April 28,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, at Wednesday nights council meet ,Jan Phillips once again attempted to strong arm the council in the name of civility by pushing them to hang a Gay Pride flag over Village Hall. Many will remember her as the one who called everyone “GRANDSTANDERS” who objected to Aronsohn’s giant garage fiasco.
If Susan and company do not put the flag up, Jan will make it her mission to brand all of them as anti-gay which is completely untrue.
A reader wrote us ….
So, Last night as I was watching the Village Council meeting from the comfort of my easy chair, I could hear what sounded like a rather large crowd and wondered what everyone might be there for. Could it be Schedler? Clinton Avenue? Parking? I was pretty surprised when people started going up to the microphone talking about hanging the Gay Pride flag over Village Hall. This was obviously an orchestrated demonstration of power and pride by people who fully support inclusion, welcoming, understanding, and civility toward non-heterosexuals. I am one of those people. I not only support LGBTQ, but I support all minorities, everyone who is marginalized, I support interracial and inter-religious marriage, immigrants’ rights, religious freedom, inclusion of all with physical handicaps, and every single nationality on our planet. I do not support, however, putting up one flag to indicate acceptance of one group that has most unfortunately been discriminated against. If the Village Council opts to do this, then what is to stop someone who wishes to have the Confederate flag hang over Village Hall for one month, or perhaps the newest addition to the lineup, the “Straight Flag.” We could wind up with the flag of the month, pretty much diluting the overall message of inclusion. I like to think that our Village welcomes everyone. It is not necessary to hang a flag to indicate that one group is accepted, when in fact all “groups” are accepted. I was about to get in my car and drive over to the meeting to say this, but I was afraid I would be branded as anti-gay. Sadly, a quick condemnation of someone for stating their feelings is all to common, and I would be devastated if I had to start defending myself. I hope that our elected officials will be able to say “no” to this request. Although the request is well-intended, hanging this one flag welcoming one group would be wrong.
The reader is right that the stormtroopers of the “progressive” left will sacrifice him or her on the altar of political correctness, regardless how sympathetic overall. Disagreement with them is a thought crime for which social ostracization is the minimum punishment.
There is no need for the gay flag to hang over Village Hall. Why should it, just because Jan Phillips says so?
There were a lot of beautiful people from out of town in Ridgewood for some kind of Hollywood-style movie premiere (on a smaller scale) at the Warner Quad theater yesterday evening. Dollars to donuts the rainbow-flag dust-up at Village Hall was a pre-planned “astroturf” event brought to us courtesy of these glamorous visitors who doubtlessly regard Ridgewood as just another flyover town populated by provincial rubes in dire need of progressive enlightenment.
Regardless of the flag going up or not, I believe it was wrong of Boyd loving to criticize residents who speak on one issue and then leave. Many times I and others have spoken on one issue at town council meetings and then left. As a senior I am sometimes too tired to sit that long on those hard seats. I speak and leave.
It is vital that residents get involved with the issues they are concerned about and speak up about them. To discourage people from coming to the mic because they have to leave right after is wrong. America is about freedom of speech, not how long you can stay afterwards. Also I and others have spoken out about many issues BEFORE the scheduled council discussion. There is nothing wrong with bringing up an upcoming issue early. How dare Boyd Loving make rules for everyone else on how and when to speak in a public forum. He is wrong on that one. Freedom so speech is American. Boyd, in my opinion, was speaking as a dictator. He is not the boss of Ridgewood council meetings. I hope newcomers to Ridgewood do not get the wrong idea. I hope he has not discouraged any resident from coming to the mic and speaking about their concerns.
what does this have to do with Boyd Loving? btw Jan Philips has publicly objected to others freedom of speech and the former council along with their flunkies did everything they could to squelch free speech including threats from the Bergen Record and “civility” use to stop dissent
So are they going to take down the POW flag in order to put up the rainbow flag? Come on, this is ridiculous
I guess Boyd Loving has as much right to express his opinion as you do Diane Palacios. I personally enjoy hearing what he has to say.
