I like to think that if I'd been alive in the 1860s, I would've done something to get involved in the abolitionist movement. I most definitely wouldn't have "owned" slaves...right? I say now, from a 21st century perspective, that I never would've participated in such a ghastly practice, but would I have? If all my friends did? Or maybe I would've just sat back and made noises about how slavery is wrong the way they do it in the DEEP south but had at my disposal a dozen excuses for why it was okay for me because I was kinder and more humane. Or maybe I would've not held any slaves due to my location or position, but would've thought it was perfectly normal and acceptable. Or maybe I would've been anti-slavery, but in talking points at parties only - you know, the sort that agrees that slavery is a bad thing, but wouldn't dream of actually doing anything about it because of the risks associated with such a movement.
I tell myself that if I'd come of age during the Civil Rights Movement, I would've sat at lunch counters with black friends in protest of laws that said they were equal but not. I would've marched on Washington...surely I would've. Right? Or would I have been too into free love and drugs and rock'n'roll to notice that I didn't have any black friends because we were kept apart in all ways?
There are some things going down right now in this great nation of ours that strike me as being nearly as turning-point, monumental, huge as those two things were. It feels like we're standing on an edge, and I'm scared to see which way we're going to fall.
Here are some things I was taught to believe about why America is the greatest nation in the world:
1. Freedom. Just in general, freedom. Here, everyone is free to do as they please, provided they're not hurting someone else in the process. This lesson was taught with a hint that, anywhere else in the world, you'd get arrested for small infractions like talking without raising your hand.
2. Prosperity. Here, everyone has enough and there is plenty for everyone. We're the richest nation in the world! There are hungry people out there, but they're not here.
3. Freedom of religion - believe whatever you want! It's why the Pilgrims came here, after all.
4. Opportunity - you can be whomever or whatever you wish, if you're willing to work hard enough.
5. Separation of Church and State, Separation of Government Powers, Checks and Balances, Justice is Blind.
Part of me, the child who loved fireworks and singing The Star Spangled Banner and saying the Pledge of Allegiance each morning and raising the school's stars and stripes, part of me still can feel the pride swell up the way it did when I used to believe in those things. Once upon a time, I knew those things to be truths the way I knew my name was Natalie. That childhood/adolescent patriotism has been replaced by cynicism and doubt and mistrust in a system I thought was designed to protect the least of those among us. What happened to the American Dream? Is it just growing up that takes away all the shiny and replaces it with stark reality? Or have things really gotten that bad?
Our elected officials lie to us about pictures they send on the internet, and we think they're going to tell us the truth about where our tax dollars are going? The corporations that threw the world's economy into a tailspin get billions in government bailouts, but we're told pensions for firefighters and policemen and teachers are bankrupting us? Our politicians are fucking us six ways to Sunday while they whisper sweet nothings in our ears, like how Planned Parenthood is the devil because they provide abortions and pap smears and condoms to women without medical insurance. Oh my God, and whatever you do, don't let gay people get married because it'll be the end of the world as we know it - there will be donkey shows on Main Street at 3:00 and 4:30 every afternoon, your husband will suddenly need 2 more wives, and little Johnny will start humping the family dog.
What the fuck, America? Are we that lazy and dumb that we're just going to sit here and watch while stupid takes over our nation?
I've got to do something. I don't know what, but I'm going to figure something out. I'll write a letter or hold a sign or get sprayed by a firehose or something - I just can't take sitting here and watching this country I grew up loving go all to shit.
Why is the American public suffering while Wall Street laughs all the way to the bank? Why are we allowing our elected officials to attack the ones who are supposed to educate and protect us? Why are we trying to strip medical access from the poor? Why are we treating people like they're second class citizens because of who they want to fuck? (Hello, Congress, I'm talking to you, you scandalous cretins - you should be the first ones on the "don't judge me for my sexual behaviors" bandwagon.)
I just can't take the hypocrisy. I can't stand the dumb. How do I fix it? Where do I start?
Showing posts with label gay rights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gay rights. Show all posts
Monday, June 13, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Natalie For Congress!!!
I'm starting my own political party. It's called the NAT Party - the National Alliance for Truth.
