All Things LGBTQ+ (3 Viewers)

[Farb]

Didn't really see a place for this so I thought I would start a thread about all things LGBTQ since this is a pretty hot topic in our culture right now

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/17/sup...y-that-refuses-to-work-with-lgbt-couples.html

• The Supreme Court on Thursday delivered a unanimous defeat to LGBT couples in a high-profile case over whether Philadelphia could refuse to contract with a Roman Catholic adoption agency that says its religious beliefs prevent it from working with same-sex foster parents.
• Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in an opinion for a majority of the court that Philadelphia violated the First Amendment by refusing to contract with Catholic Social Services once it learned that the organization would not certify same-sex couples for adoption.

I will admit, I was hopeful for this decision by the SCOTUS but I was surprised by the unanimous decision.

While I don't think there is anything wrong, per se, with same sex couples adopting and raising children (I actually think it is a good thing as it not an abortion) but I also did not want to see the state force a religious institution to bend to a societal norm.

 

[MT15]

Do you think children can consent to a sexual relationship with an adult? I don't. To me, that is not even debatable. Is that also considered authoritarian?

This is a non-sequitur. It has nothing to do with your burgeoning authoritarian tendencies.

 

[MT15]

The patient is a minor. Do you also think the patient can consent to getting a tattoo?

Well, yes the minor has to consent and because they are a minor their parents have to as well. Did you imagine the minor has no say in whether they get a tattoo or not?

The same Doctors that told you the vaccine was 'safe, effective and free'? The same 'experts' that surgically and chemically transition minors?

We need better eye roll emojis. Yes the vaccine is safe and effective. It was free, not sure about now. The fact that you think otherwise is a “tell” that you aren’t actually very well informed about this subject. You are in thrall to lies. And it’s the same for the practice of gender affirming care. You read people who have an agenda and will lie about facts in order to push their agenda. You are consuming propaganda and you have decided to believe the propaganda rather than the truth. You can stop. You can start reading unbiased sources, the fact that you don’t is your choice.

Did you happen to read Uncle Traveling Jim’s very frank discussion about his experience with his child? The practice of medicine involves changing protocols as we learn more about various conditions, and it’s probable that there are some changes that will happen to gender affirming care as the medical profession figures things out. But they aren’t monsters - they aren’t trying to harm kids, and neither are the parents faced with the need to provide this care to one of their children.

I know you are a supremely cynical person. I don’t know what happened in your life to make you respond that way. But that is also a choice. You don’t have to be this way. You don’t have to read sources that are trying to manipulate your emotions to get you to bend to their agendas.

 

[bird]

Parents’ rights is just a bullschlitz tap dance. It is power hunger, period. If parents raised their children in a manner that mirrors their values then they should have no worries. The problem lies with the reality that children develop the ability to question, think and experience things outside of their parent’s viewpoints. So-called parents’ rights drivel is the attempt to codify into law a particular religio-political view wherein ALL children must conform to those views. In other words the power seekers are scared to death.

 

[MT15]

I’m glad to see this:

 

[Optimus Prime]

Growing up closeted while attending an evangelical church in small town North Carolina, Matthew Blake found refuge in music – particularly the songs of the Christian musician turned pop star Amy Grant. When, years later, they began performing in drag, they took on the name Flamy Grant in honor of their hero.

“Writing songs in Flamy’s voice opened up a new world to me,” Blake recalls. “I could say things I didn’t know how to say before.”

Now, Flamy has earned a No 1 hit on the iTunes Christian music chart – thanks in part to a prominent evangelical provocateur.

Sean Feucht, a failed Republican congressional candidate and one of Trump’s most powerful evangelical allies, called Flamy’s collaboration with a Christian rock star a harbinger of “the last days”. He probably didn’t mean for his remarks to make the drag queen a superstar – but that’s exactly what they did.

Shortly after telling Flamy Grant “hardly anyone listens or cares what you do”, Feucht accidentally inspired the growing movement of “exvangelicals” – those who have left the Christian right – whose love for Grant’s music (and disdain for Maga persecution of drag performers) drove their album and song to the No 1 spot.

The rising phenomenon of Flamy Grant and other exvangelical musicians is not only driven by the backlash to the Christian right, but exists within a tradition of queer Christian songwriters wrestling against their industry’s institutionalized homophobia. “I’ve been called groomer and pedophile a lot,” says Flamy Grant of the harassment they’ve faced following their chart success – the album, Bible Belt Baby, hit No 1 on 27 July and remained there for nine days.

Grant’s star was already on the rise when Feucht, a failed Republican congressional candidate and one of Trump’s most powerful evangelical allies, tweeted about the drag queen. A marketing whiz of the Christian right, Feucht hosted large gatherings of Christian worshipers during the Covid lockdown, successfully galvanizing audiences around perceived threats to their religious freedom, from critical race theory to Covid restrictions.

