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Philip Chandler
CLEVEDON, United Kingdom
I am a passionate advocate of full legal and societal equality for gay people, both in the USA and in other nations. I was born and raised in South Africa, and immigrated to the US back in 1986, for political reasons...
Recent Activity
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Philip commented on the article |This is the true face of discrimination in America today. As the rest of the world moves forwards with the recognition of equal rights for gay persons, America seems to be moving full tilt backwards in so many respects. The right to plan the funeral of the person with whom you have shared your life is a right so basic that most people don't give it a second thought; however, if you are gay and live in the US, you are lucky indeed if you are able to make such end-of-life plans for your partner. This is absolutely disgusting, and it shows the true colours of politicians such as Tim Pawlenty, who has been hijacked by the extreme right wing of his political party. Pawlenty is utterly beyond contempt; this man has close ties to the anti-gay propaganda mill named the "National Organization for Marriage", which far from promoting marriage, is hell-bent on destroying the marriages of gay and lesbian Americans. It should therefore come as little surprise to hear that Pawlenty is opposed to any measure which would grant some measure of equality to gay Americans. Sadly, the US is still decades behind other nations (e.g. the Scandinavian countries, many of which recognize full gay marriage or comprehensive domestic partnerships), and the likes of Pawlenty are doing everything in their power to maintain the status quo.
PHILIP CHANDLER
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Philip commented on the article |Stanton Lore - Your comment about people who oppose this measure being in favour of lawbreaking is a cheap shot aimed at those who oppose this law for reasons which have nothing to do with approval of lawbreaking and everything to do with the complexities and unintended consequences of this measure. People come to this country illegally because they are frightened, desperate, and unhappy. Those who are in AZ illegally now face the prospect of becoming fair game for criminals, who will be able to rob, cheat, swindle, and abuse these people with impunity, in the knowledge that these people cannot and will not fight back (by calling in law enforcement). Those who are here legally, but who are the "wrong" colour, now face harassment, abuse, confrontation, and distrust from the very people who are supposed to protect and serve them. Clearly, this reactionary measure was enacted by legislators uninhibited by wisdom, knowledge, or experience. This is a complex and difficult issue, and your inflammatory rhetoric and finger-pointing does nothing to shed light on this issue, and everything to polarize and divide people.
PHILIP CHANDLER
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Philip commented on the article |
I was born and raised in South Africa; I left that nation in 1986 in disgust at the apartheid regime, which I viewed as an insult to humanity. All black persons found in white residential areas (e.g. domestic servants) were forced to carry "passes" on them wherever they went, and were subject to harassment and intimidation by police officers, who had the power to enforce "grand apartheid" and to ensure that non-white persons had such passes with them whilst in white areas. This disgusting system turned my stomach, and contributed directly to my decision to leave the country.
Now I see that the State of Arizona has embarked on a substantially similar endeavour.
I am appalled that a state in the US should resort to tactics such as this. When I became a naturalized US citizen back in 1992, I never in my wildest imagination believed that I would ever live in a country which behaved similarly with respect to persons who are perceived to be the "wrong" colour.
The police are supposed to investigate crime. When a person lives in fear of being deported by the very police who are supposed to ensure the maintenance of the peace, it becomes impossible for crime victims who do not have documentation to call the police after being targeted by criminals. This legislation will cause crime against undocumented aliens to soar, for the simple reason that these people will not feel able to call the police when victimized by others.
The old Chinese expression rings true. The more things change, the more they remain the same.
PHILIP CHANDLER
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Philip signed the petition | -
Philip signed the petition | -
Philip commented on the article |If I started work at a new job and my manager turned to me and introduced himself or herself to me using such language, I would head straight for the Human Resources department and report this incident as a deliberate attempt by my manager to foist his or her religion onto me. Nobody has the right to impose their values on persons under their care -- whether it be in the workplace, on the football field, or on the basketball court.
As a gay man, my antennae would burn red-hot upon being accosted in this fashion, whether it be by a basketball coach, a teacher, or a manager. I would frankly be very surprised were any person to introduce himself or herself to me in these terms, not knowing anything about me or about the issues that motivate me and have bearing to my life.
