Matthew 7:15 or: "The Rise of Gilead"

See You Next Tuesday!

You'll notice I didn't use that crazy-eyes picture of Ms Bachmann for this piece. In fact, I specifically looked for one that was attractive. And there is no doubt, the former Intelligence Committee member (insert your own oxymoron joke here) is an attractive woman. And so is She Who Must Not Be Named. And why is that? Because the Christian Right (which I will forever and ever continue to insist, is neither) is middle America. Breadbasket, small town, Ozzies and Harriets; Beavers and Wallys., who go to work  and school and church and do and believe everything people in authority tell them to do and believe. The people in authority? Well, they'll lie and scare and do anything they can to keep Ozzie and Harriet under their thumbs. The Face of Hate in America isn't a white man under a white hood or a skin-head Neo-Nazi. No, my friends, the Face of Hate in America is Mom. 

Bachmann continues to spread lies about LGBT people (I can only suppose) in the hope that they will get her elected in 2016. They should get her censured, at the least. You can read and /or listen to her most recent offensive comments at Thenewcivilrightsmovement.com, if you are so inclined. Though I must comment on one quote in particular. It is one of the oldest and most proven incorrect lie these hate-fueled dimwits use when trying to justify their hate:

•  "Also, they want to abolish age of consent laws. We would do away with statutory rape laws, so adults would be able to freely prey on little children sexually. That’s the deviance that we’re seeing embraced in our culture today.”   

This lie continues to be spread by the Right, even though every reputable therapist, psychologist and psychiatrist refutes it. Of course, how can we expect the the truth (or even anything sensible) from a woman who claimed that the HPV vaccine did the following to a 12 year old girl in FL:  "(she)... took that vaccine, that injection -- and suffered from mental retardation thereafter." Really? So, you are using an archaic and generally accepted as offensive word, while blaming the offensive (to you) condition on a medically sound prophylaxis which has been proven safe and effective? Hmmm... so I suppose when you got your Polio suger-cube, you got Polio? I know I did. NOT! (Yeah, immature, I know - but at least I read).

In Margaret Atwood's chilling 1985 novel, "The Handmaid's Tale," America in 2195 has devolved into a dystopian Christian theocracy called The Republic of Gilead, where women (especially unmarried women) have no say over what happens to them. The central character Offred, is the titular 'handmaid,' basically a baby factory for the ruling class. In Atwood's Gilead, LGBT people are labeled 'gender traitors' and hanged. This is exactly what the Right wants, only they don't want to wait another 170 years. They want it now. And they present it as truth. And the weak and uneducated believe them. Because they look like Mom. And so what if Dad is fruitier than you're Uncle P? He can cure himself with 'Reparative Therapy," praise Jebus! Reverend Shambock says it's so! Of course, neither of your two Uncle Ricks' eating habits are helping... 

Listen, I don't care what you believe. Personally, I wish no one believed (because it would end so many conflicts and so much hatred). And yes, I have plenty of friends who are believers of one faith or another. I don't dislike or shun them because of it. And yes, the vast majority of my believer friends are progressive liberals like Uncle P.

 I do care about your politics, though. But when your politics are based on your dogma, you get a very smelly tire fire that needs to put out well-before even coming close to being a problem.

And while I can't speak for any of you (or however many are left, at this point), I refuse to go back in the closet for June effing Cleaver on Zoloft!

Rant over. Enjoy your weekends! 

More, anon.
Prospero

"Finding Mr. Banks" Is a Lie

P.L. Travers

Disney's latest live-action film is Saving Mr. Banks, supposedly based on the story of how Walt Disney convinced author P.L.Travers to let him turn "Mary Poppins" into a movie.

Travers, an Australian born failed actress, went on to later gain fame as a poet and novelist. Her own banker father died young of alcoholism and she was later raised by the stern and loving nanny who inspired "Mary Poppins." Rumored to be a lesbian and adopting a son (based on an Astrologer's advice) as a single woman in the 1940's, Travers was an early 20th Century pioneer with a rather mercurial personality, prone to moodiness and not particularly fond of children, who later wrote erotica.  But it was the six Poppins novels that brought her the most acclaim.

Travers apparently hated Disney's version of her first novel, even after he convinced her to allow it to be made into a film. 

Sometime in the early 70's, Mom surprised my sister and I by taking us to a matinee of  revival screening of Mary Poppins. After it was over, my poor little sister (who was maybe 5 or 6 at the time) cried hysterically because Mary left the Banks' house. We tried to explain to her that other children needed her help, but she would have none of it.

