Fred Phelps take a vacation, we got this one covered.

This is an old piece I had written for QBliss Magazine, written long before prop 8 or the massive resurgence of political activism in the gay community that it caused. As I read this piece I see the amount of arrogance and preachy ego that fall within its pages. My views on many things have changed, some slightly, some dramatically since this piece was written, but some things remain the same. I realize now the growth I have made as a person and I no longer fight with such tenacity to demand change in situations out of my control.  I have come to accept that differences exist for many a reason, while still feeling free to call out the many misconceptions and inequalities our community offers the world. We all know that I am no fan of the sterotypes that our community perpetuates, but I have found more successful ways of discussing this topic over the years.

Well, here goes nothing.

The Essay

I stand, waist deep in my own flaws, yet still question the validity of those around me. How are we to build a promising future, when the foundation of the present is eroding beneath us? It’s very possible my eyes are tinted in colors visible only to me, but I can’t change the world as I see it, only question its intentions.

As a young gay man, I can no longer idly watch such a potentially influential community of people circle the drain. I use the term community with a degree of cynicism, as its something I don’t feel we have fully earned.

As a boy, I spent much of my time escaping reality, jumping from one fantasy to the next. My mother told me I had an imagination that knew no limits – I was convinced it was A.D.D. I had always known I was different from the other kids and I was oddly accepting of that, it was a distinction that I wore with pride. At age five I came home from school and told my mom that I liked boys. I didn’t fully understand what that meant or just how immensely it would affect my life, but I knew it to be true. 12 years later I informed the high school world that I was gay by climbing atop a cafeteria lunch table, giving in to verbal diarrhea. There isn’t a single day that goes by, in which I don’t look back and wonder why everything got so hard.

Fresh out of High school, with a fledgling streak of depression that was quickly devouring my sanity; I stepped into the gay world. I had heard whispers of supportive families of gay men and women, groups of passionate individuals whom felt that our only hope of survival was to rely on each other. After all, no one else seemed to really care about us. Images of powerful, intelligent and proud men flickered in my head. I was convinced that the majority of us would have been so tired of being second class citizens, that we would openly accept one another under the banner of our shared discriminations. My head slowly emerged from the blinding lights of the world I was leaving behind, and this time I didn’t plan on being alone.

What unfolded before me was no paradise of intellectual minds, no wonderland of strong ideas or supportive expressions. The world flipped itself upside down and within a few short weeks I had begun to quickly watch my utopian ideals sink in the horizon.

I sat in this theatre for months and watched nothing but badly written dramas composed by some of the most self loathing authors I had never heard of. I often wondered to myself why it was that I had been so wrong about this “family”, this community of people. Eight years later the show is still running strong and I am so tired of the stage. To this day I have yet to fully understand the gravity of the situation, but I can clearly see the cancer that is eating away at our common goals.

Many of us in the gay community feel like we have been ignored, silenced and shut out for too long. This tearing of communicable fibers is responsible for so much of the self loathing, anger and overall feeling of frustration that plagues so many of us. What more could be expected? I don’t think any of us has ever been lucky enough to have been spared the sting of homophobia or a well placed hate crime. There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t see the consequences of ignorance, religious intolerance or just plain old fashioned hatred.

It would be easily argued that many of us are furious at the current state of things. Gay issues aside, the world is on fire and we are all citizens of that flame. Yet for all our heralds of righteousness, our own camp is quickly becoming a hotbed of hypocrisy. Our inability to properly maintain our own collective dignity is the most destructive force rallying against our cause. There is no need to cry “homophobia”, for the enemy is within.

I know many of you will hiss and moan at the words dying to leave my lips. I acknowledge the ease of turning a blind eye to my own flaws, only to point out those of others. As a community we have become so ingrained with the idea that the enemy is outside ourselves that we no longer have the ability to take responsibility for our own actions. It’s so much easier to blame the cheating boyfriend than it is to accept that our own complacency has given birth to a world where sex is easily given away as a passing “hello”. Our dignity as a people is one of the few things we still control and its worth so much. So how is it that it sells for so little anymore?

