About that whole Prop. 8 thing...

It sucks. Everyone keeps going on and on about how we just have to wait a little bit longer, but that really does nothing to soothe the suckitude. I'm tired of waiting. I want (some semblance of) equality now. I could have had it by now, but apparently not, according to the 9th circuit appellate court. Does anyone else think that the decision to grant a stay pending appeal while simultaneously questioning whether the defendants even have the right to appeal is a complete oxymoron and just plain bass-ackwards? Or is it just me?

Ugh, I have nothing more to say.

This Week in Religious Oppression

So.

The blogosphere has been exploding for the last few weeks or so over this, a proposed plan to build a Muslim community center a couple blocks from Ground Zero in New York. Mostly, the debate has been like this:

Pro: It's private property, they can do as they please. It's not like they're hurting anyone. It's just going to be a YMCA-type center.

Con: Them Islamofascists is, well, fascists! Ruining the sacredness of our country's Christian values, and doing it right near where they attacked us! Rawr!

Pro: Uh, Islam isn't a monolith. We were attacked by Al Qaeda, not the entire Muslim faith. And last time we checked, America isn't just a Christian country. Says so right in the Constitution, under "freedom of religion." And again, private property. So yeah.

Con: But-but-but Osama bin Laden! Saddam Hussein! Traditional values!!!

Pro: Sigh. This isn't even a new thing, having Muslim gathering places in lower Manhattan. You do realize that there are already two mosques located a few blocks from Ground Zero, don't you? They're completely overloaded, and the cultural center would be taking the burden off of them. The existing mosques have been there for years.

Con: *Head explodes*

[I might have paraphrased the pundits' opinions slightly.]

I don't think I have anything more to add to the debate, other than emphasizing the point about hey, it's private property, they can do what they want with it. End of argument.

Also, no one seems to be listening to the Imam heading the project, as he continues to reassure people that the purpose of the center is to "push back the extremists" and "[send] the opposite statement to what happened on 9/11." Interesting, if by interesting you mean terribly predictable. Of course the silly little Muslim man can't decide for himself whether it's wise to build the center there. That would be assuming that he has, like, agency or something! Oh, wait...

Oh. My. God.

So this is what it's come to. Dan Schruender, self-identified white supremacist and neo-Nazi, is running for school board in Rialto, in San Bernardino County, which so happens to be a neighboring county of mine. Oh joy. /sarcasm

Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised, considering the kind of racist/xenophobic dung the right wing has been spewing lately. I think the thing that really shocks me is the brazenness of it all. I mean, really? Really?

The most hilarious aspect of this story (and by hilarious I mean nauseating in its jaw-dropping stupidity) is that this... person... is running in a district that is 75% Latino/a and 15% Black. Does he really think he'll ever get elected? Especially considering this:

In April, Schruender, who at the time identified himself as Dan Collins, said he delivers racist fliers to Rialto neighborhoods to let people know that the white race is not “going to go out with a whimper.”

Some of the fliers invited residents to honor Adolf Hitler’s birthday. Others used racial epithets to describe blacks and Latinos while saying "happy Easter to all you … from your friends at the Aryan Nations."

Yeah. Way to deliberately and viciously drive away 9 out of 10 voters in your district - and that's not even counting Asians, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, and anyone else who might think it's just a bit uncool to be a racist fucker. Good luck trying to get their votes!

Schruender authors a blog in which posts alternate between CAPS LOCK diatribes filled with Indisputable Facts!!! (funny, we never get references to his sources) and copied-and-pasted news stories with his opinions added in afterwards. He's said Very Important Things about a number of issues, such as:

On the repeal of Proposition 8: "...I'm ready to blow my fucking cork! Now these fucking queers can get married again, and defile the Holy state of matrimony. California is the new Sodam [sic] and Gomorrah. If Yahweh decides to bring down fire and brimstone on this entire sick and disgusting country, I wouldn't blame Him."

On the proposed changes to the 14th Amendment, ending birthright citizenship: "YES! YES! YES! It's about f*#king [sic] time! Illegals come here for our jobs, and/or to leech off of our social programs. Anchor babies are one of their most commonly used methods of remaining here in the United States." [No evidence is given to support these claims.]

On - well, I'm not exactly sure what point he's trying to make, but it has something to do with a black man turning a KKK hangout into a church: "Here's something I'd like everyone to think about - including any non-Whites who read this. If you destroy the concept of hate, then you destroy the concept of love. You can't have one without the other."

Um, yeah. Because I'm sure you love people so much. Or, were you trying to say that you hate everyone who's not like you in order to create more love, guided by, say, Newton's Third Law of Motion? Because that makes no fucking sense whatsoever.