It's a no bullshit club - you join if you're tired of dirty old men who cheat on their wives telling you that Planned Parenthood is America's Enemy Number One, what with all their affordable HPV screenings and Pap smears and low-cost birth control distribution and (legal!) abortion-providing. You're a NAT Party-member if you want to know why in the fuck our treasury gave billions of dollars in back-door loans to European nations while our government officials directed our attention to the bail-outs of Wall Street tycoons. You're a NAT Party member if you want to know why it's okay for you and your friends to lose your jobs while the people who created this grandfuckery got to keep theirs - and they got bonuses?! WTF?!
I'm just so sick of it all. The people running this country are fucking it up royally, and we, the masses, are such good blind little sheep that we allow them to systematically steal our rights under the guise of restoring family values and protecting us from terrorists.
And about those terrorists. We lost 3000 people on September 11, 2001. Ten years later, how many hundreds of thousands have died in their names? Who're really the terrorists in this scenario? The only difference is we do it under the banner of justice. You know what? There's no such thing as justice when a woman's child is blown to bits because she happens to be unlucky enough to live in a place where someone thought some bad guys were living. We've destroyed countless lives, on all sides. Osama ain't got nothing on our pal George.
Here are some things the NAT Party supports:
Constitutional-ism - Specifically, those parts about equality for all and separation of church and state.
Fiscal Responsibility - if elected President, I would fill my Treasury department with stay-at-home mothers who've managed shoestring household budgets. Fuck your PhDs, I want life experience. Ain't no Momma in the world that'd buy a $600 toilet seat. Give me a few hundred moms and 100 days, I'll give you a balanced budget.
Healthcare for All - I propose an immediate cancellation of all government-sponsored medical programs for all elected government officials - they must find and pay for medical coverage for themselves and their families, same way you and I do. This would remain in effect until they were able to pass a healthcare bill that would provide medical coverage for ALL Americans, and then they would be covered under the terms of that plan. I honestly believe this catalyst would bring swift, effective results. (This would end Medicare and Medicaid, too. And I'd find a way to force pharmaceutical companies to play ball, too, and the days of "I can't afford my medicine" would be fucking over.)
Education - Nothing pisses me off more than hearing a politician scream "Think of our grandchildren!" right before he proposes a bill that cuts education spending. Hey George - you know how much college those bombs could've paid for?! Anyhow, our system is in dire condition these days, and needs some money and common sense thrown its way. (The Moms will find the money, I'm sure of it!)
I'm just so fucking sick of the bullshit. Have you ever had a job where they threw that teamwork stuff at you and reminded you "You're only as strong as your weakest link"? There's some validity to that little cliche' - how can we claim to be the "land of the free and the home of the brave" when our people are chained by debt and unemployment, and terrified because their government tells them to be so?
/soapbox rant
It's a no bullshit club - you join if you're tired of dirty old men who cheat on their wives telling you that Planned Parenthood is America's Enemy Number One, what with all their affordable HPV screenings and Pap smears and low-cost birth control distribution and (legal!) abortion-providing. You're a NAT Party-member if you want to know why in the fuck our treasury gave billions of dollars in back-door loans to European nations while our government officials directed our attention to the bail-outs of Wall Street tycoons. You're a NAT Party member if you want to know why it's okay for you and your friends to lose your jobs while the people who created this grandfuckery got to keep theirs - and they got bonuses?! WTF?!
I'm just so sick of it all. The people running this country are fucking it up royally, and we, the masses, are such good blind little sheep that we allow them to systematically steal our rights under the guise of restoring family values and protecting us from terrorists.
And about those terrorists. We lost 3000 people on September 11, 2001. Ten years later, how many hundreds of thousands have died in their names? Who're really the terrorists in this scenario? The only difference is we do it under the banner of justice. You know what? There's no such thing as justice when a woman's child is blown to bits because she happens to be unlucky enough to live in a place where someone thought some bad guys were living. We've destroyed countless lives, on all sides. Osama ain't got nothing on our pal George.
Here are some things the NAT Party supports:
Constitutional-ism - Specifically, those parts about equality for all and separation of church and state.