When did we all become so obsessed with competing with each other? When did having a designer’s name branded on your ass elevate you to a higher level of being? When did selling out and being brainwashed by the media become so popular?

The world around us is constantly changing, its charges creating chaos and turmoil at every glance. No young gay man or woman should ever be forced to come to terms with such a tremendous concept, like sexuality, in an environment of such disregard. How many times are we going to watch as that gay teenager commits suicide to escape the world around him, before we give him a better world to hope for? How many of us will sit by and watch as he slowly descends into a culture rampant with drug abuse, sexual violence and moral ambiguity? I don’t expect many of us to cut up our “gay cards” in silent protest of the current situation. However, your more than entitled to mine, I won’t accept this anymore.

We should be fighting for our equality, demanding more of those in power, demanding more of ourselves. Yet so many of us can’t be bothered with such trivial matters when it’s far easier to sit back and complain about the world, than it is to actively change it. Who has time to build a better community, when gay.com can offer me a quick hand job and silent nod to my own hedonism? When did we sell our souls to excess and decide that self respect and morality was sub par to a great tan and a six-pack? How many of us have to be slaughtered by indifference before we collectively unite and actually accomplish something?

When Middle America lays witness to a gay pride parade, what thoughts go on in their heads? Here you have a large group of people dressed in a complex array of ridiculous costumes. Grown men walking around nude in the streets and proudly allowing strangers to come up and fondle them. Men and women dressed in S&M outfits whipping each other and imitating oral, vaginal and anal sex.  I couldn’t begin to count the number of people whom I’ve witnessed, flat out, having sex with one another in the alleys and sidewalks of the parade route itself. How are we ever going to garner the respect and understanding of the outside world, when we go out of our way to scare them off? How dare you try and pass off your one sided view of sexual liberation as the universal poster boy for homosexuality. My sexuality does not define me, nor does it perpetuate my actions. It is my actions that define my character, and I politely ask that the world be given a chance to see who the rest of us are.

How in the world are we ever to expect an outsider to take that bold leap and attempt to see things in our shoes, when we are doing everything possible to highlight or glaring differences?

I am confident that if Martin Luther king had used this particular avenue to express his desire for racial equality, the outcome would have been dramatically different. Gay or Straight, people are sexual beings and there is nothing wrong with fully exploring your own sexuality. However, if Dr King had explicitly focused his energy on his personal sexual habits in an attempt to bridge the racial gap, his profound words would have been lost in the crowd. There is a time and place for everything, and sexual liberation can be an amazing thing. Yet there is nothing to be proud of when we are throwing parades in honor of public nudity, pop culture idolatry and the extinguishing of any self respect we still have. There are a lot of positive things can come from gay pride parades and gay themed events, but if sex and alcohol are the main focus of any conquest, the mission has already failed.

It’s gotten so bad that outside companies have begun to assume that the only way to sell to a gay audience is to inundate us with naked men and blatantly boast about how much sex we’ll get if we employ their services. A current Travelocity ad depicts a statue of Poseidon with gay men passing by it and the fountain sprays up a gush of water from its crotch, as if it was climaxing. Lack of creativity aside, this is how we are being marketed. As if we were nothing more than a pair of disembodied testicles looking for our next fuck. There are so many of us whom feel ostracized by modern “gay culture” and that feeling of shame by association pushes us from those we should be connecting with.

Gay men come in all shapes, sizes, colors and points of view. We do not all have lisps, walk with a swish to our hips or gain the respect of our peers with a biting sense of fashion, as most the media would have you believe. A recent article in The Advocate expressed a writer’s opinion that if a gay man did not act feminine and flamboyant, he was essentially denying who he was on the inside. That in some way, because he didn’t conform to the time honored stereotype, he was living a lie. It astounded me that such a well respected magazine would even allow such a glaring misconception to be printed.

Many of us long for monogamy, a loving relationship and dream of kids and a home to one day call our own. We are frustrated with the comical archetypes that are constantly portrayed of gay men and women, in our own media. How many badly written gay movies have to sit on Blockbuster’s shelves before gay directors understand that a gay drama doesn’t have to center around casual sex and cheesy clichés?

