46 Comments on “Tony Kushner on President Obama’s Gay Rights Agenda”
@Enantiodromialist mean while we have conflicts now in 4 countries, 9.2%
unemployment, our debt tops 14 trillion dollars, 20 milion illegals, very
violent drug war spilling over our southern boarder, housing market
ruined,…..but the president has pushed for homos to marry and serve in
the military. wow! a real president like Teddy Roosevelt would roll over in
his grave.
Admittedly, I couldn’t bear to watch this after the first minute or so, so
I can only respond to his initial comments. He says that gay people
complained that Obama sold us out 5 minutes after the election.
just “equal” rights huh. take the military, before clinton gays were
excluded. clinton was able to get “don’t ask don’t tell in place so gays
could serve. obama had the law changed so they could serve openly. now they
want gay publications, gay clubs, pride parades, and one lesbian wants the
court to force a private military spouces club to make her a memeber
because her “wife” is a army officer. we still have freedom of association!
our local school has a gay pride week that all must attend!
Obama is a liar, a coward, and a huge disappointment. I find it bewildering
that any gay person would try to defend him. Shame on you, Tony. We all
enjoyed Angels in America, but you have lost your courage and your pride.
Here’s hoping you get them both back sometime soon, and wake up.
Uh, it’s not disgusting if you’re a homosexual. Just like being a bigot
must be comfortable and natural for you. I have *no* doubt about that.
@cdriggs No, that’s bunk. The principals of the party are still there,
still solid, but when PEOPLE who truly believe in them don’t participate,
we get moderates who won’t really fight for them. We get out of the party
what we put into it. The idea that Clinton and Obama are “right wing” is
preposterous, they’re centrists, in between the left and the right. Even
Lieberman’s good on some issues, he’s not far right. But he’s no Democrat
and I’m glad he’s stopped claiming to be.
if i said bush did his best with what he had would anyone agree with me
Tony..wise man you are, well said!
right so then why do i hear that obama is doing his best
And I’m very proud of Mr. Kushner and his courage for saying what he said.
Only cowards excel at whining and complaining.
gay activism has caused this. you are trying to force your life style on
the rest of us.
I reject your notion of bigotry arbitrarily “compartmentalizing” it to suit
your anti-gay prejudice. Homosexuality is an orientation. It is not a
choice. I have no problem with your opinion of it, as long as your bigotry
(my definition) is not reflected in law and in social policy of our
politicians. We are making sure progress in that direction, and your type
will become, thankfully, marginalized if not totally extinct. I have no
cause to care anything about you or your “opinion”, Goodbye.
Hatred is a sad way to approach the world. What a pity.
@rg0057 Because problems like these can be resolved in just one year. Great
logic. It’s because of Bush that we had these problems in the first place
and you’re just angry that you didn’t get your instant gratification. News
flash: Not everything is immediate and can be resolved with Obama waving a
magic wand.
I tried reasoning with. You refuse to acknowledge the humanity of gay
people. No empathy for others. You’re a bigot. Accept it, and leave.
Cause all homosexuals live the same lifestyle? Nope. Not at all. Some gays
like to party, some prefer becoming successful, some want families and some
want glamor. Just like straight men and women.
who is a bigot? we are not talking about race here….we are talking about
conduct. homosexuality is not a race, ethnic group, religion, nationality
or gender. ..its conduct……and i think its very wrong.
The worst thing about being a gay 20-something year old is how completely
unaffected by the AIDs epidemic my generation is. And I don’t mean the
disease itself, but the politics, movement and rage that were born from
those years of horror, loss and death. My generation of gay kids is
infected by apathy and sloth.
I”m sorry, but “better than Reagan suffices” is not an acceptable position
for anyone, regardless of whether they lived through AIDS. So did
Signorile, and lots of others, and you don’t see them exonerating all the
bs Obama has pulled in the last year. Kushner is a great man, and
horrifically uneducated about modern America. We need to graduate beyond
measuring everything against AIDS in the 80s. Better than Reagan is not
enough.
Homosexuality is not a conduct… Like I said before. Please listen to my
words: People who are gay do not all act the same, do the same things or
like the same things. Gays can be intellectuals, assholes, activists or
lazy gamers. Gays can be family oriented or party animals. Cross-dressing
or suited business men. You need to understand this. Really. Because gays
deserve every right you have, including the right to marry the one they
love.