Fiscal Responsibility - if elected President, I would fill my Treasury department with stay-at-home mothers who've managed shoestring household budgets. Fuck your PhDs, I want life experience. Ain't no Momma in the world that'd buy a $600 toilet seat. Give me a few hundred moms and 100 days, I'll give you a balanced budget.
Healthcare for All - I propose an immediate cancellation of all government-sponsored medical programs for all elected government officials - they must find and pay for medical coverage for themselves and their families, same way you and I do. This would remain in effect until they were able to pass a healthcare bill that would provide medical coverage for ALL Americans, and then they would be covered under the terms of that plan. I honestly believe this catalyst would bring swift, effective results. (This would end Medicare and Medicaid, too. And I'd find a way to force pharmaceutical companies to play ball, too, and the days of "I can't afford my medicine" would be fucking over.)
Education - Nothing pisses me off more than hearing a politician scream "Think of our grandchildren!" right before he proposes a bill that cuts education spending. Hey George - you know how much college those bombs could've paid for?! Anyhow, our system is in dire condition these days, and needs some money and common sense thrown its way. (The Moms will find the money, I'm sure of it!)
I'm just so fucking sick of the bullshit. Have you ever had a job where they threw that teamwork stuff at you and reminded you "You're only as strong as your weakest link"? There's some validity to that little cliche' - how can we claim to be the "land of the free and the home of the brave" when our people are chained by debt and unemployment, and terrified because their government tells them to be so?
/soapbox rant
Friday, January 28, 2011
More Chick-fil-A, More Boycotting (and now a protest, too!)
I skipped writing yesterday. Some days, even I run out of things to say. I'm back now, though.
I started a protest event against Chick-fil-A on Facebook today. National Gay Up Chick-fil-A Day was born when Kim sent me this link, which basically reasserts the fact that the bigotry I talked about here was not as isolated as I was lead to believe when I posted this. I posted this on my Facebook page:
I want to gay up Chick-fil-A so hard. I need more friends who like to dress in drag - I want to get 50 of my closest cross-dressing friends together and love-bomb the Jesus Chicken Stores. I want to get my favorite gay couples together to have a big fat party in the middle of the Chick-fil-A dining rooms. And I want us to all order only water, because I'll never give those bigots another dime of my money.
"They're a business run based on Christian values, what do you expect?" A more Christ-like example, perhaps? Christ loved everyone. He turned to the lepers and the poor to help them; he didn't turn away from them or try to marginalize them. You want to be a true Christian to your fellow man? Invite the gay couple across the street over for dinner; yes, even when your kids are home. Invite them into your home and get to know them as human beings, not as lesbians or faggots. Realize that they have the same worries and fears about money and crime and what the future will be like for their children. Realize that their homosexuality is something God ingrained in them, and that no amount or prayer or therapy or shame is going to change that fact. Love them because Christ loved them, and because they too are your brothers and sisters. Love them because they are just like you; they are you. Want for them the things you want for your children and your friends and your family. That's what Jesus would do, and I'm pretty sure his part in the Bible came after that old book that banned homosexuality, shellfish, and women speaking in public.
I honestly, deep in my soul, feel that their donations to organizations whose mission statements center around denying equal rights to people based on their sexual orientation is exactly the same as if they were donating to the Ku Klux Klan in an effort to limit the rights of Non-White Americans. I can't understand why every American isn't standing up and shouting "Separation of Church and State, Bitches!" If marriage was governed by religious organizations, I could see the objections to same-sex marriage being sustained, but last I checked, you've got to go through the State to get a marriage license, and discrimination against American citizens on the basis of religious objections seems contrary to the First Amendment.
Of course, like everything else I do, this event was put together hastily and without any forethought or organization or plan, and of course, as is always the case, people are picking it apart. Of course, this makes me feel like that's some sort of statement against me personally, against my views, my opinions, my beliefs, my general standing as a person. Because it's all about me, right? Even this, which really isn't about me in any way, shape, or form, I can turn around to be about me. Sarcasm and haughty laughter stings, but when you get down to the nitty gritty of what I'm feeling when I read that crap, it's just flat-out disappointment that so many people can just stand by and watch as the rights of their fellow Americans are denied or revoked. It makes me sad.
