TRUE STORY: ‘I Came Out Of The Closet On Facebook’

via All Facebook, By Ruth-Manuel Logan


An African-American friend of mine credits Facebook with helping him come out of the closet. Here’s his story, told in the first person.

I truly thank God for Facebook because it allowed me to tell everyone whom I had been hiding from that the jig is up. I grew so tired of the lies and deceitful silly games that I had been playing just to appease family, coworkers and a few dear old friends.

Being a gay man is the mother of all marks in the black community. The black church denunciates homosexuality and still does not welcome us with open arms. Congregants would rather travel elsewhere than practice their faith in a “sissy church.”

The day I hit 40, two weeks ago, I thought it was high time I finally grew up. Why was I continuing to hide?  Why couldn’t I reveal that part of me that I did not chose to be?  Why was I continuing to feed into the prejudices and fears about homosexuality?  I needed to break out in a way that was big and all encompassing, and Facebook was the way to do it!

On the eve of my birthday, I pondered how I would come out. I thought of poetic verses, militant prose and even some Biblical lines but then I thought further, “What the hell are you doing man?  Just go for it!”  And I did!

Read more.

Facebook's Randi Zuckerberg: Anonymity Online 'Has To Go Away'

via Huffpost

Facebook requires all members to use their real names and email addresses when joining the social network -- a policy that has been difficult at times to enforce, as the prevalence of spam accounts or profiles assigned to people’s pets suggest.

Zuckerberg, who is Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg’s sister, argued that putting an end to anonymity online could help curb bullying and harassment on the web.

“I think anonymity on the Internet has to go away,” she said during a panel discussion on social media hosted Tuesday evening by Marie Claire magazine. “People behave a lot better when they have their real names down. … I think people hide behind anonymity and they feel like they can say whatever they want behind closed doors.”

Read more. 

Like a Tree That’s Planted by the Water

-middle, By Daniel

[Middle passed this wonderful testimony along, saying…]

“My friend Daniel is an inspiration to me.  He’s my co-organizer of the Middle Tennessee OUTsiders, a queer and allies outdoor group,  part of the Nashville Faerie circle as Blanca, and serves the Music City Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence as Sister Deca L'Etage.  Yesterday he chose the occasion of Bastille Day to honor himself and his larger family (blood and otherwise) by coming out to them via Facebook with this, his own declaration of independence.  His tree is planted by deep waters indeed. – middle”

Like a Tree That's Planted by the Water

by Daniel Meney

To my family and friends,

Before the first year of my "adulthood" is over

and while it is still Bastille Day, there is something

I would like to share with you.

I want to tell you what my heart and in turn my mouth

hands have born achingly in silence for twenty years.

I am queer.

I would have told you before now, but through many selfish acts of 

self-preservation it was easier to lie. Now I am moving away from

this economy and culture of fear to one of unconditional love.

A very special person has helped me in this great endeavor.

He has kept my heart, body and mind in the sacred space

that is love for a couple years now. His name is Nicholas.

Many others have helped me along the way. I wouldn't know how 

to love myself the way I am without the love and support of my 

'chosen' family here: friends from my years spent in missions, 

friends from college, and friends from the Radical Faeries, 

especially the NashFae.

I didn't have to come out to all of you. I've been out in Nashville

for several years now and am very comfortable in my own skin, 

but I see a need for those who live in perpetual fear of 

everything, from Muslims to homosexuals, 

to not be babied any more.

This is for them.

Also, here are a few other no-less-small parts of myself

that I want to tell you about:

I am an anarchist, communist and capitalist (in that order).

I am a human being.

I am not afraid.

I will not be moved.

Happy Bastille Day!

Daniel
[photographed above, by Joy McKenzie]

If you have any thoughts or questions, please feel free to

comment.  Please refrain from being theatrical.

There's already enough drama in the world.

It doesn't need adding to.

Vote Naked Illinois!

To highlight a change in Illinois election law (anyone eligible to vote can now do so by absentee ballot starting September 23) the advocacy group Equality Illinois has come up with a pretty amusing video as part of their new “Vote Naked Illinois” campaign.

According to Vote Naked’s Facebook page, “For the first time ever, you may now vote by mail from home. No need to go to the polls, wait in line, or even put on pants.”

Check out the video below, and if you're in Illinois, check out Vote Naked's Facebook page to vote by mail!

How Facebook Ruins Friendships

via Wall Street Journal, by Elizabeth Bernstein

Excerpt:

One of the big problems is how we converse. Typing still leaves something to be desired as a communication tool; it lacks the nuances that can be expressed by body language and voice inflection. "Online, people can't see the yawn," says Patricia Wallace, a psychologist at Johns Hopkins University's Center for Talented Youth and author of "The Psychology of the Internet."

But let's face it, the problem is much greater than which tools we use to communicate. It's what we are actually saying that's really mucking up our relationships. "Oh my God, a college friend just updated her Facebook status to say that her 'teeth are itching for a flossing!'" shrieked a friend of mine recently. "That's gross. I don't want to hear about what's going on inside her mouth."

That prompted me to check my own Facebook page, only to find that three of my pals—none of whom know each other—had the exact same status update: "Zzzzzzz." They promptly put me to "zzzzzzz."

This brings us to our first dilemma: Amidst all this heightened chatter, we're not saying much that's interesting, folks. Rather, we're breaking a cardinal rule of companionship: Thou Shalt Not Bore Thy Friends.

"It's called narcissism," says Matt Brown, a 36-year-old business-development manager for a chain of hair salons and spas in Seattle. He's particularly annoyed by a friend who works at an auto dealership who tweets every time he sells a car, a married couple who bicker on Facebook's public walls and another couple so "mooshy-gooshy" they sit in the same room of their house posting love messages to each other for all to see. "Why is your life so frickin' important and entertaining that we need to know?" Mr. Brown says.

Read the entire thing.

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