Your blaming of the last president is great logic too. You know what’s
going to happen when we get a different president? We’re all going to blame
Obama. America is all about pointing fingers at someone besides themselves.
Wow, I mean, Kushner is a great gay playwright, but you’d think he’d
actually bone up on the topic before spouting off. Wow, this is
embarrassing. He gave a speech? What are you, gay in the 1980s? A speech?
Seriously, Tony? And you just gave him a pass on DADT until the second
term? Seriously? And he “pushed” for hate crimes? He didn’t push anyone. He
signed it, that’s it. No mention of the incest/pedophilia DOMA brief, of
defending DOMA/DADT in court. And defending him on marriage? Seriously?
@derrickmathis , He seemed to be whining and complaining about everyone who
doesn’t agree with him. Is he a coward? Am I? Are you?
Well maybe the flamboyant ones do, but you can trust me when I tell you
there are double that number of gays not parading up and down the street.
Most gays look just like you and me, you wouldnt know they are gay because
they keep it to themselves. You hate the type of person who cross-dresses
or acts extremely flamboyant or does drugs. This is not the gay life-style,
this is the party life-style. Please dont confuse the two.
they all sure like to parade up and down are streets so we all know they
are homos though don’t they.
This new tactic of LGBT activists decrying Obama for every injustice we
face is nothing more than lazy target practice. I wish Obama would be
stronger as well, but I also consider the obstacles he faces such as
mid-term elections bringing more conservatives in as a backlash to
advocating same sex marriage. This new group of activists really doesn’t
seem to understand how things work & what can go wrong. Most importantly,
they don’t acknowledge the majority of Americans are against us on this.
Well gay people don’t HAVE to imagine that — we got Rick Warren, notorious
homophobe and anti-gay-marriage activist, as a huge spit-in-our faces FUCK
YOU immediately after Obama was elected!! Compare that with Obama’s hateful
filing in the Defense of Marriage Act law suit, in which he compared us to
pedophiles and people engaging in incest.
NEWSFLASH: Obama DID sell us out 5 minutes after he was elected (with OUR
money, OUR votes, and OUR campaign volunteers)!! Imagine if I were elected
President with the heavy support and involvement of the black community,
and I then immediately invited to give the invocation at my swearing-in
ceremony someone who had a lifetime history of opposing the civil rights of
black people.
what bunch horse shit! this president has done nothing to help the
situation in America. i am confident in every aspect of my life.
homosexuality is wrong. now, if you dont like that opinion then that is
just too damn bad. go cry to someone else
How many losses does it take in America for LGBT Americans to re-think
their strategies? Decry the most progressive President we’ve had a chance
of getting something out of just a year in? The courts is where we’ll get
rights, just like every other group in the past. Why don’t all of you who
continually shout down Obama start paying attention to the American people
who are the ones restricting our rights. And “sharing your story” isn’t
going to make any difference. Only the courts will.
And then remember also that Obama himself has chosen to throw gays and
lesbians out of the military each and every day of his Presidency —
against the best interests of our country, and in the middle of two wars!!
— by refusing to lift his pen and sign a stop-loss order. I could go on
and on about how Obama continues to screw the gay community — how about
his recent defying of a court order to provide healthcare to a lesbian’s
partner? — but I would be here all day.
who said anything about hate? just because i see homosexuality for what it
is does not mean that i approach the world with hatred. there is no debate
about it…homosexuality is the wrong path in life.
@cdriggs Wrong. There are literally DOZENS of important issues on which
Democrats are voting differently than Republicans and it’s making a
difference. Yes, the Dem Party is way too pro-corporate, especially the DLC
centrist president, but the ONLY reason this happens is that people who
truly are committed to justice and equality are NOT showing up to
participate. The Party is not a person making up his or her own mind, it’s
an organization that goes where the people who participate lead it.
Understandable, it’s a subject that is constantly brought up. But also keep
in mind, you might be annoyed from all the activism, but gays are 100x more
annoyed that they still can’t get married.
Tony Kushner is apparently not living on the same planet as most of us.
While Obama gives a pretty speech, and is very big on appointing gay (and
other) tokens, Obama’s policies are pretty much the same as Goerge Bush 43.
