Over the past two years I have drifted (run) away from my Christian roots as the religious sect has become more paranoid, bigoted, hateful and deceitful. Although mainstream Protestantism may still exist, they've allowed their voices to be lost amidst child molesting Catholics, thieving fundies and lost sheep Baptists.
Honestly though, this situation is really only making headlines over the past few years with the fundies trying to take over the Republican party along with the fight for equal rights by the LGBT community. However, this goes back at least 30 years. I had my first run-ins with people telling me I was going to hell in my early 20's. It still surprises me that I became one of those people for two years and spent the next thirteen recovering from all that hatred.
This morning it dawned on me that "christians' are succeeding in their hate-mongering, fear distribution and dumbing down of this country with two simple tactics. The first is ramping up fear. "God's gonna get America if it doesn't...", "Everyone else is out to get us because God sent them after us", etc. The other game is playing the pity card. The fundies are oppressed and picked on. They get members by making them feel bad. Sadly humans are big enough suckers that it works.
Yesterday good ole Pat Robertson again played the "The nation will fall because we've made God angry" card in his remarks about NY passing the marriage equality bill. However, this time as I listened to the nonsense spilling out of old Pat, I realized that he is a mere hare's breath away from falling into cahoots with Fred Phelps. Yep, Robertson hates fags and thinks that Americans recognizing that gays, lesbians, bi's and trans folks have the same inalienable rights as straight people will bring the demise of this nation. With Pat having more money and a bigger platform (television) than Freddie-boy, this does not bode well for a country that has been lulled into fear, entitlement, sloth and isolationism. The ground is fertile for the planting and cultivation of these seeds of hate. The fact that people like Michelle Bachman are running for the presidency is proof of how stupid Americans have allowed themselves to become (note: my definition of stupid is 'those born with a brain who CHOOSE not to use it.)
For those who really do read what Jesus said and subscribe to it..."love you neighbor...", "treat other people..." along with the whole clothing the naked, feeding the poor, doctoring the sick, etc. It is time to stand up to these fundies who are robbing and raping your religion. Find some balls. You know...that whole "Fear not" thing. Remember, at the beginning of the Jesus story it says "For God so loved the world." Apparently "he" was over all that smiting stuff and decided "he" loved you. Me personally, I don't subscribe to any of that any more either. My gods and goddesses are not as petty, jealous and immature. But that's me. But for you guys, I love you too and I don't want to see your beliefs get crushed by morons like Pat Robertson, the Phelps family, Tony Perkins, NOM and Focus On The Family. I sure as hell don't want my civil rights peed on by religious zealots overtaking the government. Remember, separation of church and state.
As for New York? Yay!! Thank you for joining my state in protecting the rights of all committed couples in your state. Thank you for giving them more legal muscles when fighting greedy family members who swoop in to gut the estates of a gay relative they haven't spoken to in years leaving their life's partner homeless, without memorabilia of their life together, stuck in long court battles while trying to grieve. Thank you for making it possible for kids and parents not to have to fight with schools with regards to their 'non-traditional' families. Just thank you.
As for the other forty-four states left, it's time. America has stagnated and moved so far backwards. We have lost our nerve. The hippies became bloated, arrogant, nuevo-riche. They became THE MAN. All of their cries for sexual freedom, community and peace have turned into greed, avarice and paranoia. America was founded on risk-taking, innovation and adventure. Today we no longer invent, manufacture or explore. We either work a million service jobs to keep life and limb together or we have some "suit" job running or advertising companies that send all the work that pays enough to live on overseas. Look at us! We're America! We have the best environmental protection laws! But we're too cheap to pay for things made here in a way that doesn't destroy the environment so we send it all to China. Really hippies? Wake-up...move forward. Give us power sources and transportation that doesn't kill the planet, come up with ways of providing healthcare for the community and GIVE EQUAL RIGHTS TO ALL OUR CITIZENS.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Is it enough to make it better?
It Gets Better...
Really? Dan Savage started the "It Gets Better" campaign shortly after the fifth in a series of publicized suicides of kids who were bullied for their sexual orientation. However, I wonder, as one who was bullied for being from another town originally and dressing differently, is "It Gets Better" enough to give children in grammar and middle school and young adults in high school and college the courage and the stamina to live with daily taunting and threats to not at the least consider physically fighting back if not taking their own lives to escape this? Mr. Savage and the rest of his organization need to understand that this constant derision can set off triggers in kids that lead to clinical depression and knowing that, on average, 180 days out of every year they must face this treatment is more than enough to set off a reaction that does not appear rational to a mentally and emotionally healthy person but seems like the only response at the time to some suffering from depression or other neurosis.
Today I read of another series of tragedies that has taken place over the past four years in the same town, Mentor, OH. One child harassed for being a Croatian immigrant, one for a learning disability, one for being assumed gay and the fourth a combination of social awkwardness but also fueled by a poor home situation. The last one experts are not stating was based on bullying but did nothing to investigate the family issues and over the next two years both remaining children in the household also took their own lives.
While the results of bullying are finally making headlines, we are sorely pressed to go back over the numbers and determine how many young people found the predatory nature of school social life so overwhelming that suicide became more and more inviting every day. As a mother of a child who was not only bullied but put in a different school system due to a letter that was added to his school record by the principal when he was in fifth grade based on requirements of the anti-bullying protocol set out by the local board of education, I speak from experience. My son was the victim of a typically cagey bully, female I might add, who timed her verbal attacks so that she was not the one caught when the teacher rounded the corner. It was my son who was heard saying, "Leave me alone or I'll kill you." The principal ignored the "Leave me alone" part and focused on the "I'll kill you" based on the lies spewed by the girl that she had never harassed or threatened my son.
