protesting

I’ve been devastated since the passage of Prop 8 on election day. Feeling like I should have done more. When truthfully I don’t know what else I could have done. I gave money. I advocated where I felt my voice had the furthest reach. I voted. I encouraged everyone I knew to vote.

I believe there is certainly a case to be made that the NO on 8 campaign was poorly organized. I believe there is also a case to be made that the high influx of black and Latino voters had something to do with its passage. And let us not forget the MILLIONS of dollars that the Mormon church and its followers funneled towards the YES campaign. Largely from out of state.

I think that my community, my queer community, never believed that this would happen in California. I believe that many of us were complacent. I am eternally grateful for living in the wondrous bubble that is the bay area. At least here I know that Prop 8 was voted down in every town save one.

This fight is not over. Prop 8’s passage in CA seems to be spurring a national movement. The protests and legal battles are escalating by the minute. Some are beginning to say that this movement is exceeding the Stonewall riots. A notable difference is that the Prop 8 protests have been largely peaceful.

Tomorrow there is a national protest. In cities all across the country. Simultaneously protesting the fact that a minority class was stripped of their civil rights. No single advocacy group has planned this. We’re in grass roots territory. Word is being passed along via blogs, social networking, and text messages.

I plan on attending the protest at my local city hall. With SB’s rainbow flag in tow. So that he can be there in spirit.

Election Obsession

I’m currently parked in my living room with a plate full of sushi glued to the news. Waiting anxiously to see how this election turns out.

I’ve been a faithful voter for as long as I’ve been able. My first love taught me the value of voting while I was still in high school. Because he was passionate about politics but also because even at 18 he was already working for the great political machine. And he was a Republican.

I lived in TX when they voted to amend the state constitution to ban same sex marriage. My workplace was also a polling place. I watched a portion of what was, at that time, record voter turn out. I did as much as I could, within the limits of the law, to campaign against that amendment. But to no avail.

And now here we are. In the final hours of what has been a campaign to end all campaigns. Hollywood is equally obsessed. He and I have spent HOURS discussing this election. For more reasons than just the president.

Because he and I both live in California. And we’ve got some state-wide propositions that are doozies. There’s a proposition to require parental notification for minors who want to get abortions. There’s a prop regarding humane treatment of animals being raised for food that’s been getting lots of press. And then there’s the proposed ban on same sex marriage.

I could go for hours on that proposition alone.

And if I lived in San Francisco proper I’d be able to vote on a proposition to decriminalize prostitution. Not legalize it, but make it so that if a sex worker is assaulted she or he can seek treatment and retribution without fear of being arrested for being a sex worker. And just for fun (so to speak) there’s a proposition to rename a local sewage treatment plant after W.

This has been such an exciting election season. For so many, many reasons. And I love that I’ve spent it in Berkeley. A city with a long political history of its own. And while it’s true that I’m a little more to the political center than most people in Berkeley (but please don’t ever confuse me with a conservative) it’s been incredible to be around so many people who are so involved.

Many of my co-workers were off today because they were volunteering at polling places. There was no question that we would all have time off to vote if needed. Most people I know have donated, phone banked, door to doored, and otherwise campaigned for causes they believe in.

It’s a pretty amazing thing to be a part of.

I have champagne ready if the same sex marriage ban gets defeated. But it might be a day or two before I pop it open. Because even in CA, that’s gonna be a close call.

pride

It’s Pride weekend in SF. June is pride month across the U.S. There have been festivals and marches happening all over the country. Pride festivities have been swinging into gear here for the last week or so.

Why is June pride month in the U.S.? So glad you asked. Because Stonewall happened in June. The Stonewall riots catapulted the gay rights movement to a more present, large scale forum. Today is the 36th anniversary of Stonewall.

I’ve been to two films this week as part of the LGBT film festival. One was a collection of short films either made by bisexual film makers or about bisexuals. Last night I went to a screening of a documentary about the culture of bisexuals in America and how we are perceived. It literally brought me to tears. It was incredibly well made. It covered a wide range of views. It was moving and touching and had me laughing and crying and wishing I’d brought every bi person I knew along with me. I spoke briefly with one of the film makers after the screening.

