Joey Porter thinks he's being treated too harshly for describing Cleveland Browns tight end Kellen Winslow as a "fag" following a recent game. Apparently, Porter grew up in the neighborhood where men don't take responsibility for their actions, but point their fingers and petulantly stomp their feet when they are called on the carpet for misbehavior. Here's Joey from Friday's Post-Gazette:
"I just don't understand how you can get a DUI or fail a drug test and nothing happens," Porter said. "You say something, you get fined. That just don't make any sense.
"You'd think if you get a DUI or something, you should get fined. If you fail a drug test, you should get fined. But for saying a word, you get fined. That's kind of backward to me."
While it is an interesting point, I doubt Joey is leading the charge against drug and alcohol abuse in the NFL. He's just deflecting attention and trying to minimize the seriousness of his offense.
Joey also thinks its the media's fault.
"There was enough publicity about it," Porter said. "Y'all keep talking about it. Y'all going to make them do something. If y'all wouldn't have just kept talking about it, [the fine] wouldn't have happened. Y'all need a story so you keep talking about it. So they say, all right, let's fine him then because everybody seems to be upset about it."
Earlier in the week, he blames his childhood b/c "everybody used that word." Today its the media. How much longer til he actually blames the gay community? Note how he thinks his fans are simple sheep without the capacity to recognize a slanderous comment when they hear one.
But in one sense, the fans are to blame. Whether Hollywood or professional sports, we create these meglomaniacal bastards to keep us entertained and amused vis a vis the cult of celebrity. Pay someone $14 kajillion for anything and it goes without saying that you've created hubris beyond all proportions of decency. I'm sure that short of actually murdering someone - perhaps a child - in cold blood, these is little Joey Porter could do that would cause his fans to turn on him OR force him to grow up and act like a man instead of a spoiled little child.
I would just like to say it was a poor choice of words in the comment I made toward Winslow," Porter said. "If I offended anybody, I apologize for that."
I guess how we used that word freely, me growing up using it, I didn't think nothing of it like that," Porter said. "Like I said, I apologize to anybody I offended on it.
Translation - it doesn't really matter if we offend homos but let's cover our asses with some lame quasi-apology.
Note how Porter uses this as yet another opportunity to demonstrate his bad ass poseur street cred as demonstrated by intionally poor grammar and a complete failure to take responsibility for his actions. Sort of like Santonio Holmes and domestic violence. Minus the bruises.
PG sports columnist Ron Cook calls this particular Porterism the "worst of all" of his "macho, most-feared-man nonsense." He also points out the obvious.
Porter has made millions from the Steelers and the NFL. He, like any player, coach, team official or league official, has to realize who makes all that jack possible. People from every race, religion, ethnic background and sexual orientation buy NFL tickets and merchandise. It's pretty stupid to use a derogatory term that's insulting to any group.
Bingo, Ron. Trouble is the Steelers seems to care less about the money spent by domestic violence victims and the gay community.
For the record, my church, Allegheny Unitarian Universalist Church on the North Side, is openly and assertively GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender) friendly. Until now, though, we have not been very public with our views. This is about to change.
This year, our 100th, we are completing our denomination's official GLBT welcoming process and will soon be certified as a Unitarian Universalist Association Welcoming Congregation.
The PG's Clarke Thomas wrote a beautiful piece about increasing tolerance of LGBTQ families within the holiday season.
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men... -- Luke 2:14
Yes, but unfortunately, for many religious people that biblical highlight doesn't extend to an important segment of our fellow human beings -- gays and lesbians. Or their families. Unless, of course, they are willing to deny or to "convert" from their God-given sexual being.
Thomas describes in lovely detail the various manifestations of LGBTQ friendly faith communities, some exclusively gay and others part of mainstream communities. He also identifies one critical new reason for this outreach -- the increasing number of LGBTQ families with children.
I refer to a U.S. Census statistic that, as of 2000, 34 percent of lesbian couples and 22 percent of gay male couples are raising at least one child under 18 in their home, a significant increase over the 1990 census. Add in gay/straight couples who remain married for the sake of their children, and the figure looms even larger.
One need only take a short stroll through PrideFest to note that changing demographic. There are twice as many strollers as scantily clad sunworshippers.
The growing gay family phenomenon should prompt churches and church people in this season of goodwill compassionately to re-examine their attitudes toward the GLBT population. For maybe God's hand is at work here -- in the vein of another revered verse in Scripture:
God setteth the solitary in families. -- Psalm 68:6
Demonstrating once again that hate and intolerance have no room for compromise, a Floridian Presybterian minister is trying to re-start the case against her by gathering names to join him in filing charges -- again (Post-Gazette).
The Rev. James Yearsley, who filed the complaint against her last year, is gathering the signatures of ministers and elders in the Presbyterian Church (USA) who want to join him in pursuing the case. It would not be double jeopardy since she was never tried, he said.
"I'm still accumulating names. This means that the whole process starts over," said Mr. Yearsley, who has served churches in Pittsburgh Presbytery but now works in Florida.
