Another Year another rage killing/suicide.
Another chance for news anchors interview witness' and ask,
"...and how did you feel?"
A few years back I was having a conversation with a friend I'd not seen in a while. After a pause he changed the subject and asked,
"Pedro, do you ever have violent thoughts?"
I responded with "Oh Hell yea!"
He told me how in his younger days he'd imagine taking his fathers gun to shoot out the street lights.
"Someone would call the cops and there I'd be, with a gun in my hands."
Niether one of us mentioned the shooting at Columbine High School a few months back. We didn't have to because we both knew that we both understood.
I remember when the campaigne to put "Parental Advisory; Explicit Lyrics" warning stickers on record albums was in full swing.
On the Oprah show Tipper Gore said,
"Parents aren't tuned in to what there children are hearing."
I thought to myself,
"Damn! She came so close."
It's not that there parents aren't tuned in to what there kids are hearing. There not tuned into the emotional lives there kids are living.
The Anti Heroes "You Can't Kill The Blues With a Gun"
Monday morning can't open my eyes
cause everyone's looking for me
My life's no longer a seven day weekend cause
I'm still asleep on my feet
Wanna stay on top of your life
you got to try as hard as you can
But all you got is another struggle
and no one's gonna lend you a hand
[ Chorus ]
- You can't kill the blues with a gun, you gotta find the strength to stand
You just gotta keep your eyes straight ahead, walk on like a man -
Chaos all around.
No one can stop us cause tonight we're back on the piss.
If it ends up in jail or it ends up in blood, that's the way life is.
I'm not the one who cleans up after, somehow its always done.
Spend your life worrying about, you're not gonna have any fun.
[ Chorus ]
- You can't kill the blues with a gun, you gotta find the strength to stand
You just gotta keep your eyes straight ahead, walk on like a man -
No ones gonna tell you when you're doing right,
They tell you when you're doing wrong.
As long as they keep themselves shut up, we'll keep carrying on.
The aching burning self is on my back again.
You better look for something good and enjoy it while you can
Album: That's Right
Artist Anti Heroes
Date: 1985
What today are refered to as "school shooting" and "Rage Killings"
have been taking place for at least one-hundred years.
They were usually something that happened in rural areas and involved an adolecent male breaking up with a girl friend. There was no Fox or CNN to
spread the news across the planet.
What goes through my mind now is how the news industry
will tro to "cover" this "story" while trying to not encourage some other
rage filled kid. Meanwhile I'll watch adults blame everything they can
except the thing they are watching.
Here's My Parental Advisory. Talk to Your kids!
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
I'm 48 years of age.
Yea, I know I don't look it. I owe it all to clean living and quality beer!
The riots at The Stonewall Inn took place when I was 10 years old.
It was the day Gays in the United States said out loud, "We don't have to take this shit any more!"
Gregory Flood in his book "I'm Looking For Mr. Right, But I'll Settle For Mr. Right Away" discribed it as "The first great idea we ever had." But that was in 1969.
What great ideas have we had since? Well, for me I remember decades of living in a country where Gay folks walked down the streets of this country in fear.
What do I see today?
Gay Folks walking down the streets in fear.
Back in the 1990's a young Lesbian Rutgers University student related this story.She was walking down the street of the main campus.Suddenly she see's a straight female friend she had not seen in months. They run up to each other and hug. Talking a mile a minuet she says there's a class to attend.
So they exchange contact information.
As she walks away she says loud enough to be heard across the street, "Call me, cause I love you!" As she heads to class she see's her girl friend! What a great day this is turning out to be. They walk up to each other and shake hands. This women realized later that there was no need for her to not kiss and hug hur girl friend.
She realized she was living on automatic pilot. Fear is one reason humans are not extinct yet.Our ancestors lived in savage chaotic time.
There was little time to reason out a threat.
It was "Get your hairy neanderthal ass away from the saber tooth bear NOW!!!"
Over time they developed leasure time to perfect there technology, tell stories, and develope a human culture.
OK, now before I go any further you need to know why what I am about to relate is not a message you hear much.
It's in part because a substantial number of Gay Men of my generation are dead. AIDS took out of this world Men and Gay Women who would be thrilled to be living in these times. They would think back on the way things were in the 1940's, 1950's and 1960's. When I wake up and see that I am not strapped to a table about to have my testicles cut off I think, Damn! This is the start to a good day!"
OK, Now my point.
It's OK to be afraid from time to time.It means you are awake.
But if your fear is an irrational terror that prevents you from expressing
your positive power in the world then the effect is a more fearfull world.
It's when Gay Folks before and after Stonewall found them selves fearing
less that they expressed that fearlessness in the cival rights and feminist movements.
The fearless are compassionate.The fearless are changing the world for the better as you read this.
Closeted or "Out" you are free when you are fearless.
But what to do when your feeling fearless?
One option is to look inward and find what is important to you.
Back in the 1980's Right Wing activists talked about the Gay Agenda.
The responce from "Queer" activists was out rage."How dare they think we are plotting to recruit children."My response was "Gay Agenda? I Wish!"
Since the Bisexual Gay Male, Lesbian, and Trans Communities are so diverse what kind of agenda can we agree on?
How about less suffering in general in the world?
Simple, to the point and geared to helping every one who suffers.
It can get complicated on some issues.
But if we look to each of the communities giving to there members the respect we expect in return then I believe a concensus can be reached.
I vollenteer at WBAI 99.5 fm where they have a
Gay radio program called Out-FM. I set up a My Space page for them and post stuff on there BLOG.
There web site is www.outfm.org.
Check em out and think about what matters to you.
Then embrace that.
As a citizen of the United States you have an awcome power to make things better for others.
Perhaps you can inspire others to be less fearfull.
Pedro Angel Serrano
Yea, I know I don't look it. I owe it all to clean living and quality beer!
The riots at The Stonewall Inn took place when I was 10 years old.
It was the day Gays in the United States said out loud, "We don't have to take this shit any more!"
Gregory Flood in his book "I'm Looking For Mr. Right, But I'll Settle For Mr. Right Away" discribed it as "The first great idea we ever had." But that was in 1969.
What great ideas have we had since? Well, for me I remember decades of living in a country where Gay folks walked down the streets of this country in fear.
What do I see today?
Gay Folks walking down the streets in fear.
Back in the 1990's a young Lesbian Rutgers University student related this story.She was walking down the street of the main campus.Suddenly she see's a straight female friend she had not seen in months. They run up to each other and hug. Talking a mile a minuet she says there's a class to attend.
So they exchange contact information.
As she walks away she says loud enough to be heard across the street, "Call me, cause I love you!" As she heads to class she see's her girl friend! What a great day this is turning out to be. They walk up to each other and shake hands. This women realized later that there was no need for her to not kiss and hug hur girl friend.
She realized she was living on automatic pilot. Fear is one reason humans are not extinct yet.Our ancestors lived in savage chaotic time.
There was little time to reason out a threat.
It was "Get your hairy neanderthal ass away from the saber tooth bear NOW!!!"
Over time they developed leasure time to perfect there technology, tell stories, and develope a human culture.
OK, now before I go any further you need to know why what I am about to relate is not a message you hear much.
It's in part because a substantial number of Gay Men of my generation are dead. AIDS took out of this world Men and Gay Women who would be thrilled to be living in these times. They would think back on the way things were in the 1940's, 1950's and 1960's. When I wake up and see that I am not strapped to a table about to have my testicles cut off I think, Damn! This is the start to a good day!"
OK, Now my point.
It's OK to be afraid from time to time.It means you are awake.
But if your fear is an irrational terror that prevents you from expressing
your positive power in the world then the effect is a more fearfull world.
It's when Gay Folks before and after Stonewall found them selves fearing
less that they expressed that fearlessness in the cival rights and feminist movements.
The fearless are compassionate.The fearless are changing the world for the better as you read this.
Closeted or "Out" you are free when you are fearless.
But what to do when your feeling fearless?
One option is to look inward and find what is important to you.
Back in the 1980's Right Wing activists talked about the Gay Agenda.
The responce from "Queer" activists was out rage."How dare they think we are plotting to recruit children."My response was "Gay Agenda? I Wish!"
Since the Bisexual Gay Male, Lesbian, and Trans Communities are so diverse what kind of agenda can we agree on?
How about less suffering in general in the world?
Simple, to the point and geared to helping every one who suffers.
It can get complicated on some issues.
But if we look to each of the communities giving to there members the respect we expect in return then I believe a concensus can be reached.
I vollenteer at WBAI 99.5 fm where they have a
Gay radio program called Out-FM. I set up a My Space page for them and post stuff on there BLOG.
There web site is www.outfm.org.
Check em out and think about what matters to you.
Then embrace that.
As a citizen of the United States you have an awcome power to make things better for others.
Perhaps you can inspire others to be less fearfull.
Pedro Angel Serrano
Friday, November 16, 2007
A few months ago I was as is my routine
watching the News Hour with Jim Lehrer on PBS.
They had a segment on wounded solders
from Iraq and Afghanistan. It was one of a continuing
series they have been doing on how the U.S. government
has and has not been giving the wounded vets what they need.
At one point during the segment as they showed a paralyzed solider being
turned over he screamed out the word, "NO!"
It was a symptom of his brain damage. Friends watching it were pained
upon hearing it. What came to my mind at that moment was,
what would it take to become
a physical therapist; how much time in school, what would it cost, could I get a grant for it.
The reason I was suddenly
thinking about utterly changing my life was that I wanted to help.
That's not just who I am. It's what millions of Americans are.
People who want to help.
It's what millions of Americans where thinking and feeling at the same time I was.
"I want to help."
Here's a suggestion a friend re-posted on My Space.
It's simple and something you can do before of shopping for bargains on "Black Sunday."
Perhaps it will put you in a better mind set as you
navigate the crowds in the malls.
When you are making out your Christmas card list this year,
please include the following:
A Recovering American soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue,NW
Washington ,D.C. 20307-5001
If you approve of the idea, please pass it on to your e-mail list
Pedro
watching the News Hour with Jim Lehrer on PBS.
They had a segment on wounded solders
from Iraq and Afghanistan. It was one of a continuing
series they have been doing on how the U.S. government
has and has not been giving the wounded vets what they need.
At one point during the segment as they showed a paralyzed solider being
turned over he screamed out the word, "NO!"
It was a symptom of his brain damage. Friends watching it were pained
upon hearing it. What came to my mind at that moment was,
what would it take to become
a physical therapist; how much time in school, what would it cost, could I get a grant for it.
The reason I was suddenly
thinking about utterly changing my life was that I wanted to help.
That's not just who I am. It's what millions of Americans are.
People who want to help.
It's what millions of Americans where thinking and feeling at the same time I was.
"I want to help."
Here's a suggestion a friend re-posted on My Space.
It's simple and something you can do before of shopping for bargains on "Black Sunday."
Perhaps it will put you in a better mind set as you
navigate the crowds in the malls.
When you are making out your Christmas card list this year,
please include the following:
A Recovering American soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue,NW
Washington ,D.C. 20307-5001
If you approve of the idea, please pass it on to your e-mail list
Pedro
Sunday, November 11, 2007
What is a hero?
... Willem Arondeus, was a Dutch homosexual who led a gay resistance group against the Nazis .
... Willem was an artist and writer who lived mostly in poverty with his younger lover Jan. Willem organized a group made up of mostly gay men one of whom was a tailor. This tailor made "costumes" that resembled police uniforms. Donning these "uniforms" the group was allowed to enter a government records office and, after tranquilizing the guards and moving them to a safe place, the group set fire to the building. The building held thousands of files of Jews and others that were marked for deportation to death camps. This action delayed the deportation and in some cases actually saved the lives of many that the Nazis had marked for death but had not yet rounded up. Someone betrayed Willem and his group and a few months later most were executed.
Before Willem was executed, Willem said "Let the world know that homosexuals are not cowards".
Exhibit to honor Gay American Heroes
A group of LGBT activists (including Scott Hall, Frank Kameny, US Representative Barney Frank and Amazing Race winner Chip Arndt) are working towards the creation of a memorial to victims of anti-gay hate crimes.
The effort, Gay American Heroes, aims to "honor and remember LGBT victims of hate crimes" while also seeking to increase awareness about violent crimes against LGBT people. The exhibit will show pictures of hate crime victims, along with their names and stories, on a 100 foot long display of rainbow colored panels. The exhibit is meant to travel and be displayed in college campuses, gay pride events and other communities.
It will include interactive elements including an "Adopt-A-Hero" program that will send a card to friends and family of the Hero, letting them know that their loved one has not been forgotten. Visitors will also be able to submit the name of a friend, family member or lover who was lost to a hate crime or print out information about one of the exhibit's Heroes to take home.
More information about the project can be found at the Foundation's website:http://www.gayamericanheroes.com/
The exhibit hopes to be completed in December.The power of an exhibit like this is that it makes people see hate crime victims as people, rather than statistics. By hearing stories of the Heroes, strained claims that adding LGBT people to hate crime protections will stifle the free speech of anti-gay activists lose their power. I'm reminded of Lavender Liberal's video tribute to Hate Crime victims, which made it hard not to see the tragedy of all these lives interrupted by intolerance, a powerful message.Meanwhile, a similar effort is being spearheaded by Pam's House Blend contributor TerranceDC. He is writing Wikipedia entries on hate crime victims, to make sure those stories are easily found and can be referenced in debating hate crime legislation. As always, humanizing the issue and showing that it has happened to people they could imagine knowing and loving is a very potent argument.
... Willem was an artist and writer who lived mostly in poverty with his younger lover Jan. Willem organized a group made up of mostly gay men one of whom was a tailor. This tailor made "costumes" that resembled police uniforms. Donning these "uniforms" the group was allowed to enter a government records office and, after tranquilizing the guards and moving them to a safe place, the group set fire to the building. The building held thousands of files of Jews and others that were marked for deportation to death camps. This action delayed the deportation and in some cases actually saved the lives of many that the Nazis had marked for death but had not yet rounded up. Someone betrayed Willem and his group and a few months later most were executed.
Before Willem was executed, Willem said "Let the world know that homosexuals are not cowards".
Exhibit to honor Gay American Heroes
A group of LGBT activists (including Scott Hall, Frank Kameny, US Representative Barney Frank and Amazing Race winner Chip Arndt) are working towards the creation of a memorial to victims of anti-gay hate crimes.
The effort, Gay American Heroes, aims to "honor and remember LGBT victims of hate crimes" while also seeking to increase awareness about violent crimes against LGBT people. The exhibit will show pictures of hate crime victims, along with their names and stories, on a 100 foot long display of rainbow colored panels. The exhibit is meant to travel and be displayed in college campuses, gay pride events and other communities.
It will include interactive elements including an "Adopt-A-Hero" program that will send a card to friends and family of the Hero, letting them know that their loved one has not been forgotten. Visitors will also be able to submit the name of a friend, family member or lover who was lost to a hate crime or print out information about one of the exhibit's Heroes to take home.
More information about the project can be found at the Foundation's website:http://www.gayamericanheroes.com/
The exhibit hopes to be completed in December.The power of an exhibit like this is that it makes people see hate crime victims as people, rather than statistics. By hearing stories of the Heroes, strained claims that adding LGBT people to hate crime protections will stifle the free speech of anti-gay activists lose their power. I'm reminded of Lavender Liberal's video tribute to Hate Crime victims, which made it hard not to see the tragedy of all these lives interrupted by intolerance, a powerful message.Meanwhile, a similar effort is being spearheaded by Pam's House Blend contributor TerranceDC. He is writing Wikipedia entries on hate crime victims, to make sure those stories are easily found and can be referenced in debating hate crime legislation. As always, humanizing the issue and showing that it has happened to people they could imagine knowing and loving is a very potent argument.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
How Walls Are Built.
What follows is a thread I started on a networking site (www.tribe.com).
The people who responded to my initial post were members of a "Tribe" called Rainbow Racism. They were a group of Bisexual, Gay Male, Lesbian, and Trans People of Color who were interested in discussing issues around racism in the "Queer" communities.
