40!

This is my fourtieth post on this here blog. I feel like that's actually a pretty decent milestone, though I find it kind of sad that it took this long to reach this milestone.

So right now, my psyche is in a state of conflict, because the solemnity I felt this afternoon after my trip to the Gay Community Center of Richmond for an exhibit on Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals has been contrasted by the music I have recently been rocking out to, courtesy of:
http://www.onlythefinest.org/
http://www.camelbackmusic.com/
http://www.dirtymexicanlemonade.com/

On the one hand, the trip to the GCCR for the Holocaust exhibit was amazing and sobering. Homosexuals were persecuted under Paragraph 175, a law put in place under Kaiser Wilhelm, which made "indecency" between two men a crime punishable by imprisonment (a repeated theme throughout the exhibit was the fact that lesbianism was virtually ignored by this statute). One of the things that I found the most disturbing about the entire exhibit was the focus on rigid, old-fashioned gender roles under the Nazi regime. They felt the need to reinforce the strength and masculinity of the German man, and blamed homosexuality and feminism for the declining birthrate and declining status of Germany in the world post-war. In the Weimar Republic, both the feminist movement and the gay community in Germany made huge strides, and the actions of the SA party in the Holocaust set both movements back decades. According to both the exhibit and the head of the Student Alliance for Sexual Diversity here at Richmond, the burning of the library of Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, a prominent sexologist in Germany before WWII, set the gay rights movement back almost a century.

...Paragraph 175 remained on the books in Germany until 1969. Similar laws are still on the books, though deemed unconstitutional, in states like Virginia and Texas today.

On the other hand, the bubbly, upbeat, dance-y music I've been listening to for the last few days (weeks) is making it really hard to maintain the sense of solemn respect I had leaving the exhibition.

Conflictually yours,
Rachel Leigh

On the LGBT Suicides and On Harrassment

I'm sure you've heard about it. Recently, the LGBT community and its allies have been up in arms about the group of 7 recent suicides that were the result of bullying and harrassment that they faced because of their sexuality. As well it should be. When people like Billy Lucas and Tyler Clementi are pushed to suicide by the harrassment they face at the hands of their peers, the community SHOULD be riled up.

I love the fact that people have been so responsive about this problem. Richmond held a candlelight vigil last Wednesday night. There have been huge surges in public service annoucements (including a beautiful project on YouTube called It Gets Better, which features prominent gay figures from both on and off of YouTube letting kids who are facing harrassment and confusion now know that it does get easier). Thousands of people plan to wear purple in honor of the lives that have been lost and in solidarity with those facing similar problems still. I am proud to know that my friends and family have been public about their concern for the problem.

But here's my issue, and the reason I'm posting. This is not, first and foremost, a gay rights issue. Yes, the LGBT community has jumped on this problem because it's clearly a crisis. But when a large number of kids are killed or driven to suicide because of bullying and harrassment they face, for any reason, the crisis is bigger than any one community. This is an issue that comes down to a very basic fact: for all the anti-bullying programs in schools, all the information about cyberbullying, all the discussions of fairness, tolerance, and respect, people are still capable of being so horrible to one another that death seems like a better option than continuing to deal with it.

This should not be a gay rights cause. This should be the cause of every parent, friend, sibling, teacher, and colleague of someone who ever faced harrassment that made their life hard to deal with. Yes, Billy Lucas committed suicide because he was harrassed for being gay. The fact of the matter is that bullying-related suicides are unfortunately common and, if anything, the focus on the gay suicides recently has dwarfed the importance and the tragedy of a lot of other suicides which stemmed from harrassment. My heart goes out to the families and friends of the boys who took their own lives because they were harrassed for their sexuality...and to those of every other harrassment-related suicide. Your loss is something I cannot even fathom, and I hope it never has to happen to anyone again.

--Rachel

On Those Intolerant....Liberals?

My liberal friends: the Tea Party Movement has ruined us.

Now, before you go and get all confused on me, I am not saying that Tea Partiers have ruined America or ruined society...because I don't think they have. I think the Tea Partiers have turned us into monsters. Hateful, intolerant monsters.

