Today is Veteran’s Day (also known as Remembrance Day, or sometimes Poppy Day for fun), so I feel obliged to take a brief break from my unrelenting fury and rage over being treated as a second class citizen. Because, after all, this is a day set aside in the calendar for remembering people who made sacrifices for their countries (well, usually nations prefer to commemorate their own veterans, but I say why not give a shout out to all, in the spirit of global cooperation).

Personally, I think that war is a terrible thing, and it really ought to be banned. Also, whoever came up with it should have been quietly taken out back and shot before things were allowed to get out of hand. I don’t condone violence as a general rule, but sometimes I think it’s a step which must be taken for the greater good.

Earlier this year, I wrote about buying a poppy from a veteran around Memorial Day, and I discussed, briefly, my anger at being totally ignored by the women who was sitting with the veteran outside the post office. I think she assumed that because I’m young and I look a particular way, I’m anti-military, or just not interested. But she was wrong.

I also thought it was interesting that she was accompanied by a Second World War veteran, rather than a veteran of a more recent conflict. We don’t see much of Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq vets, and I wonder why that is. I feel like veterans used to be more public, especially injured veterans, who were a sobering reminder of the cost of war.

I was talking with a friend recently who paid a very heavy price for his military service about this issue, and he said that after he got out of Walter Reed, he was reluctant to spend much time in public. With new prostheses, he’s a lot more confident, because he’d pass for a normal civilian if you don’t give him a second glance. But I saw someone my own age in uniform the other day at the post office, and I was momentarily startled by it.

Are Iraq War veterans and active servicemembers hiding? Maybe it’s just because of where I live. I imagine it takes a certain amount of balls to make the conscious decision to walk down Franklin Street in uniform, and although the person I saw turned out to be someone I know, I didn’t know him well enough to ask him about the experience of walking through town in uniform. But it does seem like they are not very high profile, and I wonder why that is.

The DOD seems to be making a conscious effort to hide this war from us, and I think that’s a mistake. I think that interacting with veterans is a critical part of understanding war and our identity as a nation. I think that seeing photographs of coffins holding the bodies of young men and women is critical. I think that we cannot thank veterans for their service or appreciate what they have done if we never see them, and I feel kind of cheated.

I wonder sometimes if they do, too. Veterans from the First and Second World Wars were greeted with cheers in the streets. Vietnam veterans were spat on. Iraq veterans quietly flurry through airports like ghosts.

I don’t think that anti-military sentiment is running as high right now as it was during the Vietnam War, but I do think that many people have a fundamental disconnect when it comes to understanding veterans and the military. Somewhat unusually for this part of California, I come from a military family, although I note that demographically, Mendocino County has a population which includes over 15% military veterans. Most of whom, I imagine, are Vietnam veterans (we have a very active branch of Vietnam Veterans Against the War), or inland-dwellers. Almost all of my family have served, and I’ve been interacting with members of the military, visiting military bases, and learning about military issues for most of my life.

I think that you cannot understand that which you do not know. I think it’s time for someone to pull a Studs Terkel (rest in peace), and compile interviews with people who served in Iraq. The Good War is one of the most amazing, humanizing, excellent books ever, and there’s a reason it’s a classic. I also think that if you’re reading this and you don’t know a veteran, go track one down and talk to him or her.

You might be surprised by what you learn.

And, if you’re a veteran reading this today, thank you for your service. And I don’t mean that in a cutesy hipster way. I mean it in a very honest way: I think that there are lots of ways to serve your country, and that every way is important. So thank you.

Ciao, Chessa! is my NaBloPoMo featured site of the day. Lots of great photography.

Don’t believe me when I say that some Mormons support marriage equality? Go check out Mormons for Marriage.

Are you as obsessed with Michelle Obama’s fashion as I am? Mrs. O can hook you up.

Oh no, animals aren’t anything like us.

Here’s the dirt on ecologically friendly products for ladies. (Er, personal care products. For ladies.)

Colorado is experimenting with a new style of prison management, with the goal of creating more humane conditions, and less troubled prisoners.

