Compiled by Howard Israel
"I believe it is that justice that the 99 percent seek – an acknowledgement that no health insurance company should make billions in profit when their policy holders are dying due to lack of access to the care they need; that no government small enough to allow almost 7,000 people to languish on AIDS drug waiting lists while taxes remain unfairly assessed, and not paid even when they are assessed, should be allowed to continue; frustration that the profits of an oil company would be considered more important than the damage of their offshore drilling to the environment and people's lives. I could go on and on and perhaps that is the foundation of the protests – that there is so much wrong, so much injustice, that those of us who bear the brunt of it are overwhelmed by the variety of evil we have to choose from. Where do we start?"
– EarthMother, in her blog posting titled "The 99%," connecting the Occupy protests and the HIV/AIDS community, in Positively Aware, an HIV news journal published by the Test Positive Aware Network, http://www.positivelyaware.com , Oct. 24.
"Whether you grew up getting your ideas about marriage from your family or pop culture, there is a lot of social significance in what marriage means and, historically, a lot to unravel. It seems hard to argue that there is any 'sanctity' to the institution of marriage. Sure, humans have long been marrying, and according to EJ Graff, scholar and author of the book 'What is Marriage For,' there are five static reasons: 1. property, 2. kin 3. money 4. order 5. heart. Yet, the types of marriages we see vary greatly, from polygamy to the wife-auctions of the 17th century, to the monogamy of today. Which type of marriage again is the one with sanctity?"
-Rachel Rabbit White, in a column titled "Kim Kardashian and the Sanctity of Marriage: A History of Marriage," http://www.edenfantasys.com/sexis/ , Nov. 03.
"brother, i can completely relate. as a confused teen i felt like i was wandering in the wilderness; wondering why my feelings and impulses seemed so at odds with what i observed in those around me. in my head i would often liken myself to some neat little toy soldier that, alas, had lost his wind-up key somewhere along the way and was thus "broken". the feelings of isolation and shame were crippling. it wasn't until college i realized, 'dude, duh. you're gay.' i too missed out on all that goofy fun stuff with regards to flirting and dating in middle/high school. and although it has worked out for me in the end, there will always be a part of that meek, heartbroken kid inside me wondering how life may have differed had i been in an environment where accepting myself as gay was even in the realm of possibility – let alone being accepted by anyone else."
-Tim Beto, in a blog posting, in a blog about the courting rituals of the young, focused on their awkward youthful dalliances, initiated by Ta-Nehisi Coates, senior editor for The Atlantic, http://www.theatlantic.com , Nov. 04.
"LGBT Muslims are dealing with many of the same kinds of questions that LGBT Christians have been dealing with for decades – such as the authority and interpretation of scripture. The arc we are seeing amongst American Muslims mirrors that of other religious communities that are struggling with questions of inclusion. In addition, conversations within Islam in America are complicated by a virulent Islamophobia that has flourished in the decade since the 9/11 attacks. The intersection of sexual, religious, racial, and immigrant identities entail multiple types of marginalization."
-Dr. Hussein Rashid, scholar of Islam, contributed to the 70-page report, "Muslim LGBT Inclusion Project," aimed are discussing how and under what circumstances the voices of LGBT Muslims can be articulated in the wider Muslim community, http://www.intersectionsinternational.org , Nov. 03.