PHILIP CHANDLER
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Philip commented on the article |People fail to understand that members of the anti-gay crowd do not give a damn about marriage. To them, this is not a matter of protecting marriage. All that motivates these people is a collective desire to harm the gay and lesbian community. These bastards want to do everything possible to roll back gay equality and to force gay Americans back into the closet. They do not care one iota about marriage - if marriage were seriously their concern, they would take affirmative steps to do something about the 50% divorce rate affecting all new marriages and the 60% divorce rate affecting second marriages. It cannot be overstated - these people want to harm gay men and lesbians; to them, concepts such as the equal protection of the laws and due process are not applicable to gay Americans. These people are motivated by nothing less than naked cruelty, and we should bear this in mind at all times.
The Family Research Council and the American Family Association both wish to see homosexuality recriminalized in the US. These groups would not recognize human decency were it to strike them across the face. As the author of this column so correctly observed, the Republicans involved in these groups have a very simple message for the American people: "Vote for the GOP, and we'll promise to let gay people die horrible, miserable deaths in complete isolation."
These people are scum. There is no point in mincing words. Anybody who would prevent a person from dying in the company of that person's spouse, so as to pander to their political base, is the scum of the earth.
Call it as you see it.
PHILIP CHANDLER
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Philip commented on the article |Asher notes, correctly, that "...to then go on to claim a link between being gay and being an abuser is not only unsupported by the evidence, it's repulsive."
Asher is correct - such an attempt is indeed repulsive. What Asher does not point out, however, is that the Catholic Church's representatives (both Bill Donohue and Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone) know full well that this assertion is repulsive - and they make this assertion in the face of that knowledge, deliberately conflating male homosexuality with pedophilia in an attempt to get themselves off the hook and to divert blame to a scapegoat. In this case, the scapegoat is already one of the favourite whipping boys of Catholic theology; this church has made its hatred of, and contempt for, gay men and lesbians well known throughout the world.
What is also repulsive is the behaviour of ex-President George W. Bush, who (as President) immunized the Pope, Joseph Ratzinger, from prosecution in any US courtroom. Bush did this with utter disregard for the impact that this would have on the struggle to bring those priest, bishops, archbishops, and cardinals who have given sanctuary to pedophile priests, or who have intentionally obstructed justice, to account for their criminal behaviour. When the President of the US guaranteed that Ratzinger would never face prosecution in the US, he also guaranteed that one of the true culprits in shielding pedophile priests from retribution would remain unpunished, thereby spitting in the faces of those men and women who seek justice after many years of struggle.
The expression "A fish rots from the head downwards" comes to mind.
PHILIP CHANDLER
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Philip commented on the article |Dave Hershey writes: "You are literally attempting to FORCE your religious beliefs on OUR secular society. Yes, we have a secular society in case you weren't aware of that FACT. And yes, THAT is a fact. Perhaps you should move to the Vatican, it sounds more like your cup of tea (baggers.)"
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Response:
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Thank you so much for pointing this out. Indeed, we live in a diverse, pluralistic democracy premised on a republican form of government in which a written constitution (not the Bible) is the highest law of the land, and within which many different people of vastly varied background live together, free to believe in whatever they wish (and equally free to believe in nothing at all). Sadly, the hard right (and I include the fundamentalists in this grouping) believe that they have a warrant from God to rip out the guts of that society and to replace the Constitution with biblical law and biblical values.
Fortunately, federal judges are the arbiters of the Constitution and of federal law, and the US Supreme Court is the ultimate arbiter of the US Constitution and of federal law. There is a wealth of case law which delineates the contours of the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses of the First Amendment, which have been interpreted to mandate that the state may not meddle in ecclesiastical matters of the church, and that the church may not meddle in affairs of state (e.g. Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 (1971), Employment Div., Dept. of Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith 494 U.S. 872 (1990), Lee v. Weisman, 505 U.S. 577 (1992), City of Boerne v. Flores, 521 U.S. 507 (1997)).
Sadly, there is no shortage of "teabaggers" and "birthers" (etc.) who want nothing more than to tear down everything that an enlightened and extremely able President has accomplished, against such great odds and in the face of such tremendous opposition. The price of liberty is indeed eternal vigilance...
PHILIP CHANDLER
Impact
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5 Actions
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Organizations
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CREDO Action1 Action 0 Recruits -
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)1 Action 0 Recruits -
Human Rights Campaign1 Action 0 Recruits
