i AM scoundrel

Hallelujah

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything as I’m mired in school and work and Tyler and Dog and family and friends…you get the idea, so I apologise for not posting.  I usually need something to spur me into words and I think I’ve found the inspiration needed, however distasteful as it may be.

I saw this today on a friends Facebook page.

I work in the field of disability and I will admit that I used to say that R word sometimes, usually to describe something I did that was foolish or even use it as a punchline.  I’ve come to understand that by using that word, I myself was being, well, the R word.

re·tard·ed

sometimes offensive : slow or limited in intellectual or emotional development : characterized by mental retardation

The Urban Dictionary states:

The word retarded in slang means to get stupid; just act how you want to; dance like you don’t know what you’re doing. One normally becomes “retarded” after popping an ecstasy pill or doing some sort of drug. Remember though….ThIzZ iZ wHaT iT iZ

Get stupid, go dumb, act retarded.

: behind time : late

A friend of mine had this picture on his FaceBook.  I didn’t created it and therefore take no credit for it whatsoever but it’s helped demonstrate a thought I’ve had about the Christian Right for years.

Now before people get all up in my face and claim things like, Santorum doesn’t force young Christians to strap bombs to their sweater vests and go inside Bed Bath and Beyond and blow them all to the moon.

Granted, he doesn’t.

But he does affect policy and that policy is geared towards the promotion of exclusion and bigotry towards people who don’t share his values.

Sure he’s one of THOSE Christians who, “love the sinner hate the sin” but he also is one who thinks that even if it’s a biological issue that it can be cured from prayer. (Which is so condescending it makes me want to lean on one leg, roll my eyes and slap whoever said it with my purse.)

Not that Santorum’s cronies on the campaign trail are any better.

This man right here has helped redefine the word “Douchebag”.  I mean, leaving your wife after a diagnosis with cancer all the while schtooping his future second wife who then is diagnosed with MS while schtooping his future third wife….

Confused?  It’s all a little “Days of Our Lives” for me.  I’d say “The Bold and the Beautiful” but he’s a pretty ugly MF. (Just my opinion, all)

And all the while he was doing this he was trying to skewer Clinton for having fun with “cigars” in the oval office.

There just seems to me to be a bit of hypocrisy there.

The other is Romney.  Ugh, where do I begin?  You know what?  He’s probably got the nomination but to not seem to have ANY grasp of what it’s like to be struggling and poor.

The problem with all of them is the attitude.  “Why can’t you be like me?  I made it.  I’m successful.”  I just don’t get that attitude. Yes, a lot of times hard work pays off but a lot of times it doesn’t and people are out there struggling and doing the best they can.  And whining that you only make $374,327.62 on speaking fees (that was between February ‘s 2010-2011) while most people are making under $40, 000.00 seems to me to be slightly obnoxious.

Now you may ask “Why is a Canadian giving a rat’s ass about American politics?”  Well, it’s not so much that I do (though I LOVE politics of any kind) but I have many friends who these men’s beliefs will affect their futures.

But it’s mostly because I want to shove my two cents in on the Kirk Cameron situation.

For those of you living in a shell (or not checking your FB every 20 minutes OR watching “The View”  OR reading those subway newspapers) Kirk Cameron – former child star was on Piers Morgan.

Now, Mr. Morgan asked a loaded question knowing FULL WELL that Cameron, a born again fundamentalist Christian, would focus his answer on a negative.

Big surprise, Cameron don’t respect the homo’s.

Marriage is almost as old as dirt, and it was defined in the garden between Adam and Eve. One man, one woman for life till death do you part. So I would never attempt to try to redefine marriage. And I don’t think anyone else should either.

Now while this comes as no shock to anyone, it’s the back-lash that’s accompanied it.  GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) jumped up and said,

In this interview, Kirk Cameron sounds even more dated than his 1980s TV character.  Cameron is out of step with a growing majority of Americans, particularly people of faith who believe that their gay and lesbian brothers and sisters should be loved and accepted based on their character and not condemned because of their sexual orientation.

