Saturday, February 04, 2006

MY NEW BLOG

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I have moved from Blogger to my very own blog w/ wordpress... you can go to the new blog at www.MattHillNC.com Thanks to all my frequent readers, and I hope you will continue to read me at MattHillNC.com

Friday, February 03, 2006

UNC GLBT-SA gives endorsement in UNC Student Body President campaigns

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According to an article published by The Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, NC), the UNC-Chapel Hill Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender-Straight Alliance (GLBTSA) has given its endorsement to one of the candidates running in the race for UNC Student Body President. Last night, the GLBTSA voted 21-3 to endorse Bernard Holloway, citing his ability to serve as a straight ally on campus. Ironically, the endorsement of a "straight ally" came in the middle of the GLBTSA's "Ally Week". According to the article:
At the forum GLBTSA members voted 21 to 3, with eight abstaining, to endorse Bernard Holloway for student body president - his second endorsement of the evening and fourth overall. Holloway and his opponent, James Allred, discussed their platforms in a three-minute introduction and a lengthy question-and-answer session, emphasizing how their views would affect the lesbian, gay, transgendered and queer community. Both candidates spoke extensively about their credentials as allies. "It's programmed into me," Allred said. "It's who I am." Holloway recounted his experience as an ally when his best friend from high school came out. "I'm a big believer that being an ally or anything political is that it starts at home," he said. Members of the audience were interested especially in hearing the candidates' opinions on the University's nondiscrimination policy, which the group is working to amend. Holloway favored expanding it to include gender identity. He stressed that he was against adding political ideology to the nondiscrimination pact - which UNC's conservative community has been advocating and many in the GLBTSA stringently oppose. "A nondiscrimination pact is something special," Holloway said. "The nondiscrimination pact would be ripped to shreds if we added political affiliation to it." Holloway also expressed support for including a diversity exposure workshop as part of summer orientation for first-year and transfer students. He said he wants cultural and queer classes at UNC to be counted toward graduation requirements.
Despite the candidates' willingness to meet with the GLBTSA and have an open dialogue, some members couldn't help but notice some hitches in the candidates' speech:
Still Scruggs said both candidates used words and phrases - such as lifestyle - that have negative connotations within the community.
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Former Virginia resident writes letter blasting Commonwealth's marriage amendment

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A current Greensboro, NC, resident and former resident of Virginia has written a scathing letter to the editor blasting the Virginia marriage amendment.
Reject tool of hate against gay people The Free-Lance Star, Fredericksburg, VA Feb 3, 2006 The marriage amendment and a plethora of anti-gay legislation are sending an unmistakable message that gays are not wanted, not citizens, and not safe in Virginia ["House bill could ban gay-straight groups," Feb. 1]. When you single out a segment of society and deny them their rights, you are setting them up for prejudice and hate. The Nazis did this with the Jews. I will not support my own oppression, nor am I waiting for them to come after me. On May 25, my same-gender partner and I sold our home of 26 years near Fredericksburg and escaped to North Carolina. The continuous drive to marginalize and stigmatize gay families will cause the best and brightest--gay and straight--to take their talents, creative energy, and tax dollars to places that are not such a right-wing stranglehold. This marriage amendment is not about protecting marriage as much as opposing homosexuality. It's all about exclusion--excluding a minority from the basic civil right to marry the person one loves using the same arguments white supremacists used against interracial marriage. We must confront this right-wing obsession with legislating gays out of existence. Do we want democratic inclusion or fascist supremacy? This amendment goes beyond limiting marriage to one man and one woman. It would bar gay couples--and unmarried heterosexuals--any legal recognition of their relationship (civil union or domestic partnership), and forever deny them the right to petition the government for any of the benefits of marriage. This amendment is spiteful, inhuman, unfair, and un-American. Cris F. Elkins Greensboro, N.C.
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ART appears in YES! Weekly article on Brokeback Mountain

