http://www.edgelearning.com Building Culture - Driving Breakthrough Results Sun, 06 Nov 2011 23:47:44 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.2 http://www.edgelearning.com/2011/06/21/deserving-of-respect-the-lgbt-community/#comment-44 Marianne K. Ozmun Sun, 06 Nov 2011 23:47:44 +0000 http://www.edgelearning.com/?p=1180#comment-44 Anita: So glad that you and I had that "chance" meeting facilitated by Esme in Olympia last week. I think you have taken hold of that kernel of what it means to walk the world as LGBT as always the group least "entitled" to respect. As an out lesbian woman I have been told that sexual orientation and gender identity do not warrant the same attention or the same level of respect as those aspects of human difference that one comes by through fate, not through choice. Therein lies the difference, the countless voices who claim that this is all about choice and preference and behavior and anatomy. Those of us who walk in these shoes know that our sexual orientation and gender identity are no more chosen than the pigment of our skin or the color of our eyes. Our only choice is how we choose to live with the cards we have been dealt and no I do not mean to become non sexual or to ignore our truths. I mean our choice is whether to live fully or stay in the shadows where so many would have s stay. Your position on this issue is so critical because I have found that the issues of sexual orinetation and gender identity are even more inflammatory in communities of color. Prejudice against members of the LGBT community is the last mainstream socially sanctioned, religiously endorsed, and popularly embraced bias. It is no longer popular or politically advantageous to be a racist in our country but elections are still won and lost on whether or not a candidate loves or hates the gays. That is telling enough. Until homophobia becomes as harmful to a political campaign as being an outspoken racist, we have yet a long way to go toward equality...toward respect. Anita:
So glad that you and I had that “chance” meeting facilitated by Esme in Olympia last week. I think you have taken hold of that kernel of what it means to walk the world as LGBT as always the group least “entitled” to respect. As an out lesbian woman I have been told that sexual orientation and gender identity do not warrant the same attention or the same level of respect as those aspects of human difference that one comes by through fate, not through choice. Therein lies the difference, the countless voices who claim that this is all about choice and preference and behavior and anatomy. Those of us who walk in these shoes know that our sexual orientation and gender identity are no more chosen than the pigment of our skin or the color of our eyes. Our only choice is how we choose to live with the cards we have been dealt and no I do not mean to become non sexual or to ignore our truths. I mean our choice is whether to live fully or stay in the shadows where so many would have s stay. Your position on this issue is so critical because I have found that the issues of sexual orinetation and gender identity are even more inflammatory in communities of color. Prejudice against members of the LGBT community is the last mainstream socially sanctioned, religiously endorsed, and popularly embraced bias. It is no longer popular or politically advantageous to be a racist in our country but elections are still won and lost on whether or not a candidate loves or hates the gays. That is telling enough. Until homophobia becomes as harmful to a political campaign as being an outspoken racist, we have yet a long way to go toward equality…toward respect.

]]> http://www.edgelearning.com/2011/06/21/deserving-of-respect-the-lgbt-community/#comment-43 P. Cullen Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:15:35 +0000 http://www.edgelearning.com/?p=1180#comment-43 Of course, respect for every person as an individual is absolutely necessary. But when you talk about the “LGBT community,” what does that mean? The collective term implies a group of people who have decided to make a public statement regarding their sexuality. They want recognition and acceptance of a lifestyle that for millennia has been antithetical to healthy society. Defining one’s core identity on the basis of a so-called sexual orientation with its concomitant unhealthy behaviors is a first in Western Civilization. Many of us are not willing to “respect” a lifestyle, a movement, and a political force that we feel is destructive to the fabric of a healthy society. Respect for the individual, yes … but not for its collective ideology and political aspirations. Of course, respect for every person as an individual is absolutely necessary. But when you talk about the “LGBT community,” what does that mean? The collective term implies a group of people who have decided to make a public statement regarding their sexuality. They want recognition and acceptance of a lifestyle that for millennia has been antithetical to healthy society. Defining one’s core identity on the basis of a so-called sexual orientation with its concomitant unhealthy behaviors is a first in Western Civilization. Many of us are not willing to “respect” a lifestyle, a movement, and a political force that we feel is destructive to the fabric of a healthy society. Respect for the individual, yes … but not for its collective ideology and political aspirations.

]]> http://www.edgelearning.com/2011/06/21/deserving-of-respect-the-lgbt-community/#comment-38 Paul Meshanko Sat, 23 Jul 2011 03:03:24 +0000 http://www.edgelearning.com/?p=1180#comment-38 Bravo...great post. I would love to have been the proverbial "fly on the wall" when you were engaging with some of the critics you mention. I sense that conflict has led to a both a deepening and increase in breadth of your perspective. Almost like breaking through a cocoon that you didn't know was there possibly. You'll have to write more often...I like it! Bravo…great post. I would love to have been the proverbial “fly on the wall” when you were engaging with some of the critics you mention. I sense that conflict has led to a both a deepening and increase in breadth of your perspective. Almost like breaking through a cocoon that you didn’t know was there possibly. You’ll have to write more often…I like it!

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