The Porcelain Unicorn

A story of love to counteract my previous posting today of Rick Santorum which is a story of hate.

Homophobia Alive and Well

Me at Gay March in Washingtoon D.C. October 4, 2009
Out of the closet BIGTIME

I have three blogs.


One of my blogs is this one, "Retired in Delaware".  This blog is my personal journal.


My second blog is one for my former high school class, called "Downingtown High School Class of 1959".


My third blog is for my family genealogy called "Tipton Tales and Trails."


As regular readers of this blog know my profile list me as a gay man.  When I first posted my profile I hesitated to publicize the fact that I was gay, lest that I offend some readers of my blog.  That hesitation lasted for about four seconds because I thought "This is who I am, if a reader of my blog is offended then that person is a homophobe and I do not want them reading my blog. "  

I haven't had a problem identifying myself as gay in my profile.  That changed today.  Homophobia raised its ugly head again today.  


Today I did a mass mailing of my "Tipton Tales and Trails" blog to a new mailing list that I obtained from the new president of the Tipton Family Association of America.  His name is John Parrish and he has resurrected the TFAA and started to publish a newsletter.  Ten years ago I was the TFAA editor of the newsletter.  When I published the newsletter, I did not identify myself as gay.  It wasn't necessary.


This morning I wanted to help John by publishing his newsletter to my blog.  I also included the mailing list he sent to me.  One thing I neglected to remember, was that my profile on my "Retired in Delaware" blog also appears on the profile on my "Tipton Tales and Trails" profile.  Much of the mailing list for the TFAA newsletter is in the south.  Yes folks, many of my Tipton relatives are conservative southerners. I hesitate to paint all southerns with the broad brush of gay bigotry but we all know that many of those in the South feel quite comfortable exposing their discrimination against gays.


Thus it was with some sadness that I received this response from this person who I e-mailed a link to my "Tipton Tales and Trails" blog this morning.

"Who gives a rat’s ass about your sexual preference!!! Otherwise, it’s pretty interesting."


You know folks, as long as I've been on the receiving end of this kind of hate, I never get used to it.  


I'm reminded of a quote that Charles Tipton, my predecessor as editor of the TFAA Newsletter always had in quotes on the top of each edition of his newsletter:

"You can pick your nose but you can't pick your relatives"

As regular bloggers know, your profile appears the same on all blogs that you own.  I don't have the ability to "censor" my blog on "Tipton Tales and Trails."  However, even if I did I wouldn't.  I am gay.  I think it is pathetic that some people in this day and age still feel uncomfortable when confronted with the fact that some of their fellow human beings are gay. 

Ron, out and proud Washington D.C. March, October 4, 2009

I came out of the closet in 1963 and I never intend to go back, no matter how many people I upset. In fact, I think it's time for more gays to come out like me and to make more of these gay haters expose their ignorance and bigotry.  

Me with my gay friends at the Washington D.C. March
We're all out of the closet -never to look back!

While I'm a bit upset this morning (and after a good morning too), I feel like I accomplished a lot more than I intended to today.  I exposed another bigot.  

I'm tempted to send an e-mail back but I know that won't do any good to persuade this ignorant bigot to change his views.  I've seen that movie and I know how that ends.  Unless someone in their family comes out, they will go to their grave with all that hate.  

Sad isn't it?

Christina Green Born 9/11/2001

Christina Green
9/11/2001 - 1/9/2011

This young girl died yesterday as a result of blind hatred. 

She was born on 9/11/2001.  Isn't there a message here?  

Stop the violent rhetoric.  This is where it leads.  

Hate

I recently deleted a post about someone who invaded my Facebook account and directed his homophobia at me out of respect for a friend of mine whose account he used.  However, I want this person to know he doesn't control my life.  I also want this person to know that he should leave me alone to live my life as I choose.  I don't need him or his view of religion to tell me how to live my life.  Leave me alone.  Respect my privacy as I have shown respect for your family by removing my original post.

Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man's sense of values



and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false


and the false with the true.

Martin Luther King

Senator Kennedy

I've been busier than a flea on a pack of hound dogs today! Phew. I've not nothing but run around all day.

First up I had to get out the invitations of my 50th high school class reunion. This was the second time I've prepared the invites and I think this will be my swan song. It is a LOT OF WORK and I wonder just how much of it is appreciated. We have a class of just over 100 students, of whom about 90 are left. There is a hard core of former classmates who almost always go to the reunion. The rest of the classmates ignore the invitations which leads me to wonder, is it even worth sending the invitations to them. I think all of my friends tell me they always ignore their class reunions. They treat the invitations with disdain and derision which is probably what some on of my classmates do also. Oh well, I'm not going to get myself worked up over that now. We do have forty or so classmates who do appreciate the time and effort (and expense) that those of us on the reunion committee put forth. I know I appreciate their effort that's why I'm always wanted to help. However, it does puzzle me why some people don't want to have anything to do with their former classmates. I didn't have all that great of a time in high school either but I consider that time of my life all a part of my Life's Journey. I always look forward to reconnecting with my former classmates. But then, that's just me. I can't speak for my fellow former classmates.

I think this is all I'm going to write at this time. It is late afternoon and I do want to get my daily walk in before dinner tonight and then to bed. I work the day shift at the hotel tomorrow and I have to be in by 7 am to set up breakfast. I can see another Busy Bee day tomorrow.

One note on Senator Ted Kennedy's passing today......he will be sorely missed. He was a tireless advocate for those of us who are not plugged into the power base of this country. I realize there are those out there, many self professed "Good Christians" who harbor a deep seated hatred towards Senator Kennnedy because of the events of Chappaquiddick forty years ago. Yes, Senator Kennedy probably made a mistake and was instrumental in causing an innocent person's death. He had an accident. He didn't report it right away. We all make mistakes. What surprises me is the unrelenting hatred of those who profess themselves "Good Christians" who are unwilling or unable to forgive. I'll tell you what I can't forgive. I can't forgive a president who lead us into a war of choice who caused almost 5,000 unnecessary American deaths and countless thousands of Iraqi deaths. I cannot forgive a president who lead an administration who squandered our precious moral authority in the world by permitting the most heinous forms of torture on our supposed enemies. I cannot forgive those in the Republican party who aid and abet the lies that is making health care so difficult to pass. That's who I cannot forgive.

When I first started this blog I made a conscious effort not to make it a platform for my political views. At times it has been very hard for me to suppress posting my views on this blog. But today I am making an exception. I say to my "Good Christian" friends who harbor hate in their heart towards their bogeymen (Kennedy, Pelosi, Reid, Clinton) and say "don't be hating." We're all in this together. Two of Senator Kennedy's brothers were murdered. If our current hate climate continues, I don't even want to think of what could happen in this country. Here is my suggestion, lay down your hate mongering and let's work together to make this a better country. Is that so hard? Leave the hate behind. That's what Jesus would do.