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Last week I posted about ART's YES! Weekly group interview regarding Brokeback Mountain. The article in YES! Weekly was published this week. One correction needed though... they call us "Greensboro's gay-straight alliance". Hey, guys... it is "Alternative Resources of the Triad".
Brokeback praised and accepted across the board Amy Kingsley, Staff writer By the time John Johnson bought his movie ticket, worked his way through the lobby crowds and found an empty seat, the feature Brokeback Mountain was running about 15 minutes behind schedule. He could wait. In fact, he was used to it. Johnson, president of Alternative Resources of the Triad, had already waited a lifetime to see a major motion picture undertake the portrayal of homosexual relationships. Another 15 minutes was no big deal. Johnson and about a dozen of his friends weren’t the only ones eager to see the Ang Lee picture. Film fans, gays, lesbians and heterosexuals from as far away as Virginia made the trek to Greensboro to see the movie when it opened Jan. 6 at the Carousel Cinema on Battleground Avenue. “The first couple of weeks we had an almost overwhelming response,” said Tim Davis, a manager at the movie theater. Greensboro was one of the first cities in the Southeast to land the film, according to Johnson. Although it originally opened only at the Carousel, the Carmike 18 on Koger Boulevard has recently added a screening. Brokeback Mountain has grossed more than $42 million since its December release. That pales in comparison to the hundreds of millions earned by big-budget blockbusters like King Kong and the Chronicles of Narnia. But the film is faring well against most other competitors, especially given its relatively modest $14 million budget. But dollars indicate only a part of the impact the film has had. In a meeting room inside the Biltmore Hotel, which Johnson runs, members of Greensboro’s gay-straight alliance met Jan. 24 to discuss their opinions of the film. “I thought the film did a very good job of depicting just how painful straight people can make it for gay people who have to act like people they aren’t,” said Chris Cannon. Both characters marry women and maintain their relationship through infrequent fishing trips. Nonetheless, members of the group cheered the depiction of a deep emotional connection between ranch hands Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist. “I thought that it was just an emotional story,” Cannon said. “It was refreshing seeing a homosexual couple have the same connection that most heterosexual couples have in a romance.” The movie has already had an effect in the gay community. Some people struggling with their sexuality have seen the movie and come out of the closet. It has also reminded those who live openly as gays and lesbians why some people in conservative areas must remain closeted. “I could identify with the whole hiding thing,” Jonathan Lucas said. “When I got out of the closet it was so liberating. To see the characters do that their whole adult lives really brought up some unpleasant feelings.” Their praise for the movie extends beyond its portrayal of gay characters. Out of Johnson’s 13-member group, only one disliked the movie. Others praised the direction, cinematography and acting. Judges of the 2006 Golden Globe Awards agreed and recognized the film four times, including best drama and best director for Lee. Conservative critics have dismissed the film as a product of Hollywood liberalism that is out-of-touch with the majority of Americans. Despite the complaints, protesters have stayed away. Davis reported that no complaints have been lodged against the Carousel, and that few patrons have walked out of Brokeback Mountain or requested their money back. “At one particular point in the movie I turned around just to see what the reaction was,” Johnson said. “But nobody walked out or looked disgusted.” “I was hoping there would be protesters,” Lucas said. “I had dressed up for it. I was hoping that I would have to push through the crowds.” On the question of whether the film would have a wider social or political impact, the participants expressed ambivalence. More than a dozen states have adopted a ban on gay marriage since Massachusetts legalized same-sex unions in 2003, which indicates resistance to acceptance of those relationships. “I just can’t imagine it right now,” Johnson said. “But it may just add to things that are already happening.” One thing that is happening is a dramatic increase in hits to Alternative Resources of the Triad’s website since they moved Brokeback Mountain screening information to the homepage. Johnson reported almost 32,000 hits by late January. Those who saw the movie said audiences represented a wide cross-section of society. Karen Atkins sat next to a 70-year-old man when she went to see Brokeback Mountain. Cannon’s mom, who he described as very conservative, enjoyed the movie, as did Lucas’ straight coworkers. The popularity of the film, even in a small southern city like Greensboro, encourages Johnson, Atkins and the others that same-sex relationships might someday populate feature films with increasing frequency and decreasing fanfare. “I see it all as a positive,” Atkins said. “Just go with your friends and have a good time. That’s how it should be.”
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Thursday, February 02, 2006

