Prejudice and Bigotry With a Side of Waffle Fries

Banning Chik-Fil-A is not the right answer...although it has made me happy to hear so many cities opposing what they do...However! We cannot not take away their rights in order to gain our own. But we can and must...vigorously and vocally make known what they are doing.

Their money to the tune of 5 million dollars has supported the efforts to try and make it legal to execute homosexuals in Uganda, they have funded the Family Research Council an organization listed as a hate group by Southern Poverty Law Center, they have given money to the National Organization for Marriage, and they have funded Exodus an organization that uses reparative therapy in an attempt to cure gays, despite every credible mental health institution in the country saying that not only does it not work, it is harmful.

We want our families, friends, neighbors and co-workers to know...if you eat there, this is what your money goes to. The owner has every right to say, as he has, that same sex marriage will bring the wrath of God down on this country. And we have every right to say, we disagree.

All that is wrong with this country is not because of the LGBTQ community, what has happened to families is not our fault. The broken economy, homes being repossessed, unemployment, skyrocketing prices on food, gas, medical care and durable goods, astronomical amounts of money much of it unaccounted for, that was spent on an illegal armed conflict in Iraq. It is the fault of those who have put greed above the interests of human beings; those who have used our lives as a political football in the culture wars in an attempt to deflect from their duplicity. And it is also those who have condemned us from their pulpits as a means to generate income in their offering plates.

Equality it is inevitable. And each time we stand up and demand it, each time we expose the harm, it is my personal wish that each time we demonstrate our own bravery, that we help a young person who is struggling. To know that they can stay alive, that they have a right to not be bullied, to be all of who they are without fear, to have fulfilling lives with love and joy. It is our duty and responsibility...to stand up...not only for ourselves but for all the young ones who are hoping, praying, suffocating in their fear and silence...for it to just get better.

So yes, anyone has the right to eat at CFA...just know the harm that they do...with each...and...every bite....

"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

I do hope you'll join all the good folks who will stand for EQUALITY at a Chik-Fil-A near them on August 1st. I'll be at the one on Markham in Little Rock, AR.

And They Call it Puppy Love

Silently we drive, miles and miles of nothing between departure and destination. The air is shimmering between us with the heat of all that has been said and the threat of what is yet to be said. The radio is playing an oldie, Donnie Osmond crooning about Puppy Love. But puppies don’t love here and hitch hikers wouldn’t ride here preferring the desert to the sweltering hell of our demise. Tires eating highway flashing past the window, sun as bright as white. Cactus, dirt and more dirt and how these barren mounds could be called mountains escape me. I’m yearning for the lush green of eastern hills, yearning for the verdant forest that was us. The barren landscape fosters thoughts of insanity, maybe murder, could be suicide when suddenly rescue looms on the horizon. Standing guard over this asphalt ribbon an ancient, weathered, stumbling abstract of the shiny Shells, Valeros and Texacos. The flying red Pegasus on the sign long past days of flights of fancy, rusty gas pumps lying in wait for the next thirsty stranger come limping in. The old man sitting out front cracks his face wide apart in a smile of anticipation, be it company, income or both. Switching off the engine I go and open the trunk and claim my suitcase. She’s standing outside the car now, impatient to know how long I have been crazy. I kiss her cheek, pressing the keys in her hand and I tell her she’ll have to go on without me. Pleas, entreaties, anger and obscenities I stand serene watching as finally she relents pulling away in a violent rooster tail spray of gravel. The Donnie Osmond song is looping in my head. And yeah, they call it puppy love, but puppies grow up and sometimes they don’t love you anymore when they do. 

6-14-12 (c) Romo

Disclaimer: This is not about anyone. I'm exploring prose poetry. Sometimes, well quite often, we writers just make stuff up...lol. 

Mic Check for the Gate Keepers

Any who claim that their work is in the name of justice must be held accountable to remember that justice does not mean "just us" it means ALL OF US! The work of social change is not for the few and/or those with access to greater privilege and resources. It is not acceptable for “gatekeepers” to decide who passes through the doorways of social justice work with acceptable forms of oppression and/or expression of their resistance to injustice.

When told once more to “wait” by those who call themselves allies to the LGBTQ community or those who are members of the LGBTQ community I am reminded of Dr King’s words in his letter from Birmingham, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea."

