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I stopped laughing long ago
In the wake of the Trump administration’s anti-trans attack, the Rev. Dawn Fortune lines out what would feel most supportive: vote, and vote for Democratic candidates.
I really need people to set aside whatever purity test they have for political candidates and vote for the democrats because, imperfect as our system is, yes I get that, the fact remains that to vote for a third party candidate means that the party that puts kids in cages and wants to erase transgender folx will remain in power.
Truly, I don’t care if you’re not inspired by the one with the D next to their name. This is about life and death to too many people to sacrifice progress in pursuit of idealism. (Facebook, October 23)
The Rev. Evin Carville Ziemer also comments on the needs of the trans community.
This is why a trans inclusive non-discrimination bill has been on the top of the LGBTQ advocacy work for a long time. This is why that whole winning marriage thing didn’t feel like The Big Win to many of us—but a distraction.
The civil rights being taken away were carved out primarily by courts in interpretation of particular laws and then added to by Obama in guidance to particular agencies.
Without an actual law protecting us, we’re not protected. Even if Obama moved things slightly forward for a time. (Facebook, October 22)
The Rev. Lois Van Leer offers an honest apology for her part in the rejection of trans people by the gay and lesbian community in the early years of the fight for equality.
I stopped laughing long ago
I am ashamed of my mockery
I wish I could cast my line,
hook and reel in my words—
I owe you.
Let me repay the debt of courage, bravery, and rage.
Let me insist on your visibility, your personhood, your dignity. (Facebook, October 24)
No room for cheap grace
Kim Hampton responds to Megyn Kelly’s remarks about blackface and subsequent apology.
Yesterday morning, Kelly apologized for her comments. (no, I did not watch)
Apology not accepted. At least, not by me. . . .