My reason for sharing this is because what followed was a very use-full discussion that revealed issues I have heard before from Gay People of Color but never seemed to make it to the broader Activist communities.
Pedro Angel Serrano
=============================
May 20, 2005 - 05:40 PM
How walls are built.
The names Pedro and I'm a homosexual man of
Puerto Rican decent. I'll be 46 in a week and a day.
In New Jersey I've been doing radio program for the Bisexual, Gay Male,
Lesbian and Trans communities for over a decade.
A few years ago I started producing for another progressive
Queer radio show. This collective is small right now but
we're in the middle of a campaign to get more members.
The white male members are especially concerned with diversity.
As a step towards developing a relationship with the local communities of color, fliers were made and sent out to local community groups asking that they let us know of any events that they were going to do.
An announcement came from a queer Asian group about there fund raising event. The member of the collective whose job was to receive these announcements didn't want to announce it on the show.
I asked why. He said "Because it's competition."
The Queer Asian group was putting on a beauty contest. No seriously.
That's why he didn't want to announce this event by a queer Asian group to raise money for Tsunami relief. It was for TSUNAMI RELIEF !!!
He disapproved of an event that promoted competition as well as "...reinforced a narrow definition of beauty."
I asked why he felt the need "...to be judgmental." He said he felt we
"...had every right to be judgmental." I was starting to get hot under the collar.
I won't go into the arguments I gave. The announcement did go over the air but it was just read. No production treatment was made for it though.
I want to point out that this man defines himself as a "radical-queer."
He is not a racialist. But if that announcement had not gone over the air due to the political dogma of a group of (at the time) mostly white gay men, would that have seemed racist? I think it would have.
I've noticed over the last 5 years how a lot of intelligent, committed, and
passionate white gay activists unknowingly build walls between themselves and communities of color, not over racism but through dogma.
reply to this post
+
May 21, 2005 - 02:18 PM
Alexandra
Re: How walls are built.
>> The white male members are especially concerned with diversity.
I've been there, another place, another time, another radio
station. They seem to be surprised that communities of color and
women's communities aren't running to join their club, be it "progressive", "radical" or whatever dogma they impose.
Reply to this post
+
May 21, 2005 - 02:22 PM
Michael
Re: How walls are built.
As a person of color I notice at "Radical" events there are certain
things that might inadvertently reduce the number of people of color
participating --like an event being scent or deodorant free, or
serving only vegan food.
In your situation Pedro, if the group in question was one of a small handful of people of color putting on events, it might be perceived as racist. Otherwise, if word got around about why its event was rejected, it would still make your organization look bad--petty and overly dogmatic. Sometimes I wonder why the left often seems to lack an organizational pragmatism ("we don't want to work with them---they wear leather!"), which prevents it from really building
success full infrastructures and coalitions.
Reply to this post
May 21, 2005 - 02:27 PM
Alexandra
Re: How walls are built.
good examples too, Michael.
reply to this post
+
May 21, 2005 - 02:30 PM
Alexandra
Re: How walls are built.
I have explained to groups like that that their process is enforcing their own privilege and they get defensive. Like their group/institution isn't NBC or Time/Warner so how could they have privilege.
reply to this post
+
May 21, 2005 - 03:22 PM
-robin
Re: How walls are built.
having a scent free environment is for the ever increasing number of people for whom chemical scents make them sick. I have a few friends like this who put a lot of work into things, but their chemical sensitivities are such that a person wearing scents
(especially perfumes and colognes)
can cause asthma attacks
and migraines. studies show that these scents are also responsible for
emotional outbursts in people and for triggering worse ADD behaviors.
chemical scents can also aggravate fibromyalgia and CFS and IBS.
if POC will not attend an event because of this "dogma" which is
all about making the space safer and healthier for participants I
cannot understand why? also what is wrong with vegan food?
I know lots of POC who are also vegan. i have not generally met many POC who hate vegetables. vegan just makes it accessible to all. making the event such that you can never bring in your own food (including mea or dairy, especially half and half) goes too far i think, but supplying a simple basic common denominator food like vegan food, that pretty much everyone can eat, seems to make sense to me.
-robin
Reply to this post
+
Monique
Re: How walls are built.
robin--
We could sit here all day and debate the utility of creating scent
free/ meat free/ dairy free/ organic only, etc. spaces. But prior posts are apt to point out that these types of
spaces bear a symbolism that is often distinctly construed as white and privileged. "Vegan" is associated with much more than eating habits; it's symbolic of elitist culture.
This is a very interesting discussion.
How do organizations employ cultural relativism without compromising
their core values?
Reply to this post
+
May 21, 2005 - 10:24 PM
angel
what is the sound...
of a nail being hit on the head?
Because I just heard it.
Monique, thanks for saying this so succinctly. I was trying to figure out how to say it correctly without resorting to stereotyping. I try to be empathetic to those folks who want to/need to have things a certain way, but honestly I see it as more exclusionary than not. i personally don't know too many poor vegans or other poc who don't at least have a snort for the scent free ideology. Seriously though, when it comes down to holding space for one group without pissing off another, well....maybe, um, compromise IS the answer? scent-free areas? vegan options? Everybody not being so uptight? I don't know maybe I am starry-eyed just suggesting such a thing...
reply to this post
+
May 22, 2005 - 02:55 PM
Michael
Re: what is the sound
kudos to Monique for her eloquence.
I totally agree there is room for compromise on all these issues. When it comes to scents: have a scent free area, encourage people to use natural scents, encourage those who don't wear scents to bathe, etc. When it comes to food, have vegan, vegetarian & meat dishes. Also, make sure whoever is cooking the vegan dishes knows how to cook--there are plenty of Indian, Mediterranean, and Asian vegan dishes that are plenty good--bulgur tofu loaf with parsley probably
won't cut it.
Reply to this post
+
May 24, 2005 - 11:54 AM
Pedro Serrano
Re: what is the sound
I think understanding is a painful process. I'm looking for any suggestions
that can make it less painful for progressives
to do some self examination.
reply to this post
+
May 24, 2005 - 06:31 PM
Monique
Re: what is the sound
Hey Pedro,
If you have a few groups in mind that would like to work collaboratively
with your cooperative, maybe orchestrating some sort of panel
discussion between members could help elicit self examination, and
determine ways of promoting that are beneficial to everyone.
BTW, thanks Angel and Michael for your responses to my post.
Glad to see others feel the same way.
Reply to this post
+
The Thread ended there.
So, when does compromise become being compromised?
How do organizations employ cultural relativism without
compromising their core values?
How conscious are we of our priorities?
When do our politically correct values come between us and those
we want to be of service too?
I know that some of the folks reading this will take up the discussion.
It won’t happen over night but I can see a future where people who know social progress is possible, will go beyond forging a common language for themselves and learn the skills necessary to translate our human values and ethics, to help move us all forward.
Pedro Angel Serrano
Respond to This Article.
The people who responded to my initial post were members of a "Tribe" called Rainbow Racism. They were a group of Bisexual, Gay Male, Lesbian, and Trans People of Color who were interested in discussing issues around racism in the "Queer" communities.
My reason for sharing this is because what followed was a very use-full discussion that revealed issues I have heard before from Gay People of Color but never seemed to make it to the broader Activist communities.
Pedro Angel Serrano
=============================
May 20, 2005 - 05:40 PM
How walls are built.
The names Pedro and I'm a homosexual man of
Puerto Rican decent. I'll be 46 in a week and a day.
In New Jersey I've been doing radio program for the Bisexual, Gay Male,
Lesbian and Trans communities for over a decade.
A few years ago I started producing for another progressive
Queer radio show. This collective is small right now but
we're in the middle of a campaign to get more members.
The white male members are especially concerned with diversity.
As a step towards developing a relationship with the local communities of color, fliers were made and sent out to local community groups asking that they let us know of any events that they were going to do.
An announcement came from a queer Asian group about there fund raising event. The member of the collective whose job was to receive these announcements didn't want to announce it on the show.
I asked why. He said "Because it's competition."
The Queer Asian group was putting on a beauty contest. No seriously.
That's why he didn't want to announce this event by a queer Asian group to raise money for Tsunami relief. It was for TSUNAMI RELIEF !!!
He disapproved of an event that promoted competition as well as "...reinforced a narrow definition of beauty."
I asked why he felt the need "...to be judgmental." He said he felt we
"...had every right to be judgmental." I was starting to get hot under the collar.
I won't go into the arguments I gave. The announcement did go over the air but it was just read. No production treatment was made for it though.
I want to point out that this man defines himself as a "radical-queer."
He is not a racialist. But if that announcement had not gone over the air due to the political dogma of a group of (at the time) mostly white gay men, would that have seemed racist? I think it would have.
I've noticed over the last 5 years how a lot of intelligent, committed, and
passionate white gay activists unknowingly build walls between themselves and communities of color, not over racism but through dogma.
reply to this post
+
May 21, 2005 - 02:18 PM
Alexandra
Re: How walls are built.
>> The white male members are especially concerned with diversity.
I've been there, another place, another time, another radio
station. They seem to be surprised that communities of color and
women's communities aren't running to join their club, be it "progressive", "radical" or whatever dogma they impose.
Reply to this post
+
May 21, 2005 - 02:22 PM
Michael
Re: How walls are built.
As a person of color I notice at "Radical" events there are certain
things that might inadvertently reduce the number of people of color
participating --like an event being scent or deodorant free, or
serving only vegan food.
In your situation Pedro, if the group in question was one of a small handful of people of color putting on events, it might be perceived as racist. Otherwise, if word got around about why its event was rejected, it would still make your organization look bad--petty and overly dogmatic. Sometimes I wonder why the left often seems to lack an organizational pragmatism ("we don't want to work with them---they wear leather!"), which prevents it from really building
success full infrastructures and coalitions.
Reply to this post
+
May 21, 2005 - 02:27 PM
Alexandra
Re: How walls are built.
good examples too, Michael.
reply to this post
+
May 21, 2005 - 02:30 PM
Alexandra
Re: How walls are built.
I have explained to groups like that that their process is enforcing their own privilege and they get defensive. Like their group/institution isn't NBC or Time/Warner so how could they have privilege.
reply to this post
+
May 21, 2005 - 03:22 PM
-robin
Re: How walls are built.
having a scent free environment is for the ever increasing number of people for whom chemical scents make them sick. I have a few friends like this who put a lot of work into things, but their chemical sensitivities are such that a person wearing scents
(especially perfumes and colognes)
can cause asthma attacks
and migraines. studies show that these scents are also responsible for
emotional outbursts in people and for triggering worse ADD behaviors.
chemical scents can also aggravate fibromyalgia and CFS and IBS.
if POC will not attend an event because of this "dogma" which is
all about making the space safer and healthier for participants I
cannot understand why? also what is wrong with vegan food?
I know lots of POC who are also vegan. i have not generally met many POC who hate vegetables. vegan just makes it accessible to all. making the event such that you can never bring in your own food (including mea or dairy, especially half and half) goes too far i think, but supplying a simple basic common denominator food like vegan food, that pretty much everyone can eat, seems to make sense to me.
-robin
Reply to this post
+
Monique
Re: How walls are built.
robin--
We could sit here all day and debate the utility of creating scent
free/ meat free/ dairy free/ organic only, etc. spaces. But prior posts are apt to point out that these types of
spaces bear a symbolism that is often distinctly construed as white and privileged. "Vegan" is associated with much more than eating habits; it's symbolic of elitist culture.
This is a very interesting discussion.
How do organizations employ cultural relativism without compromising
their core values?
Reply to this post
+
May 21, 2005 - 10:24 PM
angel
what is the sound...
of a nail being hit on the head?
Because I just heard it.
Monique, thanks for saying this so succinctly. I was trying to figure out how to say it correctly without resorting to stereotyping. I try to be empathetic to those folks who want to/need to have things a certain way, but honestly I see it as more exclusionary than not. i personally don't know too many poor vegans or other poc who don't at least have a snort for the scent free ideology. Seriously though, when it comes down to holding space for one group without pissing off another, well....maybe, um, compromise IS the answer? scent-free areas? vegan options? Everybody not being so uptight? I don't know maybe I am starry-eyed just suggesting such a thing...
reply to this post
+
May 22, 2005 - 02:55 PM
Michael
Re: what is the sound
kudos to Monique for her eloquence.
I totally agree there is room for compromise on all these issues. When it comes to scents: have a scent free area, encourage people to use natural scents, encourage those who don't wear scents to bathe, etc. When it comes to food, have vegan, vegetarian & meat dishes. Also, make sure whoever is cooking the vegan dishes knows how to cook--there are plenty of Indian, Mediterranean, and Asian vegan dishes that are plenty good--bulgur tofu loaf with parsley probably
won't cut it.
Reply to this post
+
May 24, 2005 - 11:54 AM
Pedro Serrano
Re: what is the sound
I think understanding is a painful process. I'm looking for any suggestions
that can make it less painful for progressives
to do some self examination.
reply to this post
+
May 24, 2005 - 06:31 PM
Monique
Re: what is the sound
Hey Pedro,
If you have a few groups in mind that would like to work collaboratively
with your cooperative, maybe orchestrating some sort of panel
discussion between members could help elicit self examination, and
determine ways of promoting that are beneficial to everyone.
BTW, thanks Angel and Michael for your responses to my post.
Glad to see others feel the same way.
Reply to this post
+
The Thread ended there.
So, when does compromise become being compromised?
How do organizations employ cultural relativism without
compromising their core values?
How conscious are we of our priorities?
When do our politically correct values come between us and those
we want to be of service too?
I know that some of the folks reading this will take up the discussion.
It won’t happen over night but I can see a future where people who know social progress is possible, will go beyond forging a common language for themselves and learn the skills necessary to translate our human values and ethics, to help move us all forward.
Pedro Angel Serrano
Respond to This Article.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Compromise With Out Being Compromised? "Old Man Pedro" Angel Serrano
Bayard Rustin philosophical mentor to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who with out e-mail, cell phones, or My Space, organized of The March on Washington, and described by Maya Angelo as "A great hero of the civil rights movement." said "Activism is about no compromise. Politics is all about compromise."
He was not being judgemental.
He was describing his experience .
I heard it once, and new it to be a truth, what with having been involved in activism since my late teens, I came to know that "No Compromise" is the essence of the activist mind.
Mr. Rustins statement also made it easier for me to like politicians. Well, it made me recognise what a good politician was; someone who could compromise, without being compromised.
Recently during a conversation about activism a friend said it was also a description of a "good person." I agreed.
But what to do with an activist turned politician?
My first questions would be,
"Is this compromise equal to being compromised?
Is it compromising the communities the activist turned politician represents?"
A recent activist post by a Mr. Earl Ofari Hutchinson on the Huffington Post revealed these numbers; "In 1996, 65 percent of blacks were opposed to gay marriage. A decade later a Pew Forum poll found that 64 percent of blacks still vehemently opposed it."
Why no real progress in understanding in the African American community? There is a long list of things I have no direct control over. Since I can't speak to Black clergy about there scriptural interpretations I don't see a point to discussing it. I acknowledge it then move on to those things I have control over. Myself and how I communicate as an activist.
Barak Obama began as an activist with the "No Compromise" spirit. But as a politician he must now struggle with the goal of compromising with out becoming compromised.
This Sunday he faces this challenge and in my opinion has gotten little to no help from his staff or from Gay activists.
The cry of "No Compromise" has manifested in the ultimatum of banning a Black Gospel singer Donnie McClurkin who has expressed his personal beliefs that Gays are not Gods "intention".
Why God insists on continuing to crank out more Gay folks is an interesting question raised, but for now, I think a better one would be how to compromise on the upcoming Gospel concert on the 28th with out compromising the Black, White, Asian, Hispanic, Inuit, etc...Communities.
My idea is to not drop, ban, or censor Mr. McClurkin but to simply balance out the bill by having three Out Gay Gospel performers for every One performer who has publicly expressed anti Gay sentiments.
Why three to one? Ummm...
There's a Lot of catching up to do folks!
