A SITE FOR SORE BIGOTS

Facebook is allowing the existence of a group aimed at spreading homophobia through thinly-veiled hate speech.  All attempts at getting Facebook to remove this group has failed.  Activist monkey attempts a crusade against the tyrant.
MONKEY BUSINESS by Tony Asaro (composer/librettist/facebook user)

It's always so shocking to me when people refuse to use Facebook.  In today's world, being anti-social networking amounts to being anti-social.  However, something is going on right now on Facebook that makes me question how much longer I will be a member.  I'm hoping it doesn't come to it, but I may have to take <DUN DUN DUN> a political stance!

I'm not new to digging in my political heels.  Back about 10 years ago, a local television station starting airing the 700 Club with Pat Robertson.  I wrote them a letter saying that that kind of Religious Right programming had no place on a local network, and that I would boycott their channel if they refused to remove it.  They did nothing.  I boycotted.  No one was affected except for me: I no longer could watch Charmed.

At that point, Rose McGowan had already replaced Shannen Doherty, so it wasn't really a huge loss.

And then, there's the Midnight Sun bar in SF which I refuse to patronize because their cocktail tables come up to my nose.  Clearly, they do not want short customers.  I am happy to oblige.

But this scenario...  It's a little more severe.

On Thursday morning, a friend alerted me to a Facebook group page called "Heterosexual Awareness Month".

I didn't realize the world wasn't aware of heterosexuals.  Thank God this FB group is there to spread the word.

 Here is the cover photo:

What's that text beneath the man figure and woman figure?  It's Creavit Deus Homo et Mulier: Latin for "God Created Man and Woman".  And it was formerly in July, but apparently heterosexuals need more than one month.  After all, gays get a month and we're only 10% of the population, so why shouldn't we have Hetero Awareness Month extend into August?

Seeing this ruffled my feathers, because the pro-hetero angle still obviously reeked of anti-homo sentiment.  But I wasn't up in arms about it.  YET.

I clicked on "About".  Here's what it says:

Heterosexual Awareness Month is a month-long annual observance of straight people, and the growing struggle of the rights and related civil rights put in jeopardy. It is observed during July every year.

2012 Calendar:

+ First annual Heterosexual Awareness Month July 2012.

+ Straight Pride Day July 6th, 2012 - Show your support and wear black.
+ International Day Against Heterophobia July 22nd, 2012

The views expressed on this page are those of the post authors and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of Heterosexual Awareness Month.

"...the growing struggle of the rights and related civil rights being put in jeopardy..."  Interesting...  I'm always baffled when the oppressive majority thinks that somehow the oppressed minority can take away their rights.  And the word "Heterophobia", that's a doozy.  Yeah, the poor straights are such victims.  What powerful gays we are to have caused such pain in the straight community.

What really got me was the last statement:  "The views expressed on this page are those of the post authors and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of Heterosexual Awareness Month."

Well, how convenient.

Here, guys.  Here's a Facebook wall for you on which you can post all of your hateful shit.  Just remember, those comments don't reflect our views!

That sorta feels like:

Here, guys.  Here's a pack of cigarettes and a lighter for you to smoke.  Just remember, the lung cancer you'll get isn't our fault!

Then I scrolled down and read the posts.  Things like this back door marked "exit only":

And this:

First of al, white type on a red background?  Come on, guys–your hatred is barely visible!  And then there's the message.  I find their statistics very interesting.  99 in 100 babies are born hetero.  So one is born homo?  And then that one will convert 52 others?  That's one POWERFUL homo baby!

Most offensive are the daily quips posted BY THE ADMINISTRATOR of the page that go a little something like this:

From July 25th, the administrator posted:

If you are a man and you enjoy bathrooms in the park, this page is probably one you should pass on.

 From July 24th, the administrator posted:

If you are a man and that pinky pops up when you are drinking your Grande cafe mocha, this page is probably not for you.

From July 23rd, the administrator posted:

If you are a man and you are a dancer at Disney World, this page is probably not for you.

So as long as you don't use the word "faggot" you can call me a faggot as much as you want.  Well, it's not really THEM saying these things.  It's just the individual posters and not the views of the page, remember.

So I reported this page to Facebook, checking the "hate speech" radio button.  Later that afternoon, I received this email:

I looked at their carefully worded community standards.  Then I clicked on that feedback link and wrote this:

I'm all for Heterosexuals being proud of their sexuality, but this is thinly veiled hate speech, promoting stereotypes and asserting hetero dominance.