I started a protest event against Chick-fil-A on Facebook today. National Gay Up Chick-fil-A Day was born when Kim sent me this link, which basically reasserts the fact that the bigotry I talked about here was not as isolated as I was lead to believe when I posted this. I posted this on my Facebook page:
I want to gay up Chick-fil-A so hard. I need more friends who like to dress in drag - I want to get 50 of my closest cross-dressing friends together and love-bomb the Jesus Chicken Stores. I want to get my favorite gay couples together to have a big fat party in the middle of the Chick-fil-A dining rooms. And I want us to all order only water, because I'll never give those bigots another dime of my money.
"They're a business run based on Christian values, what do you expect?" A more Christ-like example, perhaps? Christ loved everyone. He turned to the lepers and the poor to help them; he didn't turn away from them or try to marginalize them. You want to be a true Christian to your fellow man? Invite the gay couple across the street over for dinner; yes, even when your kids are home. Invite them into your home and get to know them as human beings, not as lesbians or faggots. Realize that they have the same worries and fears about money and crime and what the future will be like for their children. Realize that their homosexuality is something God ingrained in them, and that no amount or prayer or therapy or shame is going to change that fact. Love them because Christ loved them, and because they too are your brothers and sisters. Love them because they are just like you; they are you. Want for them the things you want for your children and your friends and your family. That's what Jesus would do, and I'm pretty sure his part in the Bible came after that old book that banned homosexuality, shellfish, and women speaking in public.
I honestly, deep in my soul, feel that their donations to organizations whose mission statements center around denying equal rights to people based on their sexual orientation is exactly the same as if they were donating to the Ku Klux Klan in an effort to limit the rights of Non-White Americans. I can't understand why every American isn't standing up and shouting "Separation of Church and State, Bitches!" If marriage was governed by religious organizations, I could see the objections to same-sex marriage being sustained, but last I checked, you've got to go through the State to get a marriage license, and discrimination against American citizens on the basis of religious objections seems contrary to the First Amendment.
Of course, like everything else I do, this event was put together hastily and without any forethought or organization or plan, and of course, as is always the case, people are picking it apart. Of course, this makes me feel like that's some sort of statement against me personally, against my views, my opinions, my beliefs, my general standing as a person. Because it's all about me, right? Even this, which really isn't about me in any way, shape, or form, I can turn around to be about me. Sarcasm and haughty laughter stings, but when you get down to the nitty gritty of what I'm feeling when I read that crap, it's just flat-out disappointment that so many people can just stand by and watch as the rights of their fellow Americans are denied or revoked. It makes me sad.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Chick-fil-A, I have to break up with you.
We had such a good thing going - you supplied me with delicious morsels of bite-sized white meat chicken and awesome waffle fries, and I gave you my hard-earned money. Jimi and I would come into your restaurant on Saturdays and sit at the table under the "LOVE" cutout and eat our Jesus chicken and watch the toddlers have the time of their lives playing in your playground. I've sung your praises to my friends and family not only because of your awesome food, but also because of your amazing customer service and the fact that your counter people say things like "May I refresh that for you?" when I present them with my empty drink cup. It was a beautiful relationship we had, you and I.
But then you had to go and be a bigot. You had to put your money and your name behind organizations and events that propagate hate and the belief that not all men are created equal. If you can't get behind equal rights for all, you tasty-chicken-hawker you, we can't be friends anymore.
I always understood that your organization was based on Christian beliefs and a fan of family values and such, what with my desire for your yummy chicken peaking every Sunday, when you're oh-so-conveniently closed so your employees can be with Jesus and their families. That's completely fine. But I thought you were one of those GOOD Christians - you know, the ones who believe all people should be treated with loving kindness. You know, like Jesus said.
You tricksy trickster. You're not one of those Christians. You're one of those "Pro-Family" Christians that thinks it's perfectly fine to discriminate against people based SOLELY on a biological fact they can't change or control. I got news for ya: Families don't come in only one variety. They come in all shapes and sizes and colors. They involve moms and dads and children and aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents and boyfriends and girlfriends and best friends. When I'm dining at your facility, traditional, nuclear families are not what I find at the tables. Your customers, the people who pay you the money you in turn are turning over to hate groups, do not fit the image of "family" that you say is the only right one. I'm only telling you this because you obviously have no idea who's paying your bills.
