i received the following note through a list-serv that i'm on. i was inspired by the note and wanted to expand on some of my thoughts, using pieces of the email as the spring board.
This is the time to be openly gay and out of the closet.
Voice your life to those in power who control our freedom and rights.
Our community is being evaluated and judged by those now more then ever.
We are not a sex movement.
We are alternative families!
Based on love and support .
We are art. The art of life.
Accept diversity
"This is the time to be openly gay and out of the closet"
take control of your freedom and rights simply by living your life, unapologetically (peanut gallery = no comments, plz)
the only person who "controls" these things is you.
more importantly that getting "those in power" to understand you, get those in your life on a daily basis to understand and support you. it's better to have ten "non-gay" people calling that person in "power" to support you then one on one. plus, those ten people will may also educate (enlighten, bring awareness to, etc.) one or two other people. you've now grown from a 1-to-1 ratio and become 30-to-1. this equation begins to put the power back in the hands of the people.
Our community is being evaluated and judged by those now more than ever.
there is nothing to judge about our community. taking as stance as being "judged" says that there may be something wrong about who we are and the way we live. stand up, proud of the living, energetic, unapologetic, imperfect, growing and loving human being you are. there is nothing to judge. don't degrade yourself and our community by continuing to even use language of "judgment".
many of us "radical phaeries" believe in energy work, magick, non-violence, eastern & earth based philosophies. if you look deeply into many of them, thought, intent and *words* are the real magick. deliberate use of language to bring substance to actions will not only create a stronger impact, but give those who *want* to stand-up with us the language (script) to use.
We are not a sex movement. We are alternative families! Based on love and support .
the use of the word "alternative" families says that the relationships and bonds we build are something *other* thank families, although the concept of an "alternative family" being one based on love and support is kind of "alternative" in nature because our traditional families (for the majority) may not be based on love and support.
to be 100% honest, i don't believe in fighting for gay (equal) marriage rights, alternative families, women's reproductive rights, black rights or any other segmented rights.
i believe in fighting for human rights. the rights and freedoms we are all fighting for are core to our being, not out bodies. our physical bodies and the accompanying characteristics are not representative of who we are as loving, caring, supportive, energetic, living beings.
contrary to the idea of accepting our diversities, i challenge all of us to strip away our difference and embrace our commonalities. our differences (diversity) still separate people (us and them). it is always a system of duality. break down that barrier of duality and find those things in each of us that are the same. the "love" we speak of universal from person to person, whether in china, usa, zimbabwe, france or chile. the needs, rights and freedoms of all humans are the same.
resource:
the universal declaration of human rights:
http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/
namasté
sherwood soley, creative solutions designer & community change instigator
usNOTme | creative solutions for community change
http://usNOTme.blogspot.com
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"Our normal human tendency is to enjoy life, to play, to explore, to be happy, and to love." - Don Miguel Ruiz
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1 comments:
Thanks for this! You really got me thinking today.
The quote from that email bothered me; not in its intent, but in the words used:
*Voice your life to those in power who control our freedom and rights*
Yes, be open & honest. Yes, stand up for your right to BE. But NO, those people are not 'in power'. They are perhaps in positions of authority, but they are no more in power than any other human being. NO to others being in control of our freedom & rights. Customs, social conventions, even laws may stand in our way, but only we can choose if we will allow them to prohibit us from claiming our rights as human beings. Like you said, the only person who "controls" these things is you.
*Our community is being ...judged*
So farookin' what?! People will always judge you/us/them/others. Like you said, worrying that I'm being judged just says that I think I should be/ought to be/deserve to be judged. People will always judge us; we don't have to give them the power by accepting/caring about their judgement.
*sex movement/alternative families*
ditto to everything you said.
In addition, I've heard a lot of discussion recently about the term "gay community", as if all people who are gay share the same or similar values & experiences. The better term would be "gay communities", and include faeries, leathermen/women, preppies, hipsters, vanilla, kinksters and probably a dozen other 'categories' I've missed.
Thanks for a great article. You've hit the nail on the head. (as usual!) :-)
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