Love me the Harvey

A re-post from today's NYTimes...

Enjoy!

"Our Prejudices, Ourselves"

AMERICA is watching Don Imus's self-immolation in a state of shock and awe. And I'm watching America with wry amusement.

Since I'm a second-class citizen -- a gay man -- my seats for the ballgame of American discourse are way back in the bleachers. I don't have to wait long for a shock jock or stand-up comedian to slip up with hateful epithets aimed at me and mine. Hate speak against homosexuals is as commonplace as spam. It's daily traffic for those who profess themselves to be regular Joes, men of God, public servants who live off my tax dollars, as well as any number of celebrities.

In fact, I get a good chuckle whenever someone refers to "the media" as an agent of "the gay agenda." There are entire channels, like Spike TV, that couldn't fill an hour of programming if required to remove their sexist and homophobic content. We've got a president and a large part of Congress willing to change the Constitution so they can deprive of us our rights because they feel we are not "normal."

So I'm used to catching foul balls up here in the cheap seats. What I am really enjoying is watching the rest of you act as if you had no idea that prejudice was alive and well in your hearts and minds.

For the past two decades political correctness has been derided as a surrender to thin-skinned, humorless, uptight oversensitive sissies. Well, you anti-politically correct people have won the battle, and we're all now feasting on the spoils of your victory. During the last few months alone we've had a few comedians spout racism, a basketball coach put forth anti-Semitism and several high-profile spoutings of anti-gay epithets.

What surprises me, I guess, is how choosy the anti-P.C. crowd is about which hate speech it will not tolerate. Sure, there were voices of protest when the TV actor Isaiah Washington called a gay colleague a "faggot." But corporate America didn't pull its advertising from "Grey's Anatomy," as it did with Mr. Imus, did it? And when Ann Coulter likewise tagged a presidential candidate last month, she paid no real price.

In fact, when Bill Maher discussed Ms. Coulter's remarks on his HBO show, he repeated the slur no fewer than four times himself; each mention, I must note, solicited a laugh from his audience. No one called for any sort of apology from him. (Well, actually, I did, so the following week he only used it once.)

Face it, if a Pentagon general, his salary paid with my tax dollars, can label homosexual acts as "immoral" without a call for his dismissal, who are the moral high and mighty kidding?

Our nation, historically bursting with generosity toward strangers, remains remarkably unkind toward its own. Just under our gleaming patina of inclusiveness, we harbor corroding guts. America, I tell you that it doesn't matter how many times you brush your teeth. If your insides are rotting your breath will stink. So, how do you people choose which hate to embrace, which to forgive with a wink and a week in rehab, and which to protest? Where's my copy of that rule book?

Let me cite a non-volatile example of how prejudice can cohabit unchecked with good intentions. I am a huge fan of David Letterman's. I watch the opening of his show a couple of times a week and have done so for decades. Without fail, in his opening monologue or skit Mr. Letterman makes a joke about someone being fat. I kid you not. Will that destroy our nation? Should he be fired or lose his sponsors? Obviously not.

But I think that there is something deeper going on at the Letterman studio than coincidence. And, as I've said, I cite this example simply to illustrate that all kinds of prejudice exist in the human heart. Some are harmless. Some not so harmless. But we need to understand who we are if we wish to change. (In the interest of full disclosure, I should confess to not only being a gay American, but also a fat one. Yes, I'm a double winner.)

I urge you to look around, or better yet, listen around and become aware of the prejudice in everyday life. We are so surrounded by expressions of intolerance that I am in shock and awe that anyone noticed all these recent high-profile instances. Still, I'm gladdened because our no longer being deaf to them may signal their eventual eradication.

The real point is that you cannot harbor malice toward others and then cry foul when someone displays intolerance against you. Prejudice tolerated is intolerance encouraged. Rise up in righteousness when you witness the words and deeds of hate, but only if you are willing to rise up against them all, including your own. Otherwise suffer the slings and arrows of disrespect silently.

Harvey Fierstein is an actor and playwright.

DENVER!

Despite a hiccup with my cell phone for the last day and a half Denver has been wonderful. I have been working on the show to keep myself ahead of the workload and enjoying my time with the gals.

Today we sat first row field level along the 3rd base line at the Rockies game. Despite a clunky middle section of the game with a ton of walk the Rockies rallied in the bottom of the 8th and scored 7 RUNS to slap the Diamondbacks!!! It was great fun, great seats with fantastic friends.

