An open letter to Bob Brackeen at KETK NBC in Tyler, TX regarding a recent news cast (video included below):
Dear Mr. Brackeen,
By now you may know that a particular airing of your news “report” in which you ask, “is the acceptance of homosexuality the downfall of our nation” has hit national airwaves.
I heard (and saw) you fumbling a bit looking for words to say and I don’t know whether to take that as you personally feeling uncomfortable with the subject matter or if (as I hope) you simply don’t agree with the notion that acceptance of homosexuality is the downfall of our nation.
That said, as an American, a Texan, and a human I am outraged by the comments that you allowed to be aired. Even worse is the fact that you seem to agree with the notion that because “only 7%” of us are out there, we do not deserve equal and fair treatment under the law.
I long for the days when news used to be “reported” rather than fed with a horrid, uneducated opinion. You obviously did not do your research. There is clear reason why we are seeking the attention of our government. It is because, the government already gives the other 93% of our country their civil rights without hesitation and without question. You report that we are gaining attention but you do not report what it is that we are fighting for.
We have no agenda, we want nothing special we simply want equal civil rights under the law. No more and no less than the rest of our country has.
Had you done your research, you would know that there are over 1,300 protections, benefits and yes penalties that are directly effected by marital status and are designed to protect couples by automatically establishing next of kinship.
For $75.00 you and any woman that you choose, whether you met her 5 minutes ago or 5 years ago, may go to a justice of the peace in any county in America and gain for yourselves these 1,300 protections (every single one of them). For those of us who are fortunate enough to be living our true and full selves, we must spend anywhere from $2,500 to $5,000 (depending on circumstances) to provision the few of these protections that we legally can gain access to. And that still leaves out a majority of those 1,300.
Ultimately, we are not fighting for you, as an individual, to accept us. We are fighting for our government to live up to it’s pledge of “liberty and justice for all”. What liberty do we have when one group is penalized for living in their true self?
You may not be aware of what has been going on in our country over the last several years in regards to children completing suicide. I will admit that I was not aware until some of the more recent losses. Children, sir, are killing themselves.
There is a direct correlation between these child suicides and adult homophobia, hatred and fear mongering. When adults and authority figures speak out as if gay people are less than they are and are not even human they put the idea into their children’s heads that it’s okay to bully, torture and torment anyone that they perceive as gay. Allowing this hatred to spew onto the airwaves only shows adults and children that other people do think this way. This further legitimizes a bully’s actions toward another child and yes, in some cases, a parent’s actions toward their own children who they may think is gay.
So, while the rest of society is busy talking about how to solve the problem it seems that some people are still unclear as to what the problem actually is. And your news station facilitated, perpetuated and by proxy condoned the very behavior that is the problem with our society.
The downfall of our nation is not going to be the acceptance of homosexuality at all. It is going to be the lack of equilibrium, fairness and justice within our society when it comes to those who believe that the LGBT community is less than human.
I think you owe your viewers an apology for allowing a forum for that vile un-American message of bigotry.
Michael Diviesti
Michael Diviesti 
Michael, you seem to miss the point of politics. While gov’ts might have lofty goals of opportunity, freedom and justice for all, the focus of politics is simply what people want and how we go about getting it through group action. Leadership, tactics, legislative maneuvers, party-platforms, and the like are merely tools of the trade. To that effect, many of us don’t want gay men in our society and, if mother nature demands that we must have a few in every generation, want them driven underground, locked-up, or executed. This is a function of pure unconscious unreasonable, unjustified desire. Don’t even bother trying to argue that we shouldn’t feel this way – we do and we aren’t changing for the likes of you. (Predictably enough, our ire does not extend to lesbians – they might be offensive sometimes but do not spark the same contempt and you probably know why.) We want what we want and that’s enough for politics. Always has been. The game is about power, respect, image, tactics, and timing.
While gays seem to have made phenomenal strides forward regarding their legal status and cultural acceptance, many of us wonder aloud if these actually mean anything. The achievements of the gay rights movement are leveraged politics. That is, their movement rides on the power of social progressives rather than standing by itself. As such, it is very easy for people like myself to view gay guys as petulant cowardly children “hiding behind mommy” while demanding respect – both laughable and disgusting at the same time. This fact places gay politics in stark contrast to our struggle for racial equality whose accomplishments were forged of spectacular public demonstrations backed up by episodes of brutal and bloody violence. We earned our progress by fighting for it. Gays were handed theirs by whining for it. All their gains can be washed away the moment “mommy” is either unable or unwilling to render support. That moment appears to be looming – another economic frazzle or 9/11 might just do it.