The bullying escalated to racist slurs when my son moved to a middle school in a nearby city where white kids were the minority. Fortunately some administrators and faculty members were more astute than the principal and put kids in their places when racial slurs were heard. He also still was taunted for being overweight, from out of town and overly sociable. Finally came high school where the racism was far more blatant and not only condoned by the principal, she herself participated in it. She also did nothing to protect LGBTQ kids in an ARTS HIGH SCHOOL!! One of my son's best friends was an out queer and a drag queen at the age of fourteen. Add to this my son being cyberbullied? "It Gets Better"?
I believe the only reason my son made it through was the fact that I was observant and he likes to talk. I made myself available to both my kids from the beginning so they generally came to me with things. When his sister left for college and their father moved out, the signs of a growing depression I'd been vaguely aware of since he was about eight became more prominent and I offered the option of talking to a therapist. We did a few sessions together and he did a couple on his own. Between that, getting out of this town, finding three excellent mentors in his new school and one in high school, my son grew a relatively thick hide. However, he did come home often and share the pain of being a target.
If the "It Gets Better" videos had been around then would they have made it easier for him? I don't know. I know as a college freshman he has watched some and they have affected him. He has a very tender heart and so some of them have brought tears to his eyes and broken that heart some. As someone who aspires to work in the entertainment industry it does mean a lot to him to hear celebrities telling him to "hang in there".
However, I think it takes more. "It Gets Better" is a great message but when you are in the middle of this day in and day out, what you want is for it to stop. When you are trying to validate yourself and determine who you want to be when you grow up, it's really hard when people are constantly telling you that your broken, a freak, fat, ugly, stupid, the "wrong" color, or the "wrong" sexual orientation. And now with the internet, the harassment doesn't stop after the kids get off the bus. It comes via Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and text messages. Providing bullies with media that they can be practically completely anonymous and attack at all hours of the day or night has only made this problem worse. It's also easier for kids who wouldn't normally do so to join in because they too can disguise their identities.
For It To Get Better will take more. It always has. We need to get back to the days when parents taught their kids that being a bully or just making a single unkind remark to someone who is different is not socially acceptable. Parents need to get back to parenting and teach kids about respect. Parents need to monitor their kids on line and on the phone. If they discover their children using the Internet or their cell phone to harass another child...TAKE THEM AWAY!! It is not going to put your kid in the state mental hospital if you lock up the laptop, pull the plug from the desktop or take away their cell phone. "But Sally needs the computer for school". So? She can still use all the word processing, presentation and spreadsheet programs if you unplug the modem and the router. Make her go to the library and use their Internet. Or start small and buy some Net Nanny software and block social networking sites. Seriously, you're the parent...grow a pair. As for schools? Most have sites blocked that kids shouldn't be on at school anyway. Administrators need to monitor themselves, faculty and security to insure that they are not protecting bullies...and YES that does happen. Think about it. Example-a meathead rent-a-cop who couldn't make it into the police academy already has that chip on his shoulder. Give him the gum machine badge and uniform and put him in the hallways of an urban high school. He witnesses kids picking on the girl with braces, the short African-American boy or the overweight guy that's kind of flamboyant. Who do you think this guy is going to side with? If he defends the kids getting taunted he feels that the perpetrators are going to see him as weak. He wants to be tough like them. So he lets them go and may even laugh at their victims along with them.
Kids need advocates in the schools. In a time when boards of education are worried about budget cuts, how hard is it to accept parents or other adults willing to volunteer a day or two every month to patrol the halls and come to the aid of the victims and/or hold meetings with students to first explain to them about respect, treating people the way they want to be treated and loving themselves? Allow outside adults who offer the chance to be advisers so the students can start a SAGA chapter in their school. If there is one and has a faculty adviser, then the rest of the staff needs to support it and publicize it and back their events. Provide for other social organizations that improve self-esteem for various groups whether race related, interest related, etc. Don't put such an emphasis on athletics. I'm not saying don't provide sports teams but offer other options for kids who just aren't jocks. Chess club, math club, drama club and then help them thrive so that the members can go to events outside of their school. Also allow them to create events that they can invite outsiders to to show off their accomplishments. Being a nerd can be really cool. Being Asian can be beautiful. Being a skateboarder can be exciting.
It can get better but I believe it takes a lot more than external videos by celebs most of these kids will never meet. Yes, Neil Patrick Harris, Tim Gunn, Chris Colfer, Ellen Degeneres, etc. are fabulous role models to LGBTQ kids. Personally I'd also like to see some entertainers I'm aware of doing vids on being picked on for being the smart kids, the fat kids, the wimpy kids and the kids with glasses/braces. There are some great Hispanic, black, Asian and East Indian role models who can do these videos. But it takes more. It takes people coming into schools and being with students one-on-one to make it real for them. It takes parents listening and talking to their kids. It takes social workers and therapists giving victims tools to fight back without becoming bullies themselves. It takes someone to make the bully look inside himself or herself and face the weakness they are hiding by projecting it on to someone else.
