Gay In Augusta

The Coalition for Augusta Pride will meet at 7 PM at The Filling Station bar on Gordon Highway on Thursday April 2nd. The purpose of this meeting is to begin an organizational process to develop Pride programs in the CSRA, including but not limited to a summer Pride event in Augusta. Please pass on this information to your GLBT and straight ally groups such as GLOBES at SRS, Lambda groups at MCG and Augusta and others in your circle of influence. We look forward to seeing you there!

Coalition for Augusta Pride

Photo courtesy Philippe Leroyer via Flickr

from Talkback in today’s Aiken Standard

SRS stigma

The employees of SRS were believed to be non-productive and wasteful. Now, we have the added stigma of being believed to be homosexual, thanks to the GLOBE initiative. We were told to shut up when we spoke out against it. I am ashamed and embarrassed by this.

I have a couple of problems with this. First, how does having an LGBT organization at your company automatically mean that everyone working there is homosexual. Seriously. That’s ludicrous. Secondly, the fact that you’re ashamed and embarrassed by GLOBE (It’s not an initiative. It’s a group, sweetie.) is your problem, not ours. That’s the whole point of the group, in case you haven’t noticed. The point is to raise awareness. A lot of people in our area, including people at SRS and definitely people I work with, think of “the gays” as something we don’t have around here; they’re only in Massachusetts and California, apparently.

I don’t work at SRS and don’t know any LGBT employees at SRS personally, but from what I can tell, GLOBE is doing a great thing. More organizations like this are needed in the CSRA. According to their website, SRS GLOBE (SRS Gay, Lesbian, Or Bisexual Employees) seeks to “further increase awareness of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employee issues at all levels within the SRS, and support of the SRS in pursuing management practices and diversity in the Site work force.” I hope for the day when the CSRA has LGBT groups accessible to everyone, Gay-Straight Alliances in all schools, and an open community where no one has to live fearfully in the closet. There are plenty of people in the Augusta area that need help, friendship, and support from other people in the community and don’t know where to go to find it.

So great job, SRS GLOBE! You’re doing great work.

If you are a member of SRS GLOBE and would like to share what you’re working on, please email editor@gayinaugusta.com. For that matter, if you live in the CSRA and would like to contribute to the site, send an email as well. Contributors are always welcome.

The recent murder at a Unitarian Universalist church in Knoxville was truly shocking to me. Truly shocking, but not surprising. After all, I do occasionally force myself to watch Bill O’ or another drone who spits out hateful, horrible untruths that I honestly think no none could take seriously. Unfortunately, some of their listeners not only believe what they say, but believe they should act on it. In a letter found in his car, the shooter described his hatred for gays and liberals and how he believed all liberals should be killed for ruining the country. Where did he get those insane ideas from? O’Reilly, Hannity, Coulter, Robertson, and Savage are on the short list.

In case you have any doubts, here’s the best exposé of right wing hate speech I’ve found to date.

This morning, I read a great article posted on the ACLU LGBT Rights blog called “Fighting for LGBT Rights in the Deep South”.  While the author maintains there is still a lot to be done, she also tells some great stories about positive change she’s seen in the south. In addition to sharing these great anecdotes, she says

 I could go on and on about the countless folks I’ve met who are working, mostly quietly and without fanfare, on bringing positive change to their communities. These are the folks who truly understand that it’ [sic] not enough to say that you “believe in not mistreating” people—you’ve got to act on it too.

Where do you see positive change in the CSRA? What gives you faith that our community can (and will) change?

About halfway through this interview with the Argos Angels, one of the entertainers says something that sums up why I started this site.

In Augusta, you can’t walk around the streets and be gay, but in Atlanta … you can be you. You can be yourself. You can be gay. But in Augusta, you can be gay…in your house…or at a club.

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