The Otherside: Falling Up!

By Brandon Taylor Erics

Validation equals survival. This one point summarizes what this book is about. It is an attempt to put into context the struggle that has occurred within and outside of the gay community for equality, justice and substantiation.This book will seek to paint a picture of homo-sexism through various institutions in this country that shape societal views and perceptions. I define homo-sexism as discriminatory or abusive behavior towards members of the homosexual orientation- including from within the gay community. No where have I seen this term used or defined. Why not? Homo-sexism exists and I believe because it has not been defined, it will continue to exist. Have we jumped defining basic terms in light of more dramatic terms, such as hate crimes or homophobia? Homo-sexism is not the same as homophobia. Homophobia describes a fear against same-sex preferences that can lead to homo-sexism and ultimately hate crimes. There is a process. It is appropriately used to legally and culturally define the use of ones gender against the individual or group, but does not include homosexuality.It is because there is so much passion, several issues exude at once. Because of this multiple exudation, this project began out of frustration and utter invalidation. How is that for a motivation? Many friends and students have directly or indirectly encouraged me to go forward with my ideas. This book examines the struggles one gay man has in his life and uncovers the truth it holds as he combats love, disease and society.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jan 15, 2014
• ISBN: 9781452002774

Brandon Taylor Erics

David Sleasman (a.k.a. Brandon Erics) was born in Ohio. At age four, Mr. Sleasman moved to the East Coast where he spent most of his life. Living in southern New Hampshire 30 minutes from Boston. Mr. Sleasman has called New York City, Philadelphia, Connecticut, New Jersey, Boston and Ohio his home. Mr. Sleasman graduated from Fairfield University with a BA in Politics and English. He went on to graduate from Seton Hall University School of Law in 1992 with a JD and Temple University in 1995 with his MPH. Mr. Sleasman has done graduate work at Boston College and Columbia University. He is currently a doctoral candidate at BowlingGreen State University. He has a passion for education and has taught graduate and undergraduate courses for over 15 years at various institutions. He has done much work in the area of Gay Rights and AIDS/HIV education.

Book preview

© 2010, 2014 Brandon Taylor Erics. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 01/14/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4520-0276-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4520-0277-4 (e)

CONTENTS

Preface

Foreword

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Preface

I remember sitting in a graduate course on African –American literature at Temple University back in 1995. The professor had given the assignment of reviewing and presenting to the class a particular piece of literature. This examination was to incorporate some historical context that may have influenced the author. The night before my presentation I was exceedingly nervous. I had read Giovanni’s Room over and over. I doubled and tripled checked the date it was written and then proceeded to research daily events from that time period. The fact that I was the only Caucasian student in the class would have been enough to rattle my confidence, but I embarrassingly knew very little about Black-American history. I felt secure with my work, but a sick odd feeling overcame me. After days of self-torment my, the instructor prompted me to begin my presentation in the next class. James Baldwin was one of my contemporary favorites and I assured myself I had embraced the topic at hand. After I commenced speaking the jitters left me and I assumed nothing was amiss. I prepared a handout for my fellow classmates. One of my colleagues raised her hand immediately when she received a copy of this handout. There was a distraught look in her eyes. However, I was prepared. She was a highly intelligent and seemingly tough looking student in the class. I admired her ability and passion that repeatedly caught the professor off-guard on numerous occasions. Since the Baldwin piece was written around the time of J.F. Kennedy’s and Martin Luther King’s assassinations, she asked why I did not mention the later. I was dumbfounded. I did not even gaze at my notes to pretend I knew. I had just forgotten to mention it. I just sat there, knowing I had forgotten this fact altogether. How could this detail have escaped my thorough investigation? The manner in which she reminded me of my cultural and racial lapse was heavy-handed. The rest of the class saw blood and my vulnerability was apparent. If it was not for the professor coming to my aid, it would have been a total surrender and rightly so. I was so unaware and arrogant. I briefly saw the diaphanous racial divides. In this one moment, I felt the profound burden of being trained on something I did not entirely value as essential- validation. Validation equals survival.

This one point summarizes what this book is about. It is an attempt to put into context the struggle that has occurred within and outside of the gay community for equality, justice and substantiation. In no way do I seek to equate past civil rights movements with what has been termed as the Gay Civil Rights Movement. This book will seek to paint a picture of homo-sexism through various institutions in this country that shape societal views and perceptions. I define homo-sexism as discriminatory or abusive behavior towards members of the homosexual orientation. No where have I seen this term used or defined. Why not? Homo-sexism exists and I believe because it has not been defined, it will continue to exist. Have we jumped defining basic terms in light of more dramatic terms, such as hate crimes or homophobia? Homo-sexism is not the same as homophobia. Homophobia describes a fear against same-sex preferences that can lead to homo-sexism and ultimately hate crimes. There is a process. It is appropriately used to legally and culturally define the use of one’s gender against the individual or group, but does not include homosexuality. This is not to diminish the term of sexism as it is currently.