We all have fears. Most of them are unwarranted. Just yesterday I dealt with mine of people who look different. As one who was bullied I'd never demean them for physical or mental challenges but it is hard for me to treat them just like I'd treat myself. I worked hard on getting past that. And then I noticed that the mentally challenged woman who bagged my groceries did a far better job then most of the able-minded high schoolers who normal pack my stuff. It humbled me. It raised a bit of shame in me as it should have. We all need to teach each other that the proper way to deal with fear is to educate ourselves. If you can't bring yourself to talk to that person, just don't say anything but still nod and smile. It's a start. If you don't agree with someone's opinion don't yell them into submission, talk to them and find out why they feel that way and why you don't. If someone is different don't physically assault them to make yourself feel somehow superior. Tell yourself it's ok to be afraid of things you don't understand. Ignorance is not bliss especially if you follow a theological tradition of a deity that created people in its own image. If you use that "god" as your weapon of choice to assault people with, it is the supreme act of disrespect of that divine being who gave you a working brain and hopes that you'll use it for something more than a hat rack or an engine to conjure new manners to spew hate.
So Dan? My hat's off to you for coming up with another weapon in the newly growing arsenal against hate and harassment. But understand it needs more substance behind it. For sexual orientation issues GLESN has come up with curriculum addendum to teach students about sexual orientation issues. Other organizations to check out:
Make It Better
Not In Our Town
Stop Cyberbullying
And here is the homepage for Dan's It Gets Better YouTube Channel:
It Gets Better
Really? Dan Savage started the "It Gets Better" campaign shortly after the fifth in a series of publicized suicides of kids who were bullied for their sexual orientation. However, I wonder, as one who was bullied for being from another town originally and dressing differently, is "It Gets Better" enough to give children in grammar and middle school and young adults in high school and college the courage and the stamina to live with daily taunting and threats to not at the least consider physically fighting back if not taking their own lives to escape this? Mr. Savage and the rest of his organization need to understand that this constant derision can set off triggers in kids that lead to clinical depression and knowing that, on average, 180 days out of every year they must face this treatment is more than enough to set off a reaction that does not appear rational to a mentally and emotionally healthy person but seems like the only response at the time to some suffering from depression or other neurosis.
Today I read of another series of tragedies that has taken place over the past four years in the same town, Mentor, OH. One child harassed for being a Croatian immigrant, one for a learning disability, one for being assumed gay and the fourth a combination of social awkwardness but also fueled by a poor home situation. The last one experts are not stating was based on bullying but did nothing to investigate the family issues and over the next two years both remaining children in the household also took their own lives.
While the results of bullying are finally making headlines, we are sorely pressed to go back over the numbers and determine how many young people found the predatory nature of school social life so overwhelming that suicide became more and more inviting every day. As a mother of a child who was not only bullied but put in a different school system due to a letter that was added to his school record by the principal when he was in fifth grade based on requirements of the anti-bullying protocol set out by the local board of education, I speak from experience. My son was the victim of a typically cagey bully, female I might add, who timed her verbal attacks so that she was not the one caught when the teacher rounded the corner. It was my son who was heard saying, "Leave me alone or I'll kill you." The principal ignored the "Leave me alone" part and focused on the "I'll kill you" based on the lies spewed by the girl that she had never harassed or threatened my son.
The bullying escalated to racist slurs when my son moved to a middle school in a nearby city where white kids were the minority. Fortunately some administrators and faculty members were more astute than the principal and put kids in their places when racial slurs were heard. He also still was taunted for being overweight, from out of town and overly sociable. Finally came high school where the racism was far more blatant and not only condoned by the principal, she herself participated in it. She also did nothing to protect LGBTQ kids in an ARTS HIGH SCHOOL!! One of my son's best friends was an out queer and a drag queen at the age of fourteen. Add to this my son being cyberbullied? "It Gets Better"?
I believe the only reason my son made it through was the fact that I was observant and he likes to talk. I made myself available to both my kids from the beginning so they generally came to me with things. When his sister left for college and their father moved out, the signs of a growing depression I'd been vaguely aware of since he was about eight became more prominent and I offered the option of talking to a therapist. We did a few sessions together and he did a couple on his own. Between that, getting out of this town, finding three excellent mentors in his new school and one in high school, my son grew a relatively thick hide. However, he did come home often and share the pain of being a target.
If the "It Gets Better" videos had been around then would they have made it easier for him? I don't know. I know as a college freshman he has watched some and they have affected him. He has a very tender heart and so some of them have brought tears to his eyes and broken that heart some. As someone who aspires to work in the entertainment industry it does mean a lot to him to hear celebrities telling him to "hang in there".
However, I think it takes more. "It Gets Better" is a great message but when you are in the middle of this day in and day out, what you want is for it to stop. When you are trying to validate yourself and determine who you want to be when you grow up, it's really hard when people are constantly telling you that your broken, a freak, fat, ugly, stupid, the "wrong" color, or the "wrong" sexual orientation. And now with the internet, the harassment doesn't stop after the kids get off the bus. It comes via Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and text messages. Providing bullies with media that they can be practically completely anonymous and attack at all hours of the day or night has only made this problem worse. It's also easier for kids who wouldn't normally do so to join in because they too can disguise their identities.
