Comments

1
One need not wonder for too long what happened to McCain during his long residence in Vietnam and why he's so homophobic.
2
Damn -- and given how often NYT fails on LGBT related issues (particularly T) -- *really* nice to see... this deserves all the signal boosting it can get...
3
Why is it that whenever I hear of a senator loudly railing against something important to me, it's Eric Cantor?
4
Once I read the piece moments ago I hurled the paper aside to flip the laptop open and see if you or someone had mentioned this yet here.

I am so proud of you being a part of this great piece. His opening three paragraphs had me blinking away the tears, and to see yours and Terry's project made such a great part of his closing, as it swept to connect back to the opener - man, take a bow.
5
Oh fer crying out loud, you should be putting all the IGBP related posts up that you can, it's not self-promotion, it's just a great way to continue to get the word out.

I remember nearly twenty years ago going to a Mapplethorpe show in Boston, and my children (ages 4 and 6 at the time) not being allowed in, my mom and I had to take turns seeing it. Once inside, there was not one single image in the show that I would have felt uncomfortable showing my children, it was just nudity. After the show, my mom sent me a "Fear No Art" button. I would have thought we, as a nation, had evolved in the 20 years since. Apparently not. The censorship was a disgrace then, and it's a disgrace now.
6
To all those (rightfully) upset with the Obama administration's glacial pace on LGBT equality, keep mind what the other side offers.
7
tWas a great piece and very moving.

For me the feeling of gratitude I have for individuals such as Donohue, etc., and now the Smithsonian is much appreciated. They amplified Wojnarowicz voice by drawing attention to "A Fire in My Belly". And, I tend to think that they are slowly painting themselves into a corner, every time their mask slips and motivations become apparent. Then again, I'm wired to find beauty, reasons to be thankful, and sources of hope. And, I'm not persuaded that the historical Jesus was a death-seeking martyr. His teaching as found in his parables and more importantly his deeds, indicate that he was about sharing and cherishing God's gift of life- healing the sick, sharing food with the hungry, welcoming and accepting the outcast, etc., which is contrary to the teaching that to forward God's kingdom it required the violent death of an innocent. So, I tend to think that crucification of the historical Jesus was an act of murder by the government for defying Roman authority. For teaching that another kingdom had a claim upon the people. Execution was a fate shared by many who the government deemed in need of silencing. For that reason, the failing of the government in response to the AIDS epidemic and the censorship of today, in addition to the suffering presented, I found "A Fire in My Belly" powerful and thought provoking. That is just my $0.02.

I'll add that I see the IGBP as source of sharing, cherishing, and affirming the gift of life. It should be promoted, in my opinion.
9
@ 8, here, you can view it and make your own opinion.

http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archive…
10
And because where I grew up, we always feel the need to express our feelings via bumper sticker:

http://www.fearnoart.com/
11
Canuck @10: I have the button (I came of age during the button era), which I display prominently at work. I can't think of a more appropriate city for this than Cincinnati .
12
Wow, what a small world it is on Slog, emma's bee, my parents both went to undergrad at Cincinnati...and yes, the button would be most appropriate there. I was surprised at how *not* shocking the exhibit was, I mean, really? That was enough to upset people? I can't find my button, I must've had a cleaning frenzy during our last move, but I think I'll order a bumper sticker (it's not really a Volvo without at least three of them, right?)
13
Rich: It’s an exhibit that would have been unimaginable in a mainstream institution in Wojnarowicz’s lifetime.

While no one likes a glass half-empty, this is the glass half-full part. Conservatives may win a cultural battle here and there but they're on the wrong side of history. Decades from now, religious conservatives will still undoubtedly be railing against the "sin" of homosexuality but their views won't be dictating laws and policy.
14
7/Kim: His teaching as found in his parables and more importantly his deeds, indicate that he was about sharing and cherishing God's gift of life- healing the sick, sharing food with the hungry, welcoming and accepting the outcast, etc.

