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On Shithole Countries: Why do we need Haiti to be our nigger?

So last week, our Witless Leader referred to Haiti (and El Salvador, as well as African nations collectively) as “ shithole countries ”, and while the language itself is reprehensible, I don’t think that should be our focus. Rather we need to examine our need to label countries as “shitholes”, and what that says about us, collectively. It’s racism, plain and simple. Not the racism of individual people who hold racist notions, or subscribe to racist ideologies, but Endemic Institutional Racism. Of course there is an interest in labeling Haiti as a “shithole countr[y]” - because Haiti is the first independent nation of Latin America and the Caribbean, the second republic in the Americas, and the only nation in the world established as a result of a successful slave revolt. If it’s a “shithole”, a failed State, then it just “proves” that Black and Brown people simply can’t govern themselves. We in the “civilized” West have made an example of Haiti 🇭🇹 . Why? ...
Recent posts

Oprah Winfrey is not the Messiah you are looking for.

Oprah Winfrey is not our Messiah. She cannot solve the problems of America. No one is. No one person can. Nor should we want them to. Oprah doesn't have perfect judgement. Remember, she supported and promoted the likes of Dr. Oz, Dr. Phil, Jenny McCarthy, and other charlatans who prey upon/pander to the less well-educated members of our society. Not everyone who is good at what they do, and effective where they are, would translate to a good President. Oprah  would be much more effective doing what she does best - rallying public opinion to a cause and getting more people involved in the process. I love  Elizabeth Warren  - or rather, I love Senator  Elizabeth Warren . In the Senate. Stirring shit up, calling out bullshit, protecting and serving her constituency. I would hate to see her hands (and mouth) tied up in the Presidency, where she would have to walk both sides and make compromises to get actual work done. I love  Kshama Sawant . Having a Soc...

You Have Power - You Just Need to Use It

I F YOU ARE A NIELSEN RATINGS HO USEHOLD - DO THIS. To see how Neilsen Ratings work (and don't work) click here. If you aren't (and let's face it, most of us aren't), then it doesn't matter what you do or don't watch on television - no one is paying attention. So, watch, don't watch, go outside, join the Women's March on Seattle (or your local protest march, rally, demonstration. Get involved in doing positive work in your local community. Washington DC doesn't represent us; through gerrymandering, voter suppression, foreign influences, and just outright lies and propaganda, RepubliCorp has taken control of 2/3 branches of our Federal Government, but that's not what directly governs most of our daily lives. Yes, they affect much in the Big Picture, but the things we have direct control over - our Cities, Counties, States - we still have the power to affect the positive and progressive change we want to see. Building a movement mea...

Love is not a Boomerang

So I'm listening to Taylor Dayne for the first time in 25+ years, thinking it's going to be a lovely journey into nostalgia, and the lyrics are lovely - I'm thinking to myself, "of course this is why you grew up to be a Poly-person"... " Saying goodbye is never an easy thing / but you never said you'd stay forever / So if you must go / Darling I'll set you free.. ." Great stuff. But then it immediately downshifts into fantasy. "Love wilI lead you back into my arms where you belong." No. I've never been under the impression that any of my loves would come back. " You'll walk out this door (yes) But someday you'll walk back in (no)." No, Darling. I don't know that this will be.  I've had my heart broken into a bunch of pieces, little and big. Sometimes I did it to myself, sometimes not. Never though, no matter how much I've wanted it, was I ever under the impression that they were coming back. Even when ...

Silence = Death

In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.  -Martin Luther King, Jr. My Dearest Friends and Family, I have heard much outrage, fear, sorrow, grief, and an outpouring of love after the recent massacre in Orlando, Florida. The thing that I've noticed is that it is almost entirely from my fellow Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, And Queer brothers and sisters - those who have felt this as deeply as I have, and do not doubt that I have felt this all the way from Seattle. It's not about the distance, because the distance between me and a 20-something Latino fag is the space between two heartbeats. You see, I am that little Latino fag. I always have been. I always will be. When the internet went tricolore for Paris, and you jumped on that in support, I supported you. I'm not French, but some of my very good friends are. When the epicenter of violence was Brussels, I too posted "Je suis Bruxelles", just as you did. None ...

Why is this Yom HaShoah different?

Tonight begins Yom HaShoah. Holocaust Remembrance Day. Normally I refrain from using this day for anything other than what the name says - to remember the 6,000,000+ of my people who died in extermination camps in Europe from 1939-1945. Why is this Yom HaShoah different from all others? Because in the Republican race for a Presidential nominee, a racist, fascist demagogue who preys upon the ignorance and fears of the American populace is the clear front runner, and the only remaining declared candidate. My country is looking much like Italy or Germany, post WWI, politically speaking. If you would vote Republican, I would ask you to read this letter http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/an-open-letter-to-my-frie_2_b_9293694.html Then ask yourself some difficult questions. Primary among them, "does Trump really represent you and your ideals?" If the answer is no, please do not vote for him. There are other options. I can't bear to think of the possibility that the answer might hon...

Prince Rogers Nelson

RIP Prince Rogers Nelson, b. 7 June 1958; d. 21 April 2016. We shared a birthday. I've always found him to be a role model, being another petite gentleman - I wear my masculinity as it suits me, regardless of what others expect or perceive. I am who I am, in part because of his example, and equally because of his music. Thank you,  ‪#‎ Prince‬  - you are gone, but you will not be forgotten. And from +Alyssa Rosenberg , who summed it up more succint than I.