I found a blog called Momastery last week, and that link will send you to an article posted there called "A Mountain I'm Willing To Die On", wherein the author wrote to her young child lines that resonate within me, because the words are so deeply true:
But then you had to go and be a bigot. You had to put your money and your name behind organizations and events that propagate hate and the belief that not all men are created equal. If you can't get behind equal rights for all, you tasty-chicken-hawker you, we can't be friends anymore.
I always understood that your organization was based on Christian beliefs and a fan of family values and such, what with my desire for your yummy chicken peaking every Sunday, when you're oh-so-conveniently closed so your employees can be with Jesus and their families. That's completely fine. But I thought you were one of those GOOD Christians - you know, the ones who believe all people should be treated with loving kindness. You know, like Jesus said.
You tricksy trickster. You're not one of those Christians. You're one of those "Pro-Family" Christians that thinks it's perfectly fine to discriminate against people based SOLELY on a biological fact they can't change or control. I got news for ya: Families don't come in only one variety. They come in all shapes and sizes and colors. They involve moms and dads and children and aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents and boyfriends and girlfriends and best friends. When I'm dining at your facility, traditional, nuclear families are not what I find at the tables. Your customers, the people who pay you the money you in turn are turning over to hate groups, do not fit the image of "family" that you say is the only right one. I'm only telling you this because you obviously have no idea who's paying your bills.
I found a blog called Momastery last week, and that link will send you to an article posted there called "A Mountain I'm Willing To Die On", wherein the author wrote to her young child lines that resonate within me, because the words are so deeply true:
And if spiritual teachers are encouraging you to fear anyone, watch them closely, honey. Raise your eyebrow and then your hand. Because the phrase repeated most often in that Bible they are quoting is Do Not Be Afraid. So when they tell you that gay people are a threat to marriage, honey,think hard.
You know what else bothers me about this "Pro-Family" crap? It's Anti-American. This is 2011 - and we're still fighting for equal rights for all citizens in the Land of the Free? What the fuck? Seriously? We're still dealing with people who think it should be perfectly acceptable to discriminate against Born-Here-Raised-Here-Consenting-Adults who engage in practices that are absolutely, by their very definition, none of your fucking business? Move your company to another country, yo, because the shit you're preaching, it goes against the very FABRIC of what makes this nation great.
It's personal. It's private. It doesn't have anything to do with you. You don't get a say. Back the fuck off.
Stick to chicken, Chick-fil-A; politics ain't your place. I'm incredibly pissed off that you've taken your delicious nuggets from my world forever, but I'd rather eat shit than support a hatemonger.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Yes, Grammar is important.
Anne Rice posted a link to this story on her facebook page a little bit ago:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2010/10/school-board-member-who-posted-anti-gay-comments-on-facebook-will-resign/1
It's about an Arkansas School Board member who is resigning in the wake of an uproar caused by the following comments he made on his personal facebook page:
What a cockbag.
I can see why there was an uproar demanding his resignation. Even if his words weren't hateful and mean and wrong - I'd sure be pissed if I'd elected a man to sit on the local schoolboard and later learned he communicates using nonwords such as "thereselves".
REALLY PEOPLE.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2010/10/school-board-member-who-posted-anti-gay-comments-on-facebook-will-resign/1
It's about an Arkansas School Board member who is resigning in the wake of an uproar caused by the following comments he made on his personal facebook page:
Seriously they want me to wear purple because five queers killed themselves. The only way im wearin it for them is if they all commit suicide. I cant believe the people of this world have gotten this stupid. We are honoring the face that they sinned and killed thereselves because of their sin. REALLY PEOPLE.
What a cockbag.
I can see why there was an uproar demanding his resignation. Even if his words weren't hateful and mean and wrong - I'd sure be pissed if I'd elected a man to sit on the local schoolboard and later learned he communicates using nonwords such as "thereselves".
REALLY PEOPLE.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
There are a few things I need to record for posterity.