There's a Lot of educating the African American Community has been denied.
Yes, denied.
Here's those interesting stats again.
"In 1996, 65 percent of blacks were opposed to gay marriage.
A decade later a Pew Forum poll found that 64 percent of blacks still vehemently opposed it."
Why such a glacial shift in acceptance?
In part it's because to many Gay activists either don't know how to communicate the links between the struggles of the Gay Communities and the African American Communities. Another is the lack of imagination they demonstrate. Someone says something, well... stupid, suddenly freedom of speech is no longer an absolute.
That's for another post.
But as I type I'm listening to a CD by Lavender Light: The Black and People of All Colors Lesbian Gay Gospel Choir. The song now is "There is Room Enough." It never fails to bring up the "Liquid Macho" in my eyes.
"There is room enough in Paradise to have a home in glory."
That is the message the audience needs to hear from Gay men and women who look like them.
Love all.
Rev. Pedro Angel Serrano
Bayard Rustin philosophical mentor to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who with out e-mail, cell phones, or My Space, organized of The March on Washington, and described by Maya Angelo as "A great hero of the civil rights movement." said "Activism is about no compromise. Politics is all about compromise."
He was not being judgemental.
He was describing his experience .
I heard it once, and new it to be a truth, what with having been involved in activism since my late teens, I came to know that "No Compromise" is the essence of the activist mind.
Mr. Rustins statement also made it easier for me to like politicians. Well, it made me recognise what a good politician was; someone who could compromise, without being compromised.
Recently during a conversation about activism a friend said it was also a description of a "good person." I agreed.
But what to do with an activist turned politician?
My first questions would be,
"Is this compromise equal to being compromised?
Is it compromising the communities the activist turned politician represents?"
A recent activist post by a Mr. Earl Ofari Hutchinson on the Huffington Post revealed these numbers; "In 1996, 65 percent of blacks were opposed to gay marriage. A decade later a Pew Forum poll found that 64 percent of blacks still vehemently opposed it."
Why no real progress in understanding in the African American community? There is a long list of things I have no direct control over. Since I can't speak to Black clergy about there scriptural interpretations I don't see a point to discussing it. I acknowledge it then move on to those things I have control over. Myself and how I communicate as an activist.
Barak Obama began as an activist with the "No Compromise" spirit. But as a politician he must now struggle with the goal of compromising with out becoming compromised.
This Sunday he faces this challenge and in my opinion has gotten little to no help from his staff or from Gay activists.
The cry of "No Compromise" has manifested in the ultimatum of banning a Black Gospel singer Donnie McClurkin who has expressed his personal beliefs that Gays are not Gods "intention".
Why God insists on continuing to crank out more Gay folks is an interesting question raised, but for now, I think a better one would be how to compromise on the upcoming Gospel concert on the 28th with out compromising the Black, White, Asian, Hispanic, Inuit, etc...Communities.
My idea is to not drop, ban, or censor Mr. McClurkin but to simply balance out the bill by having three Out Gay Gospel performers for every One performer who has publicly expressed anti Gay sentiments.
Why three to one? Ummm...
There's a Lot of catching up to do folks!
There's a Lot of educating the African American Community has been denied.
Yes, denied.
Here's those interesting stats again.
"In 1996, 65 percent of blacks were opposed to gay marriage.
A decade later a Pew Forum poll found that 64 percent of blacks still vehemently opposed it."
Why such a glacial shift in acceptance?
In part it's because to many Gay activists either don't know how to communicate the links between the struggles of the Gay Communities and the African American Communities. Another is the lack of imagination they demonstrate. Someone says something, well... stupid, suddenly freedom of speech is no longer an absolute.
That's for another post.
But as I type I'm listening to a CD by Lavender Light: The Black and People of All Colors Lesbian Gay Gospel Choir. The song now is "There is Room Enough." It never fails to bring up the "Liquid Macho" in my eyes.
"There is room enough in Paradise to have a home in glory."
That is the message the audience needs to hear from Gay men and women who look like them.
Love all.
Rev. Pedro Angel Serrano
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Advice For Barak Obama
- So now Barak Obama is in hot water with Gay activists.
Acording to the re-post below "A gay rights group on Monday urged Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama to cut ties with a gospel singer who they say spreads false information about gays and lesbians...." - My advice is this: If enough people repost this, some body who knows some body, who knows some body who knows some body, who knows some body who knows some body, who knows some body who knows some body, who knows some body who knows some body, will know some body who knows some body that had sex with somebody the knows Barak Obama will get this.
- So here's my advice.
- For every homophobic singer the Obama Campaigne has on the roster. They should have no less then Three Out Gey performers sharing the bill. Freedom of speach I feel is an absolute and kicking someone off the bill for what they think is wrong. If this gospel singer was homophobic and selling crystel meth to the Gay community then throw him off and send him to jail. But being stupid may not be a right but expressing it is.
"Old Man Pedro" Angel Serrano - From Ontopmag.comTo Obama: Drop singer from tourGay Rights Group Urges Democrat Barack Obama to Cut Gospel Singer From Campaignconcert TourANN SANNERAP NewsOct 22, 2007 18:35 EDTA gay rights group on Monday urged Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama to cut ties with a gospel singer who they say spreads false information about gays and lesbians.Donnie McClurkin is among several gospel singers scheduled to raise money for the Illinois senator at a concert in South Carolina this weekend.McClurkin has drawn attention from gay rights activists for his views on homosexuality."I don't believe that it is the intention of God," McClurkin said Monday in a telephone interview.McClurkin said he does not believe in discriminating against homosexuals. "What people do in their bedrooms and who they are as human beings are two different things," he said.Obama's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment."We strongly urge Obama to part ways with this divisive preacher who is clearly singing a different tune than the stated message of the campaign," Wayne Besen, executive director of Truth Wins Out, said in a statement.At a forum on gay issues in August, Obama argued that civil unions for same-sex couples wouldn't be a "lesser thing" than marriage. Obama belongs to the United Church of Christ, which supports gay marriage, but Obama has yet to go that far.In a telephone interview Monday, Besen said he admired Obama, but wasn't ready to endorse him, especially considering McClurkin taking part in the campaign's "Embrace the Change" concert tour."
I think he'd be a great president. But I think it's going to drive away support from people who are on the fence such as myself," Besen said.McClurkin, a Grammy Award winner, performed at the Republican National Convention in 2004.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Happy "Islamo-Facism Awareness Week"
You Know You're Being Manipulated
When a new buzz word/Sound-Bite is being marketed.
So it's my pleasure to announce the new term you're going to have blasted at you a LOT between now and November of 08. "Islamo-Facism"
The use of the word "Islam" is supposed to refer to the basis for terrorists principles.
As if you can find reasons for shooting doctors in the Bible. Oh wait. You can.
The word "Fascist" is to refer to "There" system of government.
But what is Fascism anyway? Well for me it's in part a leader who acquires more and more power over time by instilling fear in the population, suppresses opposition and criticism and emphasizes an aggressive nationalism and racism. I know that all sounds familiar to a lot of folks reading this.
Personally I don't like to use the word Fascism. It is linked to a specific time and place in world history. I prefer to use the word authoritarian. It's more about a way of thinking. Also it has a lot of syllables. A lot of folks seem to think you know what you're talking baout if you use big words.
Anyway this term has been tested out for about a year now and it seems to stick in folks heads. So now the big marketing push is under way.
I know this because a friend sent me the post below.
Leftists all over the country are going to start complaining...
Oops... I mean protesting the National Islamo-Facism Roll Out Tour.
I personally expect them to screw it up and just help promote it
by seeming to be against free speech.
The statement below,
"We stand for free speech, not hate speech." it just another sound-bite term to justify shouting people down or prevent them from talking.
Maybe events revealing how free speech in the US has been comproomised, how the Patriot Act has been abused by spying on U.S citizens, and how the power of the Presidency has been increased to levels never before seen in the history of this nation.
They could title it "Fighting Fascism Abroad and at Home."
Hmmm...
I like that.
The Neo-Cons will end up doing it first.
RE: Speak Out Against "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week"
Action Alert endorsed by Jamaat al-Muslimeen
Take Action: Speak Out Against "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week"
Anti-Islam Jewish Zionist and Christian Zionist Groups Swing into Action
[Check the list of hate mongers and propagandists at the end of this post.]
During the week of October 22-26, 2007, right-wing and neo-conservative political forces led by the David Horowitz Freedom Center are calling for "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week" events on campuses across the U.S. (for a list of campuses and speakers, see below).
While some people might dismiss the neo-conservatives as fringe elements who don't impact on U.S. policy, the truth is much more disturbing. They are part of an alliance of forces that work to maintain the war against Iraq, escalate the standoff with Iran into military conflict, and cement Israel's hold on the occupied Palestinian territories and violations of Palestinian human rights through a system of apartheid rule.
The stakes are simply too high to ignore, and we should respond to the so-called "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week" - and to all such provocations - pro-actively, not defensively.
To learn more about the forces driving this agenda, read "Understanding Why Islamophobia is on the Rise," the analysis by Phyllis Bennis, fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, and member of the U.S. Campaign's steering committee.
By defending basic freedoms of thought, speech and belief, we underscore three simple messages:
We stand for free speech, not hate speech.
We stand for tolerance, not bigotry.
We stand for education, not demagoguery.
SPEAK OUT FOR FREE SPEECH, TOLERANCE, AND EDUCATION!
This is the list of the most active Islam haters and bigots active in America who are irresponsibly pouring out a steady stream of lies, abuse and disinformation about Islam.
"Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week" speakers and venues:
Berkeley -- Nonie Darwish, October 22
Brown -- Robert Spencer, October 24
Cal Poly -- Greg Davis, October 25
Cal State Fullerton -- Nonie Darwish
Clemson -- Mike Adams, October 25
Columbia -- Phyllis Chesler, Ibn Warraq, Christina Hoff Sommers
Columbia -- Sean Hannity, David Horowitz, October 26
DePaul -- Robert Spencer, October 25
Emory -- David Horowitz, October 24
George Mason -- Luanah Saghieh, Alan Nathan, October 22
Lawrence Univ. -- Jonathan Schanzer
Maryland -- Michael Ledeen
Michigan -- David Horowitz, October 23
Northeastern -- Daniel Pipes, October 24
Ohio State -- David Horowitz, October 25
Penn -- Rick Santorum, October 24
Penn State -- Rick Santorum, October 23
Rhode Island -- Robert Spencer, October 24
San Francisco State -- Melanie Morgan, October 24
Stanford -- Wafa Sultan
Temple -- Rick Santorum, October 24
Tulane -- Ann Coulter, October 22
UC Santa Barbara - Dennis Prager, October 25
UC Irvine -- Ann Coulter
UCLA -- Nonie Darwish, October 24
UCLA -- Frank Pastore, John Ziegler
USC -- Ann Coulter, October 25
Virginia -- Frank Gaffney
Washington -- Kirby Wilbur
Washington -- Michael Medved, October 25
Wisconsin -- David Horowitz, October 22
Monday, October 15, 2007
Historian David Carter on Promoting Education and Activism
The following is a small portion of a much longer discussion with David Carter author of “Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution.”
The book has been optioned for a major motion picture. In this portion of the interview Pedro had brought up the issue of disconnect between the activist communities and the Gay population in general. David Carter provided two ideas that he believes could help connect Gays to there historical past and inspire progressive political action among
Bisexual, Gay Men, Lesbians, Queer and Trans folk.
Pedro Angel Serrano
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The book has been optioned for a major motion picture. In this portion of the interview Pedro had brought up the issue of disconnect between the activist communities and the Gay population in general. David Carter provided two ideas that he believes could help connect Gays to there historical past and inspire progressive political action among
Bisexual, Gay Men, Lesbians, Queer and Trans folk.
Pedro Angel Serrano
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
David Carter: Well it seems to me that we under-utilize some resources that are available to us.One story I tell in the book (Stonewall the Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution”) the bar scene wanted to keep people quite, happy, ignorant; because the more ignorant you are the easier it is to control you. So it was a fight that the Gay Liberation Front took on to go into the bars and to say “You have to have our news papers here, you have to let us leave our news papers here, and you have to let us leave information here.”
Pedro: They had to fight for that.
DC: They had to fight for that! People today take it for granted. But they wouldn’t even agree to distribute this stuff from under the counter. That’s how bad it was. And to this day like it or not, it’s a reality, probably our main social institution to this day is bars.Now here’s a true story. When Mathew Shepard died, an activist I know went to every Gay business on Christopher Street. We had the Mathew Shepard funeral, right, we had the protest of his death and so forth. So this person carried fliers to every Gay business on Christopher Street. Not one of them would put it in the window.
P: Tell it Brother!
DC: One of them agreed to put it on a side door entrance, but not one would put it in the window. OK?
That includes gay bars and every other Gay business on Christopher Street.”
And it’s an irony that because of the success of the Gay movement we’ve created a Gay culture that is so consumerist.
And I notice that when I go into Gay bars they would usually have essentially the publications that publicize Gay bars: HX, Next, and I’m not saying those publications shouldn’t be published or that they don’t provide a service to the Gay community, they do. But when I was an organizer back in Madison Wisconsin, We used Gay bars for Political Organizing Honey! We asked people to donate money to us. We have information to give out “You should write to this legislator.” We did voter registration cards. Since I’ve been in New York City, it’s been 21 years now, I have yet to enter a bar and see a table of political activists!
I think what should happen, this is my grand vision.
It seems to me that what we should do is try to have a program where we encourage people to go to Gay bars to give back to the movement. And I would say, “You’re going to give back 1% or 5% of your door or your drinks sold, something, back to the Gay community. And you have to provide access to us: at least once a week, what ever. And you have to provide access all the time for our publication, our hand outs. And create some kind of foundation that would receive these funds and distribute them. You’d have it well audited, so there’s no scandal, and really represent the community. And then bars that did that would get a sticker. Just like they have these stickers in the window that says “The music we play here is reported to the people who collect royalties for music.” They would have to have a sticker to encourage people to go to those bars. And using such an outline with what we’ve done in our past with The GAA (Gay Activist Alliance) and GLF (Gay Liberation Front) they would be willing to do that.
The other institution I think which is wide spread, you might say ubiquitous now is the commemoration of Stonewall. Which most people don’t even know is what we’re dong. We’re commemorating the Stonewall riots as Gay pride. Folks Hello Out There! Why are you marching in June, Hello! (Laughs) Darlings! (Laughs)
It’s to commemorate the history of the Stonewall Riots. I’ve thought about this a lot. Craig Rodwell who had the idea for creating for what is now called Gay Pride; it was originally call, um… What was it called? Christopher Street Liberation.
He did talk about it as a tool for increasing political awareness and political activism. But he also talked about it as a Gay holiday, as a Gay Carnival. But today I see it as 99.5% carnival and holiday and half of one percent activism. And I think it’s great to have a Gay carnival, as if the Academy Awards and Halloween aren’t enough! (Laughs) But when we have so far to go still to achieve our rights, I think that Pride commemorations should still be geared towards education and activism.
I’d like to see it changed here in New York, like it is in Europe. For example, as I understand it, in Europe I’m told that when you have a big public demonstration, there’s a manifesto published which states “this march is in support of these goals.” And by marching you have to say you support those in order to march. I think there should be a statement put out for Gay Pride marches “This march is in support of these things. For example, Gay Marriage, More funding for AIDS and you have to sign a statement that you support those goals before you’re allowed to march. And then if you betray that by your actions, if a politician doesn’t support Gay marriage, they should not be allowed to march! And it’s ridiculous! They should not allow these politicians to join in after Saints Patrick’s Cathedral. To me that is a great act of disrespect to our history, our community, and our people. That should not be allowed.
P: A politician is an employee. And if you’re not satisfied with the employee’s performance, then you’re not allowed to the party. It’s as simple as that.
DC: Yes. It’s a very simple concept to say “This year we want to emphasize Gay marriage.” Or “This year we want to emphasize passing an anti discrimination bill.” And say you can’t march unless you say you support this. And if your actions past or future don’t show that or “You said you supports this last year then you voted against it this year, sorry you can’t march.” So there, are two ideas I think that could use existing institutions more effectively.
