Michele Bachmann: America's Greatest Homophobe

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Michele Bachmann, my love life is none of your business

Michele Bachmann: where do I begin? First off, she represents Minnesota in the United States House of Representatives. She is also the leading female candidate for the 2012 Presidential election. Bachmann is quite outspoken. She holds some very radical views, and is a supporter of the all too well-known Tea Party. To get to the point: she’s a very conservative Republican.

For years, a major part of the Republican Party platform is to oppose same-sex marriage, including civil unions. This isn’t a really big surprise, given the fact that the Republican Party has a huge evangelical Christian base, and we all know how Christians (at least historically) feel about homosexuals being able to marry (I can just hear their hate speeches at this moment).

Now, I do not mean to demonize all Christians, especially since quite a lot actually endorse same-sex marriage. At the Pride Parade in Chicago this past year, there were a lot of churches coming out to show their support of equality for same-sex couples, including many Pentecostal and United Church of Christ groups.

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Religion: No Rights Reserved

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When will religion recognize gay rights?

I cannot begin to describe how saddened I am by this story. For those not familiar, a 4-year old boy was shot by Peter Moses, a religious cult leader, because he thought the little boy exhibited “gay behavior.” I’m not even sure where to begin. Not only does this show just how rampant homophobia is, but it attests to the fact that religion incites violence.

Why do people dislike homosexuals? Is it because it’s “weird?” For some, sure: They have not been ‘exposed’ to homosexual relationships, so when they see two men or two women holding hands and maybe kissing, they ask, “wait…what just happened?” This is excusable and goes away with time. But for someone to disdain homosexuals and outwardly dislike them, that source isn't ignorance, but comes from religious dogma.

Christianity and many other religions have a dislike for homosexuals. It has never been explained why. When given any thought, it is not morally incorrect. What exactly is wrong with two people coming together and loving each other? Nobody chooses the gender they fall in love with, and for many who do not want “homosexual feelings,” this is a huge burden on them. Without the religious notion that same-sex relationships are ‘evil’ and ‘unnatural,’ this sort of burden and violence would not happen.

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Homophobic Minorities?

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Why do minorities turn to their oppressors' religion?

Have you ever noticed that many racial/ethnic minorities seem to cling to the religions of their oppressors? The African-American community, for example, is often a big opponent of same-sex marriage. Many Native American tribes, which are generally sovereignty nations, have also come to outlaw same-sex marriages. In many parts of Africa, homosexuality can get you raped or even killed. But why?

Several of my friends that are of a racial/ethnic minority have told me that they’ve had comments directed to them such as, “You can’t be gay, you’re black” and “But that’s a white disease.” No one is apparently doing a history check before making these really ignorant statements. Guess what, homosexual behavior can be found, and could always be found, everywhere.

Most tribal people didn’t have a concept of “orientation.” They also weren’t always quite as strict when it came to what gender someone was despite their sex. Many cultures could have a male woman, for example, or a female man, or maybe even a completely different gender, and in most of those cultures these people were considered a powerful, positive asset to the community. Sometimes these male women were allowed, even expected, to marry a male man. Sometimes they were allowed, even expected, to have same-sex relationships outside of their opposite-sex marriages. Were they ‘straight’ transsexuals? Just a ‘gay’ feminine male? Who knows. And it didn’t matter. It was irrelevant that their sexes were the same. I know of tribes in both the Americans and in Africa that had these traditions. There are probably many more.

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My Take On Homophobia

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In preparation for the International Day Against Homophobia, a group of Lebanese  LGBT bloggers started a unique initiative. Aiming to increase awareness and bring attentions to LGBT issues in Lebanon, they asked contributors to describe the way homophobia  affects their lives or those of people around them. People did not hesitate to share touching and compelling stories that showed to what extent homophobia is widespread in our society and the amount of damage it can cause. Most contributions,however, were written in a positive style, giving an optimistic insight to the future of LGBT rights in Lebanon.

I recently got my own story published there. Entitled I have no fear, it describes how LGBT individuals are raised on homophobic basis, and never educated that being gay is 'normal'. It goes on to tell how parents tend to imagine their children's future life in a typical heterosexual relationship without even considering the possibility of them being gay or lesbian. Then I talk about the fact that even though  I'm not completely closeted and that there are  people aware of my orientation, homophobia still gets to me sometimes and weakens my will to go on. Finally I say that I always get back on my feet and know that a bright future is ahead... because I have no fear!

Streets Of Beirut: Speaking Loud Against Homophobia

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While taking a walk with my boyfriend in the streets of Hamra last night, some colourful flyers caught our attention. They're in support of  the Leb IDAHO blog. Good work guys!

When I was 19, my father pulled a gun in my face

You're afraid of the dark? Try living in a closet

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