Your Favorite Social Networking Site/Software?

The forum discussion can be found here:

http://www.outminds.net/groups/announcements/forum/topic/outminds-on-the-radio/

- Lisa

Upcoming Interview with Author Nancy Garden on TMW Radio because IT GETS BETTER! | Happy Ganesh

On December 13th at 6:30 PM EST, I’ll be be guest hosting my good friend April Claxton‘s  ”The Movement Within Radio Show” to interview award winning author Nancy Garden. Nancy Garden is the author of over 35 books for children, including Annie On My Mind (1983)  an American Library Association award winner and a Booklist Review’s Choice.  Annie On My Mind, first published over twenty years ago, depicts the tender love story between two teenage girls and their fight for acceptance and equality. Since its publication, Annie On My Mind has been voted #48 on the ALA’s list of 100 Most Frequently Banned or Challenged Books. Garden’s books have an important message for today’s youth, especially those experiencing anti-gay bullying or trying to find their own voice .

Garden continues to explore themes for GLBT and GLBT-friendly youth in her career. I’ll talk to her about her experience as a writer, her coming out journey, why her work is so important to GLBT youth today, and how her fiction has helped her and her readers to “Move Within”. ”Tune In To Move In” with me, as I guest host April’s TMW Radio with Nancy Garden on December 13th from 6:30-7:30 EST.

(And a special thanks to The Movement Within‘s CEO April Claxton , who is generously letting me co-host her wonderful radio talk show, and whose love, energy, and endless inspiration touch all around her.)

——-

Happy Ganesh is also a proud supporter of the It Gets Better anti-bullying project. Happy Ganesh, Inc. is all about breaking through barriers – and hate can be a strong barrier, especially if sometimes it feels like the whole world is against you and you’re feeling lost and alone. Geared towards GLBT or questioning teens in response to the recent rash of suicides (among them, 15-year-old Billy Lucas), the It Gets Better project features wonderful, inspirational videos from politicians like President Obama or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to entertainers like Kathy Griffin and Glee’s Chris Coffer, or businesses like Gap, to brave, inspirational, everyday people willing to share their stories of how their lives “Got Better”.

It Gets Better/Trevor Project was begun to spread hope and prevent bullying-related suicides among GLBT youth but the message of love, acceptance, and hope is for ALL humanity. This is for anyone who’s ever felt taunted, abused, hurt, or shamed. This is for anyone who’s ever wondered if their situation will improve or how they are going to make it another day. This is about letting out your own light and letting it shine, shine, shine with self-love and pride. Be proud of who you are. Every inch. Warts and all.

For more GLBTQ support, go to Outminds, a wonderful web-based network of support and acceptance run by some very, very old friends of mine. They’re good people and they’ll treat you right. Tell ‘em Happy Ganesh sent you!

If we work together, and let our voices of love and tolerance shine, there is no room for hate. Don’t give up. You are loved, infinitely.

It Gets Better.

Marissa

Thanks so much to everyone who has responded so enthusiastically with your feedback and constructive comments!  You guys are great!

When I come back from my geek excursion I will be multitasking by doing homework and working on the site some more.   Got lots of feature tweaking in store!

Peace all,

~Valerian

Site is currently undergoing MAINTENANCE.

Hey all – I want to thank you for registering and checking out the site!  And Thank YOU to the rest of you who are checking out the site but haven’t logged in yet – I see you there!

__m(O.O)m__

This weekend I will be working on the site, tweaking up the profiles and the messageboards.  So if you see any weirdness, that’s exactly what it is!  So, stick around and lets see what’s gonna happen next! 

Chat

Last modified on 2010-11-12 17:30:06 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

This chat application is ad supported free chat software by Bravenet. In the heyday of OUTMINDS we ran our own in house chat application which gave us the flexibility to code and customize our chatrooms. For now, please check out our free ad supported chatroom. As we grow, watch as we expand and improve on our LIVE CHAT capabilities.

OUTspoken! is BACK!

You can submit your writing, artwork, etc for OUTspoken! to us here at

outspoken@outminds.net

We look forward to your submissions!