This tactic boomeranged last week when Feucht’s attacks on Flamy Grant had a similar effect on the drag queen’s fans, who flooded iTunes and purchased the album and the song Good Day, a combination queer anthem and Christian worship song.

For generations, contemporary Christian music (CCM) was an isolated corner of the music industry that expected its performers to remain on the right side of the culture wars (with mixed results). But thanks to shifts in how music charts are calculated, along with a movement of confessional songs from those scarred by evangelical childhoods and questioning such teachings (whose work is still categorized as “Christian music” on iTunes), the entire genre is being turned on its head.

“There are a lot of people in Christian music who want this,” says Grant’s collaborator, Derek Webb, former songwriter for the popular Christian rock band Caedmon’s Call, speaking of LGBTQ+ acceptance in Christian music. “But no one wants to be the first to take that step. What would be suicide for one person could be a revolution for those who follow.”.............

Meet the drag queen who hit No 1 on the Christian music charts – with help from a Trump ally

When an evangelical provocateur attacked Flamy Grant, he accidentally inspired a wave of support for the musician

www.theguardian.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

A conservative legal group led by a former adviser to President Donald Trump is suing Target over shareholder losses in the wake of boycotts of its Pride Month displays.


The lawsuit, filed Tuesday by former Trump White House adviser Stephen Miller’s America First Legal, argues that Target misled investors when it said it was monitoring risks related to its diversity, equity and inclusion policies. The retailer’s stock price has fallen almost 20 percent since mid-May, when it was met with protests, bomb scares, in-store threats from customers and a stock-market rout after an online mob seized on long-held Pride displays.


The investor at the center of America First Legal’s lawsuit is Brian Craig, who is described as a Florida resident who spent around $50,000 for 216.450 shares of Target stock in April 2022. A year later the value of his holdings had fallen to $34,839, and then dropped to $28,896 by June 14 — after the backlash against Target had played out — according to the complaint filed on his behalf.

The lawsuit argues that the retailer’s sudden loss in market capitalization is a “direct and predictable result of management’s calculated decisions to promote sexualized material to children,” referring to family-themed LGBTQ Pride items.


“These false and misleading statements [about Pride Month promotions] caused Target’s shareholders to unknowingly support Target’s Board and management in their misuse of investor funds to serve its divisive political and social goals―and ultimately lose billions,” reads the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida……

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/08/14/target-shareholder-lawsuit/

 

[cuddlemonkey]

A conservative legal group led by a former adviser to President Donald Trump is suing Target over shareholder losses in the wake of boycotts of its Pride Month displays.


The lawsuit, filed Tuesday by former Trump White House adviser Stephen Miller’s America First Legal, argues that Target misled investors when it said it was monitoring risks related to its diversity, equity and inclusion policies. The retailer’s stock price has fallen almost 20 percent since mid-May, when it was met with protests, bomb scares, in-store threats from customers and a stock-market rout after an online mob seized on long-held Pride displays.


The investor at the center of America First Legal’s lawsuit is Brian Craig, who is described as a Florida resident who spent around $50,000 for 216.450 shares of Target stock in April 2022. A year later the value of his holdings had fallen to $34,839, and then dropped to $28,896 by June 14 — after the backlash against Target had played out — according to the complaint filed on his behalf.

The lawsuit argues that the retailer’s sudden loss in market capitalization is a “direct and predictable result of management’s calculated decisions to promote sexualized material to children,” referring to family-themed LGBTQ Pride items.


“These false and misleading statements [about Pride Month promotions] caused Target’s shareholders to unknowingly support Target’s Board and management in their misuse of investor funds to serve its divisive political and social goals―and ultimately lose billions,” reads the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida……

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/08/14/target-shareholder-lawsuit/

So...

1. Encourage batshit crazy people to boycott Target, cause scenes and disruptions, and harass Target employees.
2. Watch Target's stock prices fall.
3. Sue Target for falling stock prices.

Yeah, this tracks.

 

[Optimus Prime]

So...

1. Encourage batshit crazy people to boycott Target, cause scenes and disruptions, and harass Target employees.
2. Watch Target's stock prices fall.
3. Sue Target for falling stock prices.

Yeah, this tracks.

What Stephen Miller calls a win-win

 

[Optimus Prime]

So...

1. Encourage batshit crazy people to boycott Target, cause scenes and disruptions, and harass Target employees.
2. Watch Target's stock prices fall.
3. Sue Target for falling stock prices.

Yeah, this tracks.

2A. Celebrate Target’s stock prices fall “Go Woke Go Broke”

 

[BullSheetBuddha]

So...

1. Encourage batshit crazy people to boycott Target, cause scenes and disruptions, and harass Target employees.
2. Watch Target's stock prices fall.
3. Sue Target for falling stock prices.

Yeah, this tracks.

Any connection between your #1 and #2 is apparently questionable.

