BUS 449 Post 20

Dear Reader,

This is my last post for this class assignment. I want to thank you for sticking with me all these weeks and paying attention to what I wanted to say for a long time. I was always afraid to talk about such issues with others because I thought that nobody would accept and respect such ideas. Thank you very much, reader, for your patience and willingness to listen. I hope that my blog showed you more insights about the issue and taught you about tolerance and respect. I wanted to make sure that you understand that Love is Love and you can do nothing about it. Love has no borders, no limits, and no conditions. It is very sad that people are misunderstood and are judged upon simply because they do not fit with the “traditional” (I hate this word) image.

The more I wrote about this topic the more I understood that there is still a very long way till we can achieve this ideal world where people are treated equally and human rights are universally respected. However, I also see that it gets better; we just need to keep going and continue fighting.

Dear reader, I want to wish you all the best in your life. Be honest to yourself and be open-minded. Don’t let others ruin your individuality by imposing artificial norms on you. Learn to accept yourself no matter who you are: boy or girl, straight of gay, or maybe all of the above.

Sincerely,

Rita.

BUS 449 Post 19

Dear Reader,

My blog assignment is almost over and this time I want to share with you names of very brave people who were not afraid to step out of their closets. More than that, they are all celebrities who are always surrounded by the media attention. Such step that they all have made shows not only an act of bravery but also as an act of support that provides hope for all those people who are not yet brave enough to do the same or who feel oppressed by the society. They also send a very powerful message to young adults who are horrified by the idea about their true gender identity. Those brave celebrities are trying to reach those people and tell them that it gets better.

I am sure that you know most of the names I am going to mention but you might not know that they identify themselves as not 100% straight.

Ellen DeGeneres

Ian McKellan

Neil Patrich Harris

Ellen Page

Cynthia Nixon

Jim Parsons

Kristian Nairn

Jodie Foster

This list can go forever. I just wanted to share with you my personal heroes. 

BUS 449 Post 18

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn

Dear Reader,

In less than two month the law allowing same-sex marriage will go into effect in the Illinois. The bill was passed in November last year but couples will be able to register their marriage only starting from June 1. This way, Illinois is the 16^th state in the USA to legalize gay marriage.

Nevertheless, according to U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman, marriage license can be issued before that date if one of the partners has life-threatening illness. She said that waiting until June to get marry “violates the couples' rights to equal protection under the U.S. Constitution”.

Cook County Clerk David Orr received numerous requests and was sued by gay couples for the right to register their marriage before June 1. In response he showed his support and said that his office in Chicago will start issuing licenses for gay couples. However, Cook is the only county in the state that registers same-sex couples so far, which doesn’t seem fair for residents of other parts of the state.

For now the situation doesn’t change, Chicago is the only place in the Illinois county where gay couples can get married. Otherwise, they have to wait till June 1 when the law will come into effect.

BUS 449 Post 17

Norman Lamb

Dear Reader,

Great Britain once again brings promising news for the LGBT community. Health Minister of Britain Norman Lamb, after being addressed by 15 MPs from different political parties, demanded the assurance from the National Health Service (NHS) England that General Practitioners stop provide any referrals for gay conversion therapy. He says that such treatment has no place in the modern society, therefore, should be eliminated. “It is based on the completely false premise that there is something wrong with you if you happen to be gay,” he said. “I certainly want to do what I can, as a Liberal Democrat, to eradicate this.”

Here are some statistical facts from the 2009 survey, where mental health professionals found that more than 200 out of 1300 doctors had tried to help at least one client to reduce the attraction they felt for somebody of the same sex. A third (35%) were said to have been referred for therapy by a GP and 40% of those were reportedly treated within the NHS.

The Liberal Democrat MP Stephen Gilbert commented on the issue: “In the 21st century, no lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender individual should be accessing this kind of voodoo psychology. Instead we should be providing services which help give them confidence and support them with their sexuality.”

The Labor MP Sandra Osborne said: “Conversion therapy is a very real and present danger in Britain. More than just a problem amongst religious fundamentalists, it's an issue for the NHS and professional sector, and this isn't a simplistic debate about freedom to choose: if LGBT patients are coaxed into undertaking therapy by peer pressure or referred on to conversion therapists after approaching professionals, then this is hardly a 'free choice' at all.”

Indeed, Britain has been setting a good example for gender equality for a very long time. I hope more countries will follow such example and eliminate their biases. Here is the link to the article, is you are interested about the topic.