Was your pet poisoned by melamine-tainted pet food last year? Details about the settlement are here.

Pole dancing is the new hip fitness fad, and, surprise surprise, people have reservations about it.

Apparently it’s not just me who sleeps all the time in the winter.

The groundbreaking human trafficking unit at the Met in London just got closed due to lack of funding. I really wish governments wouldn’t do things like that.

Every morning, I wake up and my RSS feed is filled with posts screaming at me for blaming the black community for what happened with Proposition 8, and I want to respond to every single one of them, except that I am afraid of being viewed as a troll. So, here’s the response I want to put in the comment threads of every single post shrilling denouncing the white LGBQT community:

“Hey, great idea. Let’s continue fanning the flames instead of having a constructive dialogue about the issue. And, while you’re at it, please make sure to do exactly what you are screaming at us for doing, which is to say lumping the entire white LGBQT community together as a “monolithic groupmind.” That’s very productive. I really enjoy being lumped in together with the assholes making racisct comments who are apparently incapable of understanding the lunacy, irony, and shamefulness in making such comments. You say that you’re turning your back on the LGBQT civil rights movement, even though that screws over your LGBQT brothers and sisters. I could turn that back on you and say that I’m going to turn my back on black civil rights, except that I’m not, because that would be stupid. So please, pull your head out of your ass, and start bringing something constructive to this discussion instead of shrieking continuously. I think that there’s a big segment of the white LGBQT community that wants to talk about this, but we are afraid. (Just like you say you’re afraid to show up in protests in opposition to Prop 8 and other anti-gay measures.) See this? Yeah, that is productive. That is a clear discussion about some of the issues involved, and that is what I call outreach and a genuine attempt to address the issue. Look, I know you’re pissed that some wackjobs looked at some exit polls and drew erroneous conclusions, and I think that the issue of racism among white activists does need to be addressed, but we can’t address it until you stop berating us as a collective. So please, stop.”

If you’ve ever wondered why there isn’t a cure for AIDS yet, or why it took so long to get going on medications for AIDS when the crisis first emerged in the 1980s, you, er, obviously don’t follow AIDS very closely. That’s ok, because you can read this book and get caught up in a pretty major way.

Against the Odds is all about the development of early AIDS treatments and protocols. It talks about the huge role that community activism played in getting medications into the bodies of people who needed them, and about the way in which AIDS contributed to radical reform at the FDA and in the scientific community.

It’s also about the politics of drug development in general, like re-purposing drugs which are in the public domain and then patenting them and making a bundle. The health system in this country has not changed very much since this book was written, and a lot of the commentary about insurance exclusions, skyrocketing drug costs, and failure to meet fundamental patient needs rings true today.

If you aren’t American, and you are totally confused about how our “health” system works, definitely read Against the Odds.

Demographics:

Against the Odds: The Story of AIDS Drug Development, Politics and Profits, by Peter S. Arno and Karyn L. Feiden. Published 1992, 314 pages. Science/health.

That if I was a sea cucumber, I could vomit out my stomach and enfold your obnoxious dog whole before swallowing it, and no one would ever know. I wonder if this is why I feel a deep visceral writhing every time your fucking dog starts barking, because my stomach secretly wishes that I was a sea cucumber so that we could resolve this problem.

These are the things I think about when I am not working because your fucking dog has been barking continuously for what feels like all eternity. Please do not ask me to explain the logic of the sea cucumber argument, because I am currently incapable of rational thought, thanks to all of the fucking barking.

Let’s say it again: fuck.

Sometimes, I have the knack for being in the right place at the right time with a camera. On Friday, I happened to be strolling to the post office when I spotted this:

I recognized it instantly as a speeder. (Also known as track speeder, railcar, railroad motorcar, etc.) Last year, I happened to be shooting in the graveyard when a bunch of speeders rolled into town, and it was very neat. I assumed that where one speeder went, others would not be far behind, and the car’s driver confirmed this, explaining that they would be doing a run to Fort Bragg and back over the weekend, and he was on the coast getting things squared away.

