Additional ex-employees of Tennessee hotel say owner discriminated against them

Another sad day in the Monkey State

You know this shit is just so tiring and gross.  TN is one of the reddest of red states and its cruelty just will not simmer down. I just wonder how many more years will pass by before the GLBTQ community has equal civil rights?  I suspect that TN will be one of the last to get these laws on the books, perhaps only ahead of Missippii and Alabama.

As an Ex Nashvillian, I hope there are hundreds of folks who show up to the Saturday protest.  If I still lived there I would certainly be.  However so many queens remain in the closet except for their attendance at gay bars that protests will most likely be very muted.  Come out, come out wherever you are!!!!!!!!!!  It is more important than you think!  (I wholeheartedly agree with Harvey Milk)

My support goes out to all of you and just because I live far away does not mean that my betchy letter writing on your behalf will cease.  Best wishes and luck.....


vanhattan

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by: vanhattan @ Wed Jan 14, 2009 at 15:17:16 PM CST

Indian Hotel/Motel Mafia

Everytime I visit the South I can't get over how many (usually lower end) lodgings are owned by Indian immigrants.  Almost everywhere I've stayed that was inexpensive between Charleston, SC, Charlotte, NC, and Asheville, NC was owned by a not-to-hospitable person of Indian origin.  Of course, being a cheap wad I generally don't care.  And the Indian-owned Days Inn I stayed at in Asheville, NC had a friendly owner who wasn't homophobic.  But some of the others in Charlotte and Charleston were just nasty and the owners were rude.  I don't think this is a particularly Southern phenomenon: I booked a cheap room near Earl's Court in London in 2004 and experienced the same nasty pit/a-hole owner of Indian origin.

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by: kevin @ Wed Jan 14, 2009 at 16:39:37 PM CST

Different cultures

I have several friends from India.

They are the most polite, generous people I've ever met.

My friend Dev would do anything for me. He is the sweetest, most spiritual man I've ever met.

That said, I've only seen him be rude to someone once. It was to another man from India. I struck up a conversation with the man on a car lot while Dev was inside. When Dev came out, he wouldn't acknowledge the other man when I tried to introduce him.

Apparently, the other Indian man was from a what Dev considers an inferior class. He was offended that the guy had spoken to me and told me that they attend the same place of worship. I asked, "Then, you know him?" Dev replied in a cold voice, "I know OF him."

Perhaps what you see as rudeness has to do with these class distinctions that we're not familiar with here in America.

Dev believes that he is from a class that makes him equal to educated professionals here in America. He also believes that those from an inferior class should keep their station in life. He felt that I'd lowered myself and insulted him by speaking to someone he considers to be inferior.

India has a very different culture and I haven't come close to understanding it yet. It is difficult for me to accept that a man who is so sweet and kind can also be so cold and class conscious.

When you look for the bad in mankind, expecting to find it, you surely will.

- Abraham Lincoln.

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by: Fritz @ Wed Jan 14, 2009 at 17:00:08 PM CST

[ Parent ]

The Indian caste system is utterly despicable

Just because it is a different culture doesn't make it acceptable. If you're born as lower caste, or worse, an a Dalit, an "untouchable", according to the high caste people like Dev, too bad. It is karma. Or somesuch crap.

You're giving the system way too much respect.

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by: rfloh @ Wed Jan 14, 2009 at 23:21:52 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I wrote that it is difficult for me to accept

I don't respect it, either.

If I see that man from the car lot again and Dev is with me, I'll still say hello. I don't care what Dev does. I've told him that he's in America now and that he should respect my rules.

When you look for the bad in mankind, expecting to find it, you surely will.

- Abraham Lincoln.

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by: Fritz @ Thu Jan 15, 2009 at 17:35:27 PM CST

[ Parent ]

"Indian"

is no more a single identity than is "American" or "European".  I'm sorry you've found yourself in some scummy places, but there are plenty of non-Indians who preside over similar places.  I hope you will think twice before typifying Indians based on your experiences with these places.  Would you typify all native-born Americans from the slumlord set?

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Lurleen on Twitter.

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by: Lurleen @ Wed Jan 14, 2009 at 20:28:57 PM CST

[ Parent ]

what about my comment deserved a troll rating?

please explain, RogerinDC.

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Lurleen on Twitter.

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by: Lurleen @ Wed Jan 14, 2009 at 23:44:10 PM CST

[ Parent ]

perhaps...

you were lecturing a little too much while not seeming to understand the comment you were replying to?  I don't know, just guessing.

Yes, "American" or "european" is an identity that can predict a little bit about a persons culture and mindset.  Then again, in support of your statement, I certainly wouldn't want someone confusing me with the Republican Americans who have tarnished America's image for too long.  

Indians (yes, people from INDIA) have lived under the caste system for a long time, and discussing its demerits does not equate to insulting every individual Indian person.

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by: Tom P @ Thu Jan 15, 2009 at 11:46:08 AM CST

[ Parent ]

What amazes me about these fundies

is that when their finances are good, it is a sign from God that they are righteous, BUT when their finances go south, it is the work of the devil and you just have to give more to them to fight satan?
Has anyone started to notice a pattern of financial failure of anti gay individuals and organizations like Focus on Daddy D, The Peter, The CCL of Maine, Mass Destruction, James Hardline? And now this guys hotel.  I mean if they were really righteous they would be immune to the bad economy right?
Personally I like to think that their financial woes are a result of their UNRIGHTEOUSNESS.  

"They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself." - Andy Warhol



"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction" - Blaise Pascal

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by: TruthandLove @ Wed Jan 14, 2009 at 21:31:09 PM CST

Very True...

Also, notice how acts of God are portrayed.  If they hit gay areas they are from God, if not, they don't get it and ignore it especially when a church is hit.  Then it's a tragedy.

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by: Wes @ Thu Jan 15, 2009 at 11:14:57 AM CST

[ Parent ]