From the WS Journal: 'Internet, chat rooms help gays connect, be themselves'

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The following is a column written by one of the local LGBT community leaders, Chris Cannon. It was published in the Winston-Salem Journal's weekly, 'Relish'.
Internet, chat rooms help gays connect, be themselves Thursday, February 2, 2006 By Chris Cannon special to relish Most of my gay single friends and I spend many of our weekends going to popular places to meet other people - the bars, coffee shops and community events. We also go to another popular place - the online chat room. The chat room has become another one of those additional social fixtures within gay culture, especially among people within the Generation X crowd. I've found myself often caught in a "web" of concentration, chatting up a storm for hours with other gay people. And if you've been to a gay pride festival in recent years, you can't help noticing that online chat rooms and dating sites are lead sponsors. In my early teens, my family got its first computer, a Tandy PC. It was one of those dot-matrix, blue-screen contraptions of the early 1990s that are dinosaurs now. We graduated to an IBM color monitor when I was in high school. The Internet bubble was expanding, and I was a gay, closeted adolescent, with no one who would talk about or acknowledge homosexuality. With the Internet came an abundance of information and an outlet to communicate with other gay people from around the world. Pen-pal and online chat sites allowed me to virtually connect with people my own age with the same sexual orientation. From my rural family home in North Carolina, I realized that I was not the only one who was gay in the world - there were other gay people out there. I just had to graduate, leave home and find a job. It was once deemed taboo to discuss going online to meet friends, get a date or find that special someone. Now it is more mainstream and discussed freely in conversation. Within a network of friends, it's not uncommon to find several who met through the Internet or couples who met online. One long-term couple I know connected from Seattle to the Triad. Then there are those friends of mine who live on their computers 24/7 - even when they are hanging out with me! Instant messaging programs, text messaging, e-mail, cell phones and laptops have allowed everyone to reach out and touch someone instantaneously at any time, without literally reaching out and touching anyone. Some bars and restaurants now have Internet connections for those who always have to be logged on. When I was in San Francisco over the summer, cyber cafes and "chat bars" were the rage. Crowds of people with laptops filled patios along the streets. People go online to talk to friends as often as going to the movies or out to dinner. My parents used to say, "You might meet a psycho online, so be careful," acknowledging the potential dangers of the Internet. I would come back and say, "You can meet those anywhere!" My parents and grandparents would rag on me that communication is more meaningful when it's face to face, and they saw the Internet as the end of that. On the upside, online chatting does make it much easier for those who are closeted and uncomfortable with their sexual orientation to have the opportunity to connect with others who share the same experiences. Hopefully, those people will learn more, feel more accepted and proud and eventually come out as who they are. With lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the minority of society, there are few bars, restaurants and "face-to-face" chat places where one can feel completely comfortable. The Internet is changing things in leaps and bounds, and it looks like it's here to stay. • Cannon produces an e-mail list of items of interest to the Triad gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. Email cgcannon@gmail.com
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'Quotes of Note' - Log Cabin newsletter

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I found these two really great quotes in the Log Cabin Republican e-newsletter (no, I'm not Republican) and I thought I'd post them:
"People don't choose this. We don't choose who we love. The heart chooses who we love...It isn't right to say that it's acceptable to discriminate against people because of that...because of who their heart chooses to love."- Republican Washington State Senator BILL FINKBEINER during floor debate on a gay inclusive non-discrimination law. "Do you really care if the Arabic linguist translating the next piece of crucial intelligence is gay or straight, as long as he or she gets the job done quickly and accurately, and helps save American lives? Does it really matter anymore?"- Army Veteran and Call To Duty Tour Director ALEX NICHOLSON Nicholson speaking at a San Diego news conference hosted by Log Cabin.
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Guilford College to consider 'gender-blind' housing policy