Out of Our Minds

Written By Elliot Lane

Why would anyone want to be gay? You must be out of your mind.

Ever heard that before? It’s a question I’ve been asked all too often by friends and loved ones since I began this process of coming out this past year. But it’s also a question I ask myself, and now put to you: what the hell possessed you to become gay?

We live in this world where being gay heaps upon us fear, resentment, pain, and depression. We live in this world that drives those who are different to thoughts of suicide. Is it any real wonder that young gay men ages 12 to 25 have one of the highest rates of suicide in the nation? We live in this world where young gay men are beaten and crucified on wooden fences because they are gay. We live in this world where gay bars are shot up, school kids are beat-up, and teachers teach hate and intolerance towards those who are different.

We must be out of our minds to live with this hatred and intolerance on a day-to-day basis. Why can’t we all just change and start living hetero-oriented lives? Why can’t I just wake up one day and decide, “From now on, I’m a straight man.”? It just doesn’t work that way. I can’t explain it any other way except for this: it just doesn’t work that way.

Now I’m the kind of guy who has always run from the conversation when people start asking what the reasons for homosexuality are. Having grown up reading the Bible and loving God, I have always shied away from arguments regarding homosexuality as choice versus genetic mandate. But living this way I do, feeling how I feel, I wonder if I could ever choose not to feel like this.

Surely I could choose not to live like this. I could abstain from sex with men, and have relationships with women. I could. But could I change the way I feel towards men? Could I change how I feel when a man wraps his arms around me? When we have great sex? Could I change the way I feel when a cute guy says hi to me in passing? Are these things that can be controlled at will?

Now some would argue that yes they can be controlled at will. But not by my will. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. And in my case, very weak.

Does living a straight lifestyle make you straight? Is that how we make the determinations? Based on actions? Or should it be based on more than that? Shouldn’t it be based on feelings? It’s commonly accepted that most straight men have at least one homoerotic experience in their youth. But we still consider them to be straight men. Why? Because the action doesn’t define the man. The feelings behind it do. They may have had a “gay” experience, but they still prefer women over men. They still love women in an extremely sexually way. When they see a happy couple walking down the street they lust for the woman, for her breasts, and not for the man and his penis.

So we are at this place where we need to throw out the old everything and awaken ourselves to the possibilities that things are not how they have appeared to be. That being gay is a decision made in the make-up of the mind, not in the action of the body.

Once we have brought ourselves to that place, it allows us not to feel so alone, so isolated from humanity. We have each other. This “community” as so many people put it, that makes us feel, perhaps, not so abandoned in this world.

You must be out of your mind.

Am I? Not at all. I’m out because of my mind.

Originally published in OUTspoken! ISSUE NUMBER 1 October 2000

When the Rain Comes Down

Written By Tobin Trent

Troy traced his fingers over the small scar under his left nipple as he stared into the mirror. It had been three years now. Three years since the night of that thunderstorm. It was April now, and with it came a heavy rain. It always rained in April. Troy was happy for the rain; he would stand out in the yard and engulf himself in the cascading water from time to time. He walked out into the streets and picked up the local paper, it was filled with meaningless jargon that he didn’t care about. Yet he read it anyways.

He checked his mail box, there among the bills and useless advertisements was a single envelope with a hand written address. He ignored everything else and opened the envelope. It read:

Dear Mr. Turner,
It has come to our attention that you have asked to be notified in the event of a parole hearing for a Mr. James Delfinie, Jimmy Wilburns, and Steven A. Peldrone. Due to their outstanding behavior and agreement to specific criteria we have seen fit to hold a hearing to address their rehabilitation and release into society. This hearing will be held on April 25th. Should you choose to testify it would be deemed necessary for you to attend the hearing in person. Please respond as soon as possible.

