Atlanta Joins In Gay Bar Raiding Fun!

I know I said I'd stay away from political issues, but sometimes I just can't resist it, so here goes anyway:

In the wake of two raids in Texas gay bars, Atlanta's police force decided they should join in the fun as well. The recently raided the Atlanta Eagle, taking over 20 officers into the bar to manhandle the patrons. They force the bar goers on to the ground for TWO HOURS while they pretended to search for things, or pick on the homos on the ground, or watch "the game"… whatever they had to do to pass time during the two hours of their illegal raid on the bar.

Why did they raid said bar? Because they were told there might possibly be some sex going on in the bar somewhere. Did they find any sex going on in the bar? Nopers, but they stuck around for two hours just to make sure. Have the EVER raided a hetero strip club for all the sex that happens in those diseased cesspools? Nope, but that's just boys being boys, you know? Nothing wrong with that…

These raids Have. To. Stop. They are being perpetrated illegally and unethically by the powers that be because they feel like gay people are scum and should be erased from the world. And if they just rile them up enough, they'll go away! And why, pray tell, might these Southern US cultures have the notion that gays are evil, bad, and deserving of eradication? Because we have allowed Christian fundamentalists to take over the political atmosphere and frame gay people as the opposite of god.

I shouldn't be shocked really. This kind of raid was common in black bars and establishments 60 years ago, for many of the same reasons. The white folk in charge were afraid that the black community would organize, or even worse, establish roots in "their" community. Hell, raids on gay bars even happened in Northern states and cities perceived to be progressive. Stonewall, anyone?

I can only hope that justice is handed down against the Atlanta PD in this issue and fast. A strong message needs to be sent to these ass hats that they cannot continue to abuse their badges to further their bias. I also have to wonder about the moral compass of a police force that is able to muster 20 willing officers to administer such hate without any of them standing up or speaking out. Even now, none of the 20 officers offers remorse for their actions.

This is what out and out hate legislation leads to. When our politicians stand up in public and congratulate their constituents for passing laws that enshrine hatred into the system, or even speak out in support of those laws, the idea that it's ok to discriminate against gays is drilled into the masses collective mind. Saying that gays are second class citizens by denying them marriage rights and adoption rights gives people the mental OK to perpetuate physical and social discrimination against gay people. This is what those laws have accomplished, and I sincerely hope that the right wing is satisfied in understanding that every single bruise caused in these raids, every single human rights violation, is on their hands. This is their doing.