For It To Get Better will take more. It always has. We need to get back to the days when parents taught their kids that being a bully or just making a single unkind remark to someone who is different is not socially acceptable. Parents need to get back to parenting and teach kids about respect. Parents need to monitor their kids on line and on the phone. If they discover their children using the Internet or their cell phone to harass another child...TAKE THEM AWAY!! It is not going to put your kid in the state mental hospital if you lock up the laptop, pull the plug from the desktop or take away their cell phone. "But Sally needs the computer for school". So? She can still use all the word processing, presentation and spreadsheet programs if you unplug the modem and the router. Make her go to the library and use their Internet. Or start small and buy some Net Nanny software and block social networking sites. Seriously, you're the parent...grow a pair. As for schools? Most have sites blocked that kids shouldn't be on at school anyway. Administrators need to monitor themselves, faculty and security to insure that they are not protecting bullies...and YES that does happen. Think about it. Example-a meathead rent-a-cop who couldn't make it into the police academy already has that chip on his shoulder. Give him the gum machine badge and uniform and put him in the hallways of an urban high school. He witnesses kids picking on the girl with braces, the short African-American boy or the overweight guy that's kind of flamboyant. Who do you think this guy is going to side with? If he defends the kids getting taunted he feels that the perpetrators are going to see him as weak. He wants to be tough like them. So he lets them go and may even laugh at their victims along with them.
Kids need advocates in the schools. In a time when boards of education are worried about budget cuts, how hard is it to accept parents or other adults willing to volunteer a day or two every month to patrol the halls and come to the aid of the victims and/or hold meetings with students to first explain to them about respect, treating people the way they want to be treated and loving themselves? Allow outside adults who offer the chance to be advisers so the students can start a SAGA chapter in their school. If there is one and has a faculty adviser, then the rest of the staff needs to support it and publicize it and back their events. Provide for other social organizations that improve self-esteem for various groups whether race related, interest related, etc. Don't put such an emphasis on athletics. I'm not saying don't provide sports teams but offer other options for kids who just aren't jocks. Chess club, math club, drama club and then help them thrive so that the members can go to events outside of their school. Also allow them to create events that they can invite outsiders to to show off their accomplishments. Being a nerd can be really cool. Being Asian can be beautiful. Being a skateboarder can be exciting.
It can get better but I believe it takes a lot more than external videos by celebs most of these kids will never meet. Yes, Neil Patrick Harris, Tim Gunn, Chris Colfer, Ellen Degeneres, etc. are fabulous role models to LGBTQ kids. Personally I'd also like to see some entertainers I'm aware of doing vids on being picked on for being the smart kids, the fat kids, the wimpy kids and the kids with glasses/braces. There are some great Hispanic, black, Asian and East Indian role models who can do these videos. But it takes more. It takes people coming into schools and being with students one-on-one to make it real for them. It takes parents listening and talking to their kids. It takes social workers and therapists giving victims tools to fight back without becoming bullies themselves. It takes someone to make the bully look inside himself or herself and face the weakness they are hiding by projecting it on to someone else.
We all have fears. Most of them are unwarranted. Just yesterday I dealt with mine of people who look different. As one who was bullied I'd never demean them for physical or mental challenges but it is hard for me to treat them just like I'd treat myself. I worked hard on getting past that. And then I noticed that the mentally challenged woman who bagged my groceries did a far better job then most of the able-minded high schoolers who normal pack my stuff. It humbled me. It raised a bit of shame in me as it should have. We all need to teach each other that the proper way to deal with fear is to educate ourselves. If you can't bring yourself to talk to that person, just don't say anything but still nod and smile. It's a start. If you don't agree with someone's opinion don't yell them into submission, talk to them and find out why they feel that way and why you don't. If someone is different don't physically assault them to make yourself feel somehow superior. Tell yourself it's ok to be afraid of things you don't understand. Ignorance is not bliss especially if you follow a theological tradition of a deity that created people in its own image. If you use that "god" as your weapon of choice to assault people with, it is the supreme act of disrespect of that divine being who gave you a working brain and hopes that you'll use it for something more than a hat rack or an engine to conjure new manners to spew hate.
So Dan? My hat's off to you for coming up with another weapon in the newly growing arsenal against hate and harassment. But understand it needs more substance behind it. For sexual orientation issues GLESN has come up with curriculum addendum to teach students about sexual orientation issues. Other organizations to check out:
Make It Better
Not In Our Town
Stop Cyberbullying
And here is the homepage for Dan's It Gets Better YouTube Channel:
It Gets Better
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Art imitates life - ours is boring and loaded with violence
Are humans designed to be boring? I don’t think so. But for some reason there are certain people hell-bent on making and keeping us that way. Start with religious rules and…actually…end with them too because those are what are used to influence civil rights and laws. They’re also what have worked their way into jurisdiction of the media with “decency” codes.
There was a short time however, when even “the church” opened its collective mind when it came to art. The Renaissance was a glorious time when the human body was depicted in all its naked glory, when minstrels wrote and performed bawdy love songs and plays were filled with bright costumes and beautiful words. Admitted women were not allowed on the stage or in the pulpit but they still adorned themselves in fabulous garments and danced with equally graceful and stunningly clad men. Art was not boring.
Last night America again showed how much fear there is of “breaking the rules”. Really? Aren’t we programmed to take risks, push the envelope? Look at the Goddess’s creation, filled with bright colors, bird that soar high and luxuriously furred quadrupeds. Mother Nature’s music is a cacophony of chirps, screams, howls and barks. Nothing boring there. So why have we allowed religion to take that out of spiritual writings and replace it with this austere, domineering, and judgmental deity with no spirit of adventure, beauty or curiosity?
No people, if The Fates had wanted us to listen to boring balladeers for all of our existence on this plain, no one would be born with the talent to dazzle the eye, ear, heart and brain like Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Madonna, Christina Aguilera, or even Motley Crue. It should not have been a risk for any of them to create the art they have. It should not have been considered risqué to view their performances. Life should be exciting not boring.