Speeders, for those not in the know, are the motorcars which used to be utilized for train maintenance. Most railroads these days use specially outfitted vans and trucks which can be driven on railroad tracks, and the old motorcars got sold off in huge lots in the 1970s and 1980s (at the same time that rail in general was declining in the US). Fortunately, a number of speeders got rescued by enthusiasts, and they take them out for spins now and then. The excursion this weekend was led by the Motorcar Operators West (MOW), an affiliate of the North American Railcar Operators Association (NARCOA).

Everyone who participates in these things seems to be universally friendly and eager to share knowledge, and I love talking to them when they come into town. I also love taking pictures of their incredibly cool railcars, which are restored and maintained with a loving hand. Following is a selection of shots, and there are many more on my Flickr set, for the train nerds among you.

Stripes! There are two railcars linked together here.

The line of railcars coming in. It was very misty/rainy, and in fact it started pouring almost immediately after everyone had gotten into the rail yard.

I love this South Coast Railroad speeder.

Everyone files into the railyard.

Here they are all lined up and ready to go in the morning. They picked a perfect time to head out: bright and sunny, with barely a cloud in the sky. 45 minutes later, it was thoroughly overcast. And there’s the Engine 66, for scale. The train headed out before the speeders.

A little hazy, but I love the Fairmont Railcar shown here.

Here they are on their way out. The grey railcar at the end had a huge bouquet of flowers in the cab, which I tried to snap, but unfortunately the photo came out extremely blurry.

You know, those Prop 8 supporters are totally right. We, as a country, should be rising up to defend traditional marriage. If we don’t defend the sacred sacrament of marriage, our entire society will crumble and fall. The flagrant examples of sin in this country must be weeded out.

For starters, we need to ban divorce. The Bible is very clear on this, as are the marriage vows: “to death do us part.” Divorce is a violation of traditional marriage, and it should not be tolerated under any circumstances. What’s that you say? A ban on divorce might be very dangerous for women being abused by their husbands? Well, might I remind you that a husband has dominion over his wife, and everybody knows what when you have dominion over something, you can’t abuse it, because it’s your property! (See: animal “abuse.”) Women must “submit to their husbands in everything.”

As for adulterers, we’ve got to start holding public stonings to take care of that sort of thing. Send a clear message that we value traditional marriage, as a society, and we will not tolerate it. It’s right there in the 10 Commandments, people! And if you get up to adultery with your neighbor’s wife, that punishment goes double.

Also, childless marriages should henceforth be dissolved, because marriage is for procreation, not tax benefits or whatever those people are up to. I say that if you’ve been married at least one year and you don’t have children, it’s time for the State to come on in and rip that marriage license up, because it’s clearly invalid. If childless marriages are legal, you might as well say that people could marry animals! Or plants!

Furthermore, let’s put Deuteronomy into action: when a man rapes a virgin, he should first pay her father a compensation, and then marry her. Because it’s important to preserve traditional marriage as defined in the Bible, people. We cannot shirk from our duty. Speaking of virgins, should you marry some harlot who is not a virgin on the wedding night, please bring her to the public stoning ground posthaste.

Also, multiple wives and concubines? A-ok, according to Biblical precedent. Everyone should aspire to be like Solomon (700 wives, 300 concubines). But you can only marry fellow Christians. No non-believers, people.

No more cherry-picking from the Bible when it comes to marriage! We’ve got to go whole hog. If you spot anyone violating clearly-stated Biblical precepts, especially when it comes to the sacred institution of marriage, set them straight. To do otherwise would be, of course, unGodly. You’re doing them a favor, really: they’ll thank you when they’re saved.

Take Your Face Out of Your Hands and Open Your Eyes is my NaBloPoMo featured site of the day. Lots of great discussion of LGBQT issues and race, among other things.

The Press Democrat has a great story up on getting Iraq veterans involved in training therapy/assistance dogs, with some excellent photos.

Have you ever longed for a list of White House pets? Well, look no further. Fun fact: Taft, one of my favourite Presidents, was the last President to keep a cow at the White House.

One of the distinctive features of our legal system is the lawyers appointed by the court for people who cannot afford legal services. That’s about to change: public defenders are revolting against increasingly heavy case loads and poor pay. (I should note that every single public defender I have known is now working privately.)