Pedro Angel Serrano host Generation Q on 88.7 WRSU fm and Is a contributor to Out-FM on 99.5 fm WBAI in N.Y.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Samual Adams
"The liberties of our country, the freedom of our cival Constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have recieved them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood, and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlsting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without struggle, or to be cheated out of them by artifices of false and designing men."
-Samual Adams-
-Samual Adams-
Monday, September 3, 2007
Stoned Drunkl and NOT Nude.
Labor day,
Stoned and drunk and not naked.
Labor Day.
Hanging with a friend.
Good excuse to get out side on the lenthening nights of 02007.
Stoned and drunk but not nude, hanging out
listen and talking about Islam, Hip Hop.
Guests were expected and I thought it best to not strip down.
My brother was cool with it but there time of arrival was uncertain.
Soon enough Unclothed:
Nude not naked.
Unclothed but not unprotected.
Stoned and drunk and not naked.
Labor Day.
Hanging with a friend.
Good excuse to get out side on the lenthening nights of 02007.
Stoned and drunk but not nude, hanging out
listen and talking about Islam, Hip Hop.
Guests were expected and I thought it best to not strip down.
My brother was cool with it but there time of arrival was uncertain.
Soon enough Unclothed:
Nude not naked.
Unclothed but not unprotected.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Done good this summer.
No complaining about the heat or humidity of the last few days.
Just gratefull for when I do find myself in some air conditioned room.
Rainy morning this friday;cool breeze last night the herald.
Had the alarm set on my phone but got a call from my Mom.
My brother in law died last night.Not to shocking.
He was in a bad way for a while. Funeral this monday.
Wondered for a bit (again) if there's somthing wrong with me.
Not feeling anything I can define.
Thinking about my Niece and Nephew and my Sister.
Wish I could do more for em.
Mom worried about my not having an umbrella.
Said I'd be fine.
The rain won't last long.
Pedro
No complaining about the heat or humidity of the last few days.
Just gratefull for when I do find myself in some air conditioned room.
Rainy morning this friday;cool breeze last night the herald.
Had the alarm set on my phone but got a call from my Mom.
My brother in law died last night.Not to shocking.
He was in a bad way for a while. Funeral this monday.
Wondered for a bit (again) if there's somthing wrong with me.
Not feeling anything I can define.
Thinking about my Niece and Nephew and my Sister.
Wish I could do more for em.
Mom worried about my not having an umbrella.
Said I'd be fine.
The rain won't last long.
Pedro
Saturday, July 28, 2007
From the hand to the heart.
Edmund talks about the meaning of his peak experiences at sea.
I was set free!
I dissolved in the sea,
became white sails and flying spray,
became beauty and rhythm,
became moonlight and the ship and the high dim-starred sky.
For a second you see
and seeing the secret are the secret.
For a second there is meaning.
Act 4 from A Long Days Journey into Night
by Eugene O’Neill
Eugene O’Neill went to sea when he was younger. What he wrote in the play was a description of an actual experience he had one night at sea. He spent the rest of his life writing tragic plays like Long Days Journey Into Night and trying to re experience that transcendent moment from his youth.
From what I have heard he suffered from depression and in his plays wrote about the struggle human beings had in finding a meaning for life in a meaningless existence. One theme was how people kept on repeating themselves. Repeating there mistakes and held on to illusions about themselves and there lives. It's been said that he believed they did this because with out there illusions (The term "pipe dreams" in the play The Ice Man Cometh) all they would have was the hell of existence. What Eugene O’Neil felt about life was expressed by the same character quoted above in the lines below from the same play.
Edmund speaks of his feelings as he walked home in the fog.
Everything looked and sounded unreal. Nothing was what it is.
That’s what I wanted
to be alone with myself in another world
where truth is untrue and life can hide from itself.
Act 4 from A Long Days Journey Into Night
”Where life can hide from itself.” I understand that desire.
The lesson he puts forth for me is how difficult it is to confront the things you believe to be true. But what resonates with me was the experience of transcendence he had at sea. Other artists describe experiences like it. They seem to be able to embrace them more fully and carry them along through there lives.
"I was climbing the long ridge west of Mount Clark. It was one of those mornings where the sunlight is burnished with a keen wind and long feathers of cloud move in a lofty sky. The silver light turned every blade of grass and every particle of sand into a luminous metallic splendor; there was nothing, however small, that did not clash in the bright wind, that did not send arrows of light through the glassy air. I was suddenly arrested in the long crunching path up the ridge by an exceedingly pointed awareness of the light. The moment I paused, the full impact of the mood was upon me; I saw more clearly than I have ever seen before or since the minute detail of the grasses ...the small flotsam of the forest, the motion of the high clouds streaming above the peaks... I dreamed that for a moment time stood quietly, and the vision became but the shadow of an infinitely greater world -- and I had within the grasp of consciousness a transcendental experience."
Ansel Adams
A few years back I drew a cover for a friend’s zine. His name is Jeff Junker. We were on the phone and after volunteering my talents I sat and took notes of what he had in mind. I quickly made sketches on some blank sheets of paper and after hanging up started working on the cover. After three days I mailed off a photo copy for his suggestions.
He wrote back “More Mohawks.” I obliged.
When I received his approval of the changes I mailed it off to him.
The next day I crashed emotionally. For three days I would lay on the sofa with tears in my eyes. In a time gone bye I would have been described as having a “mercurial personality.” Today I have what they call a “Bi Polar Disorder.”
I got a phone call from my friend Jeff Junker after he got the package with my drawing.
He told me it was “...the coolest looking thing...” he ever saw. I don’t know about that.
But what I did realized as I heard the joy in his voice was that my “depression” wasn’t the cost I had to pay for my creativity.
It was what I now call emotional exhaustion.
And the pleasure I heard in Jiff’s voice was the very pleasure
I had felt while drawing the cover for his zine.
It was if the happiness I experienced had been transferred from me to him through my work.
Since then I have learned to pace myself when I get into a creative mood. And I now no longer experience “writers block”.
No matter what it is I’m writing I imagine that it’s a letter to a friend that I love.
And what ever it is that needs to be heard find’s its way through
my hand to the page; as it is now.
I was set free!
I dissolved in the sea,
became white sails and flying spray,
became beauty and rhythm,
became moonlight and the ship and the high dim-starred sky.
For a second you see
and seeing the secret are the secret.
For a second there is meaning.
Act 4 from A Long Days Journey into Night
by Eugene O’Neill
Eugene O’Neill went to sea when he was younger. What he wrote in the play was a description of an actual experience he had one night at sea. He spent the rest of his life writing tragic plays like Long Days Journey Into Night and trying to re experience that transcendent moment from his youth.
From what I have heard he suffered from depression and in his plays wrote about the struggle human beings had in finding a meaning for life in a meaningless existence. One theme was how people kept on repeating themselves. Repeating there mistakes and held on to illusions about themselves and there lives. It's been said that he believed they did this because with out there illusions (The term "pipe dreams" in the play The Ice Man Cometh) all they would have was the hell of existence. What Eugene O’Neil felt about life was expressed by the same character quoted above in the lines below from the same play.
Edmund speaks of his feelings as he walked home in the fog.
Everything looked and sounded unreal. Nothing was what it is.
That’s what I wanted
to be alone with myself in another world
where truth is untrue and life can hide from itself.
Act 4 from A Long Days Journey Into Night
”Where life can hide from itself.” I understand that desire.
The lesson he puts forth for me is how difficult it is to confront the things you believe to be true. But what resonates with me was the experience of transcendence he had at sea. Other artists describe experiences like it. They seem to be able to embrace them more fully and carry them along through there lives.
"I was climbing the long ridge west of Mount Clark. It was one of those mornings where the sunlight is burnished with a keen wind and long feathers of cloud move in a lofty sky. The silver light turned every blade of grass and every particle of sand into a luminous metallic splendor; there was nothing, however small, that did not clash in the bright wind, that did not send arrows of light through the glassy air. I was suddenly arrested in the long crunching path up the ridge by an exceedingly pointed awareness of the light. The moment I paused, the full impact of the mood was upon me; I saw more clearly than I have ever seen before or since the minute detail of the grasses ...the small flotsam of the forest, the motion of the high clouds streaming above the peaks... I dreamed that for a moment time stood quietly, and the vision became but the shadow of an infinitely greater world -- and I had within the grasp of consciousness a transcendental experience."
Ansel Adams
A few years back I drew a cover for a friend’s zine. His name is Jeff Junker. We were on the phone and after volunteering my talents I sat and took notes of what he had in mind. I quickly made sketches on some blank sheets of paper and after hanging up started working on the cover. After three days I mailed off a photo copy for his suggestions.
He wrote back “More Mohawks.” I obliged.
When I received his approval of the changes I mailed it off to him.
The next day I crashed emotionally. For three days I would lay on the sofa with tears in my eyes. In a time gone bye I would have been described as having a “mercurial personality.” Today I have what they call a “Bi Polar Disorder.”
I got a phone call from my friend Jeff Junker after he got the package with my drawing.
He told me it was “...the coolest looking thing...” he ever saw. I don’t know about that.
But what I did realized as I heard the joy in his voice was that my “depression” wasn’t the cost I had to pay for my creativity.
It was what I now call emotional exhaustion.
And the pleasure I heard in Jiff’s voice was the very pleasure
I had felt while drawing the cover for his zine.
It was if the happiness I experienced had been transferred from me to him through my work.
Since then I have learned to pace myself when I get into a creative mood. And I now no longer experience “writers block”.
No matter what it is I’m writing I imagine that it’s a letter to a friend that I love.
And what ever it is that needs to be heard find’s its way through
my hand to the page; as it is now.
___________
Dear Cedric. A strange thing happened to me today.I saw a big thundercloud move down over Half Dome, and it was so big and clear and brilliant that it made me see many things that were drifting around inside of me; things that relate to those who are loved and those who are real friends.
For the first time I know what love is; what friends are; and what art should be.
Love is a seeking for a way of life; the way that cannot be followed alone;
the resonance of all spiritual and physical things...Friendship is another form of love -- more passive perhaps, but full of the transmitting and acceptances of things like thunderclouds and grass and the clean granite of reality.
Art is both love and friendship and understanding: the desire to give.
It is not charity, which is the giving of things.
It is more than kindness, which is the giving of self.
It is both the taking and giving of beauty,
the turning out to the light of the inner folds of the awareness of the spirit.
It is a recreation on another plane of the realities of the world;
the tragic and wonderful realities of earth and men,
and of all the interrelations of these.
For the first time I know what love is; what friends are; and what art should be.
Love is a seeking for a way of life; the way that cannot be followed alone;
the resonance of all spiritual and physical things...Friendship is another form of love -- more passive perhaps, but full of the transmitting and acceptances of things like thunderclouds and grass and the clean granite of reality.
Art is both love and friendship and understanding: the desire to give.
It is not charity, which is the giving of things.
It is more than kindness, which is the giving of self.
It is both the taking and giving of beauty,
the turning out to the light of the inner folds of the awareness of the spirit.
It is a recreation on another plane of the realities of the world;
the tragic and wonderful realities of earth and men,
and of all the interrelations of these.
Ansel Adams
Interview with Dan Doverspike of the band First Offence and founder of Step Up Records.
Dan Doverspike is the singer and main song writer of the band First Offense.
This is Dan’s first live face to face interview. All before this were done over e-mail. From Ohio I got to hang out with the Step Up Records founders at The East Coast Oi! Fest which took place over the Memorial Day weekend of 12007.
After Dan spelled his name for me I asked another guy sitting with us for his name and he declined. This is Dan’s brother who will be referred to in the interview as “said stranger.”
Pedro Serrano
_________________________________________
PS: How about a short history of First Offense?
DD: It started with him and said stranger. He’s my brother and we started playing in bands. We started getting more serious about it. We loved Punk Rock it was fun to do bands.
PS: What bands did you first listen to that got you into Punk Rock?
DD: At first old English stuff. Reissues Subhumans, The Exploited. And then the American more pop stuff like Rancid and the Bouncing Souls stuff like that. But especially the English re-issues. I think a lot of people our age grew up on the re-issues and then the pop stuff. Yea I know the Bouncing Souls and they used to listen to Sham 69, The Business and those old British Punk Bands.
PS: Do you think kids today are aware of those old bands?
DD: Definitely. I think there more aware of the past then they are of the present unfortunately. Like I mean every catalog you buy weather it’s Two Tone or Angry, Young, and Poor here’s hundreds of releases by bands that haven’t existed in twenty years but there’s not as many bands today and you know that’s fine cause people should know there history. I’d love to see better distro for newer bands.
PS: That’s always been a problem. I remember that’s always been a big stumbling block for bands: just getting the stuff out. Has the internet been a help in getting the word out? Has the internet been of much help in getting your stuff out?
DD: The internet and unfortunately My Space. (Laughs) But that’s been a huge help. I think that the whole American scene is night and day pre myspace to after. Touring became much easier. Meeting people became much easier. They call them social networks for a reason. It works for us.
PS: What do you write about in your songs?
DD: Uh, You know. Um… Booze, brawls and broken hearts I guess. Classic Punk Rock subjects. You know we get a little political sometimes. Not much, you know, because that’s not the way we hang. Were mid western corn fed kids and we’re all different. We have two vegetarians in the band, a straight edge guy, and a hillbilly more or less.
PS: Woo HOO!!!
(laughs) DD: So it’s a pretty diverse group of people.
PS: When you say you’re political at does that mean to you? How do you define that?
DD: We’ve done some songs dealing with foreign policy, obviously anti Bush. I’m proud of it because we did it right after 9-11 when every body hoped on the flag waving band wagon. And don’t get me wrong, I believe in the flag waving thing as long as it’s done in the Bruce Springsteen way not the Leonard Skinard way.
PS: My definition of patriotism is based on, well,This one women on this show,…Um… You know how they say that if women ran the world everything would be peacefull. Well I used to believe that, and then, I started watching The View! And I’m thinking four months after women take over after every ones menstrual cycle synchs up, the world will end up a burned out charcoal briquette orbiting the sun! And they have this blond republican operative. And I heard her say that George W. Bush is “the leader” and we need to do what ever the leader says. And I’m thinking “Where did this child get her education?” George W. Bush isn’t the leader of this country. He’s the President, the “Chief Executive”. He’s an employee. And he can be fired. He gets a paycheck, a nice place to live and once a year he has to report to the legislative branch and give a report; “the State of the Union”. He’s an employee not a leader. Joseph Stalin was a leader, Chairman Mao, was a leader, Hitler, was a leader. To me patriotism means have responsibilities. What you refer to as the flag waving thing, like Bruce Springsteen to me it’s about responsibilities, and I should shut up now.
DD: No, I agree with you.
PS: You started Step Up Records. Good Stuff. When and why did you start the label?
DD: Cause if you’re not doing anything, you’re wasting space. You know what I mean? You know being in a band is great you know but. I tried to do a zine for a while and as I’m sure you knew paper is expensive. I’m not that great at grammar or spelling and all that. So you know, but I think a label works well I help other people get stuff out through my trial and error I’ve learned a lot about putting out records. I’m sure there’s a lot more to learn. So I just try to learn as much as I can and help other bands if I can in addition to putting out records I’ve helped other bands along the way. Like there’s this really great hardcore band from Kent Ohio called Skies Bleed Black. We’re helping them get there 7” record out right now. So I try to do as much as I can and that’s what Step Up is about.
PS: What advice would you give? What mistakes did you make that you would suggest folks avoid?
DD: Well this is just a trivial one but when you get seven inch records make sure there all the same color. Because you have to pay the set up prices twice you do. Like limited edition colored vinyl, that was a big one for us on his first record. When we figured out how much extra we spent just to do a hundred extra blue vinyls it was shooting ourselves in the foot, you know what I mean. I hope it helps some one who’s thinking about it. If you have the extra money, it’s a fun thing to do. But who does?
