Prepare Yourself - The DADT Rant

My “Run Lola Run” Approach to the Current Political and Societal Conundrums in this Life.

I wish I was a princess/with armies at her hand
I wish I was a ruler/who'd make them understand
- Run Lola Run, “Running One”

Lately, I feel like I am fighting against an invisible wall – one I can’t get through, and yet I feel insane fighting against it because most others are on the other side, watching me flail around while they either sit still doing nothing or fight against me. This line from Running One sums up how I feel about it pretty well. I’ll try to link the song soon.

Every person in this country (and others who have a vested interest) is being affected by the myriad of causes, bills, laws, and controversies currently evolving and devolving around us. I am completely disgusted by most of it. I am finding such a duality in this country. We claim to be this land of the free – then we limit the freedoms afforded to the very people both living in and defending the country. I am currently on a rant about DADT’s failed repeal.

I can sum up my position a bit better in a reply to a blog poster I encountered on Rachel Maddow’s blog.

The comment I was responding to:
“If gays want to serve their country and they are loyal to the US Military, they should understand what disruption they would cause and serve without projecting their sexual preferences. It's being done now and it works”
My Response:
How exactly is this working? Heterosexual soldiers fight for their country, and their pay and benefits extend to their family. If they should perish, their families are respectfully told and given death benefits. Homosexual soldiers fight every day beside them, in no less danger, but they cannot share the benefits with their family. If they die in the same manner, no one is respectfully told, and the spouse gets no death benefit - not even the benefit of their pain and loss being recognized by this great country they were fighting for. I am sad that they have to feel so much less of a person while devoting their lives to the very same country. This is simple inequality and bias. It's not onstitutional.
And your argument is about showers? If all rules are plain and apply - no fraternizing, no sex, and no harassment among any soldiers - then I do not see the issue. It applies to everyone. If the rules are followed, there no problems other than the ones some self righteous and self important soldier might make for themselves in their own mind.

For the Full article and video, plus all the fun and not-so-fun comments: http://bit.ly/ciK8sV


There are such bigger issues inside the smaller ones, and my fear – my true, roaring fear is that this world is becoming unknown to me. What made sense once is gone, and logic is out the window. We’re all becoming pawns for other people’s agendas, and I’m learning that these other people are idiots and assholes. Time in this world is limited, and we need to do the best we can for everyone in it. I’m losing patience with intolerance. I am tired of people screaming that Gays can’t get equal (or “special”, as some call them) rights, because then people would be getting married to farm animals and aliens. Farm animals? C'mon! Lemme tell you, I sometimes wonder if it’d be easier to marry an alien but immigration has taught me otherwise! ;) Stop equating consensual love to bestiality or sex with an unwilling – unknowing - unable to protest animal. When someone tells you to "Go fuck a goat!" it's just slang for "Fuck off!" so please, if you are taking it literally, walk away from the poor thing. Why can’t we focus on what makes us all happy, and allow everyone to experience it. Historically, we’ve overcome the exact same bias of letting interracial couples marry, foreign people of different cultures marry, and people of opposing religions marry. So far, the world did not explode, and it has only expanded our human capacity for compassion and understanding, not to mention love. How is this any different? It’s not. So pull yer heads from yer arseholes and let’s focus on harder things – like how to get gum out of your hair or candle wax out of your mom’s favorite tablecloth after a family dinner!

Airport Rage

I will beat your child
Screaming, lunatic freakshow
You taught no manners

This Haiku Blows

A great post as always, Brent captures both the potential good and bad of this film. The understated performance of Depp is dead on. The angst of watching his character play over the same life lesson mistakes without learning is heart crushing, especially when you see how much of life is lost while trying not to live your parent's life.

So now, the haiku for BLOW~

much to consider
to condemn or sympathize
his travels of life

Check out the original post at Brent's

Blow

I'm not the one

I'm not the one who
gives the awesome belly rubs
but she lets me live


-to Alice, who misses her mummy, but allows me to live... for now.

Haiku of Motherhood

She can't understand
why Mummy isn't there;
only knows I'm gone.

+3 Haiku of Longing

It's Thursday night.
I really miss my wife.
Sleeping alone sucks.