Yes, but I do not believe in forbidding free speech. By the way, I was the resident who accused Jan Phillips of falsely accusing residents of GRANDSTANDING during the public meeting on the big parking garage. I was very critical of her on this blog. But I wrote under ANONYMOUS. I wrote the word grandstanding in this blog in capitol letters, because I thought she was insensitive to the concerns of the numerous residents who spoke against the garage. Still, she has a right to come and speak on any issue for as long or as short as she wants to. Free speech is what Boyd Loving was squelching, in my opinion.
Is there any kind of legal precedent about hanging flags that represent just one issue?
You can’t have your cake and eat it too Ms. Palacios. Branding Mr. Loving as a “dictator” for simply exercising his First Amendment rights smacks of dictatorship in an of itself. You may disagree with what he had to say, but calling him a “dictator” for saying it tells us quite a lot about who and what you are.
Can we fly a Steeler flag too?
I don’t think the point was merely that they spoke and left, but that they left as a group, confirming the impression that the entire display had been organized and orchestrated rather than representing a number of individuals who wished to make statements on the same issue. Yet they had previously been told that this issue would be on the agenda of the following council meeting, which would have been the time to discuss it. And if anybody does not recognize the Aronsohn touch, they have not been watching. And by the way, I am not very interested in hearing what somebody who lives in Elmwood Park (or wherever it was) thinks about which flags should fly in Ridgewood.
So, someone who is gay feels very proud of himself. Fair enough, it is his business. Now to express his pride he wants a flag flying in the middle of the village. Why? Can’t I also have a flag flying for myself? I am very proud of being a straight man. Where is the equality here? I claim I am being discriminated if a rainbow flag goes up and mine doesn’t. The only flag I want to see in the middle of the village is the flag of the USA which represents the pride of all Americans be it straight, gay, yellow, brown, black, white or whatever you want to be. In my opinion if you feel like the US flag doesn’t represent you you need to fly your own flag in your property.
There is already a flag that stands for inclusion, among other things. It’s got red & white strips on it.
How about no flags of any kind, just the red,white and blue.
When Jan Philips and other members of CRAB (unfortunate acronym) came to the mic to speak out in favor of flying the Rainbow Flag, I thought it was appropriate for this group to do so. Inclusion is what their about. There is no better way to get your opinion out there than to speak out in public regardless of how it will be received. I understand Dianne’s posts. She is one of the few people who is willing to state her opinions in public and she uses her name on Blog entries. It is possible and very probable that you will agree with someone on one issue but not on all issues.The village actually owns a Rainbow Flag and to fly it during the month of June ( Gay Pride Month) seems fitting. The flag has been around since 1978 and is now considered a world wide symbol for inclusion of all disenfranchised people. Some flags have been altered to display peace symbols, black stripes, etc. Supporting one group does not mean that you don’t support other groups or causes.
Yes! @12:17. Slams the mic…
1:05, please no Patriots flags
I thought Jan Phillips and company seemed to be bullying the council, basically telling them that they better do this or else. Excuse me, isn’t the whole LGB movement about NOT bullying anyone? I was totally turned off by their ganging up M.O.
Diane Palacios smugly calling someone names. Per usual.
Wait a minute, someone is suggesting that because there is a rainbow flag in the possession of the village this is reason to hang it for a month? Gimme a break. Let’s hang a daffodil flag. No wait, let’s hang a confederate flag. No, I want to hang a save the whales flag.
One flag works for all. The American flag. Let’s not clutter the flagpole.
Worse of all, what if some group approaches the Council and asks to hang a Nazi flag?
Yes, 2:40. Good point. Let’s just leave the flagpole as is. For heaven’s sake, do we have to have a freaking cause run up on a flagpole every week?
11:47, thank you.
who cares , put it up.
I know someone who sells flagpoles and helps with designing bases and structural supports for them. I think Six Flags Over Ridgewood is an interesting idea.
Can we fly a Steeler flag too?
No.
When are they going to fly the Heterosexual Pride Flag?
There actually IS a heterosexual pride flag, 6:39. Look it up on google.
FWIW, the rainbow our Creator designed (ROYGBIV) wasn’t good enough to adequately express the pride sodomites feel about their lifestyle. Seven colors was apparently too gauche. Plain old blue didn’t make the cut. Tough crowd!
Here’s just ONE, of many reasons, I think flying the flag is important.
– The rate of suicide attempts is 4 times greater for LGB youth and 2 times greater for questioning youth than that of straight youth.