Tonight I’ll most likely be with my gay boys at a party. I also have an invite to go to the Dyke march with some friends. I may do both. We shall see.

Tomorrow, my lovely employer has a booth at the festival. I’ll miss the parade (I saw it last year, the best part is the opening contingent, Dykes on Bikes), but I pushed to have representation at Pride so I’m perfectly happy to hold down the lead position for the first two shifts. Half the people I work with are queer so it’s silly that we haven’t had a booth before.

This year Pride has been electrified by the recent legalization of same-sex marriage in CA. It has been truly awe-inspiring to be around. There’s still lots of work to do. We’ll vote on a constitutional amendment (to ban same-sex marriage) in November. But I have really good feelings about it. The over-riding sentiment seems to be that it will not pass.

It’s times like this that remind me, yet again, how lucky I am to live in the city I live and to have a family who is wonderfully supportive of who I am.

day of remembrance

Today is Veteran’s Day. Remembrance Day if you’re on the other side of the pond.

It is still odd to me to not have an active connection to the military. I was married to it for so long. Even after LH separated from the military, we had friends that were active duty. I’m still fairly vocal in my support of our military. These days the closest connection I have is my best girl friend. She’s an army vet. She was medically discharged. But she lives in Ohio and sometimes she and I will go months without speaking. We’re like that. There when we’re needed but largely silent.

Being an Air Force spouse certainly changed my perspective on the military. But my reverence for this day began long ago. I was fortunate as a kid to have close relationships with my grandparents. Both sets lived in the same town as my folks. We had big family gatherings on holidays but they were also my most regular baby sitters.

Both of my grandfathers were in the service during WW2. My paternal grandfather was in the Navy. He was an ordinance officer on a carrier. He saw Iwo Jima from the deck of that carrier. My maternal grandfather was in the Army. He spent most of his time in France.

My maternal grandparents were very active with the local VFW chapter. They went to meetings and marched in parades. There were always plastic poppies around the house that would be worked into wreaths and fashioned into decorative pins. Poppies would be placed on cemetery graves each November. For them, the remembrance of past sacrifices were part of every day life.

I didn’t fully appreciate it until I was older.

While living in Germany I took frequent jaunts in to Luxembourg. One of the places we would go sometimes was to an American military cemetery. Patton is buried there. Much like the images you’ve seen from Arlington it was incredibly peaceful and serene. Row upon row of clean white crosses. Perfectly manicured lawns. Memorials that inform as well as commemorate. A visitors center with guest book and maps to find loved ones. US tax dollars pay for the upkeep.

If you go down the road, there is a German military cemetery. It sits in stark contrast to the immaculately maintained American grounds. There is no visitors center here. Simply an iron fence. There are rows of crosses but they show obvious signs of weather. The spacing of the crosses is much the same as in the American cemetery but on closer inspection you see that each cross bears four names. At the far end of the cemetery is a large cross. There is a small, semi-circular brick wall behind it. There is an inscription on the brick. The grass is over grown and unkempt. It is a sad and empty place.

What always struck me about the differences between the two places was an acknowledgment of the similarities of the young men buried there. The average soldier, on either side, was a young man. So young. How many of them did not wholeheartedly believe in the choices of their government, but went to war for it anyway? How many chose to go to war to put food on the table of their family? How many saw no other option for themselves? How many went out of blind patriotism and a longing to be a hero?

On this day, I always stop and think not only of the men and women I know personally who put their lives on the line every day for my freedoms, but I stop and think of their families. Of the spouses and children that make daily sacrifices alongside their uniformed husbands and wives. I think of all the veterans I have met in my lifetime. How many of them are truly heroes. How few of them will take on that title. I think of my grandfathers. I say a prayer for all of them.

national coming out day

Happy national coming out day to you all!!  Btw, I’m bisexual. 

P.S. October is GLBT history month as well. More about that later.