It's only a WATCH!!

I DID NOT BOOK THIS TOUR. I AM ONLY ON THIS TOUR. IT IS ONLY A WATCH. THIS WASN'T OUR FAULT.

Something I didn't know:
Statement as of 11:05 am CDT on March 31, 2007

... This is the season of increased severe weather activity...

Know the difference between a Tornado Watch and a Tornado Warning.

A Tornado Watch means that conditions are favorable for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area. Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening weather conditions... and listen for later statements and possible warnings.

A Tornado Warning means that a tornado has been sighted or indicated by radar. When a warning is issued... take cover immediately.

It is only a WATCH!

Never boring!

I really hope DENVER plans on being nice to me next week with it's weather - that is for sure

Sharing photos from Memphis

Split week in Nebraska so in the mean time I thought I would share somce photos from Memphis. I am very behind in my blogging - sorry all but it's been busy getting everything set for a split week, a week off, and the next city we go into too.

So here we are photos from Graceland.

The only thing I will say about the day there is that people I think mock the idea of this place. I think it's wrong too unless you've taken the tour. Many of us were very moved by the experience. It was walking in this man's footsteps who burned bright and then out. When you see the 20 some year history of his rise and fall and end the tour at the gravesite it's very moving.

So here are the tangiable things you can take with you when you go - pool room, planes, cars, front of the house and back of the house. Interestingly it's not as large as I expected.

Ducks and Crazy Monkeys

The more indepth stories from last week in Memphis are forthcoming but in the mean time I show you the Ducks at the Peabody and a Monkey Statue in the TV room at Graceland - It's a Crazy Monkey - no?

(and yes I know I am behind on updates - although Raleigh will be might quick because it's been pretty lowkey - although I got to see two great friends while here in NC. Megan and Mer - it was great to see you!!)

I love them but this is why I must keep my distance

Youtube video removed because someone's parents rightfully yelled!

This is what happens to actors when they hit the half way point of a tour with the help of Mr. jack Daniels

I was tucked in bed NO WHERE near this... they are LOVELY people but this is NUTS!

enjoy - because you better believe I laughed at their silliness

In other news I got my bowling game on tonight a 191 and a 165 - thank you very much!!!

Taking a break from touring to get pissed...

A pal sent me this...

I have no words for the profound ignorance and arrogance of this piece...

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MichaelMedved/2007/02/21/
where_tim_hardaway_was_right

Just felt like sharing. Cut, paste, and see what you think folks - you will have to paste in two parts because I couldn't get the darn thing to link right.

UGH!

As we are heading into the stupid time of year where mudslinging and such starts to ramp up on both sides of the aisle. Where groups of people are going to start being used as pawns once again for political gain instead of dealing with real issues - I think I will be keeping the down thumb around for future posts.

Columbus - Need I say more?

Ordered in food because there was nowhere to eat when the area shut down around 6pm every night. Shows went great but the storm on the first night made for a small house. The hotel was fine but even that was dull. Columbus goes firmly on the 'Places I would NEVER want to live' list.

Voicemaii from friends

Getting messages from friends via text or voice are very fun! (especcially when those friends have been drinking, getting into trouble or avoiding trouble)

Love and miss those of you who fit this description in the last week - and there were many of you.

The WEST!

Sacramento and LA were fantastic. The show went wonderful. I got to spend a ton of time off during the Sacramento dates. Okay it was only two days off in two weeks which might seem odd to most people but to me it was great.

The first say off we went to San Fran. Had a nice lunch, hung in the gayborhood. Then we saw Legally Blonde - not my cup of tea after I felt the show went off track about 20 minutes in but it started off great and the cast was fantastic.

In week two - the day off was amazing. We went to Napa. I haven't felt such calm in so long. There was no sound to Napa just beautiful weather. I will upload pictures as soon as people share them with me. We went to the Cakebread Winery where I became a member of their wine club. We also went to Opus One. The tasting was $25 a taste but where else was I going to find myself near $25 glass of wine. It was well worth it.

Craig also came to Sacramento and worked the tour for the second week. That was a lot of fun and he did a fantastic job covering as a stage manager.

Our final night in Sacramento was Super Bowl Sunday where the entire company who was watching the game was treated to a round of drinks when a man at the bar one his bet on the game. How much you ask? Over $500,000 split between the three guys who were there. Very odd in the bar of a Courtyard Marriot.