I'll admit to having used the term "Tea Baggers" to describe the Tea Party Movement. It's shorter than saying "The Tea Party Movement," and I've admitted that I've gotten angry enough about things that have happened that I've used it as a derogatory term.

But when I realize I'm doing it, I stop myself. The reaction to the Tea Partiers has been hateful. Yes, there are racists in the Tea Party movement. Yes, the most outspoken voices (Limbaugh, Rand Paul, Glenn Beck) are crazies. But the fact of the matter is that there are some normal people who are scared by what has happened to the country they live in and have been dwarfed by the radical right, who really just want a different option from the ones they have now.

Let's face it: the very heart of the Tea Party movement is anti-corporate and anti...big. They don't want big business. They just want to know that their peaceful, quiet lives aren't going to be controlled by things bigger than themselves. At worst, you could call that misguided.

We've made the Tea Party so radical because they're under constant attack. When a child misbehaves, you get the best results for a change in behavior by ignoring them...neither positively or negatively reinforcing their behavior. It's basic psychology. When a movement misbehaves and we respond with press coverage and intolerant hate speech, the behavior is reinforced.

Let security handle the guns at rallies. That's their job. It doesn't need to be publicized and super-politicized. Let the hate speech sit with the people who are truly hateful. The solution to face a hateful movement is not by hating those people.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said that "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." Hate cannot drive out hate. It can't. The more hate in the world, the stronger the hatred and the grudges become.

D0n't blame the problems of the world on FOX News. Don't bad mouth people just because you believe their opinions are misguided. There is still a moderate Republican. Refusing to separate the individual from the voice of the party is an intolerant mistake we can't afford to keep making.

Peace and Love,
Rachel Leigh

On Politics

Someone on Formspring (www.formspring.me) asked me why I am a democrat. I thought my answer would be relatively brief and glib, but it turned out to be rather long and in-depth. So, I decided to post it here. Please note that the individual issues are stated in Reader's Digest-form, since this is mostly just laying out the basic premises of my belief system.

Well, really, I'm not. As I've told people, I'm a Communist. And I'm serious when I say that. I really am your ultimate bleeding heart. I believe in peace, love, equality, freedom, and understanding. They're the ideals I was raised on. As a human, you accept other people, take care of those in need, and love your neighbor as you would love yourself.

I believe in universal health care because I believe no one should suffer bad health because of a bad situation that's out of their control, and recognize that many Americans live on minimum wage and cannot afford decent coverage.

I support the right to choose because I believe no one has the right to have dominion over your body more than you do.

I support welfare because I recognize that there are hard-working people who need help and that a flawed system is better than no system.

I am anti-war (and pro-kittens) in 98% of cases (excluding, perhaps, the World Wars, Civil War, and the American Revolution, and even so, our actions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were rather unforgivable), supporting war only when it is the only feasible path to peace and all other diplomatic channels have been exhausted, but I support our troops 100% and recognize that the sacrifices they have made for our country and our safety are more than I will ever have the opportunity to repay.

I support educational reform that begins at home, rather than beginning in the standardized testing rooms. I support educational reform that rewards progress, not reform that punishes failure or stagnation.

I support green reform and climate change legislation, because I like the planet I live on. I like having air I can breathe and not roasting. I like having snow in the winter. I like coastal regions remaining coasts instead of being engulfed by the water.

I support gay marriage rights because I believe that nothing but good comes from increased ability to love someone freely and happily.

I support legalization, because I believe there are many worse things to be in prison for than deciding to smoke pot.

I believe in internationalism and globalism. I believe that there are more important issues outside our borders than those we currently worry about within them. I believe in the importance of the UN, even if it lacks a lot of practical power. I believe NGOs and charities can change the world. I believe in human rights, not just for Americans, but for everyone. I believe in "Never Again," and I believe in stopping hatred at the source. I believe in the power the US has to change the game everywhere in the world. I believe we should exercise this power more often.

So...that's why I'm a democrat. If a Republican candidate ran who stood by these ideals, or even most of them, he (or she) would have my full support. These are the things I stand for as a human being. I hope that's okay with you.