Dharun Ravi was all smiles when he sat at the defense table just before noon today when the jurors entered the courtroom after reaching a verdict in Ravi's trial of spying on Rutgers roommate Tyler Clementi with a webcam and posting the video of a sexual encounter for others to see.
Subsequently Clementi committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge in New York City on September 22, 2010.
Ravi's smile and somewhat smugness changed to a look of disbelief as the jury forewoman delivered guilty verdicts on 15 felony counts charged against Ravi. Others in the media have said Ravi showed no emotion but this writer had a different impression of Ravi's change in demeanor as the guilty verdicts were read off one by one. Clementi's parents who were also in the courtroom showed emotions of relief for their dead son Tyler as the verdicts were given, to the point where Clementi's father who was writing down and keeping track of the verdicts took off his glasses and wiped tears from his eye.
The guilty verdicts included bias intimidation, witness tampering, invasion of privacy, hindering apprehension and tampering with physical evidence. The key verdict(s) for members of the LGBT community are the guilty verdicts regarding bias or a perceived "hate crime".
Ravi could spend 10 years in a federal prison although talking heads said on various TV programs after the verdict he would likely spend three years in prison because he had a "clean record" prior to the charges brought against him. Because Ravi was born in India he could, although unlikely be deported back to his native country. Ravi declined a prosecution offer to plead guilty which would have afforded Ravi no jail time.
Some LGBT pundits have written in previous days this trial does little to advance LGBT causes, others will herald the verdicts for the cause against anti-gay bullying and "gay hate crimes'.
There are no winners in this case. Only losers. The biggest of which is Tyler Clementi and his family after his personal life was invaded by another person.
Less than 24 hours after GLAAD announced its CAP blacklist of who shouldn't be allowed to opine in print, radio or on TV it has already become a failure.
This morning in the latter part of the 7 AM hour of Starting Point with Soledad O'Brien, she had on to talk politics Tony Perkins one of GLAAD's Most Wanted anti-gay folks.
Oops ... guess CNN and Soledad didn't get the memo.
GLAAD's narcissistic POV that the Media will pay attention to them and use GLAAD's background blacklist as a guide as to who should not be given a talking head platform because the Media at large is deaf, dumb and stupid because they don't know who they are allowing to opine is like telling a cow not to poop when nature calls.
In yet another effort to show its continued relevancy and to get donations to keep this dead horse kicking GLAAD has come out with a new angle to persuade the media both large and small as to who should and should not be allowed air time or ink as talking heads in print, radio or television.
By now you may have heard about this and it's called the "Commentor Accountability Project" which provides the media with background on listed individuals as to their anti-gay rhetoric and stance all to hopefully persuade the media to not give these folks a platform to make an appearance even if not discussing de gay because their mere appearance is an affront to de gay.
Already some of the LGBT Elite bloggers are having their say and giving praise to this endeavor by GLAAD.
Jeremy Hooper of the blog Good As You writes in part, Today, we strive to heighten awareness of this work and expand the sphere so that we can bring even greater awareness of what these folks have said about us on their way to the cable newsroom, statehouse, or anywhere else they present themselves as mere "values voices."
Blogger Alvin McEwen contributes, When it comes to discussing gay issues, the media sometimes handles anti-gay pundits with kid gloves. It's not because of any bias, really. I think that a lot of it has to do with these pundits having the ability to disguise their anti-gay animus.
Given what Hooper and McEwen write it's obvious the media is too deaf, dumb and stupid as to exactly who the guests are which appear on programs or are asked as pundits for their opine on subjects to be put into print and needs GLAAD's help.
Hooper also wrote in the copy/paste piece at Joe Sudbay's Americablog Gay, GLAAD will not be telling anyone who to book, so there shouldn't be any "censorship" claims (even though there likely will be). The basic message is, "Okay fine, go ahead and book this person -- but when you do, here's what you need to know."
Censorship, oh perish the very thought. Just like when GLAAD howled at CNN to suspend Roland Martin or being furious with MSNBC for having on Tony Perkins several times as I wrote about here regarding trying to censor the media because anti-gay folks appear or are featured on-air or in print.
It should be noted in the link at the top of this posting GLAAD thanks Hooper and others for helping to put the blacklist together and also GLAAD or as I have referred to as the Pink Police proves what I wrote in this posting that we are now in the 1984 age of Big Brother. Here's what GLAAD is eliciting, We encourage individuals to alert the organization when these virulently anti-LGBT activists appear on local or national news.
So far GLAAD has, if my old school math is correct, 36 folks listed on their anti-gay web page of "don't you dare use these folks as talking heads" blacklist which has photos of said offenders.
Quite frankly I'm surprised GLAAD hasn't put cross-hairs over their faces. It reminds me of the FBI's Most Wanted list or even beyond that the ones who would be rubbed out or convicted by Bush after 9/11 and going into the war with Iraq to get Saddam Hussein and his "doers of evil".
And so it is boys and girls so as the Himmler's Nazi Gestapo had their blacklist of over 2300 names and backgrounds so too does GLAAD have its blacklist albeit with fewer names.
Comparing GLAAD to Nazis to harsh you may say. Well the Nazis in their misguided view thought they were doing the right thing also for their cause. Call a spade a spade folks GLAAD's list "may not" be censorship but it certainly can fall under intimidation of a sort when in the future GLAAD contacts a media organization and says "we have anti-gay background on these people why are you giving them a platform to speak ?"
Just as GLAAD is asking you to make them aware of media appearances or interviews, so too did the Gestapo have their rats to provide information.
Yep the Big Brother of 1984 Pink Police are now in full swing just waiting to pounce ... but we won't call this censorship or intimidation only a way to better inform the media.
Woody Allen in the video pretty much sums up my feelings about this as one who has worked in the news media and for those in the news media at large who are much too polite to say such things to GLAAD.
The LGBT bloggers and websites will be picking up on this today I'm sure and gnashing their teeth at the same time as news reports are coming out that CNN with little fanfare ended Roland Martin's suspension over his tweets during the Super Bowl.
As of this writing CNN had not issued a press release but mentioned the month long suspension has been ceased during a conference call with various media.
I'm not going to go over what led to all of this, if you don't know by now then you don't need to. Just go to any number of blogs and websites of the pink variety today and tomorrow and I'm sure you'll find a blow by blow description and in some cases utter horror that CNN has brought Martin back.
Dharun Ravi was all smiles when he sat at the defense table just before noon today when the jurors entered the courtroom after reaching a verdict in Ravi's trial of spying on Rutgers roommate Tyler Clementi with a webcam and posting the video of a sexual encounter for others to see.