 

Now I’m not disagreeing with them but to be fair, Cameron WAS asked his opinion.  I guess I’m just past the age where I care if people who are NOT politicians like or dislike homosexuals.  Unlike the politicians who forget their constitution and use the Bible as law, he doesn’t affect policy.

Besides…it’s Kirk (insert swear word here) Cameron.  With all due respect he hasn’t been relevant since “Alf” was on the cover of TV Guide!

I just don’t expect people to accept my homosexuality but I DO expect them to let me live my life, free and clear from prejudice and violence.

This is why Santorum, Romney and Gingrich should be “outed” for their hypocrocies and their intolerance because they’re letting the Bible control what should be Governmental law and should be separate.

And why Cameron should be left in the dust bin where he crawled out of.

I read the news today, oh Boy.

About a lucky man who made the grave.

And though the news was rather sad,

I just had to laugh.

I saw the photograph.

 

A friend lost her Mother.  I lost mine.  There’s a special club that we now belong to.  It’s the orphan club and while the membership has its costs, it has its benefits too.

The best thing that ever happened to me was that my Mother died.  I know that must be horrible to say, to even put down in words but it’s true.

I learned so much about myself.  What I was capable of, what I had in me.  What compassion I could truly offer.  The empathy I could now feel.

What was horrible about losing my Mother was now a blessing that I could share with someone else.  To be a voice of rationale in a somewhat irrational point in their lives.

So maybe that’s the gift?

A light to shine in someone’s darkest corner.  The heel that kills the spider.  A waving of the hand to break the web.

Someone to show that God exists.  Not the brimstone and fire-reigning-down-upon God but the one that I always heard of.

The one of love and compassion.

My heart goes out to her tonight.  My heart and my experience.

We are at a primary shift in the world right now.  Not just with global warming or the threat of the Mayan calendar coming true but of an energy shift that will challenge those trying to hold on to the past as those clutch onto a tree during a tsunami.  (I know, that’s one of the most over-used words in the last couple of years but you get the point.)

That is Lesbian/Gay/Transgendered/Bisexual/Queer ideology.

There are those that want to hang on “traditional” morals but I ask you; what are morals?

When I was growing up, morals were based upon how you treated other people.  How you looked to society and said, “No, I’m not going to steal this candy bar.”  “No, I’m not going to murder someone”, and no matter how bad you wanted that candy bar or how bad you wanted that person dead, you didn’t.

That’s what morals were to me.

Now, though, in the Rick Perry/Santorum – Michelle Bachmann Tea-bagging troglodytes, morals seem to go in the direction of sexuality.  Is it fair to say that the first two mentioned rhyme with “dick”?

Have we really come this far to be going four steps back?

By certain people, we are seen as a fringe group asking for equality but not JUST equality, special rights that aren’t afforded to the general population.

When marriage became legal in Canada, there was a sub-section of the LGBTQ community that fought to keep marriage between the “straights” because it meant that we were becoming more and more like them.  In fact, I went to one debate where a very smart Lesbian posed the question, “Why do we want marriage when there’s  a 50% rate of divorce.

While that question resonated with me, I kept thinking to myself, “it then gives the chance to fail equally.”  And the numbers for gay marriage success and hetero marriage success don’t seem to be any different, from what I can find.  However, one website declares, “Gay marriage hasn’t been legal long enough to establish reliable gay marriage statistics, and many statistics don’t separate gay marriage from general marriage rates.”

We are clamoring for positive role models in the media.  Not ones that portray us a murderers or psychos or even philanderers but that show us in an honest, real life world where we are just seeking to be normal.

Property of Fox Network. I take no ownership of this photo.

When the gay kiss on “Glee” was broadcast, the straights went up in arms.  How could this show, directed at teens, then show a kiss between two men before 9:00 pm?  This prompted David Badash to declare, “Glee Gay Kiss: Now, No Network Will Be Able To Hide Same-Sex Smooches.”  And all this on the notorious anti-homosexual Fox network.  Not bad.

So here is a teenage kiss that happens to be between to young men, still in high school and not one of a perverted old man who’s trying to seduce a young boy.  Well that’s the point, isn’t it????

