Category: society

Liar, Liar…

…Pants On Fire.

I was the unfortunate witness to the head of Focus on the Family flat out lie on the Bill OReilly show today. Where is the moral outrage from all the “christians” out there? OH wait, I forgot, when their folks lie it’s called “point of view”.

Even here in SF, there are a lot of folks who don’t really care for “my kind.” While they’d never say it out loud, they routinely vote their conscience to keep me a 2nd class citizen. I’m just always surprised by their selective morality. When they fight for a cause, it’s god’s will. When we fight for a cause, it’s evil or wicked. And nothing like pesky facts will be allowed to get in the way. I mean according to FOF marriage has been a sacred institution between one man an one woman for over 5000 years. I guess polygamy sanctioned by religion doesn’t count. Tut-tut, silly faggot, what was I thinking?

Reality Bites

Thanks for all those who shared on their flaws. I’m working on a description of my shortcomings however, I haven’t finished it yet so on to other less tantilizing posts…

I’m continuously intrigued w/America’s fascination w/reality shows. I guess there is some appeal to seeing every day folks on the “tele”. However, I’m disturbed at how often these every day folks are ridiculed, deuced, or downright made fun of all in the name of ratings. I think there is something fundamentally wrong w/that. It’s as if hollywood has discovered the success of the Jerry Springer show and is now thinks humiliation = ratings. I feel it is a sad day in hour history when that’s what our primetime line up consists of.

For all my bitchin’ there have been a few shows, I connected with. Extreme Makever, Home Edition comes to mind right away. Granted, it is riddled w/free consumer product plugs but at the end of the day, the show changes peoples lives for the better. Several episodes were so touching, I found myself bawling like a baby by the end. I think it’s still on the air and if you’ve never seen it, it’s worth a watch. If you are a big softy like me, bring your kleenexes cause you’ll need’em.

I’m not saying all TV shows should have some meaningful purpose. Being an avid scifi/horror junkie, how could I? What I am saying is if we reduce ourselves to the level of high school kids making fun of others as a form of entertainment, we really don’t deserve to be top of the food chain.

I’m sure many disagree but that’s my take on it. Much in the same way I refuse to watch movies or tv shows that show graphic depiction of torture or murders. Saw, Hostel, etc. I refuse to watch such shows as 1) it could really happen 2) it gives the really sick fuckers out there ideas. No, I’ll stick to my scifi/horror flicks. While filled w/blood and gore as a prerequisite, after it’s all over, I know it’s fake. A small distinction but an important one in my view.

Ignunce Rears It’s Ugly Head II

Why is it in this country we always have to over exaggerate things? Take for example this clip from Towleroad regarding a hate crime.

The home of two gay men living in Aldie, Virginia, just west of Washington, DC was the target of homophobic vandals over the weekend. The vandals spray-painted “FAG” and other homophobic remarks on the lawn, driveway, mailbox, and street in front of their property. They also uprooted over 170 trees and shrubs and poured gasoline on the lawn before fleeing the area. (photos)

Said Equality Loudoun (Aldie is in Loudon County) President David Weintraub: “I am disgusted and saddened. The good news is that the homeowners do feel that this crime is being taken seriously and being investigated by law enforcement as what it is: a hate crime and act of terrorism.”

Webster’s defines terrorism as “..threat of force or violence by an organized group..against person(s) or property w/the intent to intimidate or coerce a soceity or government for ideological or political reasons”.

Someone please explain to me how a hate crime involving graffiti and vandalism of trees reaches the level of “government intimidation”? I’m not trying to belittle the event as it is a serious offense. The perps. caused significant property damage and who knows how much emotional turmoil. But come on folks, let’s keep things in perspective. This is NOT terrorism.

I’m probably overly sensitive to this issue. In my line of work, I hear people throw around the word terrorism all the time. I’m just sick and tired of the “ignunce”.

Ugh! II

Sometimes, I let my mouth run away w/me. Tonight, was case and point. I was catching up on my blogrolling and, as usual, Dunner always seems to come up w/engaging topics. One particular post was about the dangers of meth use vs the staggering deaths from legal tobacco and alcohol consumption. It is no secret I am anti-drug all the way. I’m usually of the mindset “all things in moderation” but, that does not apply when dealing w/deadly addictive substances such as tobacco, alcohol AND meth. I lost it after this particular response . . .

You’re so neo-prohibitionist it’s disgusting. How can you honestly take the stance that you’re pro-sexual freedom and then rant and rave about fucking tobacco and alcohol use? How is your desire to restrain others right to put what they want into their body different from fundamentalists trying to legislate away your right to put a cock in your ass or mouth? Tobacco and alcohol don’t lead to increases in HIV and meth use does. Long-term use of meth carries far more fatal side effects than a beer or a ciggie every now and then, yet you focus on an increasingly more absurd “war” against tobacco. What’s next, a ban on outdoor smoking? Or better yet lets follow the wonderful example of the 30 year “war on drugs” and ban it entirely. That’s just what this country needs more of, banned substances.