I went to the bank today to get some petty cash for work. When I pulled up, I noticed an older black man in a wheelchair, sitting in the handicapped loading zone in the parking lot, near the sidewalk. As I got out of my car and started toward the door, he spoke:
"Miss, I was wondering if you had anything you could spare? I'm trying to get some food from the store over here, and you could even purchase the items yourself, but I'm hungry. Do you have anything you could help me with?"
My first instinct was to brush him off. I was in a hurry; it was late in the afternoon and there was a ton of work backing up on my desk back at the office. But I can't brush past a person asking for money; I sure as hell can't walk past a person asking for a meal. But I didn't have any money. I told him as much, as I looked helplessly down at the wallet I carried that had only my debit card, my insurance card, my license - no cash. No change in my pockets even. The check I carried was for work. I was debating how long it would take to run over to the little convenience store and buy him some food, when I suddenly remembered the cash I'd been stuffing into the hidey-hole in my car. Cash that was there for when I needed money for a parking meter or a garage or a quick bite to eat at some lame fast-food joint. I told the man to wait, and I dashed back to my car and opened the hidey-hole. A wad of bills that came to $7, and another wad of four ones. I grabbed the $7 and left the rest; I gave the bills to the man and told him to enjoy his lunch.
I wonder if that's the only meal he'll eat today?
I should've given him all the bills.
Sometimes all the pain in the world just seems like too much and it takes my breath away. Jimi told me not to feel guilty for not giving him more; that I gave him what he asked for, that he could buy a loaf of bread and a package of bologna and eat for a few days on less than $7.
I don't feel guilty for not giving him more, necessarily; I feel guilty for having so much. I've never had to stand in a parking lot or at the entrance to a store and ask strangers for money so I could eat. I can't imagine what that life would be like; it's tragic and it's unfair and it's wrong. There is no reason any man, woman, or child should go hungry in this country, in the 21st century. We all have so much; how can we justify walking past a person hungry or cold on the side of the road without offering up something, some little token or gift or change or even just a smile and a have a nice day? Those are human beings, real people with real feelings and emotions. And no matter what circumstances landed them on that street corner or in front of that grocery store or gas station, they are still human beings. We're all nothing more than a few ill-timed tragedies away from being in their shoes; I sure hope if I ever find myself there, walking that particularly hellish path, I hope I manage to cross some kind souls who would give me their stash of parking garage/fast food mad money. I hope someone would offer to buy me a meal. I hope someone would give me a ride, or at the very least that I'd be able to get together enough bus fare to go somewhere where someone loves me and will take me in until I can get back on my feet.
i think about that shit. All the time. And sometimes the amount of pain in this world takes my breath away.
"Miss, I was wondering if you had anything you could spare? I'm trying to get some food from the store over here, and you could even purchase the items yourself, but I'm hungry. Do you have anything you could help me with?"
My first instinct was to brush him off. I was in a hurry; it was late in the afternoon and there was a ton of work backing up on my desk back at the office. But I can't brush past a person asking for money; I sure as hell can't walk past a person asking for a meal. But I didn't have any money. I told him as much, as I looked helplessly down at the wallet I carried that had only my debit card, my insurance card, my license - no cash. No change in my pockets even. The check I carried was for work. I was debating how long it would take to run over to the little convenience store and buy him some food, when I suddenly remembered the cash I'd been stuffing into the hidey-hole in my car. Cash that was there for when I needed money for a parking meter or a garage or a quick bite to eat at some lame fast-food joint. I told the man to wait, and I dashed back to my car and opened the hidey-hole. A wad of bills that came to $7, and another wad of four ones. I grabbed the $7 and left the rest; I gave the bills to the man and told him to enjoy his lunch.
I wonder if that's the only meal he'll eat today?
I should've given him all the bills.
Sometimes all the pain in the world just seems like too much and it takes my breath away. Jimi told me not to feel guilty for not giving him more; that I gave him what he asked for, that he could buy a loaf of bread and a package of bologna and eat for a few days on less than $7.