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According to an article published by the News & Record, Guilford College is going to be considering putting in place a 'gender-blind' housing policy. THe new policy would allow students of two students of the opposite sexes to room together in the college's on-campus residence halls. David Norton, a Guilford College student and member of the QCYNT Advisory Board, proposed the idea. He had actually talked to me about the new proposal sometime over WInter Break, when I was talking to him about QCYNT and inviting him to be a part of the Advisory Board. According to the article:
Norton said he sought the change because "I think there's a rule in place that doesn't really have any merit in today's time. I think it's a rule that is founded on this assumption that doesn't really exist, assumptions about gender and sexuality that aren't true."
The gender-blind housing policy would also provide for more comfortable rooming options for students who are transgendered or transexual. I think that UNCG has such a policy, although it is difficult for two students to get permission from the Housing Office to room together. I'll have to look into that. All-in-all, though, today has been a good day in the News & Record. Good coverage on the ART/Graffiti Ads issue and the gender-blind housing issue at Guilford. GO N&R! If you are looking for more information on the Gender-blind Housing proposal, click here to see the proposal rationale, from the Guilford College Student Senate website. Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , ,

News & Record: 'Local group's ad provokes controversy'

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The News & Record article on the Graffiti Ads and ART controversy appears in the News & Record today. The article is below (see also Other Graffiti Ads/ART posts):
Local group's ad provokes controversy By Michelle Jarboe Staff Writer Published Feb 2, 2006 A Winston-Salem company has been criticized for rejecting an ad from a local education group for sexual minorities. Graffiti Ads is a small business that specializes in distributing ads for products, places and events at dozens of Triad bars, eateries and clubs. The ad posters often hang in bathrooms. For Alternative Resources of the Triad, it seemed like the right company to go to place an ad for its Web site and Feb. 18 gay movie night. "We see them everywhere," group president Eric Hinson said about the company's ads. "Everywhere that board members hang out at, we see them." The Greensboro-based nonprofit, which caters to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals and their straight allies, was surprised last week when Graffiti Ads called its sample ad "too controversial." "It never occurred to us that they would not be open to advertising for us," Hinson said. Company owner Carrie O'Sullivan said she merely wanted to keep out political agendas. "We want to continue to be a neutral company," she said. "We don't ever want to advertise something that is two-sided." That might have been the end of it, and the nonprofit might have quietly looked elsewhere to advertise. But last week, Alternative Resources board member Matt Hill, a student at UNCG, wrote about the issue on his blog, a Web site devoted to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender news and opinions. From there, the debate snowballed. Since Jan. 26, Graffiti Ads has been labeled in local online forums as homophobic and anti-gay. "Things were really blown out of proportion," O'Sullivan said. She's not anti-gay, she says. Content on the nonprofit's Web site, outGreensboro.com, is what worried O'Sullivan. O'Sullivan said the site, which details local gay and lesbian resources and events and was featured prominently in the group's ad, might make readers think her company was taking sides in the political debate over sexuality. The company reserves the right to reject ads that might make it seem biased, she said. "We're very picky about what's on our boards," she said, adding that being selective doesn't mean her company is homophobic. "I don't see evidence of that at this point," she said. "But I don't ever want our reputation to be viewed in a negative light, and I'm sure among lots of folks right now it probably is. "Small businesses are so fragile, and our reputation is everything. And once that reputation is damaged, it's hard to get back." John Johnson, owner of the Biltmore Greensboro Hotel and a member of the nonprofit's board, isn't pleased with the company. In an e-mail to Graffiti Ads last week, he wrote that he won't work with them and encouraged other businesses to follow suit. Johnson is on vacation and could not be reached for comment. Hinson said he's received calls from other local business owners and advertisers, many of whom had questions about the debate over the ad. O'Sullivan also has heard from people taking sides on the issue, and she said she's told them all the same thing: Graffiti Ads is willing to work with the nonprofit on another, less controversial ad proposal. That's something in which the group also is interested. "We do want to meet with them, and we do want a chance to talk with them face to face," Hill said, noting that most communication between the parties has taken place via e-mail. "Sitting down with them face to face will allow us to have an open dialogue," he said. Contact Michelle Jarboe at 373-7075 or mjarboe@news-record.com
Ok... so I really want to meet with the owner of Graffiti Ads now. The thing I'm wondering, after reading her quotes to the paper, is why she didn't say these things earlier. Just from knowing about what has happened in the past few days and keeping up with the info and updates and then reading what she had to say in the paper... I just think she is trying to cover her behind. But, of course, I won't know that for sure until I have the chance to join other ART Board members and meet with her. In response to some of the owner's comments though... I'm just going to quote something Joe Killian said in his Carolinian op-ed:
We're talking about a business whose policy is to ignore the mention of homosexuality because they think they'd make less money... A major cornerstone of the civil rights movement was the demand that businesses rise above "controversy" created by the small minded to stand on principle and treat all people with dignity... Forty years later it's time for other business owners to get on board.
Let me also point out that in a letter from one of Graffiti Ads' employees it was stated: "The first concern [about the ad] is the word “Queer” as part of the name “QCYNT”." I don't know if Ms. O'Sullivan mentioned that to the reporter but I do know that it was certainly not a "concern" noted in the article. Being the "first concern" you think it would have been mentioned. And... by the way... I still don't understand how LGBT resources and support are politically controversial. I could definitely see Graffiti Ads' point if ART was a political group, but ART isn't and OutGreensboro.com isn't a political site. Educating the LGBT community and helping LGBT and straight allies find information, resources and support is not and should not be labeled as "too controversial". Some of you may disagree with me... but I guess that is why it is called an "opinion", right? Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Alternative Resources of the Triad releases official statement on advertising controversy