Now … I’m sorry. I know that a lot of gay guys really might not be able to help who they are. Mother nature can be such a “mutha” sometimes. Biology can suck. I get that. I really do – up close and very personal. If that’s true then the homosexual condition is really just another handicap and nobody’s fault. This doesn’t change anything. Most visible handicaps inspire pity and discomfort. Gay men inspire hatred and a desire to destroy. A brother who I loved for 20 years became dead to me in less than a minute. I watched our even-tempered father will throw his beloved son out of the house in the middle of the night. Sounds like an overreaction to one small statement (“I like men.”). Sorry – way it is. I feel it. I know it. It’s right.
Riley,
Thanks for your comment and while I appreciate your opinion of the matter.
I don’t miss the point of politics at all. This news station gives it’s listeners what it wants to hear, I give my readers my opinion on things and they want to hear it. It coincides (in many ways) with what they think.
I would like to address your comments.
I realize that there are differences between our struggle and the struggle of African Americans. But the similarities are astonishingly way too similar and hit way too close to home for me.
You do have a few misconceptions. Maybe it’s because you don’t have your thumb on the pulse of what is going on but, I live and breathe activism, I am daily seeking out what is going on.
There is a LOT of gay bashing that goes on much of which does lead to deaths of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Nearly 18% of all hate crimes are based on sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation.
This may not seem like a lot to you but, if you think about the math behind it and realize that, in any other sampling of society only around 7% identify as non heterosexual.
Also, realize that it’s much easier to hide sexual orientation than it is to hide race. Yes, there is blood shed in my community and I’ve seen it first hand.
The problem is that, the media doesn’t give it air time. We are marching on Washington, we are chaining ourselves to fences, picketing and engaging in civil disobedience in huge numbers but, the media gives it no air time.
For instance, you may not know that a few weeks ago 19 veterans were arrested for chaining themselves to the White House fence in protest of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law. I do, because I follow it but no news covered it.
To your point about hiding behind progressives. We are not hiding behind it, we are using it in the very same exact way that Martin Luther King did. All of the Civil Rights movement was backed by the progressive movement, you should know this as it is well known history.
Now, prejudice is not inborn at all. It is taught by authorities. The evidence of that is plainly clear when you look at society now vs society in the 60’s.
You’re allowed to hate me, fear me or whatever. You’re simply not allowed to hit me, kill me or deny me equal access under the law.
There have been no real political strides for us, everything we’ve gained we’ve done so through the court system and will continue to do so but, this would not work if we don’t go about also changing the minds of the judges in the court of public opinion.
The arguments against equality are all stupid and are all invalid. They were (every last one of them) used against African-Americans during the 50’s and 60’s. The same song, retooled for a different group.
It’s like this though, if you don’t stand up for equal rights, you may soon find yourself the subject of legalized oppression. Trust me, I’d be fighting for your equality too though.
Anyway,
Thanks for the reply, I hope this wasn’t too incoherent.
Mike
Michael diviesti
How dare you? You deserve no apology, posting this, your so called “oppressed people” shove every view down our throats, gay references are everywhere now because of your people! Gays make me sick to my stomach, it’s vile and it will destroy this country, like it is already, Iran and the Muslim countries at least have decency!
Dear James,
I hope the weather there in the state of Washington is treating you well.
As per your comment;
sarcastic font: You forgot Uganda, don’t forget them!
Of course, James, I’m shoving it down your throat, I wrote this blog and forced you to read it. Wait, no, you came to my blog to shove your vile opinion down my throat.
Yes, it is oppression when our freedoms and our rights are restricted for no other reason than the fact that we are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer.
The fact that you wish to deprive me of my unalienable right to life, simply because of the gender of the person that I love is a testament to that fact.
James, we should all be Standing Above The Crowd on this issue.
Of course, you have a right to your opinion but, the mindset that you have on this issue is vile. It is a bias against a group of society based not on content of character but on one simple fact about who we are. Do we not all deserve to judged as individuals? Would you judge someone with brown eyes or dark skin based on the stereotypes that society has placed on them?
We are all individuals who seek nothing more than to be treated equally under the laws of our beloved country.
Of course, you do have an option. If you love Iran so much… move there.
Since you probably used a fake email address when you wrote your cowardly comment, you probably won’t even be notified that you have a reply.
I’m sure if your friends knew you thought this way, you’d be disowned. As a matter of fact, why don’t you go ahead and send a copy of your comment to them all. I bet at least 7% of the people you know are LGBT.