I had the pleasure of meeting him a couple of times around some of the most unexpected places you migth think you could find such a talented chef. He was talented and really nice. It’s shocking he’s gone at such an early age.
R.I.P.
Canadian Jock Scott Heggart: It Gets Better
The Advocate comments on Scott’s activism:
Beginning in 2008, Scott Heggart began documenting his coming out process one video at a time. He posted 365 videos, one for each day of the year, talking openly about his struggles with homosexuality in sports and the fear of his teammates rejection. “The worst thing, from my teammates’ perspective, was to be gay,” he says in one of his videos.
After coming out to his family, Heggart came out to his teammates when he posted a photo of himself with his boyfriend Brock on Facebook and changed his relationship status, the Ottowa Citizen reported. He says he was met with “respect and support” from his teammates. Now 21 and out, Heggart has revealed his identity, saying that he was motivated to go public after the suicide of gay Canadian teen Jamie Hubley. Heggart, now a college student, is now a featured speaker for the No More Bullies campaign happening in Ottowa area schools.
At 82, he’s become the oldest person to ever have won an Academy Award.Christopher Plummer Wins An Oscar® For Gay Role In “Beginners”
Gosh, if only those walls at Numbers could talk.Song Of The Day: Matthew Presidente - 4U2BM9
LGBTQ Nation reports:
An Islamist group called for a Muslim lesbian author to be killed and invaded a discussion on Islam in Amsterdam last week.
A December 8 debate, which included the Canadian Muslim lesbian author Irshad Manji and MP Tofik Dibi on a panel, was disrupted when extremists from the group Sharia4Belgium stormed the event, held at the De Balie theater in Amsterdam. The mob threw eggs and called for Manji’s neck to be broken.
The group of about 20 men and boys arrived halfway through the evening, chanted slogans and pelted the audience with eggs. A police mobile unit had to be called to eject the rioters, and two Belgian men aged 19 and 22 were arrested.
The people who disrupted the debate were members of the Belgian group Sharia4Belgium, an offshoot of Sharia4Holland. Irshad Manji has experienced death threats for several years since her outspoken attack on traditional Islam in her book, “The Trouble with Islam Today.”
Dibi is a young, gay Dutch-Moroccan GreenLeft (GroenLinks) MP. In September, he launched a campaign calling on Muslims around the world to stop blindly following decrees issued by a handful of extremists, and to start thinking for themselves.
Manji was in Europe to promote her new book, “Allah, Liberty and Love.” She says that the key teaching of the book is “moral courage, the willingness to speak up when everyone else wants to shut you up.”
The mob made clear that they felft that Dibi and Manji had no right to talk about Islam because they were too liberal, said Dibi. When the riot started, the audience made efforts to protect both speakers.
“What was really nice to see, and I have never seen, was that the whole audience stood up for us. And we have said, while they were shouting: ‘We will not move. We do not go off the stage, we continue to stand here. You only have to listen to us. And if you do not like to hear us speak, then you zapping’” said Dibi.
Manji said, “I never felt afraid. Not once. Neither did Tofik. In fact, all of us refused to leave, even when police asked. We wouldn’t play on Jihadi terms. Some things are simply more important than fear.”
Said Dibi, “The disruption shows that even in the Netherlands it is necessary to continue the debate on reforming Islam.”
You know, as an Atheist, I have so much material to go against any kind of religious people, specially Muslims, but man, I do have a lot of respect for those who are trying to reform Islam (which is needed if Muslims are willing to live up to Western standards on Human Rights matters) specially if they’re women and/or LGBT activists, cause they sure have a lot to lose if defeated.
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