PS: Why vinyl? Haven’t you heard of these CD things?
DD: You know I have, on this record “Stranded in the Combat Zone” we made it vinyl because we don’t know how many chances we have to still do vinyl. Unfortunately even Punk Rock kids aren’t buying vinyl. When our first record “The Army of Youth” it sold more briskly then this one has. But that’s Ok we have a CD out with comp tracks and that’s sold well and we really feel that this record is a lot better but it doesn’t sell as well because it’s vinyl. Which is unfortunate but we all knew that this might be the last chance for us to do vinyl. It could hit resurgence, you never know. Vinyl’s really great too because you get to be more involved then CD’s. With CD’s you put the art work together you do this you do that but really you just send it off. When we do records it’s us cutting and pasting at the Copy Max!
PS: It’s a craft.
DD: Yea, it’s a way for us to step back. Our little homage to the 80’s, standing there at the copy store with our scissors and glue sticks. PS: One day Martha Stewart will do a show about putting out your own seven inch record. DD: We’ve had a lot of help with art work. We’ve had a lot of great art work that I want to give props to if I can. “The Bastards Choir” art work is great. Folks should check it out. And Josh Wright from the band “Brutal Solution” did the “They Can’t Shut Us Up” compilation cover. And Jeff Lamb from the Pittsburg 80’s band “Half Life” did some art work for the back of the seven inch as well as doing our T-shirts and some other “First Offence” related stuff. So we’ve been lucky to work with some great people on that stuff too.
PS: What kind of effect do you want to have on the scene?
DD: That’s hard to say. What kind of effect. I was thinking if we get more people involved in more then just wearing the cloths and going through the motions, I mean obviously it would be a better scene for every body.
PS: What do you man by “going through the motions?”
DD: It’d be great if every body could just do something, even if it’s just going to a show for Gods sakes. It doesn’t have to be much but go to a show! I’m from Akron Ohio and it’s not the biggest place in the world but there’s probably a couple hundred punk rock kids but every show only gets thirty of forty. Because you know there at home “Duh, I wish there was something to do. Gimmee the 40.” Which is great, I know it’s cool to sit around have a couple of beers with your bros but…
PS: Yea I have a friend who was complaining about something like this. And he said “Boy I hope this is just regional.” Going to a show is a social thing. You go to a show and you meet people that you didn’t know before. Last year at the OI! Fest I got to meet folks from all over. I remember when the Business first came to America and the Alaska skinheads came. Both of them. But they came from Alaska to see a band. But it’s a social thing. I don’t know why people would stay home.
DD: Actually we’ve had some good luck with places where you didn’t think there was even a scene. Like Point Pleasant West Virginia, we had a couple of hundred kids come out. If any body’s ever been through Point Pleasant West Virginia it’s not much you know. We’ve always heard, I’ve never been there but we’ve always heard that North Dakota and South Dakota hundreds of kids come out every show. That’s great. I don’t know why in the mid sized bigger cities it doesn’t work but…
PS: Ah there spoiled! Kids today! Grrr!!! I’m trying to be the old cantankerous old guy.
DD: I’m a young guy but I always wonder when I’m looking at kids a couple of years younger then me, “who’s going to do this if I have to move away?”
PS: Well actually, when I published my zine I gave a copy to my nephew and a friend of his saw it. He was trying to do a zine. And he looked through it and he said it inspired his friend to finish his zine. Kids see you do something: “Here’s my compilation, I have a record label, and this is the CD we put out. And they’ll think “Wow you did this?”
DD: Anybody can do it!
PS: Yes! Anybody can do it.
DD: I think doing stuff in general helps you out. For instance we didn’t get invited to play (The East Coast OI! Fest) last year. But this year we’ve been making a little bit more noise and we got the invite.
(Said Stranger) Next year there going to be turning it down to play the Warp Tour. (Laughter all around)
DD: I think not. My thoughts on the Warp Tour are pretty neutral. They don’t invite Punk bands any more. I don’t even know who’s playing this year.
PS: So do you have a web site?
DD: Oh yea, of course. Step Up Records has a web site. It’s www.stepupoi.com. If any band is reading this we’re not specifically OI! that’s just what was available as a URL.
Were not specifically OI! That’s just what was available as a URL thing, and www.myspace.com/firstoffence.
PS: Thanks a lot. This has been great.
This is Dan’s first live face to face interview. All before this were done over e-mail. From Ohio I got to hang out with the Step Up Records founders at The East Coast Oi! Fest which took place over the Memorial Day weekend of 12007.
After Dan spelled his name for me I asked another guy sitting with us for his name and he declined. This is Dan’s brother who will be referred to in the interview as “said stranger.”
Pedro Serrano
_________________________________________
PS: How about a short history of First Offense?
DD: It started with him and said stranger. He’s my brother and we started playing in bands. We started getting more serious about it. We loved Punk Rock it was fun to do bands.
PS: What bands did you first listen to that got you into Punk Rock?
DD: At first old English stuff. Reissues Subhumans, The Exploited. And then the American more pop stuff like Rancid and the Bouncing Souls stuff like that. But especially the English re-issues. I think a lot of people our age grew up on the re-issues and then the pop stuff. Yea I know the Bouncing Souls and they used to listen to Sham 69, The Business and those old British Punk Bands.
PS: Do you think kids today are aware of those old bands?
DD: Definitely. I think there more aware of the past then they are of the present unfortunately. Like I mean every catalog you buy weather it’s Two Tone or Angry, Young, and Poor here’s hundreds of releases by bands that haven’t existed in twenty years but there’s not as many bands today and you know that’s fine cause people should know there history. I’d love to see better distro for newer bands.
PS: That’s always been a problem. I remember that’s always been a big stumbling block for bands: just getting the stuff out. Has the internet been a help in getting the word out? Has the internet been of much help in getting your stuff out?
DD: The internet and unfortunately My Space. (Laughs) But that’s been a huge help. I think that the whole American scene is night and day pre myspace to after. Touring became much easier. Meeting people became much easier. They call them social networks for a reason. It works for us.
PS: What do you write about in your songs?
DD: Uh, You know. Um… Booze, brawls and broken hearts I guess. Classic Punk Rock subjects. You know we get a little political sometimes. Not much, you know, because that’s not the way we hang. Were mid western corn fed kids and we’re all different. We have two vegetarians in the band, a straight edge guy, and a hillbilly more or less.
PS: Woo HOO!!!
(laughs) DD: So it’s a pretty diverse group of people.
PS: When you say you’re political at does that mean to you? How do you define that?
DD: We’ve done some songs dealing with foreign policy, obviously anti Bush. I’m proud of it because we did it right after 9-11 when every body hoped on the flag waving band wagon. And don’t get me wrong, I believe in the flag waving thing as long as it’s done in the Bruce Springsteen way not the Leonard Skinard way.
PS: My definition of patriotism is based on, well,This one women on this show,…Um… You know how they say that if women ran the world everything would be peacefull. Well I used to believe that, and then, I started watching The View! And I’m thinking four months after women take over after every ones menstrual cycle synchs up, the world will end up a burned out charcoal briquette orbiting the sun! And they have this blond republican operative. And I heard her say that George W. Bush is “the leader” and we need to do what ever the leader says. And I’m thinking “Where did this child get her education?” George W. Bush isn’t the leader of this country. He’s the President, the “Chief Executive”. He’s an employee. And he can be fired. He gets a paycheck, a nice place to live and once a year he has to report to the legislative branch and give a report; “the State of the Union”. He’s an employee not a leader. Joseph Stalin was a leader, Chairman Mao, was a leader, Hitler, was a leader. To me patriotism means have responsibilities. What you refer to as the flag waving thing, like Bruce Springsteen to me it’s about responsibilities, and I should shut up now.
DD: No, I agree with you.
PS: You started Step Up Records. Good Stuff. When and why did you start the label?
DD: Cause if you’re not doing anything, you’re wasting space. You know what I mean? You know being in a band is great you know but. I tried to do a zine for a while and as I’m sure you knew paper is expensive. I’m not that great at grammar or spelling and all that. So you know, but I think a label works well I help other people get stuff out through my trial and error I’ve learned a lot about putting out records. I’m sure there’s a lot more to learn. So I just try to learn as much as I can and help other bands if I can in addition to putting out records I’ve helped other bands along the way. Like there’s this really great hardcore band from Kent Ohio called Skies Bleed Black. We’re helping them get there 7” record out right now. So I try to do as much as I can and that’s what Step Up is about.
PS: What advice would you give? What mistakes did you make that you would suggest folks avoid?
DD: Well this is just a trivial one but when you get seven inch records make sure there all the same color. Because you have to pay the set up prices twice you do. Like limited edition colored vinyl, that was a big one for us on his first record. When we figured out how much extra we spent just to do a hundred extra blue vinyls it was shooting ourselves in the foot, you know what I mean. I hope it helps some one who’s thinking about it. If you have the extra money, it’s a fun thing to do. But who does?
PS: Why vinyl? Haven’t you heard of these CD things?
DD: You know I have, on this record “Stranded in the Combat Zone” we made it vinyl because we don’t know how many chances we have to still do vinyl. Unfortunately even Punk Rock kids aren’t buying vinyl. When our first record “The Army of Youth” it sold more briskly then this one has. But that’s Ok we have a CD out with comp tracks and that’s sold well and we really feel that this record is a lot better but it doesn’t sell as well because it’s vinyl. Which is unfortunate but we all knew that this might be the last chance for us to do vinyl. It could hit resurgence, you never know. Vinyl’s really great too because you get to be more involved then CD’s. With CD’s you put the art work together you do this you do that but really you just send it off. When we do records it’s us cutting and pasting at the Copy Max!
PS: It’s a craft.
DD: Yea, it’s a way for us to step back. Our little homage to the 80’s, standing there at the copy store with our scissors and glue sticks. PS: One day Martha Stewart will do a show about putting out your own seven inch record. DD: We’ve had a lot of help with art work. We’ve had a lot of great art work that I want to give props to if I can. “The Bastards Choir” art work is great. Folks should check it out. And Josh Wright from the band “Brutal Solution” did the “They Can’t Shut Us Up” compilation cover. And Jeff Lamb from the Pittsburg 80’s band “Half Life” did some art work for the back of the seven inch as well as doing our T-shirts and some other “First Offence” related stuff. So we’ve been lucky to work with some great people on that stuff too.
PS: What kind of effect do you want to have on the scene?
DD: That’s hard to say. What kind of effect. I was thinking if we get more people involved in more then just wearing the cloths and going through the motions, I mean obviously it would be a better scene for every body.
PS: What do you man by “going through the motions?”
DD: It’d be great if every body could just do something, even if it’s just going to a show for Gods sakes. It doesn’t have to be much but go to a show! I’m from Akron Ohio and it’s not the biggest place in the world but there’s probably a couple hundred punk rock kids but every show only gets thirty of forty. Because you know there at home “Duh, I wish there was something to do. Gimmee the 40.” Which is great, I know it’s cool to sit around have a couple of beers with your bros but…
PS: Yea I have a friend who was complaining about something like this. And he said “Boy I hope this is just regional.” Going to a show is a social thing. You go to a show and you meet people that you didn’t know before. Last year at the OI! Fest I got to meet folks from all over. I remember when the Business first came to America and the Alaska skinheads came. Both of them. But they came from Alaska to see a band. But it’s a social thing. I don’t know why people would stay home.
DD: Actually we’ve had some good luck with places where you didn’t think there was even a scene. Like Point Pleasant West Virginia, we had a couple of hundred kids come out. If any body’s ever been through Point Pleasant West Virginia it’s not much you know. We’ve always heard, I’ve never been there but we’ve always heard that North Dakota and South Dakota hundreds of kids come out every show. That’s great. I don’t know why in the mid sized bigger cities it doesn’t work but…
PS: Ah there spoiled! Kids today! Grrr!!! I’m trying to be the old cantankerous old guy.
DD: I’m a young guy but I always wonder when I’m looking at kids a couple of years younger then me, “who’s going to do this if I have to move away?”
PS: Well actually, when I published my zine I gave a copy to my nephew and a friend of his saw it. He was trying to do a zine. And he looked through it and he said it inspired his friend to finish his zine. Kids see you do something: “Here’s my compilation, I have a record label, and this is the CD we put out. And they’ll think “Wow you did this?”
DD: Anybody can do it!
PS: Yes! Anybody can do it.
DD: I think doing stuff in general helps you out. For instance we didn’t get invited to play (The East Coast OI! Fest) last year. But this year we’ve been making a little bit more noise and we got the invite.
(Said Stranger) Next year there going to be turning it down to play the Warp Tour. (Laughter all around)
DD: I think not. My thoughts on the Warp Tour are pretty neutral. They don’t invite Punk bands any more. I don’t even know who’s playing this year.
PS: So do you have a web site?
DD: Oh yea, of course. Step Up Records has a web site. It’s www.stepupoi.com. If any band is reading this we’re not specifically OI! that’s just what was available as a URL.
Were not specifically OI! That’s just what was available as a URL thing, and www.myspace.com/firstoffence.
PS: Thanks a lot. This has been great.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Martin of the band LIMP WRIST Part #1
Below is the first half af an interview with Martin (pronounced Mar-teen)
of the band LIMP WRIST.
My first question is about the band he had before LIMP WRIST called
LOS CRUDOS
The explination reveals a lot about Martin and his priorities.
==================================
PS: What did Los Crudos mean?
MS: Los Crudos has a double meaning. It means "The hangovers".
it’s a slang term for Hung Over. It also means raw. And when we started that band we took it for both those meanings.
But it was more of a socio political thing for us because being
hung over in the sense of you know with what we dealt with topic wise as a band and where we were from our community, things we were facing as young Latinos and living in the U.S. and all that. We felt that some shit was so heavy for us it felt like being hung over, just trying to see clearly. And that’s why we took that name. And we liked the raw aspect because it was just nasty and raw. (laughs)
PS: Los Crudos were really popular. People would be saying "Oh there fucking awesome." Then you came out of the closet. How did you come out to the scene?
MS: Well I think it all really started with my telling a few really close friends. And then when we went on one of our tours I started to come out at shows. And the last place I came out to was Chicago and that’s because it was home.
You know it’s easy to drive by and do a drive by coming out and you don’t know how people really reacted to it or not. And I was gone before I could really hear about it; the reactions.
But when I got home I knew I had to live with the reactions to that.
When I did it at the show a lot of people jumped up on the stage and hugged me it was really awesome. And over time I heard like "Fuck that shit." "Martins a fag!" and my
response to that was if you thought you were into Los Crudos before I came out and now your not then you weren't really paying attention.
It was a little bit of a let down but you know it made things a even bit better for us because we were about being really hardcore punk and that’s about being honest about stuff and real so for me it was the right way to go.
PS: I interviewed David Carter. He wrote "Stonewall: the Riots That Sparked The Gay Revolution." He was concerned about how the Gay Communities aren’t aware of there history and how you can’t have a community that doesn’t have a history. In the Punk rock scene kids know the lyrics to bands that broke up before they were even born. So there’s this conection to the past and I've seen kids activated by that. So You’re a homo and a part of the Punk scene and connected some how to the Gay scene. What diffrences and similarities do you see between the Gay and Punk Rock scene culture and history wise?
MS: It's a hard question to ansewer because what i find with the punks is ther's an ubbielievable amount of luyalty that punks have to people of the past in punk for people who were around and active. Even in Punk there are things that get lost over time. so it you know we have done such an unbelieveable amount of work on the grass roots leval at documenting what is happened in punk so if you realy wanted to do your home work and research on it you can find stuff
where as Gay history is harder because of so much fear and things got lost over time there was such a stigma for so long and I think like a lot of the history we're probubly going to lok at doesn't go to far back. There's people who have done realy great work. I was at the University of Chicago for this big conference and people were presenting some exelent papers on history and that was realy facinating for me. I think mainstream gay culture doesn't realy dig enough or realy present enough of just how rich the culture realy is. There's a lot of doors being shut on anything that kind of falls out side of what is OK by the mainstreams standard of what is gay and it realy fucks us all up. So many voices go unheard and it's realy tragic. Why add another tragedy to what sometimes an already tragic scene at times. Being Gay sometimes for some people is kind of scary and tragic but do we have to keep on doing it?