We have the potential to be so beautiful and so powerful, not just as gay men and women, but human beings.  I hope for a time when young gay men can come out of the closet and pass into an environment of welcoming, where their peers are never forced into a world of alcohol abuse, in an attempt to escape their own unhappiness.

We all have something that demands more of us, and it’s time we answered the call. Many have fallen so that we could stand here today and live on in their memories. Don’t let their sacrifice be for not. It is in truth that the words of the deceased are past on to the living. Do not silence the dead, for they are the only ones that have truly seen the world.

read more

A herald – An old speech I wrote for my ego.

I found this while rummaging through some old essays and poetic babble this afternoon. I wrote this peace for myself, to give myself hope that one day people would not struggle against the very nature of freedom and acceptance. I had convinced myself that far into the future I would find myself standing amongst a crowd of people and I would have nothing to say. I wanted to be prepared.

On this day, a day like any other, a great testament will change its nature towards the path of history. No longer will the half hearted gods of hypocritical men rain down injustice in a tempest of ignorance and over indulgence. No more will men and women, boys and girls of all colors and creeds lay cowered in the corners while unbridled violence rocks the institutions of their security. I stand before you, a man, a son and a brother, but in all these masks I wear, I refuse to done the colors of victimization. Just as you too have faced adversity and pushed aside the shackles of bigotry, we must come together and summon a great force on which the winds of righteousness will prevail. Although we stand united without the aids of gods or doctrines, our voices will echo with the purity of thought and absence of fear.

I await the day when the laws of mankind are tempered with reason and not the blood soaked hands of necropolitan deities, a time in which common sense dictates the inalienable rights of all men, not that of dogma. So battered is my pride, that my words tempt to drip with venom, yet above my fury I all too well understand the value of a dignity most high, a dignity all of you share with me today.

No longer will blood shed in the name of scripture; no longer will tears be colored in the hue of absent holiness. In the great storms of our lives we will weather their relentless attacks, knowing full well that one day our dedication will be fruitful and our victories many. Throw off oppression, cast down the shadowy figures and puppets that walk amongst us, for no man among you is above your calling. No man among you can call you his slave and no man among you shall be heard calling master.

I hold, with my hands fully extended, the hope that one day men and women can love freely, no matter the pious doctrines and backwards religions of the minorities. I see in my eyes the vision that one day the words, “we hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal”, will shine like a beacon for all to see and with this singular and constant light, all indignities throughout the course of human history will be for not.

The power to change the world is in your hands, it is in your children’s hands and the hands of future generations. With this knowledge nothing can stop you, neither man, nor machine nor antiquated gods. I cry to you, rise up! Rise up and rebel! Let the world hear our anger and let that cry echo in a new era. Let no man push asunder and leave no stone unturned in the journey for freedom and equality. Let it be known to the masses incensed around the globe, that if god won’t bring about a revelation, our whispers will tremble the earth and ignite a revolution.

read more

Redefining “fierce” for the rest of us.

Our fierce advocate has done very little in terms that would encourage such strong language. Sure, he has signed the hate crimes bill and met with some transexuals, but what major change has he personally enacted? It wasn’t Obama that fought for Hate crimes, it was the house and the senate. It was gracious that he signed the bill into law and it’s surely a step in the right direction, but with a history of nothing but political leaps backward, how long do we accept steps as progress? Where is his leadership on DADT, DOMA? When is the world going to be safe enough for someone in power, to take a small amount of time to address the inequalities of millions of Americans? What does the Dow have to read before I can marry my boyfriend? I am just curious, beccause it seems there is always something more important than our rights and I, for one, am tired and don’t plan on asking for them anymore.

Could Obama have made the difference in Maine? Who is to say. I am not one to jump on the bandwagon that his support of equality or even fervent denouncement of divisive politics, could have given us the victory that equality demands. As it is now, Obama is becoming more and more unpopular and is seen as a man of great pragmatism, but little courage or personal conviction. He hands out millions to bankers, sells out the public on Health Care and spends most of his time on TV, giving vague and subtle hints as to what he MIGHT do, compared to what he is going to actually do. His chief of staff is of no help in this department either as he is looking more and more like a moderate Dick Cheney. It wasn’t so long ago that Obama supported full marriage equality. Integrity is often the first virtue to vanish in the face of ultimate power.

