BY Carrie L. Kaufman

When one group is oppressed, we are all oppressed. That was the lesson I learned from the Holocaust. Germans turned their eyes when Jews were stripped of their rights. They spat at the Gypsies who were rounded up. They laughed when the faigelah son of their next door neighbor was taken away. They started to worry when their “correct” neighbors disappeared, and they started to lose their own freedoms of movement and association. Then they couldn’t move at all, and they wondered how they got there.

Barack Obama is going to be president of the United States. When California closed its polls and Obama was announced the winner, tears sprang spontaneously to my eyes. Then I saw that Jessie Jackson, and Oprah, had them, too. When Obama spoke of the 106-year-old woman, Ann Nixon Cooper, and all that she has lived through, the floodgates in my eyes could not hold back. This election is truly an historic moment, not just for brown skinned people or for liberals, but for the world. Oppression has been overcome, and our kids are going to grow up not knowing what it was all about.

Well…not all kids.

At the same time that California voters were putting Obama over the top, they were also decisively adding an amendment to the state constitution to ban gay marriage. According to the tracking polls, Proposition 8 was opposed overwhelmingly by white people, independents and liberals. It was supported overwhelmingly by Christian conservatives…and African-Americans.

This is the first time in American history that people have voted to change a state constitution to strip people of rights they already have. It took a long time to get the vote for women, but once we got it, we never looked back. As late as the 1970s, many states still barred black people and white people from getting married. But once those miscegenation laws were struck down, there was no support for constitutional amendments to pull back progress and codify prejudice.

But now, the son of a black man and a white woman is going to be president of the United States. And while I was awed by the progress that this group, and we as a nation, and we as human beings, have achieved, I am struck by the fact that with all the oppression African-Americans have had to overcome, there are still many who don’t understand that by stripping another group of their rights, they are still oppressing themselves.

This campaign for gay marriage has put me in an odd position. I’m not for marriage. At all. I see it as a social construct borne in misreadings of the bible and designed to reinforce the view that men must rule over women. Its history in the last 1000 years is one of contract law and ownership. “Husband,” in its Old English origin, means to rule over a household. The word “obey,” was a regular part of the marriage ceremony as late as 20 years ago.

Even in these modern times, when women and men write their own vows and enter marriage with the best intentions for creating a co-equal partnership, the collective weight of history and subconscious societal expectations often buffets their resolve. We don’t know how to be married and be ourselves, so we tend to fall into pre-conceived roles.

The thing about being gay—about being an outsider in any way—is that you get to live apart from society’s expectations. You get to figure out who you are. You have to. There’s no pressure to follow the pattern that moves us from, say, college to living together to marriage to kids to the house in the ‘burbs to… Once you’ve decided that you can find more connection with someone of the same sex than the opposite sex, that pattern is broken. In a big way.

And that can be scary to non-gay people. When you’re caught up in trying to navigate—mostly subconsciously—the demands of societal expectations, it’s unsettling to see people who aren’t even trying.

As ambivalent as I am about gay marriage, it has occurred to me that gay people, perhaps, can redefine marriage, can strip the sexism from it and help pave the way for more co-equal partnerships.

Of course, that is ultimately what terrifies anti-gay marriage people. If gay people get married, who mows the lawn? Who cooks? Who has the kids, if any? Most importantly, who’s in charge?

As I watched Jesse Jackson cry on election night, I was reminded of the incrementality of progress. When I was a baby, Martin Luther King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. And now, my generation and the ones that have come after have elected a brown skinned man as president. As Obama said, Mrs. Nixon-Cooper, that 106-year-old woman who feared lynchings and had to sit on the back of the bus and go to separate schools and separate restaurants and separate parks, who was 61-years-old when King stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, who had just watched as Medgar Evers was gunned down, and was to see the same of Dr. King a few years later…would never have believed that this day would come. But the men and women who stood up for civil rights throughout the 20th century threw the first gravel on the road that would lead to this historic presidency.