Just like the fight for gay marriage is the wrong battle. Marriage is a religiously defined term used to describe the ceremony of the bond between a man and a woman. It was not meant to include same-sex unions. The gay rights movement instantly polarized the religious right and other fringe groups when the choice was made to fight for gay marriages. This was wrong. Most (and I mean about 99%) same-sex couples seek equality regardless of what it is called. Most same-sex couples seek equality in courts, healthcare, society and the world. I will continue with this point later. It is because there is so much passion, several issues exude at once. Because of this multiple exudation, this project began out of frustration and utter invalidation. How is that for a motivation? Many friends and students have directly or indirectly encouraged me to go forward with my ideas. Let me be clear, I am for equal and unequivocal rights to all sectors of the population- including gay and lesbians. Having said that, it is also important to understand I believe the debate over such rights has gone off message over the past few years. The very use of the terms ‘gay rights’ to me offers a form of discrimination and terminology that has been created and used by the predominantly ‘straight’ media. Unfortunately, gay culture has also adopted such labels. It is not a label that empowers, but in fact alienates and divides the gay and lesbian community. I know many lesbians (feel free to join in here) will agree that from the beginning homosexuality has been cast in the male mold. Of course, society as a whole is postulated on the ‘White male establishment’ model.

I have been and will always be a student of and indebted to those men and women who came before me. Throughout time there have been philosophical, racial and sexual differences in which one or more tribes sought to obtain domination over one or more other groups who have had the misfortune of being less hostile, or perhaps just different. My roots can be traced back to northern Europe. It is this European history, although often rewritten and misunderstood, that is riddled with persecution, torture, enslavement, and discrimination. Even before the dominance of the European culture, any ardent pupil of history can easily find analogous patterns of cruelty and imprisonment throughout the world. Alas, Europeans did not invent ignorance, hatred or arrogance. Americans (and I mean primarily White Americans) inherited many qualities from these European forefathers. Genetically encoded in this past to present, mankind has exhibited shamelessly abhorrent traits of egotism and superiority over fellow man based upon skin color, gender, religion, education, health status, citizenship, geographic location and sexual orientation- to name a few. These are not freak occurrences. History is the mirror and details a myriad of incidences that illustrate man is a deliberate and impaired novice.

Our language has evolved to incorporate terms to define these horrific actions. Genocide, bigotry, intolerance, racism, prejudice, sexism, homophobia, discrimination, and hatred all have taken on significance beyond their dictionary meanings. The Holocaust was one of our more modern testaments to the hatred that exists in this world. Since World War II, there have been comparable genocides around the globe. No country in existence, past or present, has escaped this struggle of supremacy through economics, politics, religion and/or the military at the cost of human suffering and life.

The United States experienced domestic struggles from the beginning that eventually erupted into the Civil War decades after the country declared autonomy. This national conflict and the plethora of causes have engaged numerous scholars for years. Slavery and economics were certainly a part of the story. Into the mix was a growing awareness and revelation of the gentrification of this nation state. Women and slaves began to organize and rise up to implement what rightfully belonged to them- justice, equality and liberty. It would take many more decades before egalitarianism (at least on paper) was mandated for all Americans regardless of race or gender. I am not one to argue that the Women’s Suffrage and the African- American Civil Rights movements solved this country’s problems. Does racism and sexism still exist? Absolutely. I have seen it, heard it and witnessed the pain it still inflicts. It has been decades since the most current faction of this nation rose to exact due process and we have fallen into a state of torpor, eyes glazed over in discontent.

I will contend that from such ‘isms’ this country has failed to recognize yet another sector of the population that has asked for a chair at the table. This preface is an endeavor to acknowledge previous inequity and to draw similarities to the association of homosexuals seeking parity. In no way do I condescendingly and rudely equate slavery or genocide to homophobia. However, the loathing is identical and the venture to refute certain rights because of one’s sexual orientation is intolerable. Many more women and Africans suffered at the hands of the White male establishment. This is not to discern that gay men and women were not tortured, persecuted, executed and otherwise demoralized beyond humane comprehension. Certainly, Jews were not the only target of Adolph Hitler’s paranoia. Fidel Castro looked upon homosexuals as coercive deviants that were imprisoned, murdered and exported. Cultures around the world, including the United States, deny basic human rights to people who prefer same-sex relationships. Matthew Sheppard was not an anomaly. The viciousness of his attack was not unusual, at least not to those within the gay community. Gay bashings have occurred in every major and quite a few smaller cities in this nation. Any crime that is motivated out of hatred or discrimination should be outlawed. Just as we shudder at the stories of slavery or domestic violence, should this country cringe in the fact that not every American is treated equally? Hate crimes against gay men and women occur daily and with the same protections that once existed for women and blacks- little