Tag: 2017

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Hate Crimes Increased In 2017 For Third Consecutive Year

The FBI says hate crime incidents surged in 2017 by 17 percent. That is the largest increase since 2001 when the 9/11 attacks gave way to a big jump in violence aimed at Arab Americans and Muslim Americans.

Just weeks after a lone gunman entered a Pittsburgh synagogue killing 11 people and wounding 6 more, the Federal Bureau of Investigations has released its annual report on hate crimes in America.

And the news isn’t good.

A hate crime is defined by the FBI as a “criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity.”

The FBI says hate crime incidents surged in 2017 by 17 percent. That is the largest increase since 2001 when the 9/11 attacks gave way to a big jump in violence aimed at Arab Americans and Muslim Americans.

There were 7,175 hate crimes reported in 2017, up from 6,121 in 2016.

The year was the third consecutive annual increase.

Now, let me think, what happened about three years ago that would fuel ethnic/religious rage?

It was in 2015 that Donald Trump announced his presidential campaign with a speech trashing Mexican immigrants.

He has publicly sided with white nationalists and neo-nazis who rallied in Virginia; railed about African American football players for kneeling during the national anthem; and demonized the Central American migrant caravan of asylum seekers as an “invasion.”

Gee, what could possibly be fanning the flames of hate…?

While 1,303 of the reported incidents in 2017 were driven by bias regarding sexual orientation, the vast majority – 4,832 incidents – involved animus due to race or ethnicity.

Almost half of those reports involved African Americans, and anti-Latino bias was found in 11% of hate crimes in 2017.

Religious bias was responsible for the second largest segment of hate crimes with 1,679 reports of religion-motivated incidents.

Anti-Muslim hate crimes saw a small decline (273 in 2017 versus 314 in 2016), but historically speaking that’s still very high.

The annual report shows there were 131 hate crimes related to gender identity, barely edging out incidents regarding bias based on disability.

The category with the fewest occurrences were hate crimes motivated by gender (53).

(h/t Voice of America)

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Top Posts Of 2017

As we’ve officially crossed into 2018, I thought I’d take a look at the Top 5 posts of 2017 on The Randy Report:

1. Randy Rainbow Trolls Trump Jr. With “The Room Where It Happened” Parody

2. Colton Haynes Announces Engagement To BF Jeff Leatham

3. Olivia Newton-John’s Personal Anthem Goes To Number One

4. Happy 96th Birthday Carol Channing

5. Randy Rainbow: “Fact-Checker, Fact-Checker”

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Podcast: The Best Of LGBT Film, Music, TV & Pop Culture In 2017

This podcast is a big one as I celebrate the best 2017 had to offer regarding:

Best LGBT films:
• Call Me By Your Name
• God’s Own Country
• Beach Rats
• Dream Boat
• Tom of Finland
• BPM
• In A Heartbeat
• No Place Like Home

Best music from out artists:
• Wrabel – “The Village”
• Halsey – “Strangers”
• Eli Lieb – “Next To You”
• JoLivi – “Love Who You Wanna Love”
• Rayvon Owen – “Volume”
• Trey Pearson – “Love Is Love”
• Billy Porter – “Edelweiss”

• Best in LGBT Pop Culture – including the return of “Will & Grace,” “Star Trek’s” first same-sex kiss, the Disney Channel’s first gay storyline, RuPaul’s second Emmy win and the historic win at the Academy Awards by “Moonlight”

Plus – good news LGBT headlines in the U.S. and around the world

This is a fun show to look back and feel good about the best 2017 had to offer the LGBT community.

Hit play.

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State & Labor Departments Recognize Pride Month 2017

President Trump won’t recognize Pride Month this year, but the U.S. Navy and the Department of Defense have.

And now, we hear from both the State Department and the Labor Department.

First from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson:

In recognition of LGBTI Month, the Department of State affirms its solidarity with the human rights defenders and civil society organizations working around the world to uphold the fundamental freedoms of LGBTI persons to live with dignity and freedom.

We also recognize that LGBTI persons continue to face the threat of violence and discrimination. Violence and discrimination targeting any vulnerable group undermines our collective security as well as American values. When all persons are protected on the basis of equality and with dignity, global stability is strengthened. We will continue to support the human rights of LGBTI persons together with like-minded governments, businesses, and civil society organizations globally.

The United States remains committed to human rights and fundamental freedoms for all persons. Dignity and equality for all persons are among our founding constitutional principles, and these principles continue to drive U.S. diplomacy.

And from Labor Secretary Alex Acosta:

This June, we recognize Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ) Pride Month at the Department of Labor. The department honors the impactful contributions of all Americans, no matter their ethnic background, gender, religious affiliation, or sexual orientation.

Pride at DOL, the Department’s Affinity Group for LGBTQ Employees and Allies, helps educate about issues of concern to those in the LGBTQ community and has partnered with the Diversity and Inclusion Branch of the Office of Employee Engagement to offer programming in support of this special emphasis month.

LGBT Pride Month events can be found on LaborNet. There will be training on Understanding LGBTQ Diversity, guest speakers discussing issues and challenges that impact the LGBTQ community, films, and visibility tables throughout the month to provide resource information.

Additionally, the Library of Congress, National Archives, and Smithsonian Learning Lab sites provide event information and resources in association with LGBTQ Pride Month.

(h/t JoeMyGod)

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Sunday Singalong: Billy Joel “Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)”

Well, Billy Joel – looks like we finally made it to 2017. We’ll see how your 41 year old prediction plays out.

Released in 1976 on Billy Joel’s Turnstiles album, the piano man wrote “Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)” about a New Yorker-turned-Floridian in 2017 reflecting on the dear city they once called home.

In 2001, it was widely viewed as an eerily accurate ballad prophesying the the events of 9/11 and the dark days that followed.

Now with 2017 actually here, the song takes on a different meaning, moving from prophecy to a tribute to a great city that is constantly reinventing itself while struggling to keep its soul in the midst of a dissolving middle-class and artist exodus.

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Goodbye ’16 – Hello ’17

As we kick 2016 to the curb:

In 2017, we need more “16 going on 17/dancing in the gazebo” kind of moments.

If it starts raining, keep dancing.

Lift your voices because we need to be heard.

Make noise. And when you get the side-eye, get louder.

Don’t just lean forward, step forward.

Better still – step up.

Be out. Be out there. Be proud.

And if the grocery store runs out of black-eyed peas on New Years’ Eve, buy the damn red beans, throw the rest of the Christmas ham in, and move on. Flexibility is the key to success.

Let’s go, kids.