Friday, October 1, 2010

speaking up

the pink triangle originated as a badge in nazi concentration camps,
and it was used to identify homosexual men.
it was meant to be a badge of shame.
now it has become a symbol of gay pride and gay rights.

gifted to us years ago by our friends dawn and india,
this stained glass triangle hangs by our front door.
it lets people know that our home is a safe place for 
anyone who expresses their love in a respectful way.

i have been a strong ally for years and years.
i speak up, i shelter and i affirm.
because it's the right thing to do,
and because it's all about LOVE.

no matter where YOU stand on this issue, i ask you to watch this.
thank you from the bottom of my heart.

p.s. thanks to my friend dolo for this link.






7 comments:

  1. As a lesbian who grew up not far from where Asher Brown lived and then took his own life in Texas, thanks for posting this . . . and for hanging the triangle.

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  2. Thanks for this emotional video. You and she are so right. I am dutch and I am proud of the way most dutch people think and react about sexuality

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  3. Thanks for posting this Karen, I don't pay too much attention to the news lately but I at least browse the top stories and when I read about this my heart just broke for this young man and his family.

    We are living in a culture of intolerance and cruelty — to me it is insidious in mainstream tv and movies (neither of which I watch) and from there it spreads into the rest of our lives, giving people who are inclined to do so permission to judge and criticise others. It starts out seeming funny and escalates into abuse.

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  4. such a wonderful post and video. Thank you SO much for sharing...

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  5. We talk often at home about how much more accepting this generation of teenagers is about sexual orientation than earlier ones - but clearly we're not there yet. Still have - and wear - my "straight but not narrow" button on a pink triangle. (I think you were at our church when I got it.)

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  6. Karen,

    I encourage you and your readers to check out my most recent post at www.changefromwithin.org. It is entitled "Let's Make It Better Now," and in it, I call for others to join me in sharing publicly how we are committing ourselves to making our communities, our homes, our schools, our country a safer place for all gender identities and sexual orientations. I would love to hear from you in my comments.

    - Jamie

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  7. Thank you for writing this post Karen. Children should not be killing themselves over who they were born to be. I am very ashamed of the hate that can be heard coming out of Utah right now, so ill-timed and inhumane.

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