– Suicide attempts by LGB youth and questioning youth are 4 to 6 times more likely to result in injury, poisoning, or overdose that requires treatment from a doctor or nurse, compared to their straight peers.
– In a national study, 40% of transgender adults reported having made a suicide attempt. 92% of these individuals reported having attempted suicide before the age of 25.
Source: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/pages/facts-about-suicide
FWIW, on the contrary: the gay pride flag contains blue. It doesn’t contain violet, though it did at one time. It also contained pink. Pink was apparently difficult to get right or consistent, so it was “officially” removed from the pallet, though it shows up inl variations of the flag.
2018 will mark the 40th anniversary of the original gay pride flag. In light of the disparaging remarks from one anonymous commenter, I would be absolutely in favor of flying the gay pride flag over the village hall next year during gay pride month, just beneath the village flag or on a separate flagpole not higher than the village flag.
I’ve been a New York Rangers fan for the past 40 years. Our movement has struggled more so than the LGBT folks, that’s for certain (not to mention, we’re more “proud”). And, for this reason, I feel strongly that we should fly the New York Rangers flag alongside the American flag in the middle of the Village….
Level of sarcasm: extremely high…
Let’s just stick with the American flag, the New Jersey flag and the Village flag. Folks can express their individual “pride” and fly whichever flag(s) they wish on their *own properties* [assuming that doing so conforms to the municipal existing code(s)]…
Barry, pink, as you know, is not a color in the rainbow. An actual rainbow has seven colors. The flag you espouse has six. To call it a rainbow flag is to reject the mind of the Creator. This is of a piece with the basic selfish attitude of sodomites who, in a vain bid to legitimize their self-destructive lifestyle (and perhaps soothe their beleaguered consciences), arrogantly deny the existence or soveriegnty, or both, of God. Not every American, citizen of New Jersey, or resident of Ridgewood underwent the kind of notoriously abrupt change of heart that our now ex-president claimed to experience near the end of his first term of office. (He who is now reported to have “considered” the sodomitical lifestyle when he was a mere teen. One might ask–in which direction did he ultimately decide to go? And of course, all of this clearly puts the lie to the Lady Gaga theory of human sexuality, “Born This Way”.) Remarkably few Catholics, and still fewer self-professed Christans, percentage-wise, in this country had a strong enough faith, or a sufficiently deep and broad education in true Christian doctrine, to bear up (politically or otherwise) under the counterculural onslaught that has fallen like an avalanche over the last six years or so. At this point, those who advocate raising the six-color flag atop Village Hall should be seen as seeking to snuff out the rag-tag remnant of Village residents still possessed of a rightly-ordered Christian (nowadays predominantly Catholic) perspective. This is a naked form of bullying through majority rule. The individual members of our Village Council would do well politely to decline to take this rancid bait. Virtue-signaling is no way to govern a municipality.
I can understand Gay Pride. However, even if one would respect that flag, there is absolutely no reason to fly one from a governmental staff. As several of the previous posters stated, the red, white and blue is enough. It is probably even against the law to place a non-governmental flag there. Many states post a state flag and a POW flag–but those flags don’t represent personal opinions. Imagine a “Save the Whale” etc. flags flying–a new campaign every week or month. If the Gay Pride flag can be flown, so can all the other special interests.
If you drive through the village you will find Canadian, Irish, Pro and college teams, etc. flying. But they are on private homes. You are most welcome to hang yours at your home, but not in front of the whole community.
Civil rights do not fall under the heading of “special interest.” Gays have been fighting for equal rights for almost a half century. The flag came about as a banner to represent the civil rights struggle that began in response to gays being arrested, beaten, jailed, and assassinated in San Francisco in the 1970s.
Ridgewood ordinances would not seem to categorically prohibit the flying of such a temporary flag on village-owned property.
Barry, now that sodomites have managed conveniently to piggy-back on the civil rights struggles of african-americans, apparently securing lasting anti-discrimination gains nationwide like a lightning strike during the Obama administration, what groups will be next to try to establish the necessary analogy? Pederasts? Polygamists? What do their respective flags look like? We Ridgewood residents will want to learn that critical information so that we’ll know the precise moment when our local government surrenders, giving up the moral struggle against those inarguably aberrant behaviors.