Obama was elected with a mandate for change, on so many issues, and frankly
hasn’t made real progress on any of it. A presidency isn’t 8 years. And it
isn’t 4 years. And it isn’t 2 years. The first year is when real change
happens. And Obama blew it big time.
there is nothing to debate….you are the one who is brainwashed.
@rg0057 – True. Unfortunately, in America, the best you can hope for is
“the most progressive” since our options are more than somewhat limited.
I’d be patient with Obama had his administration not repeatedly downplayed
and actively worked against LGBT rights in 2009. If you’re gay and don’t
know what the executive branch has been doing you need to wise up. Don’t
support Obama blindly simply because he made a few fancy speeches promising
movement on gay politics. You should not feel placated until our rights are
given to us otherwise you just become a baited pig to the Democratic party,
your rights dangling barely outside your reach.
The tide isn’t turning, you’re just swimming against a tide that’s slowly
speeding up.
@nieldsb Absolutely not. Bush did tremendous damage and could have done
far, far better. His supposed lack of intelligence was largely urban
legend, but his CHOSEN ignoring of facts is inexcusable. His was a terribly
corrupt and back-door administration, run at it’s heart by radical right
war criminal Dick Cheney. No, Bush did NOT do his best.
Obviously there totally is a debate. I’m signing off. Sorry you got
brainwashed. Peace.
the tide will turn and we will restore normal values in America again. in
every state that gay marriage has been put on the ballot gay marriage is
voted down BY THE PEOPLE! just look at the whole chick-fl-a
thing…thousands waited quietly in long lines all around the country in a
show of support for the ceo of chick-fil-a. the counter protest …this
“gay kiss in” didnt even have 100 people yet from those few people some did
manage to break windows at one location and spay paint the walls.
Finally, somebody with some sense!
homosexuality is a conduct. two men getting married (or women for that
matter) is absurd. what’s even worse is the social activism in public
schools, military, work place…it’s crazy
Wise words, much needed perspective right now. Just because someone tells
you something you don’t want to hear doesn’t 1) mean it isn’t true or 2)
the person is different than you once regarded him. Take a breath, get some
perspective, and then get active making things happen. Stop waiting for
Obamessiah to miraculously make all our dreams come true. Want bills
passed? Get the votes. Obama will sign them, but he can’t sign bills that
don’t pass Congress.
@Enantiodromialist mean while we have conflicts now in 4 countries, 9.2%
unemployment, our debt tops 14 trillion dollars, 20 milion illegals, very
violent drug war spilling over our southern boarder, housing market
ruined,…..but the president has pushed for homos to marry and serve in
the military. wow! a real president like Teddy Roosevelt would roll over in
his grave.
Admittedly, I couldn’t bear to watch this after the first minute or so, so
I can only respond to his initial comments. He says that gay people
complained that Obama sold us out 5 minutes after the election.
just “equal” rights huh. take the military, before clinton gays were
excluded. clinton was able to get “don’t ask don’t tell in place so gays
could serve. obama had the law changed so they could serve openly. now they
want gay publications, gay clubs, pride parades, and one lesbian wants the
court to force a private military spouces club to make her a memeber
because her “wife” is a army officer. we still have freedom of association!
our local school has a gay pride week that all must attend!
Obama is a liar, a coward, and a huge disappointment. I find it bewildering
that any gay person would try to defend him. Shame on you, Tony. We all
enjoyed Angels in America, but you have lost your courage and your pride.
Here’s hoping you get them both back sometime soon, and wake up.
Uh, it’s not disgusting if you’re a homosexual. Just like being a bigot
must be comfortable and natural for you. I have *no* doubt about that.
@cdriggs No, that’s bunk. The principals of the party are still there,
still solid, but when PEOPLE who truly believe in them don’t participate,
we get moderates who won’t really fight for them. We get out of the party
what we put into it. The idea that Clinton and Obama are “right wing” is
preposterous, they’re centrists, in between the left and the right. Even
Lieberman’s good on some issues, he’s not far right. But he’s no Democrat
and I’m glad he’s stopped claiming to be.
if i said bush did his best with what he had would anyone agree with me
Tony..wise man you are, well said!
right so then why do i hear that obama is doing his best
And I’m very proud of Mr. Kushner and his courage for saying what he said.
Only cowards excel at whining and complaining.
gay activism has caused this. you are trying to force your life style on
the rest of us.
