Comments on: State Dept. condemns Iraq anti-gay violence

By: KJ

KJ — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 07:11:42 +0000

Funny how the State Dept. condemns another country for anti-gay violence and yet we don’t even have equal rights here. Set an example! Then your outrage would have more effect.

By: Wes

Wes — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 17:05:45 +0000

If you want to defend the rights of others you need to be a role-model for what you expect from others. The U.S. State Department is essentially telling a country to respect their GLBT citizens when the good U.S. of A. is still treating us like second-class citizens. I’m very sure that Iraq will take the State Department seriously.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 05:26:32 +0000

I totally agree with many other comments. Why would any other country listen to the US preach about anti gay problems when as a country we do not treat our own gay population as equals.

By: drewski

drewski — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 05:13:38 +0000

Every other time in recent memory when we’ve invaded/meddled on a spurious pretext, we at least had the decency to receive people from the targeted state as refugees and/or immigrants. Not so Iraq.

I went to school with a girl whose family left Iraq in the 70s. She’s as American as I, but other Iraqis deserve the same option her family had. When the US takes a million refugees from a country (like Vietnam), then we stateside Americans get a good view of who we invaded and what we did. And that seems to be the point–whether they’re Kurdish, Sunni, or Shi’ia, keep ‘em Over There so nobody will question this insane flat-earth war.

It was very clear that various militias were using the US invasion as the pretext to hunt down gays. Remember that even under Saddam, Iraq was culturally a very secular country. We took that away and chose to deal with people based on religion. We destroyed Ba’ath and made all Ba’ath members resign their jobs, which we (Allies) DID NOT do in the Western Occupation Zones in Germany (which is part of how Rommel’s son became a popular mayor of Stuttgart).

Bush sent Iraqi gays to a random but likely slaughter. Obama is continuing the tradition. The dimwit has an excuse, but Obama does not; on an international stage, there are those who would consider him more culpable for this moral failure PRECISELY BECAUSE he is smarter and has a more incisive mind.

By: Danny

Danny — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 04:28:07 +0000

The violence happening to LGBT people in america is bad, and needs to stop, but at least LGBTs in america HAVE A LEG TO STAND ON legally. Not so in iraq/iran.

By: Raymond Daniel-Johnsonkroman

Raymond Daniel-Johnsonkroman — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 00:01:19 +0000

Our state department is only NOW becoming aware of the murder of non-heterosexuals in the Middle East? PLEEAASE! The media (uh – GLBT…wonder why only WE are concerned about this? Anything to do with FAMILY?) has carried numerous reports of the hangings and mutilations of GLBT persons in the countries in which WE are spending GOBS of $$$$ to protect and develop SOME sense of democracy and equality! DISRACTION: THIS is a “bread and circus” distraction from OUR OWN inequality. GET A CLUE: OUR government has not got the BALLS to address and CORRECT its own practices of CITIZENS’ INEQUALITY. It is OKAY to look elsewhere to voice a concern and state a PRINCIPLE ABOUT THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OF ALL HUMAN BEINGS….but, not HERE in the USA! Oh, forget SOUTH AFRICA, MR. Obam-i-nation! FORGET your PROMISES in your INAUGURAL SPEECH! HYPOCRITE!You, and those who support you, are deceivers. Hillary, and your staff, stop the propaganda and the empty rhetoric. The voices and lives of those GLBT PERSONS have effectively been silenced. You and Bill – who signed DOMA! – are dung!

By: scott

scott — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 21:09:31 +0000

Does anybody seriously think that they are going to make an issue of this? “In general we like, seriously, don’t like, um violence and like stuff?!” If they were going to do something, they WOULD BE DOING IT. Don’t expect any more than what you are getting now. You will only be disappointed.

By: David in Grapevine TX

David in Grapevine TX — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 22:43:33 +0000

How has our “Yes We Can” – “Audacity of Hope” President become the world’s foremost promoter of discrimination at home, but has the “audacity” to criticize other countries for doing the same thing? Not at all meant in a racist way, but this Boy has forgotten his roots!

Does it matter if we “hang” the careers and life’s ambitions of Gay and Lesbian service people yet oppose “violence” against gays? In my mind, in my heart, in my soul, lynchings of blacks, DADT and GLBT hate crimes are all cut from the same cloth. With each passing day, I become more and more disappointed with Obama.

By: Eddie in LA

Eddie in LA — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:58:33 +0000

More lip service from the Obama administration.

They do nothing for us, they just flap their jaws. The gay community has nothing but praise for them.

While Obama’s people flap their jaws on this they are filing against us in the US Supreme Court.

OBAMA HATES GAYS. LEARN IT.

By: Chris Sullivan

Chris Sullivan — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:35:13 +0000

John – Which is exactly why I trusted Hillary far more than Obama in terms of her honest support of GLBT rites. To date, he has been words, she has been action. I’ll take actions over words any day.