Etiquette, etc.

Progress on the queer rights front in Latin America got another boost May 25 when a Brazilian Senate committee gave a thumbs-up to an anti-homophobia bill that could see discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity made punishable by law. 

A Gay Star News report says the bill would expand the list of discriminatory acts to include blocking gays’ access to government offices or private places, denying service in hospitality venues and hindering someone’s career. The report notes the legislation would also cover discrimination claims that take place online and in the media, as well as allow people to make claims for discriminatory acts that have occurred in the past. Offenders could receive prison sentences up to five years under the new bill, which the Senate must approve by June 25, to make it the law of the land.

News about the bill comes on the heels of the Brazilian Senate human rights committee’s approval of a proposal to define a civil union as being between two people, without them having to specify their gender. Like the new bill that would criminalize homophobia, the civil unions proposal would have to jump through the hoops of other committees before it becomes law.

Brazil’s judiciary has been ahead of the country’s Congress on the issue of same-sex marriage, according to an Associated Pressreport in The Washington Post.

Meanwhile, Colombia also took steps to increase the protection of gays when its constitutional court ruled that the government cannot limit gay couples’ right to express affection in public, after two men were told to leave a Cali mall after a security guard found them kissing. 

this is how it’s done.

This is the first part of a 2-day series on people of color and mental health.

thanks for saying it out loud. 

Last Wednesday a Texas judge arrested a 17-year-old teen for missing school. But Houston’s KHOU covered the story, shared some more context and it turns the young woman is actually an extraordinary student who works tireslessly to support two siblings.

Dianne Tran says her parents divorced and left Houston “out of the blue” leaving her to support an older brother at Texas A&M University and a baby sister who lives with relatives. Tran currently lives with one of her employers—she has a full time job at a dry cleaners, works at a vineyard on weekends and goes to high school.

KHOU reports:

Tran said she works a full-time job, a part-time job and takes advanced placement and dual credit college level courses. She said she is often too exhausted to wake up in time for school. Sometimes she misses the entire day, she said. Sometimes she arrives after attendance has been taken.

The judge ordered Tran to spend 24 hours in jail and pay a $100 fine. Judge Moriarty admitted that he wants to make an example of Tran.

“If you let one (truant student) run loose, what are you gonna’ do with the rest of ‘em? Let them go too?” Judge Moriarty asked.

KHOU confronted the judge with Tran’s story and he admitted he could have been more lenient, but that the hadn’t given any thought to reversing the sentence.

via Colorlines

a “little stay in jail for one night is not a death sentence” but it’s on your criminal record and, already as a woman of colour with barriers to access in jobs, etc, due to race, gender and age, how hard will it now be with a criminal record of being in jail? why is she scapegoated as the student that holds “example” for youth skipping school? also, why the hell is she going to jail for missing school in the first place?!

listen to the video and you’ll also hear the broadcasters as they describe her situation as allegations rather than realities. 

lauraisabel:

This is so helpful! Please share!

 hi:yay̓əs (pronounced: “HEE-yah-ehs”) is a word from the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ orthography, which is the language of the Musqueam people. It means “working as a group”. As our new identities as Canadians, First Nations, Newcomers, and Aboriginal peoples are being formed, so too are the bridges which carry us forward and enable us to work collaboratively together as a group.

In response to a growing need to address issues of misunderstanding, stereotyping, systems of privilege and power, and the defining of our roles in our shared future, we offer this unique forum for collaboration, allying Vancouver’s diverse communities so that we may move forward together in concert with our values as new people in this modern context. This summit aims to bring our communities to a shared place of creation - to foster dialogue built on action. 

We as a people have never had the ability to communicate as broadly, as effectively, and as quickly as we have now. This means that we are the generation with the highest capacity to understand each other’s many diverse perspectives and experiences - if we are open to it. These values of understanding, demystifying stereotypes, and bridging divides are key to creating a more inclusive Vancouver. Building increased understanding and strengthened relations between First Nations, Urban Aboriginal and immigrant and non-Aboriginal communities, and developing real strategies for moving forward are both instrumental to and dependent on your energy, your ideas, and your participation. 

We hope to build on the skills of our communities by offering contemporary approaches to problem solving from experienced youth and youth allies focused on real world issues that affect us at home. Join us for some of these unique workshops and classes:

• What is Culture?
• The Staircase of Oppression
• Reclaiming Cultural Esteem Through Creative Expression
• Decolonizasian 101 – Fostering and Celebrating Horizontal Allyship between Indigenous and Immigrant Communities
• Hosting Grassroots Events
  

In addition to featuring workshops and classes facilitated by youth and other community leaders focused on anti-oppression, celebrating cultural diversity, and identifying the shared interests of our communities, this summit will expose participants to a variety of rich perspectives offered by panel speakers such as Alden Habercon, Kai Nagata, Jeska Slater, and Carmen Contreras-Alvarado. Youth artists in the Vancouver community will also have the opportunity to share their views and experiences on their art as tools of resistance to issues such as colonialism and systemic oppression. 

• Registration for this summit is free. However, seating is limited, so registration is required for all participants and will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.
• The registration deadline is June 11^th, 2012 at 4:00pm PT.
• Refreshments and lunch will be provided at the summit.

The summit will take place at the following times and venues:

• Friday, June 15th (Vancouver City Hall, Town Hall Room) - 4pm - 8pm
• Saturday, June 16th (SFU Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue) - 9am - 6pm
• Sunday, June 17th (SFU Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue) - 930am - 4pm

Video is one of the best methods of knowledge translation. Throughout the summit, ReelYouth will be documenting our process, as well asking key questions of our participants, such as why this is important work, how can this work be made easier and more accessible, and where do we see this work taking us from here.