Recently the BBC made an extraordinary short documentary about Travers and Disney, which exposes much of what the recent film washes over. If you have an hour, I highly recommend the documentary below:

Mary Poppins made an international star out of Julie Andrews (who won her first Oscar for the role) and eventually became one of Disney's most popular films. In fact, I was particularly thrilled by the fountain in the newest part of the Grand Floridian Hotel in Walt Disney World.

The Grand Floridian Hotel Lobby

While my sister may very well be a self-described "Disney Dork," and I truly enjoyed seeing how the various hotels at the Disney World resort were decorated for the holidays, I somehow completely understand how Travers objected to Disney's 'Disneyfication" of her stories.

I understand her objections, especially given my own proclivity for the darker side of life... But I have to admit that the Disney film had a major influence on my own movie experience. I was just 2 when the movie was first released and probably 6 before I saw it for the first time. 

Despite what Travers intended and objected to, millions of children look to Mary Poppins as a peek into early 20th Century British life. Regardless of what Travers thought, both she and Disney made millions off the movie. As much as she may have objected to the movie itself, Travers' children's novels took off because of the film. Travers established a charity using the money she made, but never established a real relationship with her adopted son or his children. 

More, anon.
Prospero

Sex, Lies and Pat Roberston

Pants on Fire

Pat Robertson continues to be one of the worst human beings alive. I'm not saying this because I'm gay. I'm saying this because I am a rational human being. 

Listen, I have no problem admitting I am a Secular Humanist. I also have no problem with people who are religious. I have a dear friend of over 35 years who is an Episcopal priest. My own sister is a devout Christian. Neither of them have condemned me to hell because of my innate sexuality. They take the New Testament at it's word: "Love thy neighbor as thou wouldst love thyself." They also know that many of the things in the Old Testament were written before the rise of Science and Reason.

But there are plenty of uninformed, frightened and honestly ignorant 'Christians' who fall for the kind of fear-mongering their religious leaders use to keep them in line (i.e. 'donating'). These preachers continue to use and abuse the Bible to further their own agendas, threatening their followers with eternal damnation if they don't agree with their vitriol. Among the worst offenders is Pat Robertson, who hosts the "700 Club" (founded by the very publicly disgraced Jim Bakker). Robertson's obviously loony claims include telling a woman whose husband had cheated on her that she should make a home so nice he wouldn't want to stray. But earlier this week, Robertson made what is probably his most insane claim, ever:

"The Stuff" to which Robertson refers is HIV/AIDS. And while there are admittedly a very few equally insane people who do want to infect others and even fewer and even more insane folks who actually seek out infection (more on that in another post, someday), Robertson's story about HIV+ people in San Francisco using special rings to infect innocent people with AIDS is probably the singularly most preposterous statement I've ever heard. And I'm not the only one to think so:

Thankfully, the folks at CBN (The Christian Broadcasting Network) recognized Robertson's ramblings as false and didn't air that particular segment, but that didn't stop his hateful claim from being posted online for everyone to see.

Personally, I don't understand how any educated person in the 21st Century still believes that homosexuality is a product of demonic possession; the result of sexual abuse; influenced by other gay people or a deliberate choice. Having never been possessed, abused, influenced nor having deliberately chosen my sexuality (as has no one else, ever) I find myself both alternately wanting to punch Robertson in his nose, asking him when he 'chose' to be straight and sitting down with him and explaining just how wrong he is.

Here's the thing: As long as there are superstitious, uneducated people, Robertson and his ilk will continue to influence their opinions. Using fear; threats; misinformation and outright lies to propagate prejudice, people like Robertson, Vladimir Putin, the most recent former Pope; the head of the ROC; Robert Mugabe and various Hindu and Muslim leaders will do everything they can to keep their followers from recognizing Truth.

Ignorance is not bliss, folks. It is death. Thankfully, the tide seems to be turning and with the recent SCOTUS rulings, the U.S. is well on the way toward joining the 21st Century in recognizing that LGBT people are deserving the same Human Rights as our straight counterparts. For the first time in my lifetime, I have hope that I will not die a second-class citizen, something I honestly never thought I'd live to see. The times are indeed, a-changing. 

I just hope that those who refuse to accept reality will eventually realize that if they don't grow, learn and accept the truth, they will leave a legacy of ignorance and hate for future generations to scorn and ridicule.

More, anon.

Prospero