I do not understand how we have come to romanticize war, murder or other forms of physical violence. How did these become acceptable risks? Yet we run from art that is considered even the littlest bit edgy. Art tribes/communities are looked on by outsiders as odd, weird, hopefully go unnoticed and disappear. Yet people will pay money over and over for movies still being made about World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Gore can run deep and wide on the screen but a glimpse of breast or upper thigh is gasped at. People, the human body is far more beautiful all in one piece than ripped apart on a battlefield or in a dark alley.
Where did we lose our way? How do we find it again? When will beauty and creativity be exonerated, worshipped and encouraged again? When will minstrels, actors, painters, sculptors, writers, etc. be allowed out from under their rocks and appreciated in all their weird eccentricness?
There was a short time however, when even “the church” opened its collective mind when it came to art. The Renaissance was a glorious time when the human body was depicted in all its naked glory, when minstrels wrote and performed bawdy love songs and plays were filled with bright costumes and beautiful words. Admitted women were not allowed on the stage or in the pulpit but they still adorned themselves in fabulous garments and danced with equally graceful and stunningly clad men. Art was not boring.
Last night America again showed how much fear there is of “breaking the rules”. Really? Aren’t we programmed to take risks, push the envelope? Look at the Goddess’s creation, filled with bright colors, bird that soar high and luxuriously furred quadrupeds. Mother Nature’s music is a cacophony of chirps, screams, howls and barks. Nothing boring there. So why have we allowed religion to take that out of spiritual writings and replace it with this austere, domineering, and judgmental deity with no spirit of adventure, beauty or curiosity?
No people, if The Fates had wanted us to listen to boring balladeers for all of our existence on this plain, no one would be born with the talent to dazzle the eye, ear, heart and brain like Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Madonna, Christina Aguilera, or even Motley Crue. It should not have been a risk for any of them to create the art they have. It should not have been considered risqué to view their performances. Life should be exciting not boring.
I do not understand how we have come to romanticize war, murder or other forms of physical violence. How did these become acceptable risks? Yet we run from art that is considered even the littlest bit edgy. Art tribes/communities are looked on by outsiders as odd, weird, hopefully go unnoticed and disappear. Yet people will pay money over and over for movies still being made about World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Gore can run deep and wide on the screen but a glimpse of breast or upper thigh is gasped at. People, the human body is far more beautiful all in one piece than ripped apart on a battlefield or in a dark alley.
Where did we lose our way? How do we find it again? When will beauty and creativity be exonerated, worshipped and encouraged again? When will minstrels, actors, painters, sculptors, writers, etc. be allowed out from under their rocks and appreciated in all their weird eccentricness?
Monday, August 30, 2010
We're all ok - God don't make junk
It hit me today...we are all born beautiful creatures filled with a rainbow with another one wrapped around each new baby. That being said, anything done to tarnish those rainbows and crush the beautiful souls is the sin.
Yes, there are basic rules of civilization that must be taught; don't hurt or kill others, don't steal, don't mess with things that aren't yours, don't lie, don't cheat, be kind to each other. In its simplest form? Treat people the way you want to be treated.
When you put it in that context then it's easy to see how teaching the beautiful rainbow babies that people whose rainbows are different colors or twist instead of arc, sparkle instead of shine, spread over a different land than another is what we're supposed to be doing.
I've just read so much hate-mongering in the past week...and a lot of it people mongering are trying to claim that The Higher Power...which they also claim created all of us beautiful folk...says that some are less beautiful that others. In fact they say that some are downright ugly and should be physically and/or verbally abused because they are different. Wow! Talk about stuffing God into a tiny little box. Do they realize that they are calling the Great Spirit (1) fallible as a creator, (2) petty, (3) jealous, (4) vindictive and (5) a bigot.
One person in particular that really made me sad and angry was the niece of Dr. King who spewed some crazy stuff about homosexuality being the eventual extinction of the human race. Really? Even if they've been in the closet, gays have been around since the beginning of human history and the species is now over 6 BILLION strong on Mother Earth. I really don't see us going extinct any time soon. In fact if we do, it will have nothing to do with non-"christians", people of color, women or LGBT's. It will have to do with us disrespecting this planet and making it uninhabitable. I also found it a huge insult to her uncle to say that he would be for preventing anyone from having civil rights to any race, creed or sexual orientation. This woman needs to be time-traveled back to the days when African Americans were really treated poorly and then participate in the marches and all the other things the black community did to have their right to exist as a free person in the U.S. recognized and legislated. She should have to go back to the days of suffrage to spend a few days as a woman with no right to vote, shamed and humiliated if she even considered working outside the home, be the property of a man. No, Martin wanted freedom for all Americans.
Listen, I'm not saying that after birth that something causes a switch to be flipped in a person that turns them anti-social. It doesn't mean they're not supposed to be loved, it's just tough love. Some people need to be removed from society so they are not a danger to themselves or others. But when I say danger...I don't mean that because they follow a different religious doctrine or their skin is a different color or they are more attracted to their own gender or don't take to stereotypes. When I say danger I'm talking socio or psychopaths. People who are intent on hurting or killing someone else or themselves...serial killers, pyromaniacs, clinically depressed, pedophiles, or schizophrenics/multiple personality disorders. An avergage Muslim, African American, woman, or LGBT person is neither a danger to themselves or to anyone else. So to raise a child to believe that any of these people's rainbows are less beautiful than their own, pretty much spits in The Great Spirit's eye.