Previous charges against the Reverend Janet Edwards, who conducted a marriage ceremony for a lesbian couple in June 2005, were dropped last month due to a procedural violation.
Yearsley had also considered filing charges against the Presbytery itself for "mishandling the matter." Does he imply they intentionally sidestepped the contextual issue? Imply perhaps while acknowledging there is no evidence. Imagine letting a little thing like evidentiary facts stand in the way of beating down the gay community!
Edwards has walked away from the process with a more subtle appreciation for the role of conflict resolution within the faith community:
"One thing I learned from the past 14 months is that the judicial process is not the best place in our church to work out our disagreement -- but it is one place where we do that," said Ms. Edwards, who is on the staff of the Community of Reconciliation in Oakland.
Here's PghLesbian previous coverage on Janet's story.
Hmmmm. Thursday night the Steelers beat Cleveland in what turned out to be a good game (for us in Pittsburgh) played in frigid temperatures. That wasn't good enough for hallowed Steeler linebacker Joey Porter. Porter took umbrage with a late hit by Cleveland's Kellen Winslow on a Steeler player.
Here's the quote from the Tribune-Review minus the f-word:
"It was late, that's what (slur) do," Porter said. "He's soft. He wants to be tough but he's really soft."
Nice. Fags hit late. Who knew?
I caught this story on KDKA tonight (not up on the website yet). Interesting how most people thought it was unsportsmanlike and "inappropriate" language. No one was saying that about Michael Richards were they? If a white player used a racial slur in the same situation, he'd be crucified. One guy said he didn't mind it all. At least he's honest.
Now I'd like to go see this show. We are fans of most of the performers (and unfamiliar with the rest). BUT ... I cannot put myself through another evening of listening to the Shrieking Laughter of Eberle's friend who seems to think she's part of the entertainment. It is one of the worst sounds I have ever heard in my life and I grew up next to a steel mill! So bad that it will keep me from attending this fine event. Is it ridiculous for me to say that you should go? Perhaps ... you need to experience her for yourself. And complain to Bill and Gab in hopes that someone will finally have the cahones to tell her to shut up.
Mary and Heather will be two mommies. According to the Washington Post, Mary is pregnant and expected to deliver in the spring. They live in very homo-unfriendly Virginia to be near to the Dark Lord which does not bode well for Heather's legal status with regard to the baby.
However, while the LGBTQ bloggers speculate madly on the potential fallout from this revelation, I feel compelled to mention that this is Dick Cheney's grandchild. If he wants Heather in the baby's life, a little thing like the law won't stop it from happening. It hasn't stopped him from far greater abuses of power so why all the fuss now? The man parented a lesbian, his wife wrote a lesbian novel and they still ain't flipped on the political issue. A baby won't change that. He doesn't need legal support because he has what really counts -- power and wealth.
On the bright side, the wingnuts are showing their true unChristian colors over this latest little lesbian tidbit.
I wonder who will preside at the baby's christening -- Jimmy Dobson? Franklin Graham? Fred Phelps?
Oh that Diane Gramley and her whacky homobaiting ideas.
Today, as you may know, is World AIDS Day a day set aside to acknowledge the devastating impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The key is that progress in fighting the epidemic is possible through a united effort.
Ms. Gramley and her AFA morons think that the key to fighting the epidemic in the United States is to marginalize and criminalize homosexuality as well as pretty much any sexual activity outside of the man-woman marriage they hold so dear. So they've founded the AIDS Truth Coalition. <stop laughing!>
"While Christians and churches mobilize to fight the HIV pandemic on far away continents, let us not neglect the major catalyst for AIDS here in the United States of America: homosexual promiscuity, tolerated and encouraged by pro-'gay,' 'safer-sex' advocates," said Peter LaBarbera, President of Americans For Truth and member of the AIDS Truth Coalition. "It's time to acknowledge the pink elephant in the room: fighting AIDS without talking against homosexuality is like fighting lung cancer without talking against smoking."
Noting that the response of "politically correct AIDS organizations" is to distribute condoms, even at homosexual bathhouses, LaBarbera said, "Passing out condoms at sex clubs designed specifically to facilitate men having reckless, anonymous sex with other men is preposterous. Wouldn't it make more sense to mobilize all government agencies--federal, state and local--to close down these disease- spreading centers to save men's lives?"
To save lives you see! For Jesus! They've even issued some "talking points" for Christian parents. Because preaching about the evils of homosexuality is the best way to cure AIDS. For Jesus!
We now have famous preachers like the sadly compromised Rick Warren, who seems to have fallen in love with non-Christian "christians." Pro-abortion, pro-homosexual politician Barack Obama is now one of his chosen companions, invited to speak at Warren's Saddleback Church.
How sad that Scripture must now be kept in the closet, while deviant sin comes out.
Ohhhhhh, nice reference to gay-lingo! For actual facts on HIV/AIDS, click here.