Amen, Brother

I like Louis CK’s response to a situation like this.  It’s frank, yes but it’s honest.

I think I’ve said this before (and bear with me if I have) but how, on Earth, does Gay marriage affect or infringe on Heterosexual marriage?

The answer is, it doesn’t.  It only adds another dish to the table of commitment.  Maybe that’s the real fear of the Right.  That we are, indeed, just like them.

God, that term makes me laugh.  The Right.  I mean, right to whom?  Certainly not to me.

The other day, Rick Santorum came across a young Woman who challenged his theories on gay marriage.  For those who don’t know, Rick Santorum is a Senator from Pennsylvania who’s stance on “Family Values” are anything but anti-gay rhetoric that continues to engulf the war between our two divides.

But we’re not that different.

So let’s add to the argument of Rick Santorum.  He claims that if the U.S. allows Gay marriage that’s a gateway drug to Polygamy.  Not that I have a huge problem with that, hell, let the Mormons have their multiple marriages.  As long as it’s between consenting adults, if some Woman wants to be bride #3 then so be it.  I certainly know of a multitude of gay relationships that are triads. 

But that argument is one ladder wrung from, “Well then those who want to marry a goat should be able to do so,”  or the even equally disgusting men from NAMBLA who propose to allow sex with minors.  Last time I checked, goats and children don’t necessarily have a voice to say, “NO!”

Due to our “other side of the fence” treatment in the past 50 years, we have been outcasts in a society while we pay taxes and contribute to society.

I want, and have as a Canadian, equal rights in all things – including marriage.  And for that I’m grateful.

Now let’s throw Religion into the blender and see what comes up, shall we?

We, as homosexuals, have heard, ad nauseam – A man shall not lie with another man.  It’s Leviticus 18:22.  So it’s in the bible, right?  We should follow it.  Right?

Now I’m not trying to be flippant here, I’m trying to make a point.

The bible also says, “thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.”  (King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.)   So that essentially says my polyester/cotton blend mix is unholy.  Also, it’s been proven that multiple cropping is actually good for growing crops.  So does that make Farmers sinners?

Is it just me or Leviticus a bit  anally retentive?  I mean, how could he function, or move his arms,  with that broom handle shoved so far up ass?

Again to my point:  The world is changing.  It evolves like any language – and if it didn’t change we’d be living in huts, watching babies die at a profound rate, life expectancy would limit us to 40 years – AT BEST.

So change is inevitable.  It is expected.  It is natural.

Stop  expecting them to stay the same because as they say, “The more life stays the same, the more it changes.”

Once more into the breach, dear friends, once more; Or close the wall up with our English dead!     Henry V : Act III, scene i, lines 1-2

With the holidays over and a chapter closed (see last blog), it’s time to get back on the horse and plunge into the world that’s infront of me.

I know that all of the resolutions that I make up in my head but never say aloud, will get left behind like the empty boxes on recycling day but at least I think they might have a shot.  Of course, who the hell am I kidding.

Yes, I should exercise more.

Yes, I should drink less.

Yes, I should stop going to Tim Hortons for their sesame seeded bagels with herb and garlic cream cheese.

Yes, I should focus more on my school work and less time on Netflix or Word Jewels for the iPhone.

But, meh, probably not going to.

Over the Christmas holidays I had someone say, “You’ve put on weight, haven’t you?”  And yes I have but do I really need someone to point out the obvious?  It’s like going out and hearing, “Oh it’s raining.”  DUH, I KNOW!

Poor thing

I’m sure, in the back of their minds, they’re thinking they’re helping but do I really need to be reminded that my pants are getting tighter?  That the scale in my bathroom (that hasn’t been stood upon in what could be considered eons) seems to actually take on a personality and shrink away from me.

With all this, logically, grounded in my psyche, I’m still one for waiting.  Possibly for a massive heart attack (though obviously I’m not hoping for that) or something shattering that will purge me out of this consistent lethargy that has become my comfort zone.

So my resolution this year is to do my damnedest not to break my resolution.  That seems to have been the only consistencies in them.