Excuse me? I was so stunned I had to read it twice to make sure I read it correctly. Rather than tie up Dunner’s blog (as I tend to do), I thought I’d bring it home and blather to my hearts content.

How is your desire to restrain others right to put what they want into their body different from fundamentalists trying to legislate away your right to put a cock in your ass or mouth?

Well let’s see, putting my cock in someone else’s ass, does not in itself, cause any lasting harm to either party. With the arrival of AIDS and super resistant ghonorrhea, etc, it certainly is riskier. However, if we plan on outlawing consensual sex, it should apply to both hetero- and homo- sexuals equally. And the “fundies” don’t care so much about harm as much as they do enforcing their own twisted propaganda.

Tobacco and alcohol don’t lead to increases in HIV and meth use does. Long-term use of meth carries far more fatal side effects than a beer or a ciggie every now and then, yet you focus on an increasingly more absurd “war” against tobacco.

While tobacco may not lead to increases in HIV, unless you are “dipping” there is no way you can indulge your habit outside your own home w/o polluting the airspace around you. Air space, I’m most often forced to endure. Are you so far removed from mainstream society that you have forgotten that alcohol has been repeatedly linked to an increase in risky behavior due to lowered inhibitions. And what about all the deaths caused from drunk drivers? I guess those don’t count because they aren’t related to HIV transmission and meth is.

Long-term use of meth carries far more fatal side effects than a beer or a ciggie every now and then

True, meth is a very insidious and destructive drug. It was recently discovered your body actually produces antibodies to meth. These means you must continually increase the dosage to get the same affects. No arguement there. But numbers don’t lie. Alcohol and tobacco related deaths far outnumber deaths caused by meth. Just because it is “legal’ does not mean it’s good for us. Nor should we as a society stand idly by why thousands die every year from ‘legal’ drugs.

But some reverse thinking might be in good order here. After all, if we remove all the “frivilous bans” on tobacco, alcohol, and meth, let’s go all the way. Let’s make everyone personally responsible for their actions. By that, I mean if you willfully choose to self-destruct, then I am not obligated to contribute or pay for your illness, treatment, and/or eventual death. That means no more insurance coverage for smoking or alcohol related illnesses. Think of all the money we’ll save. Why, we could divert those funds to so many other needy folks!

Such comments are foolish and hypocritical. Hopefully, my sarcasm has shown that to be the case. If not, I promise not to say ‘I told you so’ at your funeral.

Pride II

I was jumping around and stumbled over Joe-my-god’s post about pride. He makes a great point and a powerful reminder. I’ve already shared my thoughts on Pride celebrations but I felt the need to weigh in again. If you aren’t part of “the scene” or “into the gays” but still identify as gay, that’s ok. Just don’t bash the rest of us. I usually try to avoid using such terms as they are completely subjective. Often times referring to a very limited portion of gay culture in general.

The mostly white bread, self-haters over at the LCR would have us believe drag queens, leather daddies, circuit boys, punk queers, etc are the doom to our culture and rights. You have it backwards boys. If anyone is holding us back, it’s you and your conformist attitudes. You make the same mistake our straight counterparts make. I shouldn’t have to conform to your views just to have equal rights. I was born a human being. That gives me the same rights of any other human. Who I sleep with and how often isn’t part of the equation. I don’t need to ‘play nice’ to gain equal treatment.

I’ve always been an oddity unto myself. I’ve never really felt like I fit in w/any “scene”. I sort of lurk on the fridges of all of’em. I go to clubs/parties. I go to drag shows. I go to leather bars. I workout often. I’ve even been seen in a few goth clubs. I also go to sex clubs bathouses, etc. None of which defines me, I just happen to like aspects of each. Some might say, I’m the ‘typical fag’. Does that somehow preclude me from being able to share my life w/another man? Leave my wordly possession to who I choose? Or prevent me from being able to celebrate the hard-earned freedoms gained in the last 20 years? In a word, NO.

Our narrow-minded brethern have mistakingly assumed that by “fitting in” we can advance our cause. How’s that going boys? From out here, I’m not seeing it. Maybe you should spend less time worrying about us ‘freaks’, and more time trying to accept that not everyone wants to be a corporate logo queen.

As pride week approaches and parades all over the world march the cause, take a moment to look back on your life. The pain, the sorrow, the disappointment is not unique to one. Many of us have “been there, done that”. Rejoyce in your freedoms and in each other. I know I sure as hell plan to.

Nonsense

I had another ride along today. It went well. Not very busy but something is better than nothing. I always find my ride alongs a lesson in humility. I usually end up dealing w/the down-trodden and cast aways of society. Whether by fault or fate, life dealt these folks a shitty hand. Some make the best of it, others wallow in their misery. Either way, I’m reminded of how lucky I am and how far we need to go as a society before we can even begin to throw around terms like “civilized”. It is unthinkable that we allow folks to sink to such lows.