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An official statement regarding the recent controversy with Alternative Resources of the Triad (ART) and Graffiti Ads, LLC, has been released by the ART Board of Directors. The release was placed on the ART website, OutGreensboro.com:
BOARD OF DIRECTORS STATEMENT January 30, 2006 Alternative Resources of the Triad responds to advertising situation Contacts: Eric Hinson, President Alternative Resources of the Triad c/o 111 W. Washington Street Greensboro, NC 27401 336.324.6092 arttriad@yahoo.com (Greensboro, NC) – Alternative Resources of the Triad (ART), an educational, resource and information referral non-profit group for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning and straight allied (LGBTQA) community of the Piedmont-Triad, is responding to a Winston-Salem, NC, based advertising company’s refusal to run advertising for the group. On January 24, 2006, two members of the ART Board of Directors approached Graffiti Ads, LLC, asking for a price guide for advertising with their company. Graffiti Ads requested to see a sample of the advertising ART was interested in running, one Board member sent the company a sample of the information the group’s ad might possibly contain. After the reviewing the sample, Graffiti Ads responded saying that the ad was “too controversial” to be placed with their company and that they could not run it. The ad which the group wanted to place with Graffiti Ads was to be targeted mainly to LGBTQA persons in Greensboro. The ad featured the group’s website, its new “Greensboro, Out at the Movies” event and its new networking group for LGBTQA students and student groups in the Triad. After the story was broken on the “blog”, www.matthillnc.com/blog/, of ART Board of Director Member Matt Hill on January 26, controversy soon started to follow within the Triad community. While it is true that Graffiti Ads has every right to refuse ads from organizations or businesses with which they wish not to work, it is also true that the concerned members of the community and of ART have every right to make others aware of the company’s policies on ads which may be unfairly deemed “too controversial”. The group’s position in the outset of this situation was that deeming the ad “too controversial” must have been based solely on the fact that the ad came from an LGBTQA organization since no real reason was given. Saying that the work of educating and creating awareness on the issues of the LGBTQA community is controversial is not only unfair, but biased. The Board of Directors for ART wishes to meet with Graffiti Ads so that discussion can take place on the reasons why the ad was rejected and, hopefully, so that the ART and the company can come to some sort of resolution to the situation. The Board of Directors for ART also urge all business owners in the Triad area working with Graffiti Ads to continue with them in as much as their own policies, business ethics and consciences allow. # # #
Maybe if I have time later tonight I will sit down and write about some of the things I have been thinking about over the past few days. I know it seems like beating a dead horse, but I truly believe that the situation between ART and Graffiti Ads points out the many problems that still exist in our society when it comes to prejudice and discrimination against LGBT citizens. Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Carolinian's Joe Killian writes on Graffiti Ads in weekly op-ed