I don't feel guilty for not giving him more, necessarily; I feel guilty for having so much. I've never had to stand in a parking lot or at the entrance to a store and ask strangers for money so I could eat. I can't imagine what that life would be like; it's tragic and it's unfair and it's wrong. There is no reason any man, woman, or child should go hungry in this country, in the 21st century. We all have so much; how can we justify walking past a person hungry or cold on the side of the road without offering up something, some little token or gift or change or even just a smile and a have a nice day? Those are human beings, real people with real feelings and emotions. And no matter what circumstances landed them on that street corner or in front of that grocery store or gas station, they are still human beings. We're all nothing more than a few ill-timed tragedies away from being in their shoes; I sure hope if I ever find myself there, walking that particularly hellish path, I hope I manage to cross some kind souls who would give me their stash of parking garage/fast food mad money. I hope someone would offer to buy me a meal. I hope someone would give me a ride, or at the very least that I'd be able to get together enough bus fare to go somewhere where someone loves me and will take me in until I can get back on my feet.
i think about that shit. All the time. And sometimes the amount of pain in this world takes my breath away.
****************************
I don't know what political party I technically fall into; I hate a little bit about all of them, I think. I just want people to do the right thing, for fuck's sake. I hate the Republicans, not for all of their ideologies, but for their social policies that are nothing more than a hateful rhetoric built upon the fear that someone other than a white-bread Christian Good-Ole' Boy may actually gain a little bit of fucking power in this country. OH, and heaven fucking forbid our Separation of Church and State-touting Land be marred by the blasphemous idea of giving GAYS the ability to partake in a state-sanctioned union on the basis of religious objections. Because gay people aren't really people, right? They're the same as inanimate objects:
I fucking hate the Republican stance on almost all social issues. I'm ashamed that our country, which has for so long stood as a beacon of freedom in the world, is even having a debate about denying a group of people their fundamental human rights on the basis of ANYTHING. Haven't we moved past this? Are you motherfuckers going to keep finding people to hate forever? Your time is up; hate is out, love is in. And really, you assholes know most of you would be a fuck of a lot happier if homosexuality was openly accepted and you could quit picking up strange men in airport bathrooms and then having to lie to the world and your poor wife about it.
*******************************
That's where I'm at right now. Those are my rants. Jimi's been working on his mask for hours and it is beginning to take shape. According to UPS, my costume should be here tomorrow. This may turn out yet. But it's 12:30 a.m., and we're supposed to be up at 6. G'night, Interwebz.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Can we just be fair with each other?
I went looking for a link to Elder Packer's Conference speech from this past weekend. I'll find one in a minute. I got distracted by this: http://www.lds-mormon.com/hardy.shtml. An excerpt: (their links, not mine)
Your doctrine of "choice" and "curability" is also at the core of why the Church and its members in reality view my son and those like him as latter-day lepers. If homosexuality (1) is not inborn, (2) has an element of choice, and (3) can be cured - then it must be able to be taught or suggested. Others must also be susceptible to being enticed or recruited. Our children are capable of being infected by these people and not becoming mothers and fathers. It is, therefore, a frontal assault on the family. The "hate the sin but love the sinner" platitude cannot disguise the fact that in reality the members of the Church are taught to loathe and fear our son and those like him. This qualified and synthetic "love" is nothing more than the few alms hurriedly and begrudgingly parted with to salve the Christian conscience, while never once entertaining the idea of actually descending into the leper pit. We would never expose our children to this for it might infect them. If sexual orientation is a matter of choice, when exactly did you choose to be heterosexual? When and how often did you reaffirm your choice to stay that way? Why aren't my other children, who idolize their brother, even the slightest bit interested in adopting a homosexual "lifestyle" or in homosexual experimentation? Why would anyone choose to be an abomination and an outcast? It defies reason.
Exactly.
Here's the article I was looking for:
http://latterdaymainstreet.com/2010/10/03/will-this-hateful-rhetoric-continue-once-boyd-k-packer-has-passed-on/
It includes the transcript of Packer's speech. Nasty hateful old fool.
What happened to "treat others as you wish to be treated"? "Love thy neighbor"? "Do unto others..."? When did we stop loving each other in the name of a loving God?
It just makes me sad.
