Reasons to love George Takei {1/∞}
George Takei’s handwritten responses to anti-gay protesters.
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DAVID MACK (known as a Star Trek writer) RECIEVED THIS HOMOPHOBIC EMAIL AND THIS IS HOW HE RESPONDED ON HIS BLOG. EPIC.
“Well, the author of that e-mail might not have been looking for a reply, but he’s going to get one.
If he thinks the fear of alienating a few closed-minded readers is going to stop me from writing stories that feature and promote characters of diverse backgrounds—including LGBTQ characters, persons of color, and people who belong to ideological or philosophical minorities—he must be out of his mind. I’m a fucking Star Trek writer. Hasn’t he ever heard of IDIC—“Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations”?
Most of my writing work to date has been for Star Trek. Although the various television series could have done more in their respective times to portray ethnic and gender diversity, those of us who write the licensed Trek fiction continue to do our best to depict a more progressive, enlightened, open, and harmonious future, not just for humanity but for all sentient beings. One in which love, equality, and compassion are the touchstones of civilized society.
To that end, we’ve tried to make our literary dramatis personae more closely resemble the people of Earth. We’ve tried to include more people of African, Asian, and Southeast Asian ancestry than were seen in the televised and feature-film stories. We’ve tried to incorporate characters who hail from many cultures and viewpoints. We’ve tried to imagine a future in which people of all faiths have learned to live in harmony with people of other creeds as well as those who prefer to lead purely secular lives. We’ve tried to depict a future in which people’s gender identities are no longer limited to some arbitrary binary social construct, but rather reflect a more fluid sense of personal identity.
I will never be made to feel shame for doing this. I am proud that we’ve been able to do this. I know we’ve still got more work to do, and we can do better at integrating more diverse viewpoints and characters into the ever-expanding universe of Star Trek.
The author of the quoted e-mail tries to justify his screed by declaring that “homosexually (sic) is not universally accepted”. So what? Neither are human rights of a fundamental nature. In fact, I can’t think of any notion of justice or equality that is universally accepted. Why should that limit our vision of a more open, egalitarian, meritocratic future? I reject this aspect of the author’s rant as fundamentally illogical.
As for the author’s subsequent assertion that “no Vulcan would consider the situation ‘logical’,” I would rebut that Spock himself told Valeris in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, “Logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end.” What Spock had learned that the author of this morning’s e-mail apparently has not is that there are many ingredients to wisdom — including, but not limited to, compassion and empathy.
Another reason today’s e-mail strikes me as ironic is that I consider the doomed romance between the characters he cited — T’Prynn and Lurqal — to be one of the best story and character arcs I’ve written to date. Writing T’Prynn’s tale of agony, conflict, and heartbreak, followed by her forlorn journey toward self-forgiveness and quest for redemption, was one of the most creatively rewarding efforts of my career so far. And this guy thinks I’m going to feel bad because his world view is too small to see the truth in it? All I can say, to paraphrase Neil de Grasse Tyson, is: I prefer my universe big.
Whenever someone asks; Why do we need to keep talking about embracing diversity in stories, and seeking out diversity in the authors and creators and portrayers of speculative fiction?, I will say it’s because too many authors and artists and filmmakers still get letters like this one. We need to work toward a better future in which no one would even *think* of writing an e-mail like this.
I’m not so starry-eyed as to think that day will ever come, at least not in my lifetime. I suspect that humanity will always have to contend with prejudice in one form or another. But that doesn’t give us license to stop struggling against it. It is exactly the reason we must press on and continue to do better, to demand better, to show that it’s possible.
The effort is its own reward.”
I LOVE THIS GUY!
Don’t hate on your allies!
Kevin Spacey: “Yeah but I’m gay, so…”
Louis C.K.: “Yeah but I’m really admired and sad now, so…”
George Takei: “Yeah but RUSSIA, so…”
The non-profit organization haveagaydayorg has launched a Dayton, Ohio billboard campaign to support the LGBT community and their allies with pro-LGBT messages.
“The importance of the campaign is to show visibility and education to the community,” said Have A Gay Day founder Michael Knote. “The images show support and a call to action for members of the LGBT community and their allies.”
The campaign will cover topics of homelessness, suicide prevention, adoption, faith, and other key points in education about the LGBT community.
There are a total of 13 graphics being used in this billboard campaign, and will be seen by over 360,000 people a week.
when LGBT people say ‘that’s so gay!’
![[THE DAILY BEAST] Did you ever have any experiences with homophobia? Bearing witness to it?
In an all-male boarding school, in the olden days, it was seen as being something that “just happened” since there were no girls, so you had a bit of an...](https://64.media.tumblr.com/3045e82d234469240ce9afc51a8aeeb4/tumblr_nblqn92Dj91s9c6nao1_500.jpg)
[THE DAILY BEAST] Did you ever have any experiences with homophobia? Bearing witness to it?
In an all-male boarding school, in the olden days, it was seen as being something that “just happened” since there were no girls, so you had a bit of an experience. But there was incredible homophobia at my school, to the point where two boys who were caught doing something were literally chased down the street.
I was 18. Two boys who were just discovered in bed together doing something, and it was shocking. I was just finishing an essay in the school dining hall at breakfast, and I looked out the window and heard a commotion, a pair of feet scampering by, and then a horde just charging after shouting, “Wankers! Faggots!” and I thought, “What the fuck is going on?” I asked these kids coming back from the house who were breathless from the hunt, “What are you doing, you insane idiots? What the fuck?” They explained it, and I said, “And you’re a Sikh, you’re Jewish, and you’re from Kenya. Do you want to just sit down and talk about the strife that your people have suffered because of your religion, race, creed, or color? I mean, fuck me! You’ve really got to wake up to the fact that the world is full of disgusting prejudice because we are all different from one another. You have to learn acceptance at this school, and you have to go into the world as a better person, and you have to try and embrace the fact that people are different rather than defining yourself by not being like them. Who cares that they’re gay? You have to coexist.
You might know Planting Peace from the Equality House. They are the organisation that bought a house across from the Westboro Baptist Church and painted it with rainbow colours. They also specialize in de-worming, orphanages, rain forest conservation, tree planting, equality and peace. Today, they are asking you for help. Recently, nearly $850,000 was raised by the anti-LGBTQ movement for a family in Indiana who had to shut down their pizza shop after threats and backlash against them for their support of Governor Pence and the Religious Freedom Reformation Act and their negative stance on gay marriage. We find the idea of rewarding bigotry silly and shameful, so in response, Planting Peace urges you to join us showing support to the LGBTQ community by donating to our virtual pizza fundraiser. Buy a virtual slice online and the money we raise will go to support beds for LGBTQ homeless. While one family is being supported with nearly a million dollars for acts of bigotry, there are LGBTQ people being rejected by their families and society because of these very acts of bigotry. Don’t let acts of hate overshadow acts of love and compassion; please take a stand with Planting Peace and donate here: https://www.crowdrise.com/lgbtpizza If they reach their goal of $100,000 a friend of Planting Peace has agreed to provide 100 hotelrooms for LGBTQ homeless. FOR ONE WHOLE YEAR. Please help and reblog! Let’s fight hate with love!
Donald “friend of the gays” Trump said in his speech last night:
“I will do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology.”
Foreign? What about home grown? What about your VP? What about the 200+ anti-LGBT bills that have been pushed this year alone? What about the fact that the GOP platform wants to abolish same sex marriage and allow parents to put their children through conversion therapy?