This gives me hope. My children already think gay people can marry. My children are growing up with a different understanding of what marriage is about. Many, many other children are, too. As the generation born during the struggle for gay marriage gets to middle age, the generations behind them will wonder even more why gay people getting married was such a big deal.

I saw a quote the day after the election from a woman who voted for Proposition 8. She said the country was getting too socially liberal, that it was different from the America she grew up in, and that it scared the hell out of her.

Yep.

The America of the 20th century was one of prejudice and exclusion. The America in the first part of the 21th century has been worse. I have feared in the last eight years that German-style fascism could too easily gain strength in the U.S., as “divisiveness” has been the byword of American politics. No, I’m not saying that people who are uncomfortable with same-sex marriage are fascists. And I’m not even really lamenting the passing of Proposition 8. It will go down. Eventually.

But as I celebrate the victory of Barack Obama, it is imperative that I—that we all—keep remembering that real progress is incremental, and that we need to keep telling ourselves and each other that as long as we stop one group from living in freedom, we are stifling freedom for ourselves.

Did you hear about the historic, stressed-out new president-elect? The fake one on 24, that is — a helmet-haired lady! Played by Tony winner Cherry Jones, President Allison Taylor steps right into a hot, steamy geopolitical mess on her inauguration day in 24's "Redemption"; the two-hour prequel to season seven airs this Sunday. As Vulture bugged the secrecy-bound Jones for details on the new season (and other stuff), she was driving through the Hollywood hills, racing against time to make an appointment. Almost like a real episode, but without waterboarding or next-generation surveillance tech.

The following took place between 3:30 and 4 p.m. last Friday.

Hi Cherry! How are you?
I’m swell, driving around in my little Prius hoping to find 20th Century Fox studios in time for lunch. I’ve never been before — we don’t shoot at the studio. We shoot in lovely Chatsworth, California, the porn capital of America. I think 24 is the only legit show being filmed there right now.

Do you ever rub shoulders with porn stars at the local Coffee Bean?
I think I rub shoulders with a lot of porn crews, but I have yet to see anyone that seems completely fake from the waist up.

What can you say about President Allison Taylor?
She’s not Hillary. She has nothing to do with Hillary. She’s a combination of Eleanor Roosevelt, Golda Meier, and John Wayne. The day just gets harder and harder and harder. I have to keep girding my loins to survive.

What side of the aisle does she sit on?
They’re so clever on 24. Because you never really know. I certainly have my theories, which I’m not going to share with you.

Would President Taylor see eye to eye with our president-elect?
I absolutely think she would see eye to eye with Obama. I will say that, regardless of my policies, my hair will be read as pure Republican.

You weren’t familiar with the show before you signed on, were you?
I’d never seen it. I knew that it was violent, that there was torture — big negatives for me. But I’d grown up watching the Man From U.N.C.L.E. and Mission Impossible. I loved espionage thrillers.

Once you started watching, did you ever get in a zone where you were watching the show nonstop, round the clock?
Our dogs started putting their paws over their ears when they heard the theme. They were going kind of crazy. I went through a whole period where I would synchronize it with my own clock so that I could watch it in “real time.”

Tell me all about the First Gentleman, Madam President’s husband.
She’s actually very concerned about her husband. Concerned that he is in some way under some stress-caused misconception.

So he’s a crazy paranoid?
Word that in any way that is helpful to you.

What’s the most harrowing 24 hours you’ve experienced in real life?
I was about a mile and a half north of the towers on 9/11 and in my room when the second plane hit. I’ll never forget that first wave of people walking north with that thousand-yard stare that soldiers get. We couldn’t make eye contact. We tried to offer water, cell phones, or anything. I’ll never forget those moments.

You’ve been out of the closet as a lesbian for a very long time and have a partner. Thoughts on Proposition 8?
In another four or five years, the people who voted for it will be really ashamed of themselves. I remember for the first time Bob Dole said “gay marriage” on the Senate floor. Obviously he was against it, but the fact that he said it in my lifetime, I couldn’t believe. I think we’re hurtling toward tremendous change.

