Although it was pea soup fog all morning, the sun came out when the crowd assembled for the rally. The shadow over the crowd in the photo below is cast, literally and figuratively, by the SF Federal Building which houses the regional offices of the US Dept. of Health and Human Services, the bureaucracy which is managing Obamacare:
There was an all-star cast of excellent speakers, including Dion Evans:
Craig DeLuz of the Frederick Douglass Foundation:
Kevin McGary of the Frederick Douglass Foundation:
Marie Conway Stroughter of the African-American Conservative Blog Talk Radio Program:
Maria Hazel Lewis:
Emilia Calderon of Sacramento State University's pro-life club:
Dr. Timothy Johnson of the Frederick Douglass Foundation:
Rachelle Conner:
Rev. Antoine Lamar Miller:
And, Walter Hoye who organized the rally:
Heckling the speakers were four members of San Francisco's Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. The "Sisters" are a group of gay men who dress up, in pancake makeup, as nuns and mock religion:
The name "Cordileone" in the signs above is a reference to San Francisco's new Catholic Archbishop Salvatore Joseph Cordileone who is an opponent of gay marriage.
The "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence" group bills itself as a "leading-edge Order of queer nuns." Its "nuns" typically wear bras on their heads. In a further insult the Roman Catholic church and its traditions, the "nuns" often adopt sexually suggestive names such as "Sister Anni Coque l'Doo," "Sister Dinah Might, If You Ask Her Right," and "Sister Mina J'Trois."
In a not very successful attempt to minimize the disruption, rally participants tried to place this sign between the "sisters" and the rest of the rally:
The "sisters" were outraged by the sign and declared its depiction of Obama to be "racist!" They never explained what exactly was supposed to be "racist" about comparing Obama to French royalty.
Take a moment and savor the irony: Here we have a rally organized and led by African-Americans. Accusing them of bigotry are members of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence which is an anti-religious hate group composed largely of white men.
As the "sisters" are leftists, it won't be much of a surprise that it didn't take long before they were in trouble with the police. Here, two of San Francisco's Finest patiently explain to the "sisters" that there are limits to their right to disrupt the rally:
The "sisters" left the rally not long after that.
Below are several photos of people attending the rally:
Lastly, there were kids at the rally having fun:
Some at this rally had a full appreciation of the value of freedom. The Frederick Douglass Foundation, for example, is dedicated to promoting the "free market and limited government." Others there were perfectly happy having the government take over control of health care but are shocked and surprised that the government then issued edicts ordering them to violate their consciences.
This rally was organized by Walter B. Hoye II and his California Civil Rights Foundation. Many of the speakers are associated with the Frederick Douglass Federation of California. This rally was part of the nationwide Stand Up for Religious Freedom rallies.
WELCOME to readers of IOwnTheWorld.
4 comments:
Just so you know, Frederick Douglass added a second S to his last name.
Corrected. Thanks.
I really wish you would do some honest research before proclaiming an organization an "anti religious hate group".
My name is Sister Dharma Gettin' and I have been a member of the order since 2010. One of the many things that attracted me to The Sisters was their spirituality. While we may not be of the religion or denomination that you adhere too, how dare you make generalizations, claiming things which you do not know are true.
The Sisters indeed began in San Francisco as a group of gay males, that part is true. But, in the 35+ years since then, we've grown into a diverse, multinational organization with houses in Alabama, Arizona, Australia, California, Canada, Columbia, Florida, France, Georgia, Germany, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, New Orleans, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Scotland, SwitZerland, Tennessee, Texas, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Utah, Washington, & Wisconsin. And as such, have diversified considerably. We may have started as a group of gay males, but we were never exclusive. In fact our first biologically female member joined not long after our inception. We welcome everybody regardless of race, gender, socio-economic status, religion, or the like.
Please understand that when we started in the late 1970's, major religious denominations were not at a point where they felt they could accept LGBTQ people into their congregations. That lack of acceptance from the faith community left a giant hole in the lives of Queer people everywhere. By taking on the role of 21st Century, Queer nuns, we've been able to help those in our community find the spiritual fulfillment they need and the resulting peace that comes with it.
We take our roles as nuns very seriously and live our lives under sincere vows. Namely, to promulgate universal joy, expiate stigmatic guilt, strive toward enlightenment, and serve those on the fringes of society; those without a strong voice or political presence. And we fulfill our vows in countless ways.
We visit the sick and dying in hospitals and hospices, we raise money to support a myriad of causes, we participate in social activism, produce street theater, create and distribute health education materials, provide one-on-one, peer counseling (ministry), as well as produce public rituals, blessings and community building workshops and gatherings. We are vocal opponents of those who wish to keep the world in an "us verses them" mentality, those who try to stigmatize and oppress groups of people through bigotry, hate and irrational fear. I could go on ad infinitum.
Our members' religious affiliations are diverse and range from Catholic and Protestant to Pagan and atheist, and everything in between. While we may speak out against individuals who belong to certain denominations or certain discriminatory policies, we are not, nor ever have been anti-faith or anti-faithful. Our San Francisco house, alone includes a Christian Bishop and a Zen Priest.
In conclusion, while we may have differences of opinion regarding certain issues, it is unfair and ignorant to assert that we're an anti-religious hate group. Just because our brand of spirituality does not align with yours does not make it any less valid or meaningful. I hope that you are able to soften your heart enough to understand that, so that we may rejoice in our humanity, in our diversity and work together to create a more joyful and loving society.
If you'd like to contact me to discuss anything I've touched on in this post, or if you have any other questions or would like to chat with me for any other reason, I offer my email for you to use at your convenience. It's Dharma@thesisters.org.
Blessings & Peace to you, my dear!
Luv.Dharma
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