He may or may not be a good president, but integrity the man does not have.

The Huffington Post had a great article discussing an ongoing discussion in the civil rights struggle of our age. Is Obama doing enough to fight back the stem of intolerance? Has he earned the right to be considered a fierce advocate? Some would say yes and ask that the president be given more time. He does, after all, have quite a big plate in front of him. There is no denying that the president is busy and has had little time to repair the damage of 8 years of neglect, but how long does it take to make a stand? How long would it take to send a strong worded message to America, that equality is worth fighting for and that his personal views of marriage have no bearing on the law? How long would it take to say, “Enough is enough”?

SAN FRANCISCO — Stunned and angry, national gay rights leaders Wednesday blamed scare-mongering ads – and President Barack Obama’s lack of engagement – for a bitter election setback in Maine that could alter the dynamics for both sides in the gay-marriage debate.

Gay activists were frustrated that Obama, who insists he staunchly supports their overall civil rights agenda, didn’t speak out forcefully in defense of Maine’s marriage law before Tuesday’s referendum. The law was repealed in a vote of 53 percent to 47 percent.

The president spends plenty of time on TV, but often neglects that he is running a nation overflowing with stone aged idealists and poorly educated house wives. He spends great deals of time pontificating about his many plans, but rarely answers to the outrage of the people, from either side. Everyday, while millions of Americans are pushed underfoot, he goes about his business, content that his place is in the philosophical realm, unaware of how much sway he could have on equality and the real world.

After so many lies and misgivings, it is hard to know whether he is going to change Washington or if Washington has changed him.

It is rarely popular to do the right thing and rarely is the right thing popular. If we had left the rights of slaves to the peoples votes, we would likely still be fighting for abolition and interracial marriage would be something of fairy tales.

However, all of the blame does not lie on the shoulders of our president and there is plenty of blame to go around. There always is. It is often impossible to fight a battle of virtue or honor when your opponent is knee deep in the sewer and covered in ideological mud. When the weapon of your enemy is a lie, the easily feared are quick and easy prey. The Mormon and Catholic church have broken the law and it will not stop here. With the protection of the government they have over stepped their boundaries and little is being down to counteract this breach of legislative inanity.

It is  time that we stop asking for our rights and start taking them. Either by gavel or blood, this battle will end in our victory or the ruin of us all.

Read the entire article at The Huffington Post

read more

Give them hope…

We are all biting our nails tonight, terrified that we may once again feel the sting of oppression and the pain of rejection. Terrified that we have felt this night before, that we know its outcome. That the simplest of joys and rights can so easily be torn from our hands, ripped away and scattered to the winds. We have seen much sorrow and much sadness in our times, but we are not without our victories. We are not without our strengths and our determination is far greater than any hate speech or scare tactic. We are alive, you and me, all of us together, in the stomach churning, acidic wasteland that is life and the human condition. We are connected and we will overcome. There is little in this world that is certain, but never have a people fought so hard for their freedom, only to be denied.

Oppressors move with history and are taken over by its wake, no matter how long they may find themselves riding the surf. We will be triumphant and no matter the outcome of tonight, we will win. You and I and every freedom loving individual in this world will win this battle and we shall look back on these days with fond memories. Memories of oppression, but of much more… memories of our cohesion and determination to fight

Remember this. We are a more determined to be free than they are to hold us back.

Hopefully the words of the Harvey Milk will remind us jut how far we have come and how far will can and will still go.

read more

“One of them”

This is an old opinion piece that I had written back during the 2008 election. It doesn’ hold a tremendous amount of weight, in terms of current events, but it offers an interesting glimpse into my opinions of Obama then, compared to them now. Little has changed, other than my hope in him is slightly less now, than it was then. Never the less, there is frustration in this tongue that often finds few ears who care enough to listen.

Everyone needs to vent.

God doesn’t seem to have time for much of anything anymore, except for random appearances in a food item or stain. Most of the day he is out blessing America, as quickly as our politicians can demand it.