Get ready for a fight.

Great, we elected a new President. Now what?

British voters may have a way to come before they elect a minority Prime Minister.

This is exactly the kind of irresponsible, careless, thoughtless writing which drives a huge wedge between the white LGBQT community and people of color.

I’d like to talk about Grey’s Anatomy for a moment. If you don’t watch, that’s ok, because what I really want to talk about is the astonishing act of gaywashing ABC just perpetrated, and Grey’s Anatomy happens to be the show which was involved.

Basically, Grey’s Anatomy is a soap opera which airs at night, giving it a veneer of legitimacy and a huge fan base. It takes place in a hospital, as we follow the nascent careers of a group of surgical residents. Apparently, in between learning how to become surgeons, they have time to have sex with each other constantly, and to get involved in prolonged and improbable dramas. I watch it in the same way that I peer at a train wreck: because I can’t tear my eyes away.

At any rate, the show is heavily heterosexual. This season, they went out on a limb, and created a relationship between Doctor Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) and Doctor Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith). Now, the relationship was pretty problematic. Two characters who were avowedly het “suddenly discovered” their deep passion for each other, and people started calling the relationship “lesbian,” when it was more properly bisexual. But it was a touching relationship, and I thought it was great to see it portrayed so positively on television, especially with Smith’s awesome “you are the glasses” monologue, even though it had parts which were suspiciously similar to my own essay on getting glasses for the first time. But whatever. “The trees have leaves” is a pretty common experience for people getting glasses for the first time, I’m sure.

So, everything seemed to be going along swimmingly, until a bombshell got dropped: Thursday’s episode was Smith’s last. The last we see of her is a shot of her walking to her car. That’s it. Boom. Gone. Among other things, that is totally out of character for Dr. Hahn, who is a tough-talking, dedicated surgeon, not a weenie who backs down from a fight.

Needless to say, everyone is going “what the fuck,” and the most commonly-cited reason is gaywashing. Which, I have to say, it totally was. The network clearly felt uncomfortable with the relationship, and they asked Shonda Rhimes to can the character. It’s that simple. They didn’t even leave it open by keeping her on the show (because she was great as an egotistical cardiothoracic surgeon). They just dumped her.

Now, people say “oh, well, the public didn’t respond to the relationship.” Well, guess what. Smith was dropped before this season even started airing. They shoot television shows in advance, people. She was told that they were “no longer writing for her character” in mid-September, and this season started on 25 September. So don’t tell me that the public wasn’t ready for the relationship, or wasn’t responding well. It was all the network. The huge bummer? Smith had just relocated to Los Angeles for the show, uprooting her family for what she thought was going to be a consistent role.

It sounds like the actors (and Rhimes) have pretty much had their hands tied by the network when it comes to commenting, although Patrick Dempsey (one of the leads) did make some pointed comments in an interview on Ellen about the topic, stopping short of saying that it was gaywashing, but expressing some surprise that Smith was so abruptly removed from the show.

And now, it seems like the other gay-friendly storylines on the show are being toned down. A new character who is supposedly bisexual is being brought on the show, but she’s going to be limited to the straight sex which has characterized the show thus far.

I don’t know why ABC made the decision to yank the gay storyline and to whisk the character out of sight so that people never have to think about her again. I think we’re going to see Callie turning back to the straight life, reinforcing the pathetic idea that being gay or lesbian is a choice. And I think that’s a shame. The network really had a chance to tell a compelling and interesting story, and they dumped it, for fear of riling people up or causing offense.

I can think of only a handful of positively-portrayed LGBQT characters on network television, and I think that’s a crying shame. Especially from a show like Grey’s Anatomy, which prides itself on its color-blind casting, a pretty progressive move in a color-obsessed industry. We live in a society where people are obsessed with sexuality, so of course television has to include sex, but apparently only conventional straight sex. No lesbians, gays, queers, kinksters, transpeople, or asexuals allowed.