PS: Part of what it means to have a history is to have examples you can set your life by. And I've talked to Gay and Lesbian people who didn't know what Stonewall was. This one women said she found out what Stonewall was from taking a class in college. To have to go to college or to have to go to a conference to find out what your history is... I don't understand how that happened.
MS: I'm teaching that in high school this coming semester. I teach at an alternative high school and do radical queer kind of history class and I'm going to do a little home work on my end to pick some nice things and Stonewall is definatly one of them that's in there. My high school kids range from freshmen to senior are going to b learning that this year. I wish more people were able to do that but on a high school leval it's so hard in this country in this day and age to do anything that kind of goes outside of the boundries of what is acceptable education.
PS: I think it's an important story to tell not just for Gay kids because America was a different place before Stonewall. It was literaly a different country.
MS: Yea. America is still a very different place. There are some powerfull people that controll what is bing pushed out there and America is still not what they tell us it is. We realy know because we live it. It's much more then what is presented to us. And it's up to us I think and people like us who are into what we're doing that keep on pushing and promoting other stuff that bends a little bit out side of the norm.
PS: I volleteer at WBAi ad help out with the Gay program there Out-FM . We did a news segment and in this one story, I think it had something to do with a court defeat in Gay marriage. It was a white Gay guy and he said it made him feel like being moved to the back of the bus. And the women who was going to read the story felt the need to edit that comment out because it made him look bad.
I agreed. Your not a strong black women your a white Gay man and you should embraace that. And the reason he said that I think was first he wanted to translate Gay oppression to the cival rights movement in the 60's. The other reason is he's not aware of his history. There's a Gay history that he could be mining and using as for examples of what we've had to put up with over the decades. And that way people would know how far we've come as well. And I think that's part of the importance of knowing our history.
MS: Absolutly. I agree. I don't realy know how to comment on something like that because that kind of comment, I think what he was trying to do was, as you said, to relate it to something that everybody can supposedly can relate to. It's tricky. I mean I wouldn't use that as an analogy or comparison. That's not what I would have done but, I mean I don't think we have to go that route. We just have to tell our stories and how we feel. We don't have to relate it so people can understand and on a kind of greater leval. And I'm trying to be clear about this I think the way we tell our stories should be a unique way of telling our story. We are today. We are now. We are living in the now. And lets present thigs in a way that are important and relevent to now. And not have to try and pull from some palce else. I mean people do that all the time. But you know, my story doesn't nessaceraly, I think it has comonalitiyes with other peoples struggles and other peoples stroies but it's not always exactly the same and I don't think they should be cause that means we havn't grown, we havn't gone any where.
PS: How are people going to know what our commonality is if we arn't sharing our expierience. People can go "Oh Yea I see. That thing that you personaly went through I can relate to that."
When did Limp Wrist form?
MS: Limp Wrist started like soon after Los Crudos was coming to an end. And um... ypu know is was just me and ne of the guys, one of the band members I was just like "You know it would be so amazing to do a real hard core punk gay band. you know and we liked the idea and we atsrted kind of brain storming who were other people we could get. And it realy was kind of sad because in order to find somebody and the people who would be realy into it and understood where we we were coming from unfortunatly lived in all different cities. You know, and um... but we managed to like scrambled and pulled it togeathe and This guys in Philly, I'm in Chicago your in upstate New York and it all came togeather. And we just talked to them and they loved the idea and we started doing it you know. So that's how limp wrist happened.
PS: How do you manage rehersals. Do you phone each other?
MS: OH I will call my guiotarist and hum things into his cell phone messages and I'm like get this down you know and he'll go and play it and record it into his computer just so w can remember that riff. And then when we come togeather we try to work on it. So when we do a tour there's time we'll sit down and write music or do something like that.
PS: That's amazing. Why the name Limp Wrist?
MS: Limp Wrist. We're Fags. You know, Lets do it. We're not afraid of that you know what I'm saying? I'm not afraid to say yea I'm a faggot you know or I suck Dick you know. I embrace that you know. I'm not afraid of it. So Limp Wrist made sence because it confuses people.
I've been in leather bars and I say "yea I'm in a band called Limp Wrist." And most of the guys are "Ewww. It's so fem." And I'm like 'Yea, You see us live, you'll trip the fuck out!" you know? I don't mind playing with that.
PS: It's great in the sence that it's a Hardcore punk rock band called Limp Wrist and you go to a show and it's not pink too-toos up on stage.
MS: It could be! Because we may do that. Because smetimes the Punk Rock scene could be realy hard and agressive and maybe I will come out in a pink to-to to fuck with those kids that are that show.
So we'll go all over with it. We don't care.
of the band LIMP WRIST.
My first question is about the band he had before LIMP WRIST called
LOS CRUDOS
The explination reveals a lot about Martin and his priorities.
==================================
PS: What did Los Crudos mean?
MS: Los Crudos has a double meaning. It means "The hangovers".
it’s a slang term for Hung Over. It also means raw. And when we started that band we took it for both those meanings.
But it was more of a socio political thing for us because being
hung over in the sense of you know with what we dealt with topic wise as a band and where we were from our community, things we were facing as young Latinos and living in the U.S. and all that. We felt that some shit was so heavy for us it felt like being hung over, just trying to see clearly. And that’s why we took that name. And we liked the raw aspect because it was just nasty and raw. (laughs)
PS: Los Crudos were really popular. People would be saying "Oh there fucking awesome." Then you came out of the closet. How did you come out to the scene?
MS: Well I think it all really started with my telling a few really close friends. And then when we went on one of our tours I started to come out at shows. And the last place I came out to was Chicago and that’s because it was home.
You know it’s easy to drive by and do a drive by coming out and you don’t know how people really reacted to it or not. And I was gone before I could really hear about it; the reactions.
But when I got home I knew I had to live with the reactions to that.
When I did it at the show a lot of people jumped up on the stage and hugged me it was really awesome. And over time I heard like "Fuck that shit." "Martins a fag!" and my
response to that was if you thought you were into Los Crudos before I came out and now your not then you weren't really paying attention.
It was a little bit of a let down but you know it made things a even bit better for us because we were about being really hardcore punk and that’s about being honest about stuff and real so for me it was the right way to go.
PS: I interviewed David Carter. He wrote "Stonewall: the Riots That Sparked The Gay Revolution." He was concerned about how the Gay Communities aren’t aware of there history and how you can’t have a community that doesn’t have a history. In the Punk rock scene kids know the lyrics to bands that broke up before they were even born. So there’s this conection to the past and I've seen kids activated by that. So You’re a homo and a part of the Punk scene and connected some how to the Gay scene. What diffrences and similarities do you see between the Gay and Punk Rock scene culture and history wise?
MS: It's a hard question to ansewer because what i find with the punks is ther's an ubbielievable amount of luyalty that punks have to people of the past in punk for people who were around and active. Even in Punk there are things that get lost over time. so it you know we have done such an unbelieveable amount of work on the grass roots leval at documenting what is happened in punk so if you realy wanted to do your home work and research on it you can find stuff
where as Gay history is harder because of so much fear and things got lost over time there was such a stigma for so long and I think like a lot of the history we're probubly going to lok at doesn't go to far back. There's people who have done realy great work. I was at the University of Chicago for this big conference and people were presenting some exelent papers on history and that was realy facinating for me. I think mainstream gay culture doesn't realy dig enough or realy present enough of just how rich the culture realy is. There's a lot of doors being shut on anything that kind of falls out side of what is OK by the mainstreams standard of what is gay and it realy fucks us all up. So many voices go unheard and it's realy tragic. Why add another tragedy to what sometimes an already tragic scene at times. Being Gay sometimes for some people is kind of scary and tragic but do we have to keep on doing it?
PS: Part of what it means to have a history is to have examples you can set your life by. And I've talked to Gay and Lesbian people who didn't know what Stonewall was. This one women said she found out what Stonewall was from taking a class in college. To have to go to college or to have to go to a conference to find out what your history is... I don't understand how that happened.
MS: I'm teaching that in high school this coming semester. I teach at an alternative high school and do radical queer kind of history class and I'm going to do a little home work on my end to pick some nice things and Stonewall is definatly one of them that's in there. My high school kids range from freshmen to senior are going to b learning that this year. I wish more people were able to do that but on a high school leval it's so hard in this country in this day and age to do anything that kind of goes outside of the boundries of what is acceptable education.
PS: I think it's an important story to tell not just for Gay kids because America was a different place before Stonewall. It was literaly a different country.
MS: Yea. America is still a very different place. There are some powerfull people that controll what is bing pushed out there and America is still not what they tell us it is. We realy know because we live it. It's much more then what is presented to us. And it's up to us I think and people like us who are into what we're doing that keep on pushing and promoting other stuff that bends a little bit out side of the norm.
PS: I volleteer at WBAi ad help out with the Gay program there Out-FM . We did a news segment and in this one story, I think it had something to do with a court defeat in Gay marriage. It was a white Gay guy and he said it made him feel like being moved to the back of the bus. And the women who was going to read the story felt the need to edit that comment out because it made him look bad.
I agreed. Your not a strong black women your a white Gay man and you should embraace that. And the reason he said that I think was first he wanted to translate Gay oppression to the cival rights movement in the 60's. The other reason is he's not aware of his history. There's a Gay history that he could be mining and using as for examples of what we've had to put up with over the decades. And that way people would know how far we've come as well. And I think that's part of the importance of knowing our history.
MS: Absolutly. I agree. I don't realy know how to comment on something like that because that kind of comment, I think what he was trying to do was, as you said, to relate it to something that everybody can supposedly can relate to. It's tricky. I mean I wouldn't use that as an analogy or comparison. That's not what I would have done but, I mean I don't think we have to go that route. We just have to tell our stories and how we feel. We don't have to relate it so people can understand and on a kind of greater leval. And I'm trying to be clear about this I think the way we tell our stories should be a unique way of telling our story. We are today. We are now. We are living in the now. And lets present thigs in a way that are important and relevent to now. And not have to try and pull from some palce else. I mean people do that all the time. But you know, my story doesn't nessaceraly, I think it has comonalitiyes with other peoples struggles and other peoples stroies but it's not always exactly the same and I don't think they should be cause that means we havn't grown, we havn't gone any where.
PS: How are people going to know what our commonality is if we arn't sharing our expierience. People can go "Oh Yea I see. That thing that you personaly went through I can relate to that."
When did Limp Wrist form?
MS: Limp Wrist started like soon after Los Crudos was coming to an end. And um... ypu know is was just me and ne of the guys, one of the band members I was just like "You know it would be so amazing to do a real hard core punk gay band. you know and we liked the idea and we atsrted kind of brain storming who were other people we could get. And it realy was kind of sad because in order to find somebody and the people who would be realy into it and understood where we we were coming from unfortunatly lived in all different cities. You know, and um... but we managed to like scrambled and pulled it togeathe and This guys in Philly, I'm in Chicago your in upstate New York and it all came togeather. And we just talked to them and they loved the idea and we started doing it you know. So that's how limp wrist happened.
PS: How do you manage rehersals. Do you phone each other?
MS: OH I will call my guiotarist and hum things into his cell phone messages and I'm like get this down you know and he'll go and play it and record it into his computer just so w can remember that riff. And then when we come togeather we try to work on it. So when we do a tour there's time we'll sit down and write music or do something like that.
PS: That's amazing. Why the name Limp Wrist?
MS: Limp Wrist. We're Fags. You know, Lets do it. We're not afraid of that you know what I'm saying? I'm not afraid to say yea I'm a faggot you know or I suck Dick you know. I embrace that you know. I'm not afraid of it. So Limp Wrist made sence because it confuses people.
I've been in leather bars and I say "yea I'm in a band called Limp Wrist." And most of the guys are "Ewww. It's so fem." And I'm like 'Yea, You see us live, you'll trip the fuck out!" you know? I don't mind playing with that.
PS: It's great in the sence that it's a Hardcore punk rock band called Limp Wrist and you go to a show and it's not pink too-toos up on stage.
MS: It could be! Because we may do that. Because smetimes the Punk Rock scene could be realy hard and agressive and maybe I will come out in a pink to-to to fuck with those kids that are that show.
So we'll go all over with it. We don't care.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
"Activism is about no compromise. Politics is all about compromise."
Bayard Rustin
When I heard the quote by Bayard Rustin I felt that he was not being judgmental. He was relating his experience in the civil rights movement as his life inside the political realm. It's something I consider when voting.
Of the candidates, I see presently running I see John Edwards running for the Chief Executive job and Barak Obama or Ms Clinton as Vice President.
My reasons have little to do with what I personally want.
It is based on my understanding of human nature.
If Barak or Hillery are vice president that gives the American population 4 to 8 years to get used to seeing a women and a man of African Decent in a position of power. The uncertainty and just plain old fear would be eroded down through experience by the time there turn at bat came up in 2016.
I find Hillary to be uninspiring when she speaks but her time on the Armed Services committee was well spent. She would be a familiar face to other politic leaders of other nations. Barak has experience in activism and politics. He may have a better understanding between compromising and being compromised. Also, an African American face would send a substantial signal top the world about where the United States is going. It could give the new president a honeymoon period of up to six months!!!!
There is a lot of disappointment in folks who voted for George W. Bush, (Twice!) but folks though they do not see him as being a good president still support him. Why? ; Human nature.
I think that is a topic for another thread.
John Edwards is the only candidate being attacked for helping the poor.
The Noise Machine has stooped to talking about how expensive his haircuts have been.
Why his hair? Because it is all they have.
The arguments have been “He has money and dares to speak out about poverty in the U.S.A. What a hypocrite!”
If that’s all they have to throw out at him, he has a shot.
P.S.
I'll be hosting Out-FM monday the 9th of July.The program is the Progressive Gay radio programwhich broadcasts fromm 11:am till Noon on WBAI 99.5 fm and streams live at
www.wbai.org
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Even the smallest victory is never to be taken for granted.
I shared a story with two men recently.
It is a story that inspired me.
For me it provides evidence that communication is more then a skill.
The story was posted on My Space January 02006. I’m reprinting it here with running commentary. The only changes I made were to add punctuation.
"So last night Yah Mos Def played a show in Williamstown NJ. The show was put on by this dude Alan who has been putting on great all-ages shows in the area for a long time. This was at a new venue that was owned by some other older dude. So during the course of the night some kid stole a sign from the bathroom. This was fucked up, because anyone knows we have to respect these places if we want to be able to use them as show spaces. But this was not Alan's fault, just some stupid kid being funny. But the guy who owned the place flipped out and called the cops.
So while Amateur Party is playing, Alan comes in and says “One more song.” I guess the cops told him to wrap it up, and Alan came in to do so. So Amateur Party starts playing the shows last song, and one of the cops says "no, no more music". It is a confused situation. So Alan kind of just stands there and does not say anything, not knowing how to react."
The photo was a great one because it did more then capture Alans confused expression. On the left hand side of the photo were are two women who seem to be smiling. At the center is a police officer with his right hand on his billy club, and on the right another young women with her arms up against her chest as if she were shielding herself. On her left was a young man chewingon the wrong end of a plastic water bottle like some disoriented hamster. This is a group of folks at a crossroads. Anything can happen at this point.
"So from here on out I have it on video. "
I’ve seen the video several times. I suspect the guy who posted this had watched the video before posting this because the quotes are accurate word for word.
"Since Alan does not respond, the cops says "that's it your under arrest and grabs Alan. He (Alan) says something like 'fuck you' cause the cop just grabbed him so hard by the neck, but did not resist or anything. All the sudden 2 other cops run and, and they all jump on the kid. It was fucking insane."From what I saw on the video in stead of “jump” on the kid the word I would use is “tackle.”"People start taking out their phones and cameras and taking pictures. One of the cops starts yelling 'put away your phones", and a kid in the crowd says 'This is America' and the cop responds 'I don't care, you're in my town now.' W. T. F!"
