Living Out Loud with Darian

Here's a few links to stories that have caught my attention over the past 24 hours. You guys know I'm usually incredibly busy and unable to write like I normally do when you see links. Hopefully you will enjoy these and take a moment to discuss in the comment section. I'll be back once my feet are able to be planted on the ground for more than an hour.



Transgender Shelter Says Director Was Attacked (wnbc.com)

NEW YORK -- A priest who runs a shelter specializing in outreach to homeless transgender youths was beaten with construction equipment and paint cans by a group of teenagers in a possible hate crime, authorities said Tuesday.

The four boys gathered in front of Carmen's Place around 10 p.m. and started harassing and taunting the residents with homophobic slurs and insults, people at the shelter said. The director, the Rev. Louis Braxton Jr., tried to intervene but was attacked with paint cans, a woodworking tool and other objects found along the street, they said.


Cookie and Magic Johnson and Spike Lee help fight HIV among blacks (latimes.com)



Nearly 17 years after Johnson, with his wife at his side, announced to a stunned sports world that he was HIV-positive, blacks account for most of the country's new HIV and AIDS cases and of deaths from AIDS-related causes.

But the appearance of his usually camera-shy wife in the public service announcements that began airing last month on cable TV and YouTube is a sign of a growing outspokenness among African Americans about the community's disproportionately high HIV rates.

Blacks resist getting tested because they fear being outcasts in their community, Johnson said. Or they get tested and "run scared," often not telling their families.

"We African Americans can be homophobic," said moviemaker Spike Lee, who directed the public service ads. "There's a whole lot of re-education that needs to get started."

Watch the ad here

Gay Kisses on TV: Finally No Big Deal? (afterelton.com)



A kiss is a just a kiss, or so says the classic song “As Times Goes By.” But that’s never been true of a lip-lock between two men. On television at least, a simple gay kiss has typically been something far more than just a kiss — and has often been enough to cause huge media controversies and outraged calls for advertiser boycotts.

But in 2006, after a smattering of notable gay TV kisses on television, AfterElton.com asked the question: Is a gay kiss finally just a kiss?

Klan-ish Reggae Artists to hold a "Straight Pride Parade" (claycane)



Violently homophobic reggae artists, and the fools who support them, are calling for a “straight pride parade” on Labor Day weekend in Brooklyn, New York.

According to Jango Fresh, an unknown reggae artist, says, "The Straight Pride Parade is a chance for heterosexuals to gather together and proudly embrace their sexuality." Wow, every where I look I see the straights embracing their sexuality—showing their affection to each other in television, music, film, street corners—just the other day at mid afternoon I saw a straight girl squeezing her man’s package on the subway!

Embracing your sexuality and wanting to embrace some Klan foolishness are two different things.


Rapper Young Dro Performs for Girlfriend Fantasia's Gay Fans in Atlanta



It's very rare that you'll find a hip-hop artist performing in a gay club, but that's exactly what Young Dro did in support of his girlfriend Fantasia during her recent birthday performance at Atlanta's popular gay venue Traxx. I thought it was important to highlight Dro's performance since it strayed from the usual homophobic lyrics and attitude the gay community usually receives from hip-hop artists. Big ups to Tron and my boy Gyant for bringing this one to my attention.


(Some profanity-may not be safe for work)



A Letter to Louise :A Biblical Affirmation of Homosexuality






This is one of the best stories that has ever been sent my way. It's quite lengthy but definitely a good read. If you've ever struggled to reconcile your sexuality with your faith then this is a must read. It's one of those links that you'll want to send to everyone in your family.

To: Louise, dear friend, beloved of God

From: Bruce, by the immeasurable grace of God, a brother in Christ

Your heavy-hearted words to Anna Marie and me the last time we saw you will always burn in our hearts: "My brother hates God because God made him gay, and he knows he is going to hell, and I do, too, for that is what the Bible says." I struggled for a response, realizing suddenly that what I knew about gays and what the Bible says about them was very superficial. Anna Marie's immediate response to you was, "No one will go to hell who puts his faith in Jesus Christ." How gloriously true! Whatever else the Bible says or doesn`t say, homosexuals are not necessarily going to hell.

I decided to give serious study to homosexuality and what the Bible says about it. Thank God! There was so much to learn about gays and lesbians--and the Bible--that I am so glad to have come to know. It distresses me, though, to realize that most others of our church people do not know these facts about homosexuality and what the Bible really says, and that their thinking, like my previous concept, is based on suppositions, not facts, and on feelings, which, of course, have no place in a thoughtful consideration of facts.