Have you and your partner had a commitment ceremony?
No, we have not had a commitment ceremony. I’ve never needed to get married. Marriage, to me, is a religious ceremony between people and their individual faiths. As far as my nation and my sexuality are concerned, I just want the rights of every civil marriage in this country. I have tremendous appreciation for the leaders of this movement.

In the upcoming film adaptation of Doubt, Meryl Streep plays the role you originated (brilliantly!) on Broadway. Variety gave her a crappy review. I know you’ve seen it. Thoughts?
Any day that you’re getting compared to Meryl Streep, you’re in pretty tall cotton. The first time I saw Meryl, I was 21, she was playing Kate in Taming of the Shrew in Central Park with Raúl Juliá. After that, I was basically hers for life. It was thrilling to see her crack this role that I knew backwards and forwards. There were scenes that I thought, Huh. Wonder why she did it that way? That rascal! She's so damn good. I’m going to the premiere, I’ll finally get to hug her and tell her how magnificent she is in it.

Read more posts by Justin Ravitz

Filed Under: 24, cherry jones, tv

James Franco doesn’t give a fig what anyone says - he’s happy to play gay.

The actor co-stars in “Milk” as Scott Smith, longtime partner of gay rights martyr Harvey Milk, played by Sean Penn. But although Franco’s performance is already drawing Oscar buzz, some are surprised that, for his next role, he’s chosen to play gay poet Allen Ginsberg in the movie “Howl.”

Franco, who came to fame in the “Spider-Man” movies, has dated actress Marla Sokoloff. But since they parted, his private life has become a matter of keen speculation, especially among his gay fans. Some wicked rumors have percolated on the Web.

But at a time when Hollywood still seems to like its heroic gay characters played by straight men, Franco isn’t bothered by perceptions.

Back-to-back gay roles “don’t make any difference to me,” he told us at Monday’s Cinema Society screening of “Milk.” “Ginsberg has been one of my heroes, and this movie” - about the 1957 obscenity trial over Ginsberg’s most famous poem - “is just so important.”

Never mind that Franco doesn’t look much like the tubby, balding, bearded Ginsberg of the hippie era.

“I’m playing him when he was in his late 20s, just after he went to Columbia,” said Franco, who happens to be a student at the same university. (The girls moon over him in Butler Library.) “We work with the old pictures. He has hair, he doesn’t have a beard and he’s not huge.”

Meanwhile, Franco doesn’t think much of the move to boycott Robert Redford’s Sundance Film Festival in Utah to punish Utah’s Mormon Church for helping finance California’s Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage. “Sundance has no connection to the Mormon Church that I know of,” he said.

“Milk” director Gus Van Sant agreed. “I don’t think I endorse it,” he said of the boycott. “So everything in Utah is just, like, off-limits?”

Josh Brolin, who plays Milk’s murderer, Dan White, offered that the one good thing about Proposition 8’s passage was that “it’s got people fired up. So I’m almost glad about that.”

Also at the Details-sponsored screening were Penn, co-star Emile Hirsch, Mickey Rourke, Natalie Portman, Adrian Grenier, Chace Crawford, Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber, Patricia Clarkson, Jon Voight, Stanley Tucci and James Gandolfini.

(source)

Chuck Norris wrote an article over at Town Hall about the harassment, and other activities that are meant to intimidate those that supported the approved Proposition 8, which amended the California constitution to define Marriage as between a man and a woman. The article was so clear and concise, that I am quoting it here. Thank you Chuck for speaking out. Chuck makes the right points below:

Protestors of Proposition 8 in California (the marriage amendment) shoved aside a 69-year-old woman who was bearing a cross. They reportedly spit on her and stomped on her cross. They then aligned themselves in a human barricade, blocking the media from getting to or interviewing the woman.