I don't know what's happening in this country to make people think it's ok to be an openly racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic, classist, ablist, anti-Semitic douchebag, but I'm fucking sick of it. This shit needs to stop. Now would be a good time.

To anyone living in Rialto: a) you're probably not reading this right now, as it's a new blog and the internet is a rather large place, but b) please, please, please do everything in your power to keep this bigot and his twisted mode of thought away from any and all influence over people's children. Stop prejudice where it starts.

Peace.

Appropriate uses for inappropriate words: A primer on language reclamation

Bitch. Faggot. Dyke. Tranny.

We've all heard these and so many other pejoratives, and we've all suffered from their use, whether directly or indirectly. We've probably even uttered a few ourselves from time to time. The sting felt from the receiving end of these epithets is one not soon forgotten, and can engender fear and resentment in their speakers' victims. However, there is one way to lessen the pain caused by these words: reclamation. A method often used by the feminist community (see Cunt), this involves taking a hurtful or harmful word and twisting its definition around to mean something positive and uplifting. It's really quite easy to do, and can be powerful in disarming those who seek to use language as a weapon against marginalized people. All it takes is three simple steps:

1. Pick your word. This should be easy enough, considering the many, many, many slurs to choose from. Once you've picked your favorite*, you can move on to:

2. Redefinition party! Well, it's less of a party, more of a deep inquiry into what the word is actually referring to based on comparing its modern usage to its original or alternative meaning. Because that's the thing about pejoratives: They have to have come from somewhere. You can't just make up a word and expect someone to be insulted by it. Call someone "Joobligoob" and you'll just get weird looks. Everything has an alternate, neutral-to-positive meaning that you can suss out if you take the time.

Take the word "fairy" for instance. Often used by heterosexual people to refer to gay men, it calls attention to the perceived effeminacy straight peeps expect to see in their gay male counterparts. But is that a bad thing? Effeminacy, both in dress and behavior, is simply a rejection of the strict heteronormative rules imposing "masculinity" upon men in our culture, thereby freeing the effeminate man to decide for himself what is normal, what is masculine, what makes him a man. Therefore, being a fairy simply means taking your life and your expression of yourself into your own hands, whether or not society approves of that. I'd say that's quite a brave and radical feat, and one worth taking full ownership of!

3.This is where it really gets good: Turn the weapons against the tyrants wielding them. Next time someone calls you a [insert word here], say, "Thank you! It's so nice of you to acknowledge that I'm doing my part in dismantling the system of oppression that keeps me and other [insert marginalized group here] down by simply being who I am, which is apparently noteworthy enough for you to comment on it!" With a huge smile on your face. Because you see, if you do that, the word loses all its pejorative value, leaving the bigots with one less way to keep you scared shitless, and that's exactly what needs to happen in order for full social equality to be achieved.

There are some pitfalls to this, though: if the word loses too much of it's meaning, it could relapse into nastiness again (see the ups and downs the word "bitch" has gone through); when the bigots are running out of epithets, they could start weaponizing previously neutral words (see "homosexual" and "gay," for two good examples); and above all, context is key. You can't bring your shiny new reappropriated word into a space where it's still an insult and not expect an uproar. Also, if you are not a member of the marginalized group the reclaimed word refers to, DO NOT EVER refer to someone of that group as that word without EXPLICIT permission first. Whether or not you intend to cause harm is not the point; the point is that you need to use sensitivity and know when you can and can't use it. General tip: when you're in public (and that includes social networking sites' public content) refrain from using any potentially offensive language. I'm assuming you know all this already, considering that you're a decent human being (I hope), but I figured I'd get it down in writing so I can point to it and say "You can't say I didn't warn you!" So there.

I wish y'all the best of luck in dismantling the status quo, one word at a time. Have fun!

*and by favorite, I mean the one you find to be the most repulsive and demoralizing, of course.

Hello World!

I'm here, I'm queer, and I'm ready to type!

This is going to be a blog about queer issues, militant feminism, radical liberalism, and basically whatever the fuck I want to talk about. Oh yeah, and there might be some profanity.

And yarn.

And pictures and crap.

There might even be a video! WOW! Oh, the wonders of the internet...

What was I talking about?

Oh, yeah, the blog. It'll be somewhat decent, I promise. It might even be good on occasion. I would definitely appreciate any commenters that happen to stroll in, though I shall have to bring the beatdown if anyone starts trolling up in here. You've been warned.

With all that said, I present Phosphorescent Mushrooms, so named for no reason whatsoever. Happy Reading!

[Oh, and I'm still working on the layout a bit, so things might switch around a little in the next few weeks. Sorry for any inconvenience/annoyance!]