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The following is Joe Killian's weekly op-ed in The Carolinian, the UNCG paper:
OUT OF MY HEAD: Graffiti Ads LLC caves to perceived prejudice "We're talking about a business whose policy is to ignore the mention of homosexuality because they think they'd make less money." By: Joe Killian Issue date: 1/31/06 Section: Opinions For decades my grandmother ran a bar in Greenport, Long Island - a small, blue-collar fishing town. It was nothing fancy - just a place where fishermen and locals drank beer and whiskey and had the occasional burger. It was the sort of place where, like the song says, everybody knows your name. And then, in the 1960s, things began to change. Suddenly, as if from nowhere, there were black and Hispanic faces in the crowd - and they seemed to think you had to serve them right alongside the white folks. Predictably, this caused more than a few fights in more than a few bars. But Alice never let anyone hassle her customers - whatever the color of their skin. When some angry white guy would ask her to chase out the niggers and spics before it became "that kind of bar" she told them it was her place - and if they didn't like it, they could spend their money elsewhere. It wasn't a popular policy - and it lost her some business, to be sure - but she wasn't going to let morons with money turn her into the sort of person she hated. She was a tough, crafty old broad - all Greek savvy and Irish temper, with a baseball bat behind the bar for guys who thought they could push her around. She ran her business according to her own principles and no amount of ignorance - or the cash it walked in with - could change that. I was reminded of Alice this week, when a Winston-Salem ad company, Graffiti Ads LLC, rejected an ad from Alternative Resources of the Triad, an area gay and lesbian group, as "too controversial" for placement in area bars and restaurants. The ad, a plain black square with a computer mouse, directed people to www.OutGreensboro.com, where they can get information about "Greensboro Out at the Movies" - a monthly event where college-aged gay and lesbian kids get together to see movies like the recent hit "Brokeback Mountain." The ad featured no political content, no racy images or offensive language - so, naturally, Alternative Resources asked what the problem was. The company replied, by e-mail, that it's their policy not to take on ads that might prove controversial - and the subject matter itself, a public gay and lesbian event, crossed that line. Enraged by the reply, UNCG student Matt Hill, who sits on the Alternative Resources board of directors, posted the correspondence on his weblog. The story caught fire in the tight-knit Greensboro blogosphere and, after gay business owners in the area were made aware of the policy through blogs and e-mail, some (including the owner of the Biltmore Hotel) began e-mailing Graffiti Ads to let them know they wouldn't do business with them. In reaction a Graffiti Ads employee, Daniel Zimmer, wrote a letter to various bloggers explaining that he is gay and his employers certainly aren't homophobes. But they are worried homophobic people would be offended by the ad - and that might harm their business. As Zimmer wrote: "Some people, who are ignorant and homophobic, may go to the website, not fully understanding what it is, and then be offended that it's a 'gay' site." So, we came to understand, the decision wasn't about homophobia - it was about cowardice. We're talking about a business whose policy is to ignore the mention of homosexuality not because they oppose it on principle but because they think they'd make less money if people who ARE homophobic saw this advertisement above a urinal at their favorite restaurant. In a way I think it would be more ethically defensible if they simply thought homosexuality was an abomination and wouldn't support groups like this for that reason. But cowering from something as benign as a gay movie night, in defiance of their own principles, because it might hurt the bottom line? That's truly shameful. Zimmer goes on to say that if the company was asked to promote a similar event for a Christian group it would also reject them as "too controversial" - something with which he thinks those angry about the policy will agree. But I don't find denying service to a group based on religious conviction any less offensive than discrimination based on sexuality. A major cornerstone of the civil rights movement was the demand that businesses rise above "controversy" created by the small minded to stand on principle and treat all people with dignity. My grandmother got the message. Forty years later it's time for other business owners to get on board. Joe Killian's column, Out of My Head, is in its fourth year. His writing can be found online at http://joekillian.blogspot.com and in Greensboro's News & Record.
One correction though... and I think The Carolinian plans on printing this: "Greensboro, Out at the Movies" and QCYNT are two separate projects/divisions of Alternative Resources of the Triad. Greensboro, Out at the Movies is an event open to the entire community and targeted toward LGBTQ and straight allied individuals. QCYNT is a group for LGBTQ and straight allied students and student organizations. Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,