To silence voices out of fear of what others will think within the realm of social justice work allows the purveyors of injustice to prevail. It allows myths and stereotypes to reign as truths. And the hearts of those told once more to “wait” crack a little wider and a little bit deeper. When Dr King was asked to wait he responded thus, “For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant "Never." We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that "justice too long delayed is justice denied."

I do not claim that our reason for struggle as LGBTQ people is the exact experience as that of African-Americans. There are many vast differences in our experiences here in America. But what is indisputably the same is that simply for being who we are; our humanity has been consistently denied, we have been attacked verbally and physically by pulpits, legislators, bullies and murderers, we must always size up a space and assess its “safeness”, we struggle with employment, housing, medical care and public accommodations, we too have suffered the creation of special laws made to intentionally disenfranchise us and despite our birthright as citizens we are denied full access and responsibilities under the laws of our country.

The frustrations voiced by Dr. King concerning those who called for him to wait, those who wanted him to work only within the “system” these sentiments echo within every fiber of my being as a queer woman working for equality. My tolerance for those asking me to wait, not rock the boat, not upset others in social justice work by asking for LGBTQ inclusion, and to work only within the good old boy system have been ground to dust. There is room for all of our voices, all of our needs. There always has been enough for us all. Ultimately the exclusion of some of us from the tables of justice serves only those who prosper from our internal dissent.  

We must have those difficult conversations within the realms of the social justice arena here in Arkansas. It is by sharing these hard talks, by learning about who we are as people and not "those" people" we better understand our common humanity. We learn that that we move forward together for the good of all. And just as importantly we must hold our own LGBTQ gatekeepers accountable as well. We all bring something to the table. All of our efforts matter and the sooner we get that, the better we will be able to work with and for our beloved communities.

Amor y Guerra

I’m resting in that sacred place of memories where good and bad and fucking wonderful have all staked out little casitas in my brain marking their turf on my heart, flickering right behind these old soul brown eyes that could always see you, could always see

I rub the back of my neck where my trensa used to hang in a straight black rope that tied my india self to my white gurl self my boi self as you used to pull my hair together so tightly deftly weaving together the strands of magic that made this warrior’s heart beat harder stronger

You member that early morning. finally the plane landed and there you were. there I was. there we were so uncertain. so afraid and so brave. fierce were we as we leapt over chasms of geography and change dancing to unknown melodies that had your name thumping in the base line. my name riffing as a power chord and both of our names pounding to the drum beat of anticipation. excitement. finally – at last

We swirled together all blood tears heart hurt passion sweeter than ice cream harder than razor blades your blue black hair a curtain we laid under as we whispered hopes and dreams of Mariposa and through it all we drank the bitter wine of loss that gave us both cirrhosis of the heart a deathly indigestion that never went away no matter what day time week month year

These memories like sea glass all burnished by waves tossed up on the shore where I pick through them smiling and laughing some threaten tears and still I look at the us that was. the us that ended. the all of us I gather up all of these tesoros so tenderly held and breathe through. remembering loss. the end. the last day I push some of the old ones over. elders in need of rest clearing the shelf to make way for all the new memorias yet to be made to fill these shelves to burn bright as my own sun sets between the mountains of this beautiful life that was all the more so because I hold memorias of you… por siempre

Lunching with Ladies for Peace at the Governor's Mansion

So, it was a very nice luncheon at the Governor's mansion today, lots of good people in the room, many I consider friends. The keynote speaker Senator Lena Taylor gave a terrific speech. In case you don't know, Sen. Taylor was one of the 14 Wisconsin legislators who in 2007 left the state rather than be forced to vote on a bill put up by the Governor for supposed "budget repair" that would take away the collective bargaining rights on benefits for public employees . She spoke about that and other things and like the speakers before her, she called for justice for women in all things, well all things that is except for equality for women who are Lesbian, Bi, Transgender or Queer (LBTQ)

Some days I think my head may blow off if I sit in one more room where well meaning purveyors of social justice and civil rights trumpet the call for what is right, but continue to deny the recognition and inclusion of LBTQ people in that dialog. The luncheon's presenters spoke from an assumption of heterosexuality and did not include or recognize queer women, their families, and their struggles. I sat and looked around seeing the numerous "rainbow people" in the room. I wondered if they  too felt left out of the conversation.

Continuously I have been told during my time here in AR to not rock the boat, don't be too gay or in their face. Don't let your transgender members sit on the front row in a legislative hearing, etc. To let the ones who have access (translation- assimilated, with privilege and mostly white) get the job done. Oh yeah, and let's do it quietly.

