From FEE: A Modern Day Rosa Parks

This is from FEE's blog finalfee: (no date)  Most Amazing Scary Thing

Hello

I'm Fee and I live in Worcester, England

This blog is just a collection of things I love 

'I have just done the most amazing and scary thing I will ever do in my life.

So I was in church this morning, and in the prayers, our minister had prayed against gay marriage, and hoped that marriage will not be redefined in the UK, and so at the end of the service I went up to him and asked if I could say a few words.

Now, if you know me, you’ll know that standing up and stating an unpopular opinion infront of a few hundred people would not exactly be first on my list of things to do, and so as I walked up to the stage, I was shaking in fear and my nails dug into the palms of my hands. This was the most scary thing I had ever done. 

I thanked the minister and took the microphone. Below is almost exactly what I said.

“Hello.

In the new testament, Jesus said “love your neighbour as you love yourself.” He said all the other commandments and teachings follow this, and if we act upon this we are following God. 

Rosa Parks is one of my favourite women in history. She took a stand, or rather, didn’t stand *insert chuckles from the congregation here* because of what she believed. In her time, people were being treated as inferior because of something as little as the colour of their skin.

Let me repeat, Jesus said “love your neighbour as you love yourself” not, “love your neighbour as yourself, unless they’re gay.” I believe those who want to, should be able to marry whoever they like, because surely they are following that teaching? They are showing love. 

This is me, refusing to give up my bus seat to a homophobic society, thank you.”

As I walked back to my seat, about half the congregation applauded me. The minister didn’t look to happy, but he said he admired my bravery, although he later repeated that he disagreed with me.

They were going to play another worship song but everyone was talking about what I had said, so they just ended the service there. One of the girls who sings at the front came down to my seat in tears, and shook my hand and thanked me, and I cuddled her and told her not to cry, and that it was alright. 

I am so glad I did this, and I have received facebook messages since, telling me that if they had the bravery, they’d have done the same. 

I hope I channeled the bravery of Rosa Parks there.'

Yes, I think you certainly did. Now to let the rest of the world know your story.

BRAZIL - The murders of homosexuals soaring

Many Evangelicals ... ? and the Catholic Church (who did NOT stop the Nazi's from the Holocaust when they could have) realize they are losing ground to the Equality movment and have amped up their rhetoric to include GENOCIDE.  This needs to be addressed by the LGBTQI and their supporters.

Here is story from Brazil. the original is in Portuguese. This is English Translation from Google. I have not edited it at all so syntax may be off.

Murder of LGBT in Brazil every 26 hours!

Murder of homosexuals and transsexuals have increased by 26% in 2012 compared to 2011 Brazil, with 336 victims, one every 26 hours, said Friday the anthropologist Luiz Mott, Gay Group of Bahia (GGB ).

"C" is shocking, almost half of all murders of transgender people in the world last year were committed in Brazil. There were 128 against 15 in the United States for example, "said the anthropologist, author of the study which identifies the last 30 years this type of crime in Brazil.

The annual survey of GGB details that 188 gays, transsexuals 128, 19 bisexual lesbians and two were killed in 2012.

The majority of victims (152) was identified in the north-east of the country, "the region by far the most homophobic Brazil," said Mr. Mott.

These 336 murders in 2012 represent an increase of 177% compared to the average of the last seven years (110 murders per year).

"The most shocking, too, is the degree of impunity. In 70% of cases, the killer has not been identified, "said Mr. Mott.

These murders are according to him, "reflecting the widespread violence and cultural homophobia."

Despite these alarming statistics, the bill of criminalization of homophobia faced resistance from Protestant and Catholic groups for years and sleeping in a drawer in Parliament.

The murders of homosexuals in Brazil rose sharply - 7SUR7.be

Bill of Rights for BATTERED Women ...

Since, here in the United States, our Congress has deemed it necessary to allow the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) to expire rather than expend the effort to renew it, it appears we, American women,  must start all over in regaining our Right not to be Abused.

We may, apparently, need to look to other, more enlightened countries to rebegin this process, as no women's groups in the US seem to be doing anything to reverse this horrific occurrence.

Found originally on WAO: Women's Aid Organization of MALAYSIA
Shared on:  http://www.wao.org.my
by fatimah abu bakar

BILL OF RIGHTS FOR BATTERED WOMEN

I am not to blame for being beaten and abused
I am not the cause of another's violent behaviour

 I do not like it or want it
I do not have to take it

I am an important human being
I am a worthwhile woman

I deserve to be treated with respect
I do have power to take care of myself

I can decide for myself what is best for me
I can make changes in my life if I want to

I am not alone I can help others to help me
I am worth working for and changing for

I deserve to make my own life safe and happy

She has the right not to be abused
She has a right to anger over past beatings

She has the right to choose to change the situation
She has a right to freedom from fear of abuse

She has a right to request and expect assistance from police and social agencies
She has a right to share her feelings and not be isolated from others

She has a right to want a better role model of communication for her children
She has a right to be treated like an adult

She has a right to leave a battering environment
She has a right to privacy

She has a right to express her own thoughts and feelings
She has a right to develop her individual talents and abilities

She has a right to legally prosecute the abusing spouse

This is from Women Aid Organization of MALAYSIA ... They seem to be way ahead of us now.