Your doctrine of "choice" and "curability" is also at the core of why the Church and its members in reality view my son and those like him as latter-day lepers. If homosexuality (1) is not inborn, (2) has an element of choice, and (3) can be cured - then it must be able to be taught or suggested. Others must also be susceptible to being enticed or recruited. Our children are capable of being infected by these people and not becoming mothers and fathers. It is, therefore, a frontal assault on the family. The "hate the sin but love the sinner" platitude cannot disguise the fact that in reality the members of the Church are taught to loathe and fear our son and those like him. This qualified and synthetic "love" is nothing more than the few alms hurriedly and begrudgingly parted with to salve the Christian conscience, while never once entertaining the idea of actually descending into the leper pit. We would never expose our children to this for it might infect them. If sexual orientation is a matter of choice, when exactly did you choose to be heterosexual? When and how often did you reaffirm your choice to stay that way? Why aren't my other children, who idolize their brother, even the slightest bit interested in adopting a homosexual "lifestyle" or in homosexual experimentation? Why would anyone choose to be an abomination and an outcast? It defies reason.
Exactly.
Here's the article I was looking for:
http://latterdaymainstreet.com/2010/10/03/will-this-hateful-rhetoric-continue-once-boyd-k-packer-has-passed-on/
It includes the transcript of Packer's speech. Nasty hateful old fool.
What happened to "treat others as you wish to be treated"? "Love thy neighbor"? "Do unto others..."? When did we stop loving each other in the name of a loving God?
It just makes me sad.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
For my 100th boring blog entry...
I was going to tell you about how I got a nickel-sized rug burn on my big toe last night.
But then I had the most incredibly shitty day at work. Like, a classic soul-sucking whore sort of workday. It commenced in my complete breakdown behind my boss's closed door, wherein I told him that I feel incapable of doing the job to which I've been assigned and that I'm seriously considering seeking other employment, and by the way, did I mention that I'm a horrible manager and I totally suck at my job? And he, of course, talked me down from my ledge, but I was emotionally drained and my eyes were red and swollen from where I'd cried shamelessly for 45 minutes. And then, as if that weren't bad enough, I had a second emotional breakdown in front of one of my employees while trying to convey to him that it is NOT okay for him to ignore my phone calls and refuse to return my messages and that when he does that it makes me sad.
Fuck. I should've stayed home today.
But then I got home. And took a shower. And Jimi got home. And a neighbor came over and shared a bowl. And our new roommate showed up to discuss our new living arrangement. And there was leftover pizza. And more beer. And chocolate. And this:
So I'm feeling better now. And really, you didn't want the story about the nickel-sized rug burn on my big toe, anyhow. I promise.
But then I had the most incredibly shitty day at work. Like, a classic soul-sucking whore sort of workday. It commenced in my complete breakdown behind my boss's closed door, wherein I told him that I feel incapable of doing the job to which I've been assigned and that I'm seriously considering seeking other employment, and by the way, did I mention that I'm a horrible manager and I totally suck at my job? And he, of course, talked me down from my ledge, but I was emotionally drained and my eyes were red and swollen from where I'd cried shamelessly for 45 minutes. And then, as if that weren't bad enough, I had a second emotional breakdown in front of one of my employees while trying to convey to him that it is NOT okay for him to ignore my phone calls and refuse to return my messages and that when he does that it makes me sad.
Fuck. I should've stayed home today.
But then I got home. And took a shower. And Jimi got home. And a neighbor came over and shared a bowl. And our new roommate showed up to discuss our new living arrangement. And there was leftover pizza. And more beer. And chocolate. And this:
So I'm feeling better now. And really, you didn't want the story about the nickel-sized rug burn on my big toe, anyhow. I promise.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Proposition 8 is Unconstitutional
SAN FRANCISCO — In a major victory for gay rights advocates, a federal judge on Wednesday struck down a California ban on same-sex marriage.
Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that the voter-approved ban, known as Proposition 8, violates due process and equal-protection rights under the U.S. Constitution.
"Moral disapproval alone is an improper basis on which to deny rights to gay men and lesbians. The evidence shows conclusively that Proposition 8 enacts, without reason, a private moral view that same-sex couples are inferior to opposite-sex couples," Walker wrote.
I'm not sure what's left to say after that.
I'm happy for every man, woman, and child whom this will impact in a positive way.
As for the rest - I hope they are able to learn to put their vigor and fervor and effort into love rather than hate.
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