Witnessing De-Americanization

If you are anything like me, you know how disheartening it is to be bombarded day after day by snippets on the news, twitter links, editorials, and the general course of discussions at the water cooler. Right now, I am listening to all sides arguing the big TERRY JONES hoopla. May I please say that our only hope to exist peacefully as the free nation we purport to be, is to remember that we are founded on the basis of tolerance.

The simple truth?

As a country, we have lost our way. Groups rally around a common idea and instead of celebrating that idea, they attack others who do not share it.

Religion and Government are twisted up in an incestuous dance, and it's time to untangle that. People in this country are forgetting the main attributes of any peaceful, free, and upstanding society - we have rights as human beings, and we have rights bestowed upon us by elected officials. We need to remember that as a tolerant nation, we MUST allow EVERYONE the freedom to feel, worship, dance, learn, and every other thing AS WE SEE FIT for ourselves, WITHIN the confines of public safety and the concept of harming no fellow humans or our earth.

It's important to put ourselves in the position of other people at all times. If I were a Christian, I should be thinking about what it would be like to be of Muslim faith, or Jewish faith, or even an Atheist. These perspectives should ground us, and remind us to be tolerant and respectful of all other beliefs. Don't like Hip-Hop? Another person might not like yyour Frank Sinatra albums. This does not mean you are not both the same at your fundamental core. You need to eat, breathe, sleep, and search for happiness.

I will stop the preachy tone now. It's not my style - but this buisness of burning to Koran and the intolerance surrounding the mosque in NYC has me so worried about the future of our country and our planet. We have to be aware that our action ripple out and impact others. One book burned in this case could be enough hatred to inspire retribution attacks that will fan the flames for further hatred and violence. Why a man in this country feels the need to burn a book that he holds no belief in, to incite those who hold it dear as he would his own bible, baffles me. Why can he not see this? What would he feel if the roles were reversed and a small church not affiliated with any others decided to burn bins of bibles? There would be an uproar. Why should we not expect this? My hope is that those who follow the Koran will have the stregnth and wisdom to see this stunt for what it is, and realize that more books can be printed, and to use their tolerance to defy this act, rather than feeding the flames of hatred. This applies to all things - religion, gender, race, sexual orientation, your favorite color - etc. Accept that your preference for ANYTHING might not be shared by others, but it should be respected as you should respect theirs.

This is my hope. I'll leave you with some really great quotes, and wish all of you a peaceful, free, and interesting day, filled with questioning and tolerance. Namaste.


" I may disagree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
- Voltaire

"As fallible humans, we usually slip too far over one edge or the other - all wrath and judgment or all grace and love."
— Eric Wilson

"I remember one night at Muzdalifa with nothing but the sky overhead I lay awake amid sleeping Muslim brothers and I learned that pilgrims from every land--every color, and class, and rank; high officials and the beggar alike--all snored in the same language."
— Malcolm X

"There's bad apples in whatever way you want to group people - doesn't matter if it's religious, political or social. The big mistake is generalizing."
— Charles de Lint

"To extend religious freedom to people of all religious traditions, even though you may well disagree with their beliefs and/or practices. Having tolerance toward another religion does not require you to endorse that faith group's beliefs; it simply indicates your respect for its right to exist and for its member to hold different beliefs without being oppressed."
— www.religioustolerance.org

"It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. For happily the government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction - to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens."
— George Washington

What *I* think of when I think about Natalie Portman

Professionally Portman

As many of you know, SheSquared decided to team up with our sexy man-beast of a friend Brent over at Criminal Movies to do a 'lil something special for you. Criminal Movies is a blog Brent dedicates to breaking down and analyzing some of the best movies out there, and more specifically really talking about anti-heroes and the "roles" they play within the movies. Our fine asses have decided to give a little commentary about Brent's assessments, and offer up a deep (or not-so-deep) Haiku pertaining to the chosen movie and/or write up. Sound good? We thought so too! Without further ado - a haiku.

thought it'd be just bleach
then young Portman's cleaning brought
statutory lust

Ok, maybe the Haikus will have a little focus on hot chicks, but who's complaining?

See Brent's Full write up:
The Professional