The cop quoted said other things as well. He repeated “I told you nicely,” over and over in regards to his ordering the kids to put away there camera phones.
"He gets in my face and starts telling me to put away my camera or I will get locked up. I tell him to F' off, and that I work for a Law Firm (which I of course don't), but that I know my rights. The kid next to me, who I don't know, spits out the amazing line, 'I don't mean to be disrespectful, but we have the responsibility as citizens to record this.'I love that kid."
From the video tape the description “...spits out the line….” didn’t seem accurate. He was in fact very polite and under control. The cop upon hearing "I don't mean to be disrespectful, but we have the responsibility as citizens to record this." said nothing.
The expression on his face changed and he just turned and walked away.
That kid stoped a cop in his tracks using 16 words.
I shared this with two men who refer to them selves as radicals. Both found the same reasons to dismiss it. Both times I found myself in a debate instead of a discussion about how different communities can develop ways of communicating with each other and with those in power.
I tried bringing up how communities of African Decent bring the young togeather so as to teach them how to deal with cops; in actions and words as an example of what I hoped to see happen.
But instead it ended up with complaints of how nothing has changed since the cival rights movement of the 60's. Don't ask how. It just did.
They didn't see what happened at that show as a victory
The subject line in the original post was , “Man Jersey Cops.” Before re-posting it on My Space I changed the subject line to read, “The Responsibility of a Citizen.”
Friends who wrote me in response to the story were all angry. It’s possible that I’m not wired in the head quite right. But I wasn’t angry after reading it. I felt pride. Those kids knew instinctually that they had some kind of duty to perform. Automatically it seemed, took out there cameras to well...police the police.
But when I have tried to share the lessons from that event with radicals it's dismissed. Most recently by one white anarchist and then by an activist of African decent. What these two radicals have in common is the need to look for why what people acomplish doen't matter.
What they have in common is leftist culture.
The last exchange I had ended with my fellow leftist using his verbal skills to shut me up. Never stopping to talk preventing me from getting a word in, and calling my intergity into question.
I gave up and stoped trying to make a contribution.
When he stoped, he victoriously asked what I had to say.
I said, "I'm not doing a very good job here. I'm not doing a good job at explaning myself."
He said, "Is there anything else you want to talk about?"
because I had tears in my eyes.
I said, "No." and with tears welling up in my eyes said I need to go for a walk.
It's not that I had taken anything personaly. I was upset seeing this guy on automatic pilot. Treating me the way he would treat a right winger. I have lost faith with the left. The culture of the left in the 21ts century is a reactionary one. I feel I have something to offer but at this moment I don't believe there is a forum for me to be heard.
When I attempt to bring up how leftists are good at communicating with each other but fail when they leave there leftists communities I'm told, I'm being "unfair" to the left.
I understand feeling defensive. But why be defensive with someone who's not trying to be negative? I guess I'm not that good a communicator.
Eventualy I may get over my hopelessness.
It is a story that inspired me.
For me it provides evidence that communication is more then a skill.
The story was posted on My Space January 02006. I’m reprinting it here with running commentary. The only changes I made were to add punctuation.
"So last night Yah Mos Def played a show in Williamstown NJ. The show was put on by this dude Alan who has been putting on great all-ages shows in the area for a long time. This was at a new venue that was owned by some other older dude. So during the course of the night some kid stole a sign from the bathroom. This was fucked up, because anyone knows we have to respect these places if we want to be able to use them as show spaces. But this was not Alan's fault, just some stupid kid being funny. But the guy who owned the place flipped out and called the cops.
So while Amateur Party is playing, Alan comes in and says “One more song.” I guess the cops told him to wrap it up, and Alan came in to do so. So Amateur Party starts playing the shows last song, and one of the cops says "no, no more music". It is a confused situation. So Alan kind of just stands there and does not say anything, not knowing how to react."
The photo was a great one because it did more then capture Alans confused expression. On the left hand side of the photo were are two women who seem to be smiling. At the center is a police officer with his right hand on his billy club, and on the right another young women with her arms up against her chest as if she were shielding herself. On her left was a young man chewingon the wrong end of a plastic water bottle like some disoriented hamster. This is a group of folks at a crossroads. Anything can happen at this point.
"So from here on out I have it on video. "
I’ve seen the video several times. I suspect the guy who posted this had watched the video before posting this because the quotes are accurate word for word.
"Since Alan does not respond, the cops says "that's it your under arrest and grabs Alan. He (Alan) says something like 'fuck you' cause the cop just grabbed him so hard by the neck, but did not resist or anything. All the sudden 2 other cops run and, and they all jump on the kid. It was fucking insane."From what I saw on the video in stead of “jump” on the kid the word I would use is “tackle.”"People start taking out their phones and cameras and taking pictures. One of the cops starts yelling 'put away your phones", and a kid in the crowd says 'This is America' and the cop responds 'I don't care, you're in my town now.' W. T. F!"
The cop quoted said other things as well. He repeated “I told you nicely,” over and over in regards to his ordering the kids to put away there camera phones.
"He gets in my face and starts telling me to put away my camera or I will get locked up. I tell him to F' off, and that I work for a Law Firm (which I of course don't), but that I know my rights. The kid next to me, who I don't know, spits out the amazing line, 'I don't mean to be disrespectful, but we have the responsibility as citizens to record this.'I love that kid."
From the video tape the description “...spits out the line….” didn’t seem accurate. He was in fact very polite and under control. The cop upon hearing "I don't mean to be disrespectful, but we have the responsibility as citizens to record this." said nothing.
The expression on his face changed and he just turned and walked away.
That kid stoped a cop in his tracks using 16 words.
I shared this with two men who refer to them selves as radicals. Both found the same reasons to dismiss it. Both times I found myself in a debate instead of a discussion about how different communities can develop ways of communicating with each other and with those in power.
I tried bringing up how communities of African Decent bring the young togeather so as to teach them how to deal with cops; in actions and words as an example of what I hoped to see happen.
But instead it ended up with complaints of how nothing has changed since the cival rights movement of the 60's. Don't ask how. It just did.
They didn't see what happened at that show as a victory
The subject line in the original post was , “Man Jersey Cops.” Before re-posting it on My Space I changed the subject line to read, “The Responsibility of a Citizen.”
Friends who wrote me in response to the story were all angry. It’s possible that I’m not wired in the head quite right. But I wasn’t angry after reading it. I felt pride. Those kids knew instinctually that they had some kind of duty to perform. Automatically it seemed, took out there cameras to well...police the police.
But when I have tried to share the lessons from that event with radicals it's dismissed. Most recently by one white anarchist and then by an activist of African decent. What these two radicals have in common is the need to look for why what people acomplish doen't matter.
What they have in common is leftist culture.
The last exchange I had ended with my fellow leftist using his verbal skills to shut me up. Never stopping to talk preventing me from getting a word in, and calling my intergity into question.
I gave up and stoped trying to make a contribution.
When he stoped, he victoriously asked what I had to say.
I said, "I'm not doing a very good job here. I'm not doing a good job at explaning myself."
He said, "Is there anything else you want to talk about?"
because I had tears in my eyes.
I said, "No." and with tears welling up in my eyes said I need to go for a walk.
It's not that I had taken anything personaly. I was upset seeing this guy on automatic pilot. Treating me the way he would treat a right winger. I have lost faith with the left. The culture of the left in the 21ts century is a reactionary one. I feel I have something to offer but at this moment I don't believe there is a forum for me to be heard.
When I attempt to bring up how leftists are good at communicating with each other but fail when they leave there leftists communities I'm told, I'm being "unfair" to the left.
I understand feeling defensive. But why be defensive with someone who's not trying to be negative? I guess I'm not that good a communicator.
Eventualy I may get over my hopelessness.
There is a lefting/progressive tone from the past that inspired me.
For now I hold onto that.
And keep my opinions to myself unless asked.
“Even the smallest victory is never to be taken for granted. Each victory must be applauded...”
For now I hold onto that.
And keep my opinions to myself unless asked.
“Even the smallest victory is never to be taken for granted. Each victory must be applauded...”
Audre Lorde
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
The Homophobic Hip Hop Question
Sunday the 15th of April I recorded an interview with two men of African Decent on issues including, Perceptions of Manhood, Definitions of Warrior-hood, and the Weight of Brotherhood. Below is a partial transcription of an interview with singer song writer Nhojj; www.Nhojj.com .
This was done in January of 2007. It was this broadcast that started this "Expanding Roundtable" I’m doing on the radio shows I do.
Joining us in April was Hip Hop artist Baron; www.baronartist.com.
This is part of an Interview with singer song writer NHOJJ from January of 2007.
============ Fighting For Love (A Warriors Song) ================
Pedro: Your most recent CD is called "Someday Peace Love and Freedom."
You have a voice that can hit notes that only bats can hear. It’s phenomenal.
And on the song More Love what I liked about that song was that all different kind s of love
There is the romantic aspect but there is also the spiritual dimension.
NHOJJ: I think at the core of a lot of the problems we have; racism, homophobiais that we kind of get caught up in our own world, our own spaces, are own experiences, and we just forget to reach out to people, who are different, who look different. And realize that the difference may be superficial and at the core of things we are the same. There is something at the core of it all.
PEDRO: That’s something you explore in your most recent CD "Someday; Peace Love and Freedom." On the CD you’re a homeless person, and in another song
you’re a warrior. But what are you fighting?
Klingons? No!
Ignorance is the enemy.
What other enemies have you?
NHOJJ: "My enemy is hate. I’m fighting for love."
PEDRO: You’re fighting for love. The issue of warrior hood is kind of tricky, especially for progressives although you had people like Audrey Lourd who described her self as a warrior; "A warrior Poet." And in the Punk Rock scene which I’m in (skinheads especially) the concept of being a warrior and warrior hood is a big deal. As well as singing songs about drinking and fighting and the job. And bring that up in your CD had me thinking, "I haven’t heard this (from a gay guy) before!" How did this song come to you?
NHOJJ: I had the music and I was listening to the music and the like most things the words just started coming. It just kind of flows. And it kind of blew me away.
And when I sing it I see some people react to it. It starts off with "I am a warrior…" and people go like, "Wait a minuet. We thought you were the love guy." And then I get to the line, "I’m fighting for love."
PEDRO: There’s a distinction between being a solider and being a warrior.
When people go into battle more often then not there doing it out of love for some body. And that’s something a lot of people don’t understand. If you’re just taking orders and doing what somebody tells you to do then you’re going to end up doing evil terrible things. The Nazis are the perfect example, "I was just following orders." But for me the definition of warrior hood is someone who is being of service to something greater. You grew up in Guiana and Trinidad till age 18.
When did you realize you were Gay?
NHOJJ: Well they started calling me names when I was a kid in Guiana so I guess that began to clue something in.
Pedro: Yea. You don’t know what sexuality is when you’re a little kid.
NHOJJ: Exactly. You just do what you do and say what you say and people react in there own ways.
Pedro: Appropriately or not. Homophobia in the Caribbean is something we have addressed on Out-FM before. And I have on my show in New Jersey. I interviewed a performer named King Django. He travels to Jamaica a lot and he told me when he would talk to some old timers they explained that, back in the day if they found out if someone was Gay they would kill the guy, kill his family, burn down there house. If they had a dog they would kill the dog. Folks listening to this are probably thinking, "Wow! Things have really improved! They only kill the Gay guy now." And I agree. But hey, we can all do better. There’s always room for improvement. The thing is that, homophobia is now ingrained. In Britain they decimalized sodomy in the 1990’s but they were the ones who introduced the idea that being Gay is bad. So when they decriminalized it there were protests all over the Caribbean. People were saying that this was a form of neo colonialism. They (England) was imposing there secular values.
NHOJJ: They don’t need the laws anymore.
Pedro: Exactly. The contamination is complete. There have been protests about homophobic Jamaican artists and this attitude is coming back with the banning of homophobic artists. "You’re just picking on black Jamaican artists." And there right. There not focusing on white homophobic artists in the U.S. The issue I want to bring up is instead of banning them is it possible to develop a relationship with homophobic artists?
NHOJJ: Well I haven’t. It is easy to ban them. And I understand. The lyrics are very hurt-full. And a lot of harm is done when people listen to lyrics and they dance and that message seeps in. Um…But yea. Listening to the story you told me, (Laughs) you have to tell the story! (Laughs)
Pedro: Oh! "The story!" Ok I have a my Space page, www.myspace.com/generationq, and the long version of the story is on the BLOG. I’m just going to give you the short version. Um… OK. A few years back I was hanging out with some of my boys; some of the local Skinheads.And they had told me about a band called Storm Watch. And one of them goes, "Pedro! We’ve got the live version of ‘Stay in the Closet.’ You gotta hear this. You can actually feel the hatred!"So they put it on for me.
And this is the song.
"Stay in the closet,
Because it's safer in there.
Stay in the closet
Cause we don't fight fair.
Stay in the closet stay away from me.
Stay in the closet for humanity."
And at the end the lead singer Jeff roars to the crowed, "Bring it on home boys!" And you could hear hundreds of testosterone laden voices sing out,
"Fag Bashing In The U.S.A.!
Fag Bashing In The U.S.A.!
Fag Bashing In The U.S.A.!
Fag Bashing In The U. S. A.!!!"
It was amazing.
A couple of months later while hanging out at a house where a basement show was taking place a 6'3" 190 lb Skin known at the time as Scarhead walks in. I wondered for a moment what he was going to look like once he hit puberty. Scarhead sees me and says, "Pedro Storm Watch is coming!"
I respond with "OK."
He says, "No Seriously!"
I say "I believe you!"
I thought fine. I’m finally going to meet Jeff Stormwatch.
And he was hilarious. We hit it off immediately. He had no idea that I was Gay. At one point he puts his arm across my shoulder and says to every one in the room, "This is the man! This is the man right here!"
All the skins who know me look on with beer bottles in the hands, and grins on there faces and nod there heads in agreement. "Yea Pedro's the man." Because they knew I was Gay and Jeff did not and they thought this was funny as hell.
Eventually Jeff found out and I was at The Storm Watch farewell/reunion show. They were reuniting to end forever. And they were amazing! They never sounded better and Jeff looked possessed. And then about a half hour into there set I heard the intro to the most requested song of the night; Stay In the Closet." Seemed every body wanted to hear it. Guys were going "Yea!" and then the band stops and Jeff roars out, "Were just teasing!" and they go into another song.
Now, is the relationship I had with Jeff responsible for there not singing that song? I can’t say but I have been told that my being "out" has had a positive effect on the local scene. And so I’m thinking, is it possible to have a relationship with Buju Banton? Is it possible to have a constructive respectful relationship with homophobic artists? Is it possible to put out a compilation or to put out a single with an Out Gay Dance Hall singer and Buju Banton trading insults and praises is that possible?
NHOJJ: I don’t know. I’m curious to find out because actually with my next project tentatively titled "In the Life" and I really want to basically come out as a Gay artist.
Pedro: As if you haven’t done that being on this show!
NHOJJ: (laughs) exactly!
Pedro: It’s Ok it’s just you and me here. No ones listening. So the new CD is to be called "In the Life."
NHOJJ: I just really want to come out. Because there is nothing musically on the CD’s (so far) that are really clear about who I am. And I really want to say that and I want to market it to straight people. I’m curious to see what the reaction is. And yea…You’ll find out. I’ll come back and let you know. (Laughs).
Pedro: Please! Yes, because the role that artists play has been to transport the history and the experience. And artists cross bridges that most activists can’t. And I think that what you have been doing already has produced positive consequences. And we’re going to continue this discussion on art, activism and warrior-hood; How to be a warrior for Peace, how to be a warrior against ignorance. How to be a warrior against homelessness, things like that.
www.nhojj.com
And the discussion did continue.