Prop. 8 supporter Jose Nunez, 37, was assaulted brutally while distributing yard signs to other supporters after church services at the St. Stanislaus Parish in Modesto.

Calvary Chapel Chino Hills was spray painted by vandals after they learned that the church served as an official collection point for Prop. 8 petitions.

Letters containing white powder (obviously mimicking anthrax) were sent to the Salt Lake City headquarters of the Mormon church and to a temple in Los Angeles. (Thankfully, the FBI said the substance was nontoxic.)

The 25-year artistic director of the California Musical Theatre, who also happens to be a Mormon, was muscled to resign because of his $1,000 donation to the campaign to ban gay marriage in California.

A pro-homosexual, pro-anarchy organization named Bash Back marched into the middle of a church service and flung fliers and condoms to the congregants. They also hung a banner from the balcony that featured two lesbians in provocative positions at the pulpit.

And lastly, the tolerance-preaching activists also have taken their anger to the blogosphere, where posts have planted ideas ranging from burning churches to storming the citadels of government until our society is forced to overturn Prop. 8. You even can find donor blacklists online. The lists include everyone who financially backed Prop. 8 — even those who gave as little as $46 — with the obvious objective that these individuals will be bantered and boycotted for doing so.

What’s wrong with this picture? Lots.

First, there’s the obvious inability of the minority to accept the will of the majority. Californians have spoken twice, through the elections in 2000 and 2008. Nearly every county across the state (including Los Angeles County) voted to amend the state constitution in favor of traditional marriage.

Nevertheless, bitter activists simply cannot accept the outcome as being truly reflective of the general public. So they have placed the brainwashing blame upon the crusading and misleading zealotry of those religious villains: the Catholics, evangelical Protestants, and especially Mormons, who allegedly are robbing the rights of American citizens by merely executing their right to vote and standing upon their moral convictions and traditional views.

What’s surprising (or maybe not so) is that even though 70 percent of African-Americans voted in favor of Proposition 8, protests against black churches are virtually nonexistent. And everyone knows exactly why: Such actions would be viewed as racist. Yet these opponents of Prop. 8 can protest vehemently and shout obscenities in front of Mormon temples without ever being accused of religious bigotry. There’s a clear double standard in our society. Where are the hate-crime cops when religious conservatives need them?

There were many of us who passionately opposed Obama, but you don’t see us protesting in the streets or crying "unfair." Rather, we are submitting to a democratic process and now asking how we can support "our" president. Just because we don’t like the election outcome doesn’t give us the right to bully those who oppose us. In other words, if democracy doesn’t tip our direction, we don’t swing to anarchy. That would be like the Wild West, the resurrection of which seems to be happening in these postelection protests.

I agree with Prison Fellowship’s founder, Chuck Colson, who wrote: "This is an outrage. What hypocrisy from those who spend all of their time preaching tolerance to the rest of us! How dare they threaten and attack political opponents? We live in a democratic country, not a banana republic ruled by thugs."

Regardless of one’s opinion of Proposition 8, it is flat-out wrong and un-American to intimidate and harass individuals, churches and businesses that are guilty of nothing more than participating in the democratic process. Political protests are one thing, but when old-fashioned bullying techniques are used that restrict voting liberties and even prompt fear of safety, activists have crossed a line. There is a difference between respectfully advocating one’s civil rights and demanding public endorsement of what many still consider to be unnatural sexual behavior through cruel coercion and repression tactics. One thing is for sure: The days of peaceful marches, such as those headed up by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., seem to be long gone.

The truth is that the great majority of Prop. 8 advocates are not bigots or hatemongers. They are American citizens who are following 5,000 years of human history and the belief of every major people and religion: Marriage is a sacred union between a man and a woman. Their pro-Prop. 8 votes weren’t intended to deprive any group of its rights; they were safeguarding their honest convictions regarding the boundaries of marriage.