It took everything I had today to not leap out of my chair and exclaim well and good, how right all that was being said was... BUT! I'd sure appreciate it if I could hear acknowledgement and inclusion of Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Americans to be at the table as an integral part of any conversation about women and access to justice. About any Americans and their access to justice. The bathroom in the Governor's mansion has printed hand towels that say, "Governor's Mansion, Little Rock, AR". So here I am, a queer taxpayer paying for the printed paper towels in the mansion (and much more) and treated like a second class citizen...still!

Countless LGBTQ people have been an integral part of the vanguards and armies for social justice and civil rights movements in this country. We still are today. For decades we have fought for the rights of others with no reassurance that there would ever be any equality for ourselves. We have done this not for glory nor fame, we have done this because it was the right thing to do. Justice demanded it, our conscience insisted and our brother's and sisters needed us.

I greatly appreciate all those who have fought for my rights as a woman. But there is a deep disconnect when as a queer woman I remain in need of justice. The lack of equal recognition under the law informs every decision in my life, where I work, live, play, my parenting, access to health care, etc.  The truth is that my queerness often supersedes any rights or concessions gained for my gender or my birthrights as a citizen. This is further compounded by the unwillingness of many other women to stand for me/us and insist that I/we too be recognized as equal. This silence helps to perpetuate the condition of inequality. At every turn their "faith" is touted as the bedrock for their denial of my/our rights and often serves as the justification for their active participation in denying myself and the LGBTQ community equality. I am appalled by the mass historical amnesia of the days that the same "good book" denied women their humanity and their equality.

We can no longer afford to be satisfied while a few farm out dribs and drabs of equality, the rights of women every where are under assault! As women we must stand together, march right on past, breaking them down and going beyond the imposed and self-internalized barriers of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, country of origin, class, gender identity, ability, age, etc.

I long for and will continue to work for the day a room full of women of all stripes stand together in Arkansas and on the front end include and name the struggle of their queer Arkansas sisters! Peace and Justice will come all the sooner when we are every one equal at the table.

All in all it was a very nice lunch, I greatly appreciated the opportunity to attend. I also understand that it probably never occurred to the organizers to include a queer woman's voice, victories, etc. as an important part of the issues of women. Interestingly enough during the meal I overheard many lament that while the salad we were given for lunch was nice, they wanted more. I completely understood that. I understand the desire for more, the desire to be filled...with equality.

I turn 57 in a few days. I have seen momentous gains for equality that I never thought to see. And while this is wonderful, it is not, it will NEVER be enough until ALL of my LGBTQ brothers and sisters are fully invested in the same rights and responsibilities under the law as our fellow Arkansans and Americans. I/We want more than a salad. I/We want the whole enchilada and I/We want all of my/our sisters to help me/us get there.

I Saw Love Today

Driving in my truck
I saw love today
bright red letters
fancy grafitti
written on a wall
it said
"all you need is love"
and as I went around
the corner
there they were
her hair gone to
winter's gray
striking a
pose long and
tall against the
lamppost
him concentrating
on getting the shot
his hair in the same
realm of winter
as it escaped his
fine cap perhaps
longing
for younger days
and it was his face
that caught me
the sheer adoration
as he looked up at her
and back down
to the viewfinder
working on that
perfect shot that
would forever
frame the love that
he saw though its lens
she smiled back at
him with that glow
that would make
you walk barefoot
through snow
if a woman ever looked
at you like that
and then they were
gone...
I saw love today


Romo (c) November 2011

Troy Davis was executed yesterday, despite 7 of the original witnesses recanting AND another person confessing to the crime.

According to Amensty International over 130 people have been freed from Death Row after evidence of their innocence was proven. How many innocent people have already been murdered by the Death Penalty? And when the case is incontrovertible - a smoking gun in their hand such as the guilt of Lawerence Russell Brewer (who was also executed yesterday) for the killing of James Byrd Jr., is the state's murder of the transgressor any better than the original murder? Is it truly justice when we continue to risk killing the innocent in hopes of getting the guilty?

The U.S. carries out more executions than any other liberal democracy in the world. In the "Americas", (this includes North and South and the Eastern Caribbean) only one country carried out death penalty executions in 2010 and that was the U.S. with a total of 46.

"We have met the enemy and he is us"