On April 15th 02007 I Nhojj returned and I invited a Out Hip Hop artist named Baron.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Pedro: I saw a great documentary on PBS called "Beyond Beats and Rhymes." And it’s a critique of Hip Hop by a straight Black man who loves Hip Hop but was concerned by the homophobia and sexism he finds in it. He was talking to people like Fifty Cent; really big name rappers and when he tried to he bring up the issue of homophobia… well, he tried. One of these men actually got up and walked out of the room. He could not talk about it. Busta Rhymes! Whom I think is great. I love his stuff. But he could not talk about it. He had to walk out of the room. What is that about? Enlighten me.
Nhojj: Well we were just reading a magazine and they had a list of suspect D.L. rappers and a lot of the guys you talk about and we hear; Busta Rhymes for one was on the list. And Baron has a really cool theory.
Baron: Well it’s a small theory but it’s not profitable. It’s not profitable to be an Out homosexual artist. So until we find a way that it’s profitable… Because that’s the base line of Hip Hop; they say it’s the music but it’s the money. So until there’s responsibility around it the conversation about D.L. will continue. Because of course there are homosexual Hip Hop artists, of course.
Pedro: I’m in the Punk Rock scene. And when the first smaller labels were bought up by major labels they were criticized for being sellouts. Bands that sighed were called sellouts. "This is not Punk Rock. Signing to a major record label is Not Punk Rock." Meanwhile in Hip Hop when these small independent Hip Hop labels were being bought up by major record companies that’s when it stopped being conscious and positive and you started seeing Gang banging and excuse my language bitches and Hoes in thongs on the videos. And Jesse Jackson and all these major black leaders never once said "This is bad. We are losing our culture. This is our culture and it’s being bought up by corporations."
Baron: But then yes this is our culture then this is our culture that’s projecting these images. You can blame the people that pay it but if you’re doing it you’re self, then you should blame yourself for it. If you’re doing it for the dollar…
Pedro: Yea, but what if you’re not going to get sighed? In the documentary "Beyond Beats and Rhymes" one young man did a rhyme that was brilliant and political and smart and positive. And when the man doing the documentary asked "Why don’t you do that? (Instead of Rapping about killing other Black men.) the guy said, "They don’t want to hear that shit."
Baron: But who is that "they?"
Pedro: They are the record heads who run the record labels.
Baron: And "they" are the people who are buying it.
Nhojj: I think there are a lot of people who are buying it and I think there is a market for it. There catering to a market.
Pedro: I agree with that. Yes.
Nhojj: So I think some how you need to change what the ideal is. I think that’s what the ideal is;
a strong, macho, what ever the words are. "I get a lot of women, I get a lot of money." It’s an ideal in our society. And I think Hip Hop just is kind of a tool to create that fantasy. It’s a fantasy.
Pedro: I publish a zine called Boots and Roots. It’s a Punk Rock Zine. And the theme for the next issue was inspired by a friend of mine and its "Family, Unity, Strength, Music and Never Being Alone Again." So those are our Punk Rock Values. We’re all in this together. But I found myself thinking, "How am I going to write about strength for this zine? So I looked up strength, I Googled Strength! And do you know what Tarot cards are? The Image of strength in the tarot is a lion and women or a lion and a child. That’s strength. It was one of the four cardinal virtues. And what did that mean by strength? They weren’t referring to physical strength. They were referring to spiritual strength: fortitude, the thing inside you that keeps you going no matter what tries to stop you. And I thought, "That’s Punk Rock!" So what is strength in the Hip Hop World? What does strength mean there?
Nhojj: I think there are almost two Hip Hop Worlds. There’s the older, kind of more grounded one that grew up with Hip Hop when it was under ground and I think for them strength was… Um…
Baron: Strength was in the expression. There wasn’t a voice of the inner city at that time when Hip Hop came into play. So it was like "Thank God I’ve got some where to express my political views, what’s happening to me socially … um…
Nhojj: Strength was in the expression; stating your truth.
Pedro: It’s like a jungle sometimes. It makes me wonder, how I keep, from going under."
(Laughter from every one.)
Pedro: That was strength!!! And it’s still a classic!
Nhojj: Then you have the other Hip Hop World which strength is how many women you can get,
how many people you kill, how much time you spent in jail.
After this we move on to discuss issues of warrior-hood, manhood, and men wanting to love each other regardless of weather we are Gay or Straight.
+++++++++++++++
We moved on to other issues.
Next time the issue of men loving each other.
This was done in January of 2007. It was this broadcast that started this "Expanding Roundtable" I’m doing on the radio shows I do.
Joining us in April was Hip Hop artist Baron; www.baronartist.com.
This is part of an Interview with singer song writer NHOJJ from January of 2007.
============ Fighting For Love (A Warriors Song) ================
Pedro: Your most recent CD is called "Someday Peace Love and Freedom."
You have a voice that can hit notes that only bats can hear. It’s phenomenal.
And on the song More Love what I liked about that song was that all different kind s of love
There is the romantic aspect but there is also the spiritual dimension.
NHOJJ: I think at the core of a lot of the problems we have; racism, homophobiais that we kind of get caught up in our own world, our own spaces, are own experiences, and we just forget to reach out to people, who are different, who look different. And realize that the difference may be superficial and at the core of things we are the same. There is something at the core of it all.
PEDRO: That’s something you explore in your most recent CD "Someday; Peace Love and Freedom." On the CD you’re a homeless person, and in another song
you’re a warrior. But what are you fighting?
Klingons? No!
Ignorance is the enemy.
What other enemies have you?
NHOJJ: "My enemy is hate. I’m fighting for love."
PEDRO: You’re fighting for love. The issue of warrior hood is kind of tricky, especially for progressives although you had people like Audrey Lourd who described her self as a warrior; "A warrior Poet." And in the Punk Rock scene which I’m in (skinheads especially) the concept of being a warrior and warrior hood is a big deal. As well as singing songs about drinking and fighting and the job. And bring that up in your CD had me thinking, "I haven’t heard this (from a gay guy) before!" How did this song come to you?
NHOJJ: I had the music and I was listening to the music and the like most things the words just started coming. It just kind of flows. And it kind of blew me away.
And when I sing it I see some people react to it. It starts off with "I am a warrior…" and people go like, "Wait a minuet. We thought you were the love guy." And then I get to the line, "I’m fighting for love."
PEDRO: There’s a distinction between being a solider and being a warrior.
When people go into battle more often then not there doing it out of love for some body. And that’s something a lot of people don’t understand. If you’re just taking orders and doing what somebody tells you to do then you’re going to end up doing evil terrible things. The Nazis are the perfect example, "I was just following orders." But for me the definition of warrior hood is someone who is being of service to something greater. You grew up in Guiana and Trinidad till age 18.
When did you realize you were Gay?
NHOJJ: Well they started calling me names when I was a kid in Guiana so I guess that began to clue something in.
Pedro: Yea. You don’t know what sexuality is when you’re a little kid.
NHOJJ: Exactly. You just do what you do and say what you say and people react in there own ways.
Pedro: Appropriately or not. Homophobia in the Caribbean is something we have addressed on Out-FM before. And I have on my show in New Jersey. I interviewed a performer named King Django. He travels to Jamaica a lot and he told me when he would talk to some old timers they explained that, back in the day if they found out if someone was Gay they would kill the guy, kill his family, burn down there house. If they had a dog they would kill the dog. Folks listening to this are probably thinking, "Wow! Things have really improved! They only kill the Gay guy now." And I agree. But hey, we can all do better. There’s always room for improvement. The thing is that, homophobia is now ingrained. In Britain they decimalized sodomy in the 1990’s but they were the ones who introduced the idea that being Gay is bad. So when they decriminalized it there were protests all over the Caribbean. People were saying that this was a form of neo colonialism. They (England) was imposing there secular values.
NHOJJ: They don’t need the laws anymore.
Pedro: Exactly. The contamination is complete. There have been protests about homophobic Jamaican artists and this attitude is coming back with the banning of homophobic artists. "You’re just picking on black Jamaican artists." And there right. There not focusing on white homophobic artists in the U.S. The issue I want to bring up is instead of banning them is it possible to develop a relationship with homophobic artists?
NHOJJ: Well I haven’t. It is easy to ban them. And I understand. The lyrics are very hurt-full. And a lot of harm is done when people listen to lyrics and they dance and that message seeps in. Um…But yea. Listening to the story you told me, (Laughs) you have to tell the story! (Laughs)
Pedro: Oh! "The story!" Ok I have a my Space page, www.myspace.com/generationq, and the long version of the story is on the BLOG. I’m just going to give you the short version. Um… OK. A few years back I was hanging out with some of my boys; some of the local Skinheads.And they had told me about a band called Storm Watch. And one of them goes, "Pedro! We’ve got the live version of ‘Stay in the Closet.’ You gotta hear this. You can actually feel the hatred!"So they put it on for me.
And this is the song.
"Stay in the closet,
Because it's safer in there.
Stay in the closet
Cause we don't fight fair.
Stay in the closet stay away from me.
Stay in the closet for humanity."
And at the end the lead singer Jeff roars to the crowed, "Bring it on home boys!" And you could hear hundreds of testosterone laden voices sing out,
"Fag Bashing In The U.S.A.!
Fag Bashing In The U.S.A.!
Fag Bashing In The U.S.A.!
Fag Bashing In The U. S. A.!!!"
It was amazing.
A couple of months later while hanging out at a house where a basement show was taking place a 6'3" 190 lb Skin known at the time as Scarhead walks in. I wondered for a moment what he was going to look like once he hit puberty. Scarhead sees me and says, "Pedro Storm Watch is coming!"
I respond with "OK."
He says, "No Seriously!"
I say "I believe you!"
I thought fine. I’m finally going to meet Jeff Stormwatch.
And he was hilarious. We hit it off immediately. He had no idea that I was Gay. At one point he puts his arm across my shoulder and says to every one in the room, "This is the man! This is the man right here!"
All the skins who know me look on with beer bottles in the hands, and grins on there faces and nod there heads in agreement. "Yea Pedro's the man." Because they knew I was Gay and Jeff did not and they thought this was funny as hell.
Eventually Jeff found out and I was at The Storm Watch farewell/reunion show. They were reuniting to end forever. And they were amazing! They never sounded better and Jeff looked possessed. And then about a half hour into there set I heard the intro to the most requested song of the night; Stay In the Closet." Seemed every body wanted to hear it. Guys were going "Yea!" and then the band stops and Jeff roars out, "Were just teasing!" and they go into another song.
Now, is the relationship I had with Jeff responsible for there not singing that song? I can’t say but I have been told that my being "out" has had a positive effect on the local scene. And so I’m thinking, is it possible to have a relationship with Buju Banton? Is it possible to have a constructive respectful relationship with homophobic artists? Is it possible to put out a compilation or to put out a single with an Out Gay Dance Hall singer and Buju Banton trading insults and praises is that possible?
NHOJJ: I don’t know. I’m curious to find out because actually with my next project tentatively titled "In the Life" and I really want to basically come out as a Gay artist.
Pedro: As if you haven’t done that being on this show!
NHOJJ: (laughs) exactly!
Pedro: It’s Ok it’s just you and me here. No ones listening. So the new CD is to be called "In the Life."
NHOJJ: I just really want to come out. Because there is nothing musically on the CD’s (so far) that are really clear about who I am. And I really want to say that and I want to market it to straight people. I’m curious to see what the reaction is. And yea…You’ll find out. I’ll come back and let you know. (Laughs).
Pedro: Please! Yes, because the role that artists play has been to transport the history and the experience. And artists cross bridges that most activists can’t. And I think that what you have been doing already has produced positive consequences. And we’re going to continue this discussion on art, activism and warrior-hood; How to be a warrior for Peace, how to be a warrior against ignorance. How to be a warrior against homelessness, things like that.
www.nhojj.com
And the discussion did continue.
On April 15th 02007 I Nhojj returned and I invited a Out Hip Hop artist named Baron.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Pedro: I saw a great documentary on PBS called "Beyond Beats and Rhymes." And it’s a critique of Hip Hop by a straight Black man who loves Hip Hop but was concerned by the homophobia and sexism he finds in it. He was talking to people like Fifty Cent; really big name rappers and when he tried to he bring up the issue of homophobia… well, he tried. One of these men actually got up and walked out of the room. He could not talk about it. Busta Rhymes! Whom I think is great. I love his stuff. But he could not talk about it. He had to walk out of the room. What is that about? Enlighten me.
Nhojj: Well we were just reading a magazine and they had a list of suspect D.L. rappers and a lot of the guys you talk about and we hear; Busta Rhymes for one was on the list. And Baron has a really cool theory.
Baron: Well it’s a small theory but it’s not profitable. It’s not profitable to be an Out homosexual artist. So until we find a way that it’s profitable… Because that’s the base line of Hip Hop; they say it’s the music but it’s the money. So until there’s responsibility around it the conversation about D.L. will continue. Because of course there are homosexual Hip Hop artists, of course.
Pedro: I’m in the Punk Rock scene. And when the first smaller labels were bought up by major labels they were criticized for being sellouts. Bands that sighed were called sellouts. "This is not Punk Rock. Signing to a major record label is Not Punk Rock." Meanwhile in Hip Hop when these small independent Hip Hop labels were being bought up by major record companies that’s when it stopped being conscious and positive and you started seeing Gang banging and excuse my language bitches and Hoes in thongs on the videos. And Jesse Jackson and all these major black leaders never once said "This is bad. We are losing our culture. This is our culture and it’s being bought up by corporations."
Baron: But then yes this is our culture then this is our culture that’s projecting these images. You can blame the people that pay it but if you’re doing it you’re self, then you should blame yourself for it. If you’re doing it for the dollar…
Pedro: Yea, but what if you’re not going to get sighed? In the documentary "Beyond Beats and Rhymes" one young man did a rhyme that was brilliant and political and smart and positive. And when the man doing the documentary asked "Why don’t you do that? (Instead of Rapping about killing other Black men.) the guy said, "They don’t want to hear that shit."
Baron: But who is that "they?"
Pedro: They are the record heads who run the record labels.
Baron: And "they" are the people who are buying it.
Nhojj: I think there are a lot of people who are buying it and I think there is a market for it. There catering to a market.
Pedro: I agree with that. Yes.
Nhojj: So I think some how you need to change what the ideal is. I think that’s what the ideal is;
a strong, macho, what ever the words are. "I get a lot of women, I get a lot of money." It’s an ideal in our society. And I think Hip Hop just is kind of a tool to create that fantasy. It’s a fantasy.
Pedro: I publish a zine called Boots and Roots. It’s a Punk Rock Zine. And the theme for the next issue was inspired by a friend of mine and its "Family, Unity, Strength, Music and Never Being Alone Again." So those are our Punk Rock Values. We’re all in this together. But I found myself thinking, "How am I going to write about strength for this zine? So I looked up strength, I Googled Strength! And do you know what Tarot cards are? The Image of strength in the tarot is a lion and women or a lion and a child. That’s strength. It was one of the four cardinal virtues. And what did that mean by strength? They weren’t referring to physical strength. They were referring to spiritual strength: fortitude, the thing inside you that keeps you going no matter what tries to stop you. And I thought, "That’s Punk Rock!" So what is strength in the Hip Hop World? What does strength mean there?
Nhojj: I think there are almost two Hip Hop Worlds. There’s the older, kind of more grounded one that grew up with Hip Hop when it was under ground and I think for them strength was… Um…
Baron: Strength was in the expression. There wasn’t a voice of the inner city at that time when Hip Hop came into play. So it was like "Thank God I’ve got some where to express my political views, what’s happening to me socially … um…
Nhojj: Strength was in the expression; stating your truth.
Pedro: It’s like a jungle sometimes. It makes me wonder, how I keep, from going under."
(Laughter from every one.)
Pedro: That was strength!!! And it’s still a classic!
Nhojj: Then you have the other Hip Hop World which strength is how many women you can get,
how many people you kill, how much time you spent in jail.
After this we move on to discuss issues of warrior-hood, manhood, and men wanting to love each other regardless of weather we are Gay or Straight.
+++++++++++++++
We moved on to other issues.
Next time the issue of men loving each other.
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