BUS 449 Post 16

Brendan Eich

Dear Reader,

You probably have heard about Mozilla’s CEO Brendan Eich stepping down from his position on April 3. The reason behind is his support and $1000 donation to Proposition 8 initiative in California that opposes the same-sex marriage.

Eich was appointed as CEO in March but was forced to resign after being criticized and boycotted. The first to react was dating site OK Cupid that blocked access to its website for users who used Mozilla Firefox browser. Also, numerous Mozilla’s employees tweeted about the issue disapproving Eich’s views and demanding his resignation. (Here are some examples of angry tweets.)

The general message was that Mozilla failed to live up to its principles of inclusiveness. Executive chairwoman Mitchell Baker wrote: “We know why people are hurt and angry, and they are right: it’s because we haven’t stayed true to ourselves”.

However, Eich resignation has caused fierce debates about the rightfulness of the decision. Many doubt whether it is just to boycott the company over Eich’s personal beliefs. Also some say that CEO’s personal beliefs should not interfere with his work. There were numerous angry tweets such as: 

“Congrats @mozilla your intolerance ran off a guy who's work is ubiquitous & revolutionary. You must be proud to be such bullies. #ILikeEich”.

I personally do not know the right answer to this issue. I guess it is a good example for Prof. White’s Business Ethics class.

BUS 449 Post 15

Dear Reader,

This time I want to introduce you a very brave woman Alice Nkom. She is a lawyer form Cameroon who, despite numerous death threats, actively promotes gay rights and defends people accused of practicing homosexuality. (Cameroon is a country where same-sex relations are illegal and can cause a five-years imprisonment.)

On March 18 Nkom was awarded Amnesty International's Human Rights Award for 2014 for the work she has been doing defending men and women sitting in prison because of their sexual orientation. She described the award as a “prize of hope”. “This gives me a voice that can get heard everywhere,” she said.

“Being gay in Cameroon is like being in hell. Permanent jail, permanent harassment, permanent violence and discrimination. From your family to the workplace to everywhere. I wanted to add this human rights dimension to my work because I'm just like a mother. When you have two kids who are different and one of them is vulnerable, you have to take care. You have to love them. You have to help them.”

To give you an idea about the situation, here is an excerpt from Human Rights Watch report:

“Many gays in Cameroon are imprisoned for years on the basis of trivial evidence: a neighbour’s complaint, a brief text message, even an allegedly “feminine” taste in liqueurs. Some are arrested “solely on the basis of rumour”. Police often use torture or abuse to extract confessions from them.

Innocent people are framed, spied upon by neighbors, subjected to extortion and bribery, beaten by police and gendarme, humiliated with flawed anal examinations, raped in custody, disowned by parents as a result of arrest, and emotionally scarred by traumatic encounters with law enforcement – all in the name of justice.”

Alice Nkom is 69 years old, which it more than the retirement age but she actively works and represents jailed homosexuals. I truly wish we have more brave and dedicated people like Alice Nkom.

BUS 449 Post 14

Dear Reader,

Yesterday was a big day for many British citizens – it was the first day same-sex marriage could be registered. Even though the legislation passed last year, in England and Wales, March 29 was the first date couples could officially get married. In Scotland, same-sex marriages can be registered in October but Northern Ireland is not even planning to introduce the legislation.

David Cameron wrote an article for the Pink News website where he states: “This is something that has been very important to me. […] That is not something that the State should ever deny someone on the basis of their sexuality. When people’s love is divided by law, it is the law that needs to change.” He also said that the law sends a message to young teenagers who are not sure about their sexual identity; it gives them this feeling that everybody is equal whether you are straight or gay.

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said: "If our change to the law means a single young man or young woman who wants to come out, but who is scared of what the world will say, now feels safer, stronger, taller - well, for me, getting into coalition government will have been worth it just for that."

Peter McGraith and David Cabreza were one of the first couples to get married on that day. In his interview he said: "Very few countries afford their gay and lesbian citizens equal marriage rights and we believe that this change in law will bring hope and strength to gay men and lesbians in Nigeria, Uganda, Russia, India and elsewhere, who lack basic equality and are being criminalized for their sexual orientation."

Even though some religious groups still oppose the legislation, an archbishop of the Church of England said that: “the law's changed; we accept the situation”. At the same time the legislation prohibits the Church of England from registering same-sex marriages, they can only be registered by the state.

Here you can find more information on this topic.