKenna, Esq., Attorney General for the State of Washington, isn’t going to ask questions. He’s a Republican, he’s running for Governor, he’s a friend of Eyman, he favors R74.

Guess it’s time to have somebody who opposes R74 stand close to any signature gatherer and remind people to check which petition they’re signing… sigh

Paid signature gatherers are an accepted fact of life here in WA, has been for years. (Also doing referendums has become a cottage industry for some.) If you ask a signature gatherer if they’re paid, they are trained to say yes, but they still believe in what they’re doing.

In the past, attempts have been made to eliminate paid people (and also to change the referendum process), but failed thanks to politicians on BOTH sides of the aisle.

“Judas, a homo.” ROTFLMAO!

I wonder how many cats she has? :)

video removed for violating YT’s TOS? Is it archived anywhere?

Pay attention, WASHINGTON STATE! Look at the way Pam and others have exposed the lies time and time again. Look at the way Pam and others have worked so hard to educate people. Look at the way Pam and others have tried so hard to get people to understand the magnitude of problems this amendment will cause.

Already I’ve heard, “Well, that was North Carolina. We’re smarter here.” Yeah, right! We’re so smart that we don’t have to put 100+% energy into our fight? Pam and others put in 1000+% energy, and yet hate and ignorance won out. We don’t dare do any less.

Never, ever, underestimate the power of human stupidity!

(I’m angry, not at WA State, but at what happened in NC. I believe the best we can do now is channel that anger into heightened efforts. Although, the one comment that I quoted really did p— me off!)

Earlier this week I listened in on the Telephone Town Hall for the 42nd, where both State Sen. & Reps are Repub., & the area is very conservative (they voted Santorum recently). For one hour, there was only one “social issue” question, about abortion. There was only 1 & 1/2 outright partisan (anti-D) sniping comments. The rest of the questions had to do with jobs & the state economy. That’s not to say the referendum isn’t an issue, but it would appear to be very low priority.

No doubt signatures are being acquired: Wal-Mart is strategically conveniently located for the majority of 42nd residents, & Lynden has too many churches per capita. But it’s nice to see a glimmer of hope of failing to get enough signatures here in the NW corner.

By default, there are many supposedly pro-gay, gay-friendly churches and denominations that, by virtue of their resounding silence, are guilty of letting “evil prevail.” I belong to a denomination that had an internationally-publicized schism about the role of gay people in the church, and especially the clergy (ca. 2002-2004, minor skirmishes still ongoing). Yet, the Diocese I’m in now, which covers everything from Bellingham to Olympia and more, which claims to be gay-loving, gay-affirming, gay-friendly, has been awfully quiet about R74, especially in the northern counties. I guess it’s OK to claim that God Loves Gays as long as as long as parishoners and priests don’t have to get off their “blessed assurances” and actually do something to make it so.

“And when good men do nothing, evil prevails.” Uh-huh.