no place like home

[hoops]

i just got my new tee shirt in the mail today and i LOVE ITmy bro in law told me about this site called bustedtees.com and i found this tee shirt that has a beautiful little rainbow on it with a clous at the one end and a lovely message underneath that reads
rainbows are gay... i laughed till i was sick...i put it on today then quickly realized that the ONLY PLACE ON THE WORLD i can't wear it is right here at home ...why? cause dad lives here to...some people have a limited sense of humor

[DaveM]

I've had a rainbow of some sort (usually an air freshener) hanging from the rearview mirror of my car for over a decade....who knew?

Mind, I did have one "interesting" encounter in a parking lot with a fellow who wanted to warn me that I'd been "tricked" into displaying "the symbol of the New Age satanic conspiracy" somehow. I mentioned the description of the rainbow in Genesis and said I couldn't find anything sinister about that. He had no reply but to warn me to "beware of false prophets--the Devil can suit Scripture to suit his own purpose".

Well, at least he knows one line of Samuel Johnson. But I wonder if he went home and through his Bible away due to its "insidious" content. Somehow, I doubt it.

By the way, for a good time ask fundies if they think water refracted light differently prior to the Biblical flood. They often end up getting mad, but the responses are usually hilarious.

[ponytail]

I have the impression that the rainbow was chosen as a gay symbol just because the different colors imply diversity. Does anyone know the history of it?

I was out of touch with the gay community for awhile because my partner and I were in our own little world for a long time. Then when we got back into it -- by getting involved with a gay Men's Chorus, and by our church (Unitarian) getting involed with the Freedom To Marry issue -- the rainbow was the symbol. I don't really know the story of how it got to be.

I like to imagine it has something to do with The Wizard Of Oz, one of my all-time favorite films -- speaking of "no place like home!" -- but that's probably wishful thinking.

[Dee]

The rainbow flag, sometimes called 'the freedom flag', has been used as a symbol of gay and lesbian pride since the 1970s. The different colors symbolize diversity in the gay community, and the flag is often used as a symbol of gay pride in gay rights marches. It originated in the United States, but is now used around the world.

The rainbow flag was first used to symbolize gay pride and diversity by San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker; as of 2006, it currently consists of six colored stripes of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. It is most commonly flown with the red stripe on top, as the colors appear in a natural rainbow.

History
There was some use of similar multi-colored flags in the USA in the early 1970s as a symbol of internationalism and unity of all people of Earth, but by the end of the 1970s the rainbow flag's connection with gay pride became generally known in the United States.

The original gay-pride flag was hand-dyed by Baker. It first flew in the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade on June 25, 1978, by Justin Fox, the lead singer of Last Blue Film. The flag consisted of eight stripes; Baker assigned specific meaning to each of the colors as follows:

hot pink - sexuality
red - life
orange - healing
yellow - sunlight
green - nature
turquoise - magic
blue - serenity
violet - spirit

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_flag

[hoops]

I forgot to that there is a movement among christians known to catholics as cursillo and non catholics as tres dias that uses the rainbow as it's symbol...I was, my dad is, most of my family is a member of this organization....in fact they meet here every thursday evening. adds a little bit more humor to the situation...oh and by the way the group all knows i'm a lesbian and that is why i am no longer allowed to be a member

[DaveM]

From the people who preach the Golden Rule and "love thy neighbor", yet....cute.

[ponytail]

That's despicable that that group would discriminate against you -- and that your family accepts that, and lets them meet in your home! I guess they skipped the "judge not lest ye be judged" part of the Gospel.:mad: Know that I'm praying for you, and them.

Dee -- I got together with my partner in the late seventies, probably right before the time the rainbow symbol took hold, and we disappeared into "la la land" for quite awhile (ah, romance!). Thanks for the information!