Speak out !

I uploaded some new beautiful pics of the Carribean Sea - just click on the side bar Flickr badge to see them. There are some fun stories to tell about snorkling and sailing, but for now I want to talk some more about the fight against intolerance and what we can do to help. It's not only about seeing a movie. It's mostly about doing what is right, and building a better place.

This all started with The Laramie Project. I posted some more about it just HERE.

The man who got brutally killed and tortured in Laramie because he was different was Matthew Sheppard. It happens I didn't know him - but that doesn't matter because next time it could be my friend or my relative. It could also be yours. The mobile of his vile murder was HATE. It was in 1998, and it's still happening.

I just checked the state in which I spend the most time (Maryland), and was appalled to find out that there are 7 hate groups in the state, 4 of them being based on Baltimore. To me, that's a major eye-opener.

*Although the Southern Poverty Law Center recognizes that much black racism in America is, at least in part, a response to centuries of white racism, it believes racism must be exposed in all its forms. White groups espousing beliefs similar to Black Separatists would be considered clearly racist. The same criterion should be applied to all groups regardless of their color.

If you want to check out what is going on in your state, click HERE.

I have gay friends and relatives. I have friends from all ethnicities. Because I love them, this concerns me. I have been around the world enough to know that this issue concerns us all. So I took the PLEDGE TO SPEAK OUT, and I encourage you all to take it as well, no matter who you are, where you come from, what your background is. We are all in this together.

I am reproducing it for your information, and thus am reiterating my wow to speak out against intolerance and bias.

I, the Travelling Beaver, will:

• Speak up when I hear or see bigotry;
• Question and identify bias when I see it;
• Be mindful of my own behaviors;
• Promote and appeal to higher principles;
• Set limits on what is said or done around me;
• Seek help and help others to work against bigotry; and
• Remain vigilant and persistent.

Intolerance must be fought, because it affects all of us.

For more information visit Tolerance.Org

If you know of other organizations that partake in such campaigns, let me know and i will also list them here for referrence.

The Beaver

Speak out !