On Nov. 4, the pro-gay community obviously was flabbergasted that a state that generally leans left actually voted right when it came to holy matrimony. But that’s exactly what happened; the majority of Californians — red, yellow, black and white — voted to define the margins of marriage as being between one man and one woman. California is the 30th state in our union to amend its constitution in doing so, joining Florida and Arizona in this election. Like it or not, it’s the law now. The people have spoken.

The majority of PEOPLE have spoken, but the pro gay community doesn’t want to listen. It’s time for the pro gay community to realize something, like it or not, they’re going to have to TOLERATE people who have a different perspective. It would be nice if police would start arresting those pro gay protesters who are committing crimes.

One more thing, the whole argument about equality is B.S. Gays have never wanted to be like traditional families, and they know they can’t be, because they ARE different, which is something they GAY PRIDE themselves on. You can’t keep twisting reality, and expect people to buy into a gay fantasy, because eventually, like on November 4, people realize the different between reality and fantasy. Perhaps gays should accept the fact they are different, and build on that, rather than trying to confuse everyone who don’t understand the issue into believing they are just like everyone else. Gays are only like everyone else until it comes to their sexuality, and then heterosexuals want boundaries.

Personally, I’d like for gays to have their own changing rooms at the gym. I’ve had far too many gay guys try to pick me up, which makes me feel uncomfortable, so I don’t change clothes at the gym anymore. I shouldn’t have to worry about that, and I shouldn’t have to tolerate that, but I do. I don’t expect sexual harassment laws to be created to protect me, I just expect gays to respect my heterosexual boundaries in the gym changing room, and in other areas like Marriage. Apparently, that’s too much to ask of the pro gay community, which is why the people of California had to vote twice to approve to define Marriage between a man and woman only, after the courts tried to strike down what the people wanted.

Now the pro gays want to take the fight the the United States Supreme Court. If that court overturned all these constitutional amendments, in a short amount of time, after this congress changed their roster again, congress would then approve an amendment to the United States Constitution defining Marriage between a man and a woman. I encourage gays to keep on attacking heterosexuals on this issue, until there is no tolerance left for their harassment and intimidation.

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• Scott Eckern Harassed for Supporting Proposition 8

While we commend D. L. Hughley for operating with respect toward guest Dan Savage, a gay activist and writer, despite his conflicting views. We also have to point out that Hughley comes off as an ill-informed ill-articulated moron!!!!

In a discussion regarding Proposition 8, Hughley - who admits he's "not a regular churchgoer" - stutters and flounders in an attempt to hide behind his cafeteria approach to religion: "I can't, for whatever reason, is it my religious upbringing, I don't condone a gay lifestyle."

Oh, we're sorry, we didn't know it was a "lifestyle."

Last time we checked, Perez was born gay - VERY gay!

Savage says that it is the duty of the gay community to reach out, but also "It's the responsibility of white people not to be racist. It's the responsibility of men not to be sexist. And it is a responsibility of all of us not to be homophobic."

Hughley then makes another sweeping generalization, saying he's "never met a black atheist" because "we are so rooted in theology."

Got that? If you're an atheist, you're certainly not black, right?

Because blacks can only be one thing!

But Savage responds more diplomatically.

He says, "It needs to be articulated around religion and homosexuality is that you can have your theology and also sign off on gay and lesbian civil rights and full enfranchisement, including marriage. You know, a lot of Christians think Jews are going to hell. Right? And yet Jews can get married in our culture. No one's attempting to strip Jews of their civil rights in our dominant Christian culture."

Hughley tries to use God as an excuse for hate once again with "You stand before God and you vow to love and to cherish this woman or this man. And so I think people have a — I know particularly people that I talked to — had a hard time unhooking the religious component from the civil."

To which Savage says, "But we've long unhooked the religious component from the civil component because you can go to city hall and get married and God will not be invoked. Those are the marriage licenses that we want. We don't want to storm into anybody's church and force anybody's preacher or any religious person to observe our wedding."

