Good As You

Does this mean that her and Rosie are now friends? sorry, I just could not resist. HEHE.

Now she's fully baked again.

I'm not so sure that her apology didn't raise more questions for me than it answered.

Why were gays, alone, her target?

She said she didn't know A SINGLE GAY PERSON who wasn't selfish and gay, gay, gay all the time.

Does she not know non-gay people who are selfish and single minded? Does she not know people of other minority groups who are selfish and single minded?

She said one of the reasons she went off on gays is because she knew that there gay Republicans. Is she unaware that there are also women who are Republicans? Does she not know that there are African Americans who are Republicans? Is it not equally as odd and offensive that blacks and women would be Republican?

I certainly accept her apology but I think she needs to do some serious soul searching so that she can figure out why she has these feelings below the surface.

I'm also disheartened by all the gay people who are saying that she is 100% right. I know these people. They are the ones who bitch and complain about gay activists and moan about how they are single minded on gay issues. Then you realize that the one's bitching and moaning have never done a damned thing for ANYONE, gay OR otherwise.

"And I have never once --and I say I have gay and lesbian people in my family -- never once in my 54 years have I ever once heard a gay or lesbian person who’s politically active say one thing about anything that was not about them. They don’t care about minimum wage, they don’t care about any other group other than their own self because you know, some people say being gay and lesbian is a totally narcissistic thing and sometimes I wonder."

How am I supposed to EVER forgive THAT?

Her "apology" is meaningless back peddling for the sake of her carreer.

Where is the boycott of Roseanne products in the LGBT community?

Why do we forgive instantly and at worse politely ask for "education"?

How could Roseanne possibly be more educated on LGBT issues?

Why are you denying that these are NOT deep seated hatreds on her part?

How can Don Imus (properly) be punished in the national press for passing statements but the LGBT community sits and takes this kind of hate filled diatribe?

Being well behaved WON'T make them like you any more you know.

Hell- we MADE this woman and she hates our guts!!!

WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE?

CollinwoodBear: You are free to accept or not accept her explanation and apology. However, she does have a great track record (she most certainly does not "hate our guts") and her apology sounds pretty earnest and heartfelt.

Her self serving apology does not address ANY of the bile she unleashed last week.

Was she talking about gay Republicans as she now claims when she said:

"I think when it started in San Francisco, puttin' gay marriage on the ballot, that's what made the Republicans win. I mean, it's actually the gay people's fault that they won because gay and lesbian people definitely practiced a divide and conquer mentality where, you know, it always has to be about them."

Such love for our community!

Deep seated hatred.

And you forgive her because you like the old TV show she used to do.

Yeah Yeah she kissed that Hemingway woman- so that gives her a license to gay bash?

What has she done for us lately?

And where WAS Roseanne during the AIDS crisis?

Again CollinwoodBear: You are free to have your own opinions and react to her comments and apology as you wish. But please don't profess to know things like "you forgive her because you like the old TV show she used to do." Personally, I believe she made some very bone-headed statements while trying to make a point. But unlike so many these days, she issued what seems to be a very heartfelt apology and clarification.

Enough. I have exchanged emails with Roseanne and I accept her apology.

Uhm...okay. Glad you two have made up. I hate to see you fighting :-)

I hate to tread into dangerous waters ....

Is it possible, just possible, that Roseanne's comments irritated folks SO much is that despite the fact that it was poorly (and granted offensively) stated, there is a tiny, itsy bitsy kernel of truth in there.

I have to say, I consider myself a LGBT rights activist, and I am thrilled that a trans ENDA, and an end to the military ban seem a bit more close with the new congress - and these are important and worthy things I will continue to fight for.

However.

Take, for example, Lorri Jeane from the LA Gay and Lesbian Center suggesting that LGBT folks shouldn't support ANY of the Democratic presidential candidates because none of them support full Marriage Equality.

That is a hard pill for me to swallow. And it hints at the 'it's all about me' mentality that I think turns some straight folks away.

Let's face it - we live in complicated and troublesome times. It should come as no suprise that the number one policy concern whether your are gay or straight - is the war in Iraq. As much of a gay rights activist as I am, there are some times where you have to look around and say - hey - there's something bigger going on here.

We are part of a larger social justice movement. We are part of a larger movement for equality - and we are connected in big and small ways some of which we now understand, and some which we do not yet.

Yes, we need to fight for treatment for gay men living with HIV. Hundreds of people in the United Stateds living with HIV are on waiting lists to get medications they need because there is not enough money for the federal AIDS Drug Assistance Program.

But we need to connect this fight, to the fight to fix a broken healthcare system. We can't fix AIDS-care in the united states without fixing healthcare.

Yes - we need to fight for LGBT soldiers and bring an end to the ban on serving openly in the military.

But we also need to connect this to the larger fight to take care of soldiers (like making sure they have adequate armor, for one), and create a plan for bringing out troops home.

YES I will always be a gay rights activist. But the next fundraiser I'm planning isn't for an LGBT group, it's for an orphanage in Nigeria for children whose parents have died of AIDS. My next protest will be marching (with an LGBT contingent) for Voting Rights in the District of Columbia.

I think however imperfectly worded, this was the kind of thing Rosie was talking about - being open to see the bigger picture and working for a broader vision of social justice alongside all of our allies.

And that my friends, doesn't make me any less Queer.

David

I don't want to belabor this but I have to say the time to paint an entire community with one brush is never- in fact it's what bigotry is all about.

Should some LGBT's have broader politics? Sure- and so should a lot of straight people.

Roseanne specifically singled out political LGBTs and as far as political queers go, I can think of no one more political than Larry Kramer- who in a seminal speech last month for the anniversary of ACT UP, laid out a poltical vision far beyond that of gay marriage- including universal health care.

Did you hear his speech? Did Roseanne?

If not here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmkZ1V1SO0c

Self reflection, constructive criticism and analysis is fine but I don't like to judge my fellow LGBTs too much not even you my friend- mostly because I love you all too much.

And I don't think it's wise to over-analyze remarks that Ms. Barr herself has wisely distanced herself from.