In a world where religion has become a Prada bag and Jesus is the new carry-all, I think we can safely say God is meaningless as a statement of faith. The majority of politicians in office are neither religious, nor concerned with your well being. The con of man in the last 60 years of American politics is the unspoken truth that most Americans are far too lazy and uneducated to be troubled with the truth or even bothered to admit their politicians neither share their values or their concerns. A quick trip to Wal-Mart can net you all of the materials you need to run for office, more so if you plan sliding by on the Republican ticket.

A crucifix to attract the faithful, a pocket Bible to allow quick access to “honest truth” and a few baseball hats to be seen wearing in public. How else are we ever going to know that you are an average Joe,  “Just like us”? Make sure to keep the receipt, as it shows that you shop only American stores, stocked with the best goods China can make!

In an age where religion is trying it’s best to kill its other bastardized cousins, we are lambasted daily by their messages of peace and unconditional love. Barring of course, it’s discovered, you are not one of them.

We all listened to John McCain talk endlessly of the horrors he endured as a P.O.W, so much to the point that some of us wish he had gone mute from the trauma. We get it John, torture is a horrible thing that no one should ever endure, unless of course its “one of them”. McCain is so against torture in fact that he has said many times how wrong and inhumane it is, that no one using such devises should be allowed sanctuary. That hasn’t stopped him from being close friends of Senor Bush, who thinks simulated drowning is a kin to a ride in Hurricane Harbors “Lazy River”. Will McCain head any counsels demanding that Bush and his officials be held accountable for their actions? Of course not. No one wants to ridicule the retarded cousin, that’s just cruel. If only Obama had Karl Rove on his side, maybe then we would see ads in which a deep and troubling voice would say, ‘John McCain doesn’t even have the common sense not to get tortured. Is this the man you want running your country?”

If the tables were turned, you can be damn sure that would be the case.

It’s also ironic that the “party of God” holds so dearly to their crosses and religious iconography. Most of them completely unaware that the word crucifix is derived from the Latin word cruciare, meaning to torture. Named after the crosses the Romans used to torture their victims upon, leaving them to die. The same crosses Jesus had supposedly been killed upon himself. Now the party tries desperately to distance itself from those pathetic acts of torture perpetuated by the president (a member of their party), while their candidate speaks as a victim of torture himself. All this, while speaking of their great faith of the man who was tortured on the cross. McCain wouldn’t dare hold Bush accountable for this breach of the Geneva Convention because red necks across the country applaud him for “doing what had to be done.” Never mind the fact that a heinous act anywhere is an affront to god and their “faith” or the fact that those who tortured John McCain felt they had just as much right to do so as the Romans who killed Jesus. Something tells me all sides are covered in ideological shit.

In two hundred years, people will look back on this and judge us with a heightened sense of awareness and compassion towards our fellow man. They will see the short sided and selfish acts of half a nation desperately trying to secure its own safety at the cost of the rest of the world, the environment and human rights. The party of immediate results at the cost of the future.

Any woman who is voting for McCain primarily because he chose a woman as his VP, should never be allowed to vote again, just as any minority doing the same because Obama is black. People in this country tend to forget what an awesome right voting is and they throw it away. We vote on who has the best hair, the prettiest wife and who looks the most faithful. People talk about Obama and say he is elitist and too educated. I am not sure what strain of Stupidia they contracted, but the president of the United States should be well educated and if he comes off as elitist to you, it’s only because you are poorly uneducated, intellectually lazy and hold no command of your native language. I understand the last 8 years have lead you to believe the President is supposed to be an international joke, but I assure you, even dumb asses get lucky once in a while. While the Democrats are not offering leaps and bounds better compared to the Republicans, at least they expect to do the work themselves, instead of foolishly “giving it to god.” or blaming everything on “one of them.”
Once, in my life, I would love to see a candidate with more integrity than faith, more truth than talking points and more us than them.

Here’s to hoping.

read more

It’s not racism, if you’re ugly.

Can we please stop screaming racism when someone expresses they are not attracted to people of a particular ethnicity?