From July 25th, the administrator posted:
If you are a man and you enjoy bathrooms in the park, this page is probably one you should pass on.

From July 24th, the administrator posted:
If you are a man and that pinky pops up when you are drinking your Grande cafe mocha, this page is probably not for you.

From July 23rd, the administrator posted:
If you are a man and you are a dancer at Disney World, this page is probably not for you.

It's Hetero Supremacy, which is (or should be) analogous to White Supremacy.  I SERIOUSLY doubt that Facebook would let a group called Caucasian Awareness Month with status posts from the administrator saying, "If your name is Laquisha and you like to eat watermelon and fried chicken, this page is probably not for you."

This isn't about the members of the group themselves nor their opinions.  This is about Facebook enforcing their Community Standards as written on their site (https://www.facebook.com/communitystandards).  The very first thing Facebook says about its use is "Safety is Facebook's top priority."  Kids are KILLING THEMSELVES because of this stuff.  If they were truly concerned with safety, they would stop this.

I also posted this on my wall.  And what of that?  A few people also chimed in.  But to no avail.  The group is still in existence.  Today, they posted this:

Yeah, I'm really confident they'll take actions to make this a much more PLEASENT experience for all.

I've been wondering what to do about it.  Someone else, frustrated in the way that I am started a FB page called Homophobia Exposed.  This guy is battling the Heterosexuality Awareness page one comment at a time.  And he mimics their graphic design!  I applaud his work.  You should like his page and let him know you appreciate his effort.

But his activism does nothing to hold Facebook accountable.  I don't want to support a social networking site that would allow something like this to exist.  But then I think of how this same site is such a useful tool and catalyst for spreading progressive ideals, for disseminating news about gay issues, and mostly for reaching out to queer kids who are isolated and need this online community.  The It Gets Better Project FB page has nearly 275,000 members.  How many lives has it saved?  By leaving FB, would I be cutting off my nose to spite my face?

And, I'll be honest: Facebook helps keep me connected to my friends in NYC that I miss dearly.  Without the daily facebook updates, I would have no idea what they're up to, and I would have far less communication with them.  Selfish, maybe.  But these connections are important to me.

I'm not ready to make any decision right now.  I don't imagine I'll leave Facebook.  I'm too tied into it.  That itself makes me angry.

I guess the best course of action is to use the same tool they're using to spread misinformation and hate to spread truth and love.  Maybe Facebook, in the way it's used, is more like the city streets than it is like a private business (say a chicken fast food restaurant.)  We have to share the streets with all kinds of people, some wonderful, some bigoted, some hateful.  And on the streets, sometimes I stand up for what I believe and it does little to no good.  Other times, I change some minds.

 

TONY ASARO is a composer/librettist currently working on various musical theatre and opera projects including the award winning Our Country.  To learn more about Tony's writing, please visit unrelentingmonkey.com.  NEVER STOP SWINGING!

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Comments

[Aroma Latte]

I think you are the bigot. You want to silence every viewpoint apart from your own.
You label other people as "hate-groups" because they are groups that you hate! The hate is coming from you.
True tolerance and respect have to be mutual.

[Duncan]

"Aroma Latte"? Why would an obvious drag queen be upset about this?

[Bal Oney]

What you are spewing is hate speech and it is not veiled at all. There is nothing wrong with heterosexuality. Why is it okay for you to flaunt your sexuality, but not us? We don't decide to say to our parents " I'm hetero" or place it on our FB pages or feel the need to tell everyone we meet. But if we mention it, we are haters? No, you are the hater. You can't stand normal.

[MONKEY BUSINESS by Tony Asaro (Composer/Lyricist)]

For the record, I never said there was anything wrong with heterosexuality. I actually think heterosexuality is pretty great. I'm all for the propagation of our species. I am not attacking straight people here. I am defending against anti-gay bigots. Pro-straight and anti-gay are not the same thing.

[Heather]

Why would anyone want to be normal? Normalcy is highly overrated. I'm proud of what makes me unique from everyone else. Its our differences that make us special (whether it be race, religion, sexual orientation...even where we choose to eat our next meal!), and ACCEPTANCE of those differences that help elevate humanity (along with thumbs).

This world is big enough for everyone. But when "Aroma Latte's" facebook friends are using such a terrible tragedy as feeling suicidal (because someone's sexual orientation is different) to promote their beliefs, there is something very very wrong with the way they are trying to share their "message".