Are you familiar with "The Jefferson Bible"? I wasn't, until, about five years ago, I stumbled upon this great article about it by Erik Reece in Harper's Magazine: Jesus Without The Miracles.

Jefferson believed that an authentic Christianity had long ago been hijacked by the Christian Church. The teachings of its founder had become so distorted as to make "one half of the world fools, and the other half hypocrites." Jefferson would no doubt have agreed with Tolstoy that the Christian Church had supplanted the Sermon on the Mount with the Nicene Creed to create a system of beliefs that Jesus himself wouldn't have recognized, much less laid claim to. "I abuse the priests, indeed," Jefferson wrote to Charles Clay in 1815, "who have so much abused the pure and holy doctrines of their Master." By stripping away the gospelers' claim that Jesus was the divine son of God, and by stripping away the subsequent miracles they invented to prove it, Jefferson boasted that he had extracted the "diamonds from the dunghill" to reveal the true teaching of Jesus for what it was: "the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man."
15
One need not wonder for too long what happened to Savage during his time as a Catholic alter boy and why he's homosexual.
16
@15 Was he a girl before then, you know, before he altered into a boy?
17
@15: "alter boy"? No, it's pretty well accepted that Dan was born male.
18
@16: SO MUCH HIVEMIND.
19
Poor troll, guess he couldn't handle the altercation.
20
Roma,

Yes, but I have not personally read it.

I personally try to separate the historical person from the Christ. I'm more interested in the historical person and drawing inspiration (or nourishment, warmth, etc.) from the convictions of his very human life. I tend to feel the same way about many of our fellow flawed humans: MLK Jr., Gandhi, Mortenson, Barboncito of the Navajo, Australia's Vincent Lingiari, etc., as each of these individuals went beyond charity which offends few to fighting injustice. They found the ability to look beyond themselves and to question why their are so many victims and then actively sought to change the source of the victimization. So, I don't cling to the ontological beliefs or need any of them to be verifiable, I'm much more interested as to why the author chose to include them. I tend to think that there is little or no factuality behind the stories, that they are metaphorical narratives, which means one could find profound truths within them without their being literally factual.

As, to Jefferson, I appreciate what I know of his work. I don't know how he came to the notion of the miracles being all fabrications. Only in the sense that Jesus is not the only individual within his culture to be credited with miracles or spectacular achievements, such as Honi HaM'agel (Honi the Circle-drawer) from the first century BCE. It would seem that the culture the historical Jesus lived in was one that was open to and observant of spectacular achievements, and his being attributed such skills or observed as being one who could do spectacular things would be more "normal" for his time, than for Jefferson. I really don't know if they are legitimate parts of the oral tradition handed down, realistically or metaphorically, or just narrative tools to maintain cohesion amongst the believers. At present I tend to think that the Bible, specifically the New Testament, reveals a "school of thought" as its true raison d'etre, that its main purpose is more about reaffirming the group's reason for existence and for any marginalization or rejection the group had to/or will face by outsiders, than it spends focusing on the deeds or parables of Jesus and following his teaching as a way of life every single day of one's life. The concern seems to be focused always on the "next life". Of course, I can't prove my opinion as fact, and all are welcome to reject it.
21
14

did Jefferson leave in the parts about raping your slaves and enslaving your own children?
22
16-19

so sorry to leave you high and dry....

should the troll find a baby sitter to banter with you girls when we are away?....
23
@22 Cool! Are you suggesting an alternate as an alternative? Sounds like a plan!
24
Is there any evidence at all that McCain was raped or otherwise sexually assaulted during his imprisonment? I am sure that it is quite likely. I just haven't read anything suggesting as much. I would love to know if this evidence exists, or if any psychological assessments of McCain's political viewpoints and historical actions exist. Always curious how those experiences shape historical figures....
25
@23: The name alteration for #22 briefly caused me to falter. :-P

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