Then it was off to LA for the week off. My body was in rest so it didn't take long for a migraine to kick in. I listened to what my head was telling me and rested most of the week (that and worked on advancing the show). Managed to catch a movie at the Arclight theatre with Craig and saw Virginia Wolff with Kathleen Turner. I enjoyed it but boy was it long. We also had dinner at a great Tapa restaurant and Mark and I caught a small comic book collection. There was also bowling - broke a 150 - thank you very much.

Oh and after all my trips to LA I finally flew out of LAX.

Then it was back on the road - on the east - where it was COLD and BORING!

Hello to a Friend!!!!

Tucson Photo I forgot to share

It makes me laugh

Maybe you had to be there...

And back to Snow

After a lovely week off at home with Mom and Dad it was back to the road and back to the snow. East Lansing in January is COLD - VERY COLD. It was like being back at Fredonia being on the campus where the theatre was - it was just WAY bigger! I think you could have fit 10 Fredonia Campus' into the foot print of this place.

While here we put together one of my casual benefits like I have done back in Astoria and we raised another $800 plus for Broadway Cares. It was a nice night without a lot of headaches.

Tomorrow we head west to California. Sacramento to be exact. We will be there for two whole weeks and then have another week off where I will be in LA visiting friends. (Hey, why go to snow country when you can stay where it's sort of warm? Although those folks who saw snow in Malibu might not agree with the warm thing. Welcome to Global Warming!)

I'm extra excited because not only do we actually get a decent amount of time off while in the next city Craig is coming to train as a stage manager on the show. So I will not just get one week of Craig time but TWO!!! Not only that but I have pals who live in San Fran which is very close and we are planning a trip on the day off in the second week to wine country. Might be the off season but looking forward to being on a real California Vineyard - extra points for you 80's soap fans who might understand why.

If you've been living in a bubble - Clinton threw her hat in the ring as did Obama. It's going to make for an interesting party election. I only hope the Brownback's of the world don't make headway on the other side because someone like him as president would make for an even scarier exsistance.

Okay off to start my load out - the joys of only a 1pm matinee on the final day in a city!! If only the hotel had Showtime!

From Snow to Rock

As Mary requested... and the cell phone camera continues to amaze.

Here is a photo of the snow while driving to the airport to check things out for Monday's travel day. THANKS AGAIN GALS!

And then compare it to the photo I took of the road while on the bus from the Tucson airport to the hotel. Have I mentioned this is a very monocromatic city? Tucson is rocks, rocks, gravel, rocks, cactus, rocks and more rocks. Yes, very brown compared to all the fluffy white stuff I saw in Denver.

Happy New Years

From above our hotel in Denver! Cool huh?

Photos!

Well hello everyone - Photos from Denver.

The statue is of Hamburger Mary - where we did our benefit while here in town.

The "living room" shot shows how hotels can look like livingrooms if you don't turn around and see the elevator

The tree was designed and made backstage by one of our light guys. Cool huh?

The storm photo was 16th Street Mall in Denver the day after. See not so bad...

Oh and that is me waving hello at the afternoon party in the presidental suite of the Marriott around the corner from where we are staying.

HELLO ALL and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Merry Christmas

It's Christmas from the lobby of a Denver hotel (wireless internet ROCKS!!!)

To each and everyone of you who I know is aware of my little space in cyberland I wish you a Happy Holiday.

Today we have a special company dinner from 2-5pm and then a show at the theatre at 8pm (thanks to the cancelation and the poor planning of the presenter about a replacement show).

The company is hanging out tonight in the lobby of the hotel watching a year without a santa and playing dice games. Spirits are high and spirits are also being poured.

I am having a blast but do miss my dear friends at this wonderful time of year.

Oh and we have so far raised $65,000 for BCEFA since we started collecting.

We're back!!!!

The snow is trying to melt. People can finally get out of their homes and we can finally sing and dance again.

Show number 3 of our stay is going on now.

We've added a Christmas show - which kind of sucks as I really wanted to spend Christmas night with two great friends who live here but what are you going to do.

Hope this finds everyone reading this well at the holidays

Off to work on my Secret Santa presents

Michele

Shook 0 Blizzard 3

So yep - it did it to us again...

No shows today either but one added Christmas night.

Off to take pictures of the snow in downtown to share!