I just finished reading an article from a gay Asian man (gaysian?),upset because white and Hispanic men are not often times attracted to him. A two page pity party about euro centric standards of beauty taking over the gay community and how he had had enough of it, ensued. Rawrrr!

It wasn’t the due to the fact that he was visibly unattractive or just not physically the type of those particular men, it was obviously because he was Asian and the world was engaged in a secret plot with Ralph Lauren, designed to make him feel ugly. Paranoid much?

He honestly thinks that, because the gay advertising world doesn’t place enough Asian models in their ads, that this somehow influences people to suddenly find Asian men unattractive? It’s magic! It’s odd too, because I see images of skinny twinks all the time and I wouldn’t make out with a twink with Charlie Crist’s lips.

When was the last time you found yourself attracted to an entire race of people, because some model in some random magazine filled out his boxers nicely? That’s like hating scientologists, but then wanting to bone the whole cult, because you thought Gionvanni Ribisi looked hot as a stuffed animal in “The Other Sister.” (Which he totally did)  Or suddenly being overtaken by the urge to become homosexual because you saw how well I filled out a pair of jeans.

Please. You know I fill them out well.

The majority of gay magazines are dripping with images of twinky, starving, emaciated men (of all races) and yet I have somehow never found myself attracted to walking skeletons. Apparently I am the only person who derives my sexual attraction from my own personal choices, as it seems every other gay man in the world is forced to find only the men in gay magazines as acceptable standards of beauty. Apparently, my attraction to white and Hispanic men is based on repressed racism and it has nothing to do at all with the fact that I just like lighter skin and curly pubic hair. Great, for all my civil rights struggles, I come to find I am a racist because I don’t want to bone someone from every continent. It’s a small world after all.

The writer goes on to claim he is going to join his” queer Asian brothers in arms” and fight against the racism of the gay community and spark a revolution. All the while, reminding everyone that he is no longer dating guys based entirely on whether or not they are white. So, in other words, it’s OK for him to blatantly turn away men because of their skin color, but not OK for you or I to have a physical preference.

At this point I had to step away from the computer and look out the window, making sure the earth was still in fact rotating around the sun and not this man’s head.

I am also an ass man, should I slap myself every time someone without an ass hits on me and I graciously decline? Assicist!

I find myself attracted to deaf and blind folks, so does that mean I am reverse racist? No no, because those things are not based on race, they run the whole gamut. Kind of like… gee I don’t know… SEXUAL ATTRACTION? (Do you see how I put that in caps there? That’s how you know it was super serious.)

So now I am a sexist because I don’t find woman attractive, racist because I don’t like Asian guys, insensitive because I don’t like obese men, warped by pop culture because I find white men attractive and perverted because I like my men with a big ass and muscles. I can not even begin to imagine my therapy.

So after all of this, I came to the conclusion that this is not even related to racism, not even on a fundamental level. It’s actually quite simple. This guy was probably not that attractive, or to put it bluntly, he was ugly. Its OK dude, I get it. I have mediocre skin, some extra weight on me and my beard grows half ass-ed, but that doesn’t mean I am entitled to call everyone a racist because they don’t want to fuck my whiteness. Maybe its OK to be ugly, or just not everyone’s cup of tea.

Every time someone pulls out this nonsense, the ACTUAL acts of racism loose all of their power. You want something to bitch about?

Bitch about the fact that I never see people like me in magazines, people with massive eyebrows and man tits. Or better yet, get over yourself.

Burn bitch… burn.

read more

Facebook Etiquette – Don’t delete shit

Something has been irking me the last few days and no, it’s doesn’t relate to starving children. If they were really that hungry, they could eat their friends. Everyone knows that children are full of delicious vitamins and meats.

What has been on my mind as of late, is etiquette in the face of those you disagree with. Now, I am not talking about being sarcastic or putting someone in their place with facts or humor, I am simply referring to the act of letting others disagree. I could go on for hours about the many different forms of argument and debate and when sarcasm, humor or cold facts are best applied, but that’s boring as shit and reading is for nerds.

