Rick Warren

I can't begin to express my disappointment in the selection of Rick Warren to deliver Barack Obama's inaugural invocation. It is clearly his right and I understand and applaud the impulse to reach out to all of his constituents. If this were a commission on poverty or AIDS or global-warming, I would have no problem with being inclusive of Pastor Warren. But it isn't. It is a day of national unity. The inaugural is not the time to be political and the Warren invitation is political.

President-elect Obama has broken faith with his supporters. It is true that he should not be judged by Rick Warren's comments anymore than he should have been judged by Jeremiah Wright's. We should watch what he does. His actions are not exactly something to shout about. After his cabinet appointments- which don't include a member of the LGBT community, the announcement of the White House senior staff - which also doesn't include a member of the LGBT community, the inaugural plans - which don't include a meaningful role for the LGBT community and the patronizing handling of the very real dismay of the LGBT community, I'm not so inclined to shout that change is on the way. We are still second-class citizens with second-class rights and President-elect Obama's "fierce advocacy for the equality of gay and lesbian Americans" has thurfar amounted to little more than the empty rhetoric I never believed him capable of.

It was not just a sobering moment but also a personally hurtful one. I hope that my support was not misplaced. At this moment, I'm unconvinced that a President Obama will actually deliver the change we need.

check out Joe Solomonese's WA Post article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/18/AR2008121802788.html

Comfort and a call to move...

My friend, Staceyann Chinn wrote a poem (For Weeping Girl named Nina) that touched me today....Here is the part that really grabbed me:

"...woman/child
stop weeping/stop caterwauling/all that/endless bellyaching

is entirely un/necessary
what you need to do is claim your voice

your song/your story is all you have

so wield it/weapon like you have to sling it/blade and bloody
you cannot be afraid of it

fall

but get up
open your throat/your hands
your heart is nothing but an open thruway

drive/little girl/drive

let that wind dry your face
your fingers

your fears
feel the fury of your faith

fate ain't got nothing on you
water ain't nothing but water

swim/little girl/swim
put those pretty notes in a little brown bottle

and keep them
sailing to sea"

I have been lamenting the Prop 8 vote. The homophobia, the vitriol - even more the priviledge and callous indifference had me curling up inside. But I read this poem and it's ending seemed like more than a call to healing - it was a call to arms. This is a fight that I am ready and willing to engage. I will not be invisible. I will not be silent. It is past time to take up space, to find my voice, to roar. Thanks, Staceyann!

Post-Primary Depression

Today I am weeping.
Not for the loss of a loved one or
a misplaced heirloom or
the five dollar bill that vanished from my pocket.

Today I am weeping for the lost soul of my country.
The once regal robe of community
Has been stripped off our backs
and thrown into the muck of a political process
that venerates bloodying up our own candidates,
that tolerates parcing and spinning and lies
that obliterates discourse and debate
that seduces us with personality and displaces policy.

We have rended the fabric of civility
forgetting any sense of common purpose;
opting instead to vilify and impune.

We are left naked and shivering;
praying that the tatters
can somehow be woven into a new mantle.

But there are no guarantees
so I weep today.

How Ridiculous Can It Get?

It seems that Lesbian and Gay issues are moving more and more to the forefront of my own political agenda. It may be that this is a political time - what with the elections and all. I mean, everyone is courting everyone. And everyone is putting their issues out there in expectation of being courted. Or it may be we are on the brink of some real and profound (dare I say it?) change? That always scares the status quo folks. The idea that their way might no longer be the way terrifies them. Maybe it is just that I'm getting braver as I get older. In any event, a couple of LGBT relevant items struck me today when I, a self-professed news junkie, was trolling various media for current events. The first is:

AFA Warns Against Day of Silence

The American Family Association is urging parents to keep their children home from school on April 25, the National Day of Silence. The Day of Silence, first organized in 1996, encourages students to remain voiceless for a day to represent the silence faced by LGBT people and their allies. Today, hundreds of schools across the country participate in the event.

"DOS leads the students to believe that every person who identifies as a homosexual, bisexual, or cross-dresser is a victim of ongoing, unrelenting harassment and hate," the AFA said in its mass e-mail. "Students are taught that homosexuality is a worthy lifestyle, homosexuality has few or no risks, and individuals are born homosexual and cannot change. Those who oppose such teaching are characterized as ignorant and hateful bigots."

The AFA is asking parents to inform their school that they will not allow their children to attend that day. They also want parents to explain to their children that "homosexual behavior is not an innate identity; it's a sinful, unnatural, and destructive behavior."

Can you believe it the AFA is asking parents to keep their children home from school on the National Day of Silence? This news item pissed me off. They want to turn what should be a sign of solidarity into a show of intolerance. It is no wonder that little Larry King was killed for a crush. Now even silence is provocation for the bigots to vent.

The other item - and this one would be just plain silly if it weren't so sad - comes from the Advocate today:

Mississippi: Partnered Gays Not Good for Kids

A bill in the Mississippi senate would bar cohabiting unmarried couples, including gay and lesbian couples, from adopting children. The proposed law is an effort to close a loophole that allows gay couples to adopt. WLBT TV in Jackson reports that the state's department of human services has 533 children in its custody who are eligible for adoption. Current guidelines for a prospective adoptive parent are that he or she must be either single -- sexual orientation is not mentioned -- or married for at least two years, 21 years old, and have sufficient income and insurance to care for a child.

"We're talking about taking a child and putting them into an environment where they are taught habits and exposed to lifestyles that are clearly detrimental to the child," state representative Phillip Gunn said to WLBT in reference to adoption by gay couples.

Gunn said, however, he does not want to prevent singles from adopting. "Obviously there are a lot of single people out there with a lot of love to give an adoptive child, and we certainly don't want to prohibit that, and that is not a bad way to raise a child," he continued.

Apparently, gays make poor adoptive parents only when they're partnered. (The Advocate)

How ridiculous is that!

I'm Lovin' Ellen DeGeneres

Last Friday, I watched Ellen DeGeneres stand up for gay Americans. I watched as she, in her subtle, humble way, said, "Stop the Hate". She was moved by the story of a 15-year old murdered for asking a 14-year old classmate to be his Valentine. She was moved because she knows that being gay shouldn't be a death sentence in the U.S. or anywhere else.

What was remarkable to me wasn't that Ellen was moved. It was that she decided finally to stand on her platform and make herself heard. All too often she has played the role of the harmless "not political" don't-get-offended by me gay. But every once in a while something moves her. The murder of Lawrence "Larry" King did it.

“Larry was not a second-class citizen,” DeGeneres said in her remarks. “I am not a second-class citizen. It’s okay if you’re gay.”

You're right, Ellen. And I'm grateful you were moved not just to feel but to speak!

In love and struggle,

Val

Just The Beginning

I decided, finally, that I might have something to say from time to time. And that maybe someone might be interested in it. So I'm going to try this blogging. I'll write about things that I observe and that interest me for what ever reason. I may even write about my work from time to time. My hope is that you'll post a comment if you're touched or moved or provoked by anything that you see here.

Thanks for checking me out. Please visit again.