At the end, they tacitly agree to disagree, and Hughley so kindly wishes Savage good luck, saying, "Well I'll tell you what, being black, I can tell you, you got to march a little while longer and then it might happen. I promise."

Well gosh, thanks.

Being black and understanding what it's like to struggle, Hughley should be marching too.

We'd also like to remind you that regardless of race, the under-30 population voted overwhemlingly agrainst Prop 8. This isn't the first time the issue was on the ballot and it certainly isn't the last.

Wether you like it or not, you're going to end up buying a toaster for your friend or relative's gay wedding!

Make sure it matches the curtains, okay?

You can also watch the video here.

Simone Shailes has got a host of accolades under her belt; a distinction in MA knitwear at Central Saint Martins, Chloé Scholarship and more recently the L’Oreal Professionnel Fashion Design award. Now she can add a Topshop collaboration to that list as she has reproduced her graduate collection for the high street store. It represents something of a high street first to reproduce a fresh graduate’s collection for the buying public and could well pave the way for future designer x high street collaborations. The collection features the distinctive chunky loopy knitted dresses and capes as well as the wide metal plate belts to contrast with the soft textures.

How did the collaboration between you and Topshop come about?
Simone Shailes: I met with them after applying for Topshop New Generation Sponsorship at which point they proposed the collaboration, which I was delighted about!

What gave you or Topshop the idea to reproduce your graduate collection rather than designing a whole new collection for them?
SS: Topshop suggested the idea. They knew I hadn’t sold the collection and there was limited time so it seemed like the perfect proposition. Having spent a long time developing and making the MA collection it was really rewarding to have the chance to develop it into a range to be sold on the high street.

How did you develop your aesthetic for your graduate collection - the distinctive looped knits, the play on textures with the metal belts and velvet trousers?
SS: I wanted the knitwear to have the look and feel of fur coats, funny hairdos further inspired the voluminous looped and twisted details. To contrast the luxurious knits I teamed them with velour and denim separates and brash brass accessories.

Are you happy with the results? Do you think more graduates could work with Topshop in this way, reproducing their collection which would otherwise be unavailable to the public?
SS: I’m more than happy with the results, I think the pieces work really well.
It would be a great idea for Topshop to work with more graduates in this way. It was an amazing opportunity to be given at a stage when finances and experience with production were limited.

Your graduate collection has become really recognizable and standout out of the batch of 2008 fashion grads. How have you reacted to that?

SS: It has been a little overwhelming! It’s fantastic that the collection received such a positive response.

What are your plans for the future?
SS: I have recently joined the team at Celine, (under the new creative direction of Phoebe Philo) which I’m really excited about.

Simone Shailes for Topshop collection goes on sale on Thursday 20th November in Topshop.

-via Dazed Digital

To see photos of James on his way to see Dave Letterman, just

read more

Wanda Sykes admitted she is a lesbian in order to help fight Proposition 8. Talk about taking political warfare to a new level. If Wanda joins PETA, expect her to openly admit to being a horse. Ok, ok, I guess she has always been a lesbian. Maybe? Nevertheless, the fight against Proposition 8 is keeping on as celebs and communities across the nation continue to gather in protest. Many have been arrested, although Sykes is the first known case of sexual orientation conversion, unless you count most of Hollywood’s leading men.

Here is more on Wanda Sykes lesbian conversion. Sykes also admits to being black, as you will see before. Truly stunning stuff here.

“You know, I don’t really talk about my sexual orientation. I didn’t feel like I had to. I was just living my life, not necessarily in the closet, but I was living my life,” Sykes told a crowd at a gay rights rally in Las Vegas on Saturday.
“Everybody that knows me personally they know I’m gay. But that’s the way people should be able to live their lives,” she said.
Sykes, who is known for her feisty and blunt style, said the passage of California’s Proposition 8 made her feel like she was “attacked.”
“Now, I gotta get in their face,” she said. “I’m proud to be a woman. I’m proud to be a black woman, and I’m proud to be gay.”

(source)