The notable exception to this rule appears to be Bones, which continually introduces new ideas about sexuality and interpersonal relationships. Bones doesn’t always nail it, and I am not always totally delighted with the way they handle issues ranging from polyamory to pony play, but at least they aren’t afraid of topics which other networks seem to shy away from like the plague.

One of the things about this site is that it allows me to evolve and expand upon my thoughts. Sometimes that means that material on it appears to be contradictory, when examined as a whole. However, I like to leave old/dated material up because I think that it accurately reflects my state of mind at the time it was written, even if it doesn’t do the same today. I say this not as an excuse, but as an explanation for the following, which might seem to run contrary to what I have said in the past. The exciting thing about being human and being adult is that you are allowed to change and grow your mind as you receive new information and process that information.

All of this brouhaha over the decision of some people to blame some other people who don’t really deserve it for what happened with Proposition 8 has left me thinking, which is a good thing, because I am a fan of thinking. I have to say that I have felt very frustrated over what I see as a fundamental lack of communication between various groups involved, and I think that there has been a great deal of fingerpointing and namecalling on all sides, none of which is productive or particularly helpful.

The statement “[social/cultural/ethnic/religious/biological/political group], to which I do not belong, has experienced oppression and struggle, therefore they should understand the experiences of my [social/cultural/ethnic/religious/biological/political group] and support us,” is of limited value. It’s like saying that divers are qualified to be astronauts because they are experienced at using life support systems which include specialized suits and oxygen tanks.

And it seems to be at the heart of this butting of heads. I think that I, like a lot of LGBQT people, made the fundamental logic error of assuming that other minority voters would support our minority because they know what it’s like to be a minority. And, even if they weren’t members of our minority, surely they would see the logic of protecting our civil rights, and the civil rights of members of our minority who are also part of their minority.

That was a pretty stupid line of logic, in retrospect, because it falls back on the statement made above. And it ignores things like cultural and religious barriers which might stand in the way. Unfortunately, it seems to be a failing not just of individual members of the LGBQT community, but also of the organizers behind the No on 8 campaign. The organizers failed to reach out in any meaningful way to minority communities in Caliornia, even though the Yes on 8 campaign was sinking oodles of dollars into advertisements targeted at blacks, Latino/as, and Asians.

Why didn’t the organizers try to reach out? It’s a bit of a mystery. Did they make the logic error above? Did they make the fatally stupid error of thinking that minority voters just wouldn’t turn out, or would automatically vote no? What they ended up doing was creating a whites-only campaign, which probably ended up (did end up?) alienating a lot of people who might have otherwise supported the opposition to 8. In other words, the organizers basically screwed themselves.

It wasn’t until about a week before the election that the No on 8 folks did any kind of community outreach to non-whites in California. Sure, there was a scattering of ads in which the occasional person of color popped up, but that must have been almost more offensive, since those people were used more like props than real people.

I read a post earlier talking about the tendency of white progressives to use people of color when it’s convenient, and then abandon them. I read that and first I was kind of angry, and then I realized that if I was that angry about it, there might be some truth it. As indeed there is. White progressives led the no on 8 campaign, and they made a lot of assumptions about people of color (including the assumption that they, too, are progressive). The LGBQT community paid a heavy price for it.

And, now that the “my minority is better than your minority” battle has been ignited, it’s going to be difficult to extinguish. I think that a lot of parties have whipped up sentiment over this issue, from the media making misleading reports about voting statistics, to the pathetic scumbags who shouted anti-black things at the No on 8 rallies in Los Angeles on Friday. And the pathetic scumbags who did not step up and say “hey, that kind of shit is not going to be tolerated here. Go crawl back under the rock which apparently birthed you.”

A number of people have been credited with the quote “if we do not all hang together, then surely we must hang separately.” The identity of the author isn’t really important. What is is the fundamental idea behind it, which is that people must stop sniping at each other and actually engage. I think that one good thing has come out of this backlash, which is that white progressives have been forced to examine the racism which is never far from the surface of their movement. Honestly, and I never thought I would say this, if allowing Prop 8 to pass was the only way to get white progressives to think about the racism in their movement, then…maybe it’s a good thing that 8 passed.