Drugs are not the sin, concentual sex is not the sin, gender is not the sin, race is not the sin until they hurt someone else. Teach the rainbow children to love one another. Teach them to appreciate individuality. Teach them to respect themselves and others. And also allow their rainbows to grow and mature and be wholly theirs. Encourage their talents, their spirit, their passions. Teach boys that it is healthy and right for them to be emotional. It actually makes them stronger not weaker. Teach girls it's alright for them to be more math oriented. Help end fear and stereotyping. Cultivate peace, joy and love. Embrace, encourage, be the rainbow.
Yes, there are basic rules of civilization that must be taught; don't hurt or kill others, don't steal, don't mess with things that aren't yours, don't lie, don't cheat, be kind to each other. In its simplest form? Treat people the way you want to be treated.
When you put it in that context then it's easy to see how teaching the beautiful rainbow babies that people whose rainbows are different colors or twist instead of arc, sparkle instead of shine, spread over a different land than another is what we're supposed to be doing.
I've just read so much hate-mongering in the past week...and a lot of it people mongering are trying to claim that The Higher Power...which they also claim created all of us beautiful folk...says that some are less beautiful that others. In fact they say that some are downright ugly and should be physically and/or verbally abused because they are different. Wow! Talk about stuffing God into a tiny little box. Do they realize that they are calling the Great Spirit (1) fallible as a creator, (2) petty, (3) jealous, (4) vindictive and (5) a bigot.
One person in particular that really made me sad and angry was the niece of Dr. King who spewed some crazy stuff about homosexuality being the eventual extinction of the human race. Really? Even if they've been in the closet, gays have been around since the beginning of human history and the species is now over 6 BILLION strong on Mother Earth. I really don't see us going extinct any time soon. In fact if we do, it will have nothing to do with non-"christians", people of color, women or LGBT's. It will have to do with us disrespecting this planet and making it uninhabitable. I also found it a huge insult to her uncle to say that he would be for preventing anyone from having civil rights to any race, creed or sexual orientation. This woman needs to be time-traveled back to the days when African Americans were really treated poorly and then participate in the marches and all the other things the black community did to have their right to exist as a free person in the U.S. recognized and legislated. She should have to go back to the days of suffrage to spend a few days as a woman with no right to vote, shamed and humiliated if she even considered working outside the home, be the property of a man. No, Martin wanted freedom for all Americans.
Listen, I'm not saying that after birth that something causes a switch to be flipped in a person that turns them anti-social. It doesn't mean they're not supposed to be loved, it's just tough love. Some people need to be removed from society so they are not a danger to themselves or others. But when I say danger...I don't mean that because they follow a different religious doctrine or their skin is a different color or they are more attracted to their own gender or don't take to stereotypes. When I say danger I'm talking socio or psychopaths. People who are intent on hurting or killing someone else or themselves...serial killers, pyromaniacs, clinically depressed, pedophiles, or schizophrenics/multiple personality disorders. An avergage Muslim, African American, woman, or LGBT person is neither a danger to themselves or to anyone else. So to raise a child to believe that any of these people's rainbows are less beautiful than their own, pretty much spits in The Great Spirit's eye.
Drugs are not the sin, concentual sex is not the sin, gender is not the sin, race is not the sin until they hurt someone else. Teach the rainbow children to love one another. Teach them to appreciate individuality. Teach them to respect themselves and others. And also allow their rainbows to grow and mature and be wholly theirs. Encourage their talents, their spirit, their passions. Teach boys that it is healthy and right for them to be emotional. It actually makes them stronger not weaker. Teach girls it's alright for them to be more math oriented. Help end fear and stereotyping. Cultivate peace, joy and love. Embrace, encourage, be the rainbow.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
While you were sleeping...
...or allowing yourself to be boondoggled, hornswaggled, bullshitted or just scared by the U.S. media and the government after 9-11, things were festering and growing and you let them.
You allowed yourself to give up your civil and personal rights, believing the b.s. spewing from your radio and television or splashed across print and internet headlines. "You're all gonna die if you don't support illegal acts of violence against a foreign nation (Iraq), allow us to illegally incarcerate a whole lot of people in Cuba, set up "watch" lists for air travel (sadly they're still missing all the bad guys coming into the country), and watch your activity at your local library. And there's a whole plethora of other rights you gave up because "It's unAmerican to question such things". HORSESHIT!
To question and call out is the most American thing you can do. And you should do it. The government is a bunch of fallible humans just like you. Because you voted for them does not make them experts on running your life. Thomas Jefferson said, when he helped pen the structuring of the Republic, it would need a good revolution every generation to keep it on its toes. Boy are we long overdue or what?
http://www.naturalnews.com/029153_British_Petroleum_Police_State.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
The link above shows what happens to freedom of the press when they get scared and allow themselves to be puppets of big business and the government. They backed off (slacked off). Sure they got a little bit of nitty-gritty into the public eye about FEMA and the whole hurricane debacle. Every so often we hear about some governmental indiscretion but for the most part, major media has been publishing what the publicist tell them to. Wow, wonder how long the fed has had a PR department or at least one that has strong-armed the press the way they do now? But the point is that now that media has a real piece of meat to sink its teeth into with the Gulf/BP mess, they're seeing the error of their ways for not sticking up for the first amendment both for freedom of the press and the right to petition for redress of grievances.