While responding to a victim of an assualt, we happen to see a man walking the streets sort of erratically. The most striking trait is the odd color of his hands. By odd, they were completely purple. Not a good sign regardless of the reason. It becomes apparent said person isn’t dealing w/a full deck as we watch him perform a sort of hopscotch of hopping back and forth across the street. PD was onscene and mentioned he’d been 5150’d (psych eval’d) previously on several occasions. Uh, yeah! Here we have a man that w/medication and just a modicum of daily intervention could lead a normal even productive life. Thanks to a variety of issues, including our shitty no-good piece-of-shit president’s policy of robbing this country of any social programs, this poor soul is left homeless and forgotten. He wanders the streets on a daily basis in a cloud of chemical dysfuntion. And true to description, after dealing w/our current patient, we can’t find him. Lost once again in the daily shuffle of life. He is but one of many such people in this city. And not just SF, you could pick any large city in the US and encounter a similar problem.

Oh, and our assault victim? A victim true enough. But, as soon as PD left, he hopped out of the ambulance and was on his way. He was what we call a “repeat offender”. Someone who works the ins and outs of the system just so he can get a ‘free ride’. But how free is it when your life is at the whim of social services, housed in squalor, and totally dependent on the kindness of others?

At day’s end I find my faith in my current career choice renewed. I may not be able to save them all but I know I can make a difference. Even if that “difference” is a compassionate face in the chain of faces one must endure when faced w/a life on the streets.

What Color Is My Skin?

I have so much to write about I’m busting at the seams. I know I’m bound to forget some of it. Oh well, such is life I guess.

I was a good boy and went to the gym today. Nice back/bicep workout. There is a new guy working out the Gold’s on Brannan. Obviously straight but a total hottie. I drop an egg every time I see him basically. Today he said hi to me and I almost yelped. I’m not so silly as to read anything into it. He often sees me and was just being friendly. Moving on…

I was reading brett cajun today and was dismayed by his article on the problems facing New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina. I say dismayed as exactly what I thought would happen did. Or is happening. (I’m not sure of the grammar here but you get the point.)

We think we are so civilized as a society and yet we aren’t even close. You only need to look at a disaster like Katrina to realize that. We quickly revert back to “fend for ourselves” mentality and screw everyone else. Even worse, the government that we elect to protect and serve, failed it’s citizens in the most fundamental way. The ball was dropped at the local level which created a cascading failure all the way to the top. A failure compounded by our lack of support in the aftermath. I think I’ve beat that point to death so I’ll get back on focus.

Half of my family is from Cajunville so I am no stranger to New Orleans or it’s class issues. New Orleans has always had issues w/racism and poverty. A tiny percentage of the city lives in wealth and prosperity. A tiny percentage of “white folks” mind you. There is a decent size “middle-class community but it is completely overshadowed by the large percentage of people living at or below poverty level. Most of which are black. After Katrina, the government tried a ‘quick fix’ to the problem by throwing money at it and hoping “they’ll take what they can get” and go somewhere else. Well friends, that is not the answer as is becoming obviously clear. The crime rate in New Orleans has sky-rocketed. As often happens, people overlook the subtleties for the more obvious differences. By this I mean race. Considering over half of the population is black and most of those live in the afore mentioned poor conditions, it isn’t a big leap in logic to figure you will have a higher percentage of blacks committing crimes.

When every crime against you is perpetrated by someone who is black, it becomes easy to make assumptions about race. I’m fortunate enough to be far enough removed now to see the issue more clearly. If I still lived in New Orleans, I might think the same thing. But, if we are to truly become civilized then we must move beyond ‘easy answers’ and work on the bigger problems. Hoping “they” will go away hasn’t worked before and won’t work now.

Sadly, I don’t think that will happen in New Orleans but one can still hope right? (And some might think this a pot-shot at Brett. It isn’t. He took some heat for his post and kudos to him for foregoing politeness for honesty. I adore Brett. I just felt the need to sound off my own opinion w/o monopolizing his blog.)

Oh, and one more thing… Saying you “are not a racist” only makes you look like an ass. Everyone is a racist to one degree or another. It is how you act on it that defines you.

Ignunce II

I mentioned I recently joined my space. Well, so far not bad. However, as is prone to happen, ignunce rears it’s ugly head. I got this lovely email from a rather unattractive out-of-shape female today. In her defense, her intelligence is matched only by her beauty…

I am sorry that you are gay. You are good looking and woman would probably be all over you!!!I dont understand it my self cause I LOVE MEN. What a waste!!!!

My first response was to slice her to bits but what would that solve? Anyone stupid enough to send such a comment isn’t firing all 4 cylinders anyway. Instead, I politely advised her not to start conversations w/total strangers w/insults. I doubt she understood what I meant though.

Fiddlin’ Again

I’ve moved some things around on the blog for aesthetics. How’d I do?

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I was also particularly struck by a recent post by Aaron over at meanwhile on “corporate gays” today. Apparently, he hit a sore spot w/quite a few of his readers. Aaron is a new read for me but so far I’m really enjoying reading some of his insights. Check’em out.