Sunday, April 26, 2009
What should I do when I hear homophobic comments?
Do I sit by and do nothing? Or should I rebuke them?
Comments like "Fucking gay faggots" arise time to time at work by members of a certain race. I so badly wanted to scream at them, call out their bigotry and ignorance, yet I was afraid. Not afraid of them, but afraid of being ostracized or accused of shoving my "gay lifestyle", whatever that means, down their throats. So I cowardly backed off, and just said "Don't say that. And anyway faggot means gay. So you are really say fucking gay gay."
Recently a wave of homophobia has swept across Singapore. AWARE, a secular NGO that promotes women's rights and equality has been taken over by a group of Christian fundamentalists, who claimed that AWARE was promoting 'lesbianism' and promoting 'that lifestyle choice'.
As I read each word of every line on the Straits Times, my heart was boiling and I felt incensed. I felt misunderstood. I felt worried. People are gonna assume that all lesbians are man-hating, abused as a child, fatherless, given-up-on-all-men women, and that we are out to 'recruit' other straight women.
There is no truth in this statement by the instigator of this takeover, a mom of a certain homophobic NMP whose last name starts with a T and ends with and O. She cannot be named as she is known for her lawsuits.
I definitely do not belong to any of those descriptions. One of my best friends is a guy, I was never abused, definitely not fatherless, and never had a omg-he-broke-up-with-me-all-men-are-bastards moment. And I can safely say this on behalf of many of my gay friends.
Yet Christian Fundies keep twisting the facts just to keep the majority of Sporeans who are otherwise nonchalent about the issue join their side. When you get parents worried about their kids, you have won the battle.
But the arguement is whether AWARE was too gay-friendly. Well, no they weren't. In fact, they didn't wanna be associated with the gay community as they didn't wanna be seen as a gay organization. That said, they say nothing wrong with being gay and decided that gay women are women afterall and needed equal attention.
Somehow the conservative fundies viewed it as a form of promotion of gay rights.
What can I do about it? I really wanna stand up against it, but I don't know how. I feel useless knowing that we are allowing this to happen. And the more I think about it, the more wary I am of my friends who are Christians, especially those who consider themselves to be more than just church-goers. Will they stab me in the back too? Do they have the same views as these christian fundies? Do they only see me as a sinner in need of help?
I'm staying clear. Organized Religion is now too fundamental for me. You are either with me or against me, and I cannot hang out with people who do not agree with me.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
No I did not die nor did I vanish into thin air (which I suspect some of you might be hoping I did, hah!)... Rather, I have been too busy with work. I mean, come on, look at the picture, you would think we are giving out freebies.
Anyhow, it is a love-hate relationship with U_____. Love it when I get to do what I was hired to do - displays- and hate when I have to do sales (which is 98.9999% of the time). Like how fishy feels about her job, I think I am wasting my time here folding clothes and serving people, some of whom I would very much like to punch.
Job satisfaction is minimal and I am wondering how long more can I tolerate working under such conditions. On a brighter note, the shop has experienced a drop in number of customers since the opening promo has ended. May I add in a Hallelujah?
Hallelujah
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
This week has been a week of victory for human rights. 2 states in the US have joined the list of states that recognizes gay marriage: Iowa (a Mid-Western state no less!) and Vermont.
Let's hear it for the Vermont legislature: Governor Jim Douglas had vetoed a bill allowing gay marriage in his state, but his veto was overturned today by members of Vermont's legislature, with a 23 to 5 vote in the Senate and a 100 to 49 vote in the House.
So now gay marriage is legal in Vermont.
It feels so good to write that.
This is historic in that it makes the first time a state has legalized gay marriage with a legislature's vote, Vermont's Burlington Free Press points out, noting that the other states that permit gay marriage—Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa—did so after court rulings.
I know the battle has only begun, but ten years ago who would have ever thought we'd get this far? It was huge enough when Vermont became the first state to allow same-sex civil unions back in 2000.
I'm savoring today's victory.
I know we've had setbacks. The passage of Prop 8, which banned gay marriage in California, still kills me. But our victories in Vermont and Iowa are truly heartening.
What's next?
Well, New England appears to be at the epicenter of the battle for same-sex marriage at the moment. New Hampshire's House of Representatives approved a same-sex marriage bill last month (New Hampshire, by the way, already allows civil unions for same-sex couples), and the legislatures in both Maine and Rhode Island are "considering their own versions, though they are not as far along in the process," The New York Times reports.
Monday, April 06, 2009
Today was the press event for our store, and boy were there so many journalists and what-nots gathered in one room/store. I was lucky to be in the stock room, so I did not have to face the mad crowd. Give each guest a $100 voucher and all hell breaks loose.
My job at ____ is of highs and lows. I still do not feel compelled to stay on with this company for long, yet I am finally doing stuff that I was hired for - visual merchandising. The chance to work with ___ Japan's visual merchandising team was a real treat. The knowledge and experience that they shared was priceless.
However, the part I am not so keen about is working the sales floor. Which is fine when there are no customers around, but once the crowd comes in, I know my temper will start to flare and yet I have to maintain my cool which ain't gonna be easy.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
I have been busy with work. Setting up a new store is of no joke. Standing from 9-7.30 is causing my heels to hurt, yet I am too vain to wear a pair of sport shoes. Vanity before comfort, as one must suffer for the sake of fashion.
Work aside, I have applied for SAT testing on June 6. So now I am basically working my ass off, and spending .45hr every night n 15mins in the morning to study.