Unless we are supporting Gay Pride month or something the only flag that should be permanently displayed over Village Hall should be the American flag which represents all of us. Otherwise it’s just politics.
TOLDYA: Tolerance now requires participation in [sodomitical behavior]
This entry was posted in Uncategorized on May 3, ARSH 2017 by Ann Barnhardt.
From the mailbag:
Subject: Tolerance now requires participation in [sodomitical behavior]
Hi [Anne],
Some time ago you predicted that tolerance of [sodomitical behavior] will morph into participation in [sodomitical behavior], or execution. I work for [well-known aerospace firm] as an engineering supervisor and our new parent company, [even bigger aerospace firm], now requires special “tolerance” training for straight white males in leadership roles.
Literally.
I can sit and listen to any degeneracy, but we were required to hug each other for at least 10 seconds, literally, to desensitize us to participation in acts of [sodomitical behavior]. They were open about the reason we were to do this. I was the sole person of about 30 to refuse. Then when the lisping [sodomite] teacher started screeching at me I walked out. Since the training was mandatory and I walked out I can be fired for that, and probably will be.
Thanks,
B
Be assured of our prayers, B. Your reward for this act of personal integrity will not be in this world, but in heaven.
How a row over one word sank an LGBT petition in Australia
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4 May 2017
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Celebrities including Guy Pearce, Missy Higgins and Troye Sivan were attached to the petition
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It was a well-meaning campaign designed to address bullying of LGBT students in Australian schools.
But a day after its high-profile launch – backed by some celebrities – the petition was withdrawn following a swirl of controversy.
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So what happened?
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On Tuesday the open letter, organised by a Sydney man, called on Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to commit A$6m (£4m; $4.5m) to funding a new anti-bullying programme. With a focus on LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender] issues in schools and domestic violence, the programme would target “all forms of bullying, including that which is based on religion, race, gender, faith, sexuality, disability, skin conditions, social standing or political persuasions”, the letter said. It followed an intensely debated similar scheme, Safe Schools, which was launched in 2014 but was significantly curtailed and then dumped in one state after criticism from conservative politicians, lobby groups and sections of the media. The critics said it raised sexual issues that were inappropriate for teenagers and young children.
ADVER
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LGBT anti-bullying programmes have been intensely debated in Australia
Tuesday’s proposal was intended to “de-politicise” and remove “controversy” surrounding LGBT education in schools. Celebrities including actor Guy Pearce and singers Troye Sivan and Missy Higgins attached their names to the petition. It even attracted qualified support from an unlikely source. The Australian Christian Lobby – a conservative group critical of Safe Schools – said it “cautiously welcomed” the new proposal.
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What went wrong?
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But it attracted immediate criticism for urging “tolerance” – rather than “acceptance”.
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“Make no mistake of our request: we do not seek a program that seeks approval of the way certain members of our society live. We seek only mutual respect and tolerance,” the petition said.
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Critics of the wording included LGBT advocates and, quickly, goodwill that might have flowed from passionate supporters of Safe Schools descended into anger.
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“It sounds to me like I’m supposed to beg people to be tolerant of my child’s existence,” Leanne Donnelly, identified as a Sydney mother of a transgender teenager, told the Special Broadcasting Service.
“Equality and acceptance is the starting point, not downgrading to tolerance.”
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Some celebrities attached to the letter said they had not seen the wording before it was published.
Petition organiser Ben Grubb, a PR adviser, wrote a lengthy apology to the LGBT community following the backlash.
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“Acceptance was removed during the drafting after confidentially consulting a Canberra decision-maker on what they believed the government would potentially back to fund such a program,” he wrote, adding his involvement in the campaign was personal not professional.
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“This is a decision I deeply regret and I am truly sorry for. I am sorry to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex community, many of whom have told me that by doing this represented the letter pandering to conservative views.”
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He said he would arrange for the petition to be taken down. It and an accompanying publicity video are no longer visible online.
In the psychiatric literature, calling someone, like Rev.Philips, who has worked tirelessly for decades to prevent bullying of all kinds – to call her a bully is identified as projective identification.
In addition, homophobic rants always give me a smile. Many research studies have been done, and replicated, that the most homophobic individuals are those who respond most positively to images of gay sex.
nice try , she has defined herself with her actions , as for the “homophobic rants” , where are they?? do tell