Target’s stock price was on the decline long before it was sucked into a culture war, and its most recent financial results left investors unnerved by its flat sales and the fact that much of its goods are discretionary, says Neil Saunders, managing director for retail at GlobalData

“It is extremely hard to quantify exactly what role the Pride Month backlash had on the stock price,” Saunders said. “However, given that there is no data to suggest it had a tangible impact on Target’s sales, it seems highly unlikely that it was the primary cause, or even a major cause, of the decline.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/08/14/target-shareholder-lawsuit/

 

[Optimus Prime]

Any connection between your #1 and #2 is apparently questionable.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/08/14/target-shareholder-lawsuit/

This is a crowd not known to be receptive to facts and nuance

 

[brandon]

nice straw man, I asked you first. Do you consider bathrooms to be safe spaces from females? It is obvious you do, but now you will attempt to back track because you know the trans bathroom issue shows your hypocrisy, or maybe you haven't really thought about it but just go with what you are told on the TV?

I would bet the latter.

Do you recognize that the (statistically insignificant) threat to women in bathrooms is not from trans women, but from heterosexual men posing as trans women?

 

[Farb]

That didn't answer the question I asked.

Let me ask it another way. Who do you specifically listen to for advice on medical and scientific question? Personal and otherwise.

It did answer your question. If I listened to the 'science' I would have gotten the vax and multiple boosters.
Who do I listen too? It depends, if it is about my cholesterol I would listen to my doctor. If my doctors advise was to begin a regiment of experimental drug injections, I would do my own research and specifically try and find all the negatives since I know my doctor is incentivized by the drug companies to push a certain drug for this and another drug for that. And, when I began that search and started notice that all other views from other doctors were being censored, taken down or dismissed as quackery, then my critical thinking skills would go off.
For example, what is your stance on ivermectin use as a drug to help with Covid?

 

[Farb]

Did you really just compare “no shirt, no shoes, no service” and “no gays allowed”?

I did. Try and keep up.

 

[BullSheetBuddha]

nice straw man, I asked you first. Do you consider bathrooms to be safe spaces from females? It is obvious you do, but now you will attempt to back track because you know the trans bathroom issue shows your hypocrisy, or maybe you haven't really thought about it but just go with what you are told on the TV?

I would bet the latter.

Are you still in the bathroom?

 

[Farb]

No views were censored. The fact that you have heard all about the crazy views proves that. There was zero censoring of medical data for political reasons. Your “proof” is just wrong.

What happened was that scientific consensus discarded the crazy views, and rightly so. Anything that could be proven was added to the sum of scientific knowledge. Were there some ideas and conclusions that had to be modified as the virus mutated and we learned more about it? Sure, but there was no huge conspiracy to “silence” anyone - no matter how many propagandists peddle their conspiracy theories to you. It’s one of the more ridiculous things I’ve witnessed in my long life - that idiots on the internet have successfully bamboozled people into believing that scientists are political beings. It’s absurd. They’re people who have a profession, and they don’t let their politics rule their professional life any more than you or I do. (At least I never did, and I imagine you are the same way). I would have never even considered altering the outcome of a lab test for any reason, political or any other.

You need to quit reading the people who are selling you this line of absolute bull shirt.

The vaccines were (are) safe and effective. They may still be free, I’m not sure. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying to you.

I know I’m wasting my time trying to communicate these facts to you. You have put your faith in charlatans. You have bought into the narrative that people are using to destroy this country. I wish you would come to your senses, but I feel sure you will not. Thousands of people like you paid for this disinformation with their lives. I knew one of them. The people who are pushing this conspiracy crap should have a special place in hell for what they have done.

How do you feel about the use of ivermectin or better knows as the 'horse paste' begin prescribed by doctors to fight covid? If I remember correctly (I do), once Trump and Rogan said something about the TV rallied against and you on this very board, parroted those same talking points all because of politics. This is only one example of MANY
Thanks for you concern, and you are correct, I don't think I could ever agree with you, on pretty much anything when it comes to politics, values or culture. But hey, we do enjoy the back and forth though! Cheers!

 

[samiam5211]

How do you feel about the use of ivermectin or better knows as the 'horse paste' begin prescribed by doctors to fight covid? If I remember correctly (I do), once Trump and Rogan said something about the TV rallied against and you on this very board, parroted those same talking points all because of politics. This is only one example of MANY
Thanks for you concern, and you are correct, I don't think I could ever agree with you, on pretty much anything when it comes to politics, values or culture. But hey, we do enjoy the back and forth though! Cheers!

Do you think that the CDC recently said they recommend using ivermectin to treat covid, or that it was effective?

 

[Farb]

Those are public health laws.

as for black only graduations - those are private parties not associated with the school. See, this is where your right of association comes in. Not in commerce, or the marketplace.

Gotcha, so a private business can't decide who they serve?

Can you show me the sources you use for your claim that the black only graduation ceremonies are private and not sanctioned by the universities?