I reject your notion of bigotry arbitrarily “compartmentalizing” it to suit
your anti-gay prejudice. Homosexuality is an orientation. It is not a
choice. I have no problem with your opinion of it, as long as your bigotry
(my definition) is not reflected in law and in social policy of our
politicians. We are making sure progress in that direction, and your type
will become, thankfully, marginalized if not totally extinct. I have no
cause to care anything about you or your “opinion”, Goodbye.
Hatred is a sad way to approach the world. What a pity.
@rg0057 Because problems like these can be resolved in just one year. Great
logic. It’s because of Bush that we had these problems in the first place
and you’re just angry that you didn’t get your instant gratification. News
flash: Not everything is immediate and can be resolved with Obama waving a
magic wand.
I tried reasoning with. You refuse to acknowledge the humanity of gay
people. No empathy for others. You’re a bigot. Accept it, and leave.
Cause all homosexuals live the same lifestyle? Nope. Not at all. Some gays
like to party, some prefer becoming successful, some want families and some
want glamor. Just like straight men and women.
who is a bigot? we are not talking about race here….we are talking about
conduct. homosexuality is not a race, ethnic group, religion, nationality
or gender. ..its conduct……and i think its very wrong.
The worst thing about being a gay 20-something year old is how completely
unaffected by the AIDs epidemic my generation is. And I don’t mean the
disease itself, but the politics, movement and rage that were born from
those years of horror, loss and death. My generation of gay kids is
infected by apathy and sloth.
I”m sorry, but “better than Reagan suffices” is not an acceptable position
for anyone, regardless of whether they lived through AIDS. So did
Signorile, and lots of others, and you don’t see them exonerating all the
bs Obama has pulled in the last year. Kushner is a great man, and
horrifically uneducated about modern America. We need to graduate beyond
measuring everything against AIDS in the 80s. Better than Reagan is not
enough.
Homosexuality is not a conduct… Like I said before. Please listen to my
words: People who are gay do not all act the same, do the same things or
like the same things. Gays can be intellectuals, assholes, activists or
lazy gamers. Gays can be family oriented or party animals. Cross-dressing
or suited business men. You need to understand this. Really. Because gays
deserve every right you have, including the right to marry the one they
love.
Your blaming of the last president is great logic too. You know what’s
going to happen when we get a different president? We’re all going to blame
Obama. America is all about pointing fingers at someone besides themselves.
Wow, I mean, Kushner is a great gay playwright, but you’d think he’d
actually bone up on the topic before spouting off. Wow, this is
embarrassing. He gave a speech? What are you, gay in the 1980s? A speech?
Seriously, Tony? And you just gave him a pass on DADT until the second
term? Seriously? And he “pushed” for hate crimes? He didn’t push anyone. He
signed it, that’s it. No mention of the incest/pedophilia DOMA brief, of
defending DOMA/DADT in court. And defending him on marriage? Seriously?
@derrickmathis , He seemed to be whining and complaining about everyone who
doesn’t agree with him. Is he a coward? Am I? Are you?
Well maybe the flamboyant ones do, but you can trust me when I tell you
there are double that number of gays not parading up and down the street.
Most gays look just like you and me, you wouldnt know they are gay because
they keep it to themselves. You hate the type of person who cross-dresses
or acts extremely flamboyant or does drugs. This is not the gay life-style,
this is the party life-style. Please dont confuse the two.
they all sure like to parade up and down are streets so we all know they
are homos though don’t they.
This new tactic of LGBT activists decrying Obama for every injustice we
face is nothing more than lazy target practice. I wish Obama would be
stronger as well, but I also consider the obstacles he faces such as
mid-term elections bringing more conservatives in as a backlash to
advocating same sex marriage. This new group of activists really doesn’t
seem to understand how things work & what can go wrong. Most importantly,
they don’t acknowledge the majority of Americans are against us on this.
Well gay people don’t HAVE to imagine that — we got Rick Warren, notorious
homophobe and anti-gay-marriage activist, as a huge spit-in-our faces FUCK
YOU immediately after Obama was elected!! Compare that with Obama’s hateful
filing in the Defense of Marriage Act law suit, in which he compared us to
pedophiles and people engaging in incest.