Starting in the first days after 9-11 I started preaching my mantra of "Retaining the Republic for which we stand before we become the United Police State of America". Obviously I was a voice crying in the wilderness. I tried to find a quote this morning but failed. Something to the effect of not becoming the empire we sought to free ourselves from. I remember it was from a member of the first continental congress and had to do with the establishment of the new Republic. But at the end of the day it all boils down to this. We allowed ourselves to be beat into submission with the constant admonition of our president about being "UnAmerican". Nary a one spoke up loudly enough in a public forum, myself included, to say "Hey W! Speaking out is the most American thing about America and questioning our government is the second most American thing to do!"
At the time I did start reading the free press more to learn what was really going on but I did nothing with what I was learning. I bitched and complained to friends and people around me who would listen and sometimes agree but did we form any kind of protest group? No. Did I write letters to my representatives? Not enough to count and not about the really gritty issues. I did not call out the passing of the "Patriot" Act or the establishment of Homeland Security. I have not questions the sending of the National Guard abroad while the regular Army stays here. I have not demanded at stop to lobbyists or term limitations. I am just as guilty as the next guy for being "unAmerican"
So here we are. Government and big business goons muzzling the press. CNN rages "How dare they?". Well at least they're finally raging and seeing that if the small media guy gets busted, they're next. Is it too little too late? Or will it light enough of a spark under American journalists and their employers to finally say "STOP! Freedom of the press!" and start speaking out? Will we find out what is really going on in the Gulf and on Capitol Hill regarding BP and when they are going to fix this disaster? And once the big gash in Mother Earth's belly is sutured and bandaged, will the press continue to stick up for itself? Will they call out big business for the laundry list of crap they have gotten away with mostly with congress' blessing? We can only hope.
In the meantime, I've found my guts. Sure, I'm just a measly little blogger who only a few people read, but at least I will flex my right to speak freely and demand answers and air my grievances. President Obama, I voted for you and you have let me down at every turn. I know you don't run the show but you can get into the House and the Senate and demand that they get their collective heads out of their collective asses. You can tell the United States what is REALLY going on. You told me that you wanted to "green up America". Well you know what? There's a lot of brown sludge on her beaches that is killing the green and the animals and eventually the people. How about you start showing me how "green" you are by demanding BP get their asses in gear and fix this shit? How about you call off the cops, Homeland Security and BP employees who are blocking the press and doing illegal search and seizures? How about you stick up for THIS country and stop protecting the empire we declared our independence from? How about you start sticking up for all of our first amendment rights? How about it Prez? And press? How about you join me and grow a pair? And anyone who reads this blog, how about becoming a true American again and speaking out?
You allowed yourself to give up your civil and personal rights, believing the b.s. spewing from your radio and television or splashed across print and internet headlines. "You're all gonna die if you don't support illegal acts of violence against a foreign nation (Iraq), allow us to illegally incarcerate a whole lot of people in Cuba, set up "watch" lists for air travel (sadly they're still missing all the bad guys coming into the country), and watch your activity at your local library. And there's a whole plethora of other rights you gave up because "It's unAmerican to question such things". HORSESHIT!
To question and call out is the most American thing you can do. And you should do it. The government is a bunch of fallible humans just like you. Because you voted for them does not make them experts on running your life. Thomas Jefferson said, when he helped pen the structuring of the Republic, it would need a good revolution every generation to keep it on its toes. Boy are we long overdue or what?
http://www.naturalnews.com/029153_British_Petroleum_Police_State.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
The link above shows what happens to freedom of the press when they get scared and allow themselves to be puppets of big business and the government. They backed off (slacked off). Sure they got a little bit of nitty-gritty into the public eye about FEMA and the whole hurricane debacle. Every so often we hear about some governmental indiscretion but for the most part, major media has been publishing what the publicist tell them to. Wow, wonder how long the fed has had a PR department or at least one that has strong-armed the press the way they do now? But the point is that now that media has a real piece of meat to sink its teeth into with the Gulf/BP mess, they're seeing the error of their ways for not sticking up for the first amendment both for freedom of the press and the right to petition for redress of grievances.
Starting in the first days after 9-11 I started preaching my mantra of "Retaining the Republic for which we stand before we become the United Police State of America". Obviously I was a voice crying in the wilderness. I tried to find a quote this morning but failed. Something to the effect of not becoming the empire we sought to free ourselves from. I remember it was from a member of the first continental congress and had to do with the establishment of the new Republic. But at the end of the day it all boils down to this. We allowed ourselves to be beat into submission with the constant admonition of our president about being "UnAmerican". Nary a one spoke up loudly enough in a public forum, myself included, to say "Hey W! Speaking out is the most American thing about America and questioning our government is the second most American thing to do!"
At the time I did start reading the free press more to learn what was really going on but I did nothing with what I was learning. I bitched and complained to friends and people around me who would listen and sometimes agree but did we form any kind of protest group? No. Did I write letters to my representatives? Not enough to count and not about the really gritty issues. I did not call out the passing of the "Patriot" Act or the establishment of Homeland Security. I have not questions the sending of the National Guard abroad while the regular Army stays here. I have not demanded at stop to lobbyists or term limitations. I am just as guilty as the next guy for being "unAmerican"
So here we are. Government and big business goons muzzling the press. CNN rages "How dare they?". Well at least they're finally raging and seeing that if the small media guy gets busted, they're next. Is it too little too late? Or will it light enough of a spark under American journalists and their employers to finally say "STOP! Freedom of the press!" and start speaking out? Will we find out what is really going on in the Gulf and on Capitol Hill regarding BP and when they are going to fix this disaster? And once the big gash in Mother Earth's belly is sutured and bandaged, will the press continue to stick up for itself? Will they call out big business for the laundry list of crap they have gotten away with mostly with congress' blessing? We can only hope.