What ever happened to letting someone disagree with you and giving them the courtesy to do such a thing? I am well aware that there are certain things that we can not allow a disagreement on. Rape, Slavery, Racism and Intolerance – all good subjects when one is looking for a way to say, “Sorry, there is no disagreement allowed on this, these things are wrong and you are a disgusting pig person for defending them.”

However, I am speaking of broad and lofty things like politics and policy. When did we start deleting the comments of others, because they said something we disagreed with. Berate them, insult their intelligence and beat them down with facts… sure, but delete their comments out right? Or what about comments that are not even a form of disagreement, but a joke? We all have the co worker or friend who posts the most vulgar things on their Facebook pages, ranging from how they like to screw to which co workers they would fist, but when you post a sexual joke on their wall, they shit their pants. (Then they post a note about the consistency of their shit). All of a sudden all of the personal and over the line crap that they posted never existed and they attempt to scold you for being unprofessional on their Facebook wall, while three posts below their is a quiz about which kinds of balls they prefer to put in their mouths. Stop adding your co workers and family, if you don’t want people to see the person you really are. It really is that simple.

That’s social networking integrity for you.

I bring all of this up, because last week my father had posted a quiz on his Facebook page and it related to politics. The question was “Should President Obama shut down Fox News?” Right away, the question is a bait and switch for the easily angered. Not only does the president lack the power to do such a thing, but the man can barely pass a health care bill that most of us want, how in the world would he shut down America’s favorite circus act?

My dad had commented on this quiz, saying “No, but that doesn’t mean he won’t try.” As if telling the press pool he will not interview with Fox News, is the same as shutting down a multi billion dollar propaganda agency.

Some of his friends weighed in, made some jokes and even agreed with him, in typical “easily terrified Republican” fashion. However, one of his friends pointed out “how stupid the poll was and that is was obviously made to rile up irritable idiots”. I laughed and commented in return how we needed to stick together as a country and solve our problems, that there was no integrity in being upset about the fictional destruction of Fox News, while screaming about the Constitution, only to admit you did nothing when Bush ripped the Constitution in shreds and made no qualms about it. Needless to say, my comment was deleted within a few hours.

Now, keep in mind, I never said anything rude or attacked anyone. I just made a counter point. I figured, if you felt strongly enough to post something on your facebook page, then you should feel strongly enough about it to allow people the right to discuss it.

I love my father, even though we have never been close, but it frustrates me that as adults, we are unable to discuss matters without him shutting down the conversation.  Such is life and I have come to accept this. I suppose, that if I were not born gay and never bothered to attend college,(not because college makes you liberal, but because it opens your eyes to a whole new world of people and views) I may feel the same way. I would hope not, as that would be a very telling sign of my character.

Let this be a lesson to all of you! Don’t delete my comments or I will be forced to write a vaguely personal note about you on a blog that no one reads. You have been warned! Wink

UPDATE: It was my mother who deleted the comment, not my father. So apologies to him for assuming he was the only one with access to the account. The plot thickens…

UPDATE 2. I have removed my parents from my Facebook account to avoid further trickery and sneaky-ery. Yes, those are words.

read more

I am the revolutionist

I am the revolutionist

I am the silence of night that wakes your ears to my rhythm, a whisper, propagation -  reminiscent of what’s given

I am the thread in a tapestry woven purely of intention, a creation, a man set on sickle-celled ascension.

From my lips thus speak the words that construct a demise, to realize one plan to actualize

My proximity to the war is not as close as the fray,  as I sit , I pray, unmoved by the lay – …believers set a tone in the song I cant sing, so high above reason it’s still the one thing, the one true word knowledge can not consume, setting fire to the wall while building the room

Bullets and bread loafs, bodies and Beemer’s, ducking past the masses of the faithful and their fluid in-betweeners

In conscious apologies, you’ll raise never more, the pitted half pruned figure of the dead boy next door.

Truly, how cruelly did my heart pluck strings asunder, echoing such stentorian versus that they flavored of thunder

All to soon a time for testing, for the besting of rhyme, within objections of resting in the chorus of lines

Drip, crush, rip a little, pulling tops from within the riddle, carving out best, which lays high, to bring the bottom to the middle.

read more