NEWSFLASH: Obama DID sell us out 5 minutes after he was elected (with OUR
money, OUR votes, and OUR campaign volunteers)!! Imagine if I were elected
President with the heavy support and involvement of the black community,
and I then immediately invited to give the invocation at my swearing-in
ceremony someone who had a lifetime history of opposing the civil rights of
black people.
what bunch horse shit! this president has done nothing to help the
situation in America. i am confident in every aspect of my life.
homosexuality is wrong. now, if you dont like that opinion then that is
just too damn bad. go cry to someone else
How many losses does it take in America for LGBT Americans to re-think
their strategies? Decry the most progressive President we’ve had a chance
of getting something out of just a year in? The courts is where we’ll get
rights, just like every other group in the past. Why don’t all of you who
continually shout down Obama start paying attention to the American people
who are the ones restricting our rights. And “sharing your story” isn’t
going to make any difference. Only the courts will.
And then remember also that Obama himself has chosen to throw gays and
lesbians out of the military each and every day of his Presidency —
against the best interests of our country, and in the middle of two wars!!
— by refusing to lift his pen and sign a stop-loss order. I could go on
and on about how Obama continues to screw the gay community — how about
his recent defying of a court order to provide healthcare to a lesbian’s
partner? — but I would be here all day.
who said anything about hate? just because i see homosexuality for what it
is does not mean that i approach the world with hatred. there is no debate
about it…homosexuality is the wrong path in life.
@cdriggs Wrong. There are literally DOZENS of important issues on which
Democrats are voting differently than Republicans and it’s making a
difference. Yes, the Dem Party is way too pro-corporate, especially the DLC
centrist president, but the ONLY reason this happens is that people who
truly are committed to justice and equality are NOT showing up to
participate. The Party is not a person making up his or her own mind, it’s
an organization that goes where the people who participate lead it.
Understandable, it’s a subject that is constantly brought up. But also keep
in mind, you might be annoyed from all the activism, but gays are 100x more
annoyed that they still can’t get married.
Tony Kushner is apparently not living on the same planet as most of us.
While Obama gives a pretty speech, and is very big on appointing gay (and
other) tokens, Obama’s policies are pretty much the same as Goerge Bush 43.
Obama was elected with a mandate for change, on so many issues, and frankly
hasn’t made real progress on any of it. A presidency isn’t 8 years. And it
isn’t 4 years. And it isn’t 2 years. The first year is when real change
happens. And Obama blew it big time.
there is nothing to debate….you are the one who is brainwashed.
@rg0057 – True. Unfortunately, in America, the best you can hope for is
“the most progressive” since our options are more than somewhat limited.
I’d be patient with Obama had his administration not repeatedly downplayed
and actively worked against LGBT rights in 2009. If you’re gay and don’t
know what the executive branch has been doing you need to wise up. Don’t
support Obama blindly simply because he made a few fancy speeches promising
movement on gay politics. You should not feel placated until our rights are
given to us otherwise you just become a baited pig to the Democratic party,
your rights dangling barely outside your reach.
The tide isn’t turning, you’re just swimming against a tide that’s slowly
speeding up.
@nieldsb Absolutely not. Bush did tremendous damage and could have done
far, far better. His supposed lack of intelligence was largely urban
legend, but his CHOSEN ignoring of facts is inexcusable. His was a terribly
corrupt and back-door administration, run at it’s heart by radical right
war criminal Dick Cheney. No, Bush did NOT do his best.
Obviously there totally is a debate. I’m signing off. Sorry you got
brainwashed. Peace.
the tide will turn and we will restore normal values in America again. in
every state that gay marriage has been put on the ballot gay marriage is
voted down BY THE PEOPLE! just look at the whole chick-fl-a
thing…thousands waited quietly in long lines all around the country in a
show of support for the ceo of chick-fil-a. the counter protest …this
“gay kiss in” didnt even have 100 people yet from those few people some did
manage to break windows at one location and spay paint the walls.
Finally, somebody with some sense!
homosexuality is a conduct. two men getting married (or women for that
matter) is absurd. what’s even worse is the social activism in public
schools, military, work place…it’s crazy
Wise words, much needed perspective right now. Just because someone tells
you something you don’t want to hear doesn’t 1) mean it isn’t true or 2)
the person is different than you once regarded him. Take a breath, get some
perspective, and then get active making things happen. Stop waiting for
Obamessiah to miraculously make all our dreams come true. Want bills
passed? Get the votes. Obama will sign them, but he can’t sign bills that
don’t pass Congress.
Could not have said it better myself.