Sincerely,
Arnold M. Messer
Fitzgerald Prison Warren

A number was included in the letter. Troy picked up the phone and began to dial. He had reached a secretary. “Yes, I’m calling to confirm my appearance at the parole hearing.” It was set. He sighed and sat down on his bed. The white sheets beside him rustled as a body rose from them. “What’s wrong, Troy?” the man asked. “I’m going to see them, Rick. I’m going to see the men that did this to him.” Troy softly touched his scar. It was not only a scar of the flesh, but one embedded in his memories. How ironic it was that it lay just above his heart. Rick sat up and wrapped his arms around him. “Do you want me to come with you?” “No, this is something I need to do alone.” Rick looked into his eyes and lightly kissed Troy’s scar, making his way up from there to his lips. They held each other for awhile before Rick once again broke the silence.

“So when do you leave?” Troy stared out the window as he replied “Tomorrow, I need to be there by noon I think.” And so the day went by and Troy packed his things and left. He drove alone, without music, only listening to the sounds of the car and traffic. Troy had rented a hotel room just down the street from the prison. That afternoon he drove up to the building full of rapists, molesters and murderers. It was a shoddy looking place, in a phase of perpetual renovation. He walked through the doors wearing his grey business suit and passed the guards. They searched him and made him take off his watch as he walked through the metal detectors. He walked through those double doors into a small gymnasium like room. On one end was a table with several people at it, the parole committee. On the other end were two tables, at one was Troy’s lawyer, and at the other sat the three men. They turned to see him as he walked into the room.

Seeing their faces ignited memories in his head. He relived the entire moment in just a second. He had been walking down the street with Bracey. It had been raining then, not just raining but storming, a thunder storm. Bracey was holding his hand and they were laughing. He could still remember that, the feeling they shared. And in that moment he was happy. Bracey leaned close and kissed him. Troy put his hand on Bracey’s face and held him there. That was the last time he would be able to. The next few hours happened so fast that it seemed like nothing but a horrible dream. Troy wished it had been desperately every time he thought of it. A car’s headlights clicked on brightly in front of the two. At first there were four of them. Blurry figures of men who held something in their hands, and something else deep within their faces. They walked towards Troy and Bracey. “Oye! What do you think you faggots are doing here?!” One yelled, another screamed at them as well, they all had something to say. “Yea, don’t cha know there ain’t no need for queers here?” “Why don’t you go have some parade elsewhere?!” Troy got a very bad feeling in his gut. Bracey looked at him with concern. “We’ll have our little parade wherever we feel like.” He said defiantly. Bracey had dealt with people like this before, but this time was different. After that moment everything became blurry. The first of the men had a bat, or a wooden plank, he couldn’t remember. With a clack he smashed it against Troy’s neck and he fell. Bracey rushed them and knocked two to the ground. The one with the bat took a swing at him and hit him in the jaw.

Troy raked his hands around the air, he couldn’t see much anymore. He felt the foot of one of the men and grabbed it, pulling it towards himself. The man collapsed on top of him. Bracey stumbled to his feet, wobbling towards the men. He snatched the bat up and swung it at them at they came towards him. He caught the blonde one in the temple and he went down. Troy was battling a man on the ground. The moment got worse as the final two whipped out pistols. Troy’s heart was racing now. Bracey charged them. BANG! Troy’s heart rang out. Bracey snatched the gun from one of the men. BANG! Troy’s heart rang out again. Troy stood up and ran towards his lover. He could see blood mixed in with the mud covering his clothing. One of the men now lay dead on the ground. The other yelled “Go! Go! Go!” and shot off several rounds as they fled. Troy heard the bullets wiz by and felt the burning pain as several found their way into him. Bracey fired back meekly, the men ran off and the two fell onto the ground. Troy held Bracey in his arms, he had been hurt more than himself. “Bracey, are you.. are you ok?” Bracey smiled and kissed Troy. “I’m glad.. I’m glad I got to protect you Troy. I love you.” Troy swallowed hard as tears ran down his face. Bracey’s wonderful blue eyes grew dim as he stared at Troy. He passed out as the sound of siren’s filled the air.

Troy sat down at the table, he would remember that night for the rest of his life. The hearing droned on until the committee called on him. He took a look at the three men to his right and stood. He took a sip of water and thought of Bracey. He would always think of Bracey, when the rain comes down.

Originally published in OUTspoken! ISSUE NUMBER 44 Spring 2005