In the meantime, I've found my guts. Sure, I'm just a measly little blogger who only a few people read, but at least I will flex my right to speak freely and demand answers and air my grievances. President Obama, I voted for you and you have let me down at every turn. I know you don't run the show but you can get into the House and the Senate and demand that they get their collective heads out of their collective asses. You can tell the United States what is REALLY going on. You told me that you wanted to "green up America". Well you know what? There's a lot of brown sludge on her beaches that is killing the green and the animals and eventually the people. How about you start showing me how "green" you are by demanding BP get their asses in gear and fix this shit? How about you call off the cops, Homeland Security and BP employees who are blocking the press and doing illegal search and seizures? How about you stick up for THIS country and stop protecting the empire we declared our independence from? How about you start sticking up for all of our first amendment rights? How about it Prez? And press? How about you join me and grow a pair? And anyone who reads this blog, how about becoming a true American again and speaking out?
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Matthew Leone
Nathan's blog about his twin
Last night I signed on to Twitter to see a post from a fan-friend follower about putting Matthew Leone, bassist for Madina Lake in her prayers. As I'd been away from my computer all day, I was scrolling from oldest to newest so I hadn't come across Nathan's tweet with the link (above) to his blog.
Matthew Leone, identical twin brother of the band's lead vocalist and frontman Nathan, did what we are all called to do, step in and help his neighbor. He was walking home from his brother's and walked into the middle of a fight between a man and his female significant other. The fight was physical so Leone jumped in to rescue the woman from the man. What he got in return was a beating severe enough to leave him unconscious on the sidewalk and then moved to the ICU of a Chicago hospital. Both members of the couple left him for dead on that sidewalk.
Matthew is currently fighting for his life. As a friend of a friend of the band, I know how hard they are all taking this. As someone who is aware of the bond between twins, I can only imagine what Nathan is going through. I met his brother once, about three years ago at The Webster in Hartford. When I thought back on it last night, I remember Matthew having a very bright intense aura that ranged from yellow to white. He had a bright smile and made my son and I laugh. Later that evening when Madina Lake played the closing set, Matthew was just a ball of energy. Together with his brother they kept the crowd wrapped around their fingers and the room was on fire. It was a great show. Watching the twins interact I could see that each was the yin to the other's yang
Mateo and Danny are the "other brothers" that just make Madina Lake such a special band. Having met Dan and knowing a lot about him, he is a peaceful spirit that is needed right now. Mateo feels like someone strong and passionate. Again, a good person for Nathan to have around.
The bottom line is this...Matthew put a face on it Tuesday night. He felt the compassion when he saw what was happening and chose to try to do something about it. Now you put a face on Matthew. He smiles. He laughs. He makes great music. He could be your brother, your son or your next door neighbor. Now put him in your prayers. Also pray for this couple that walked away from this beautiful boy, left him wrecked on the street, that they will put a face on him too and come forward and admit to this horrible act of violence. Shine bright Matt. We're all out here rooting for you. Keep pouring your love into your brother, Nathan. He needs you now more than ever.
Peace, joy & Love from
Mom
Last night I signed on to Twitter to see a post from a fan-friend follower about putting Matthew Leone, bassist for Madina Lake in her prayers. As I'd been away from my computer all day, I was scrolling from oldest to newest so I hadn't come across Nathan's tweet with the link (above) to his blog.
Matthew Leone, identical twin brother of the band's lead vocalist and frontman Nathan, did what we are all called to do, step in and help his neighbor. He was walking home from his brother's and walked into the middle of a fight between a man and his female significant other. The fight was physical so Leone jumped in to rescue the woman from the man. What he got in return was a beating severe enough to leave him unconscious on the sidewalk and then moved to the ICU of a Chicago hospital. Both members of the couple left him for dead on that sidewalk.
Matthew is currently fighting for his life. As a friend of a friend of the band, I know how hard they are all taking this. As someone who is aware of the bond between twins, I can only imagine what Nathan is going through. I met his brother once, about three years ago at The Webster in Hartford. When I thought back on it last night, I remember Matthew having a very bright intense aura that ranged from yellow to white. He had a bright smile and made my son and I laugh. Later that evening when Madina Lake played the closing set, Matthew was just a ball of energy. Together with his brother they kept the crowd wrapped around their fingers and the room was on fire. It was a great show. Watching the twins interact I could see that each was the yin to the other's yang
Mateo and Danny are the "other brothers" that just make Madina Lake such a special band. Having met Dan and knowing a lot about him, he is a peaceful spirit that is needed right now. Mateo feels like someone strong and passionate. Again, a good person for Nathan to have around.
The bottom line is this...Matthew put a face on it Tuesday night. He felt the compassion when he saw what was happening and chose to try to do something about it. Now you put a face on Matthew. He smiles. He laughs. He makes great music. He could be your brother, your son or your next door neighbor. Now put him in your prayers. Also pray for this couple that walked away from this beautiful boy, left him wrecked on the street, that they will put a face on him too and come forward and admit to this horrible act of violence. Shine bright Matt. We're all out here rooting for you. Keep pouring your love into your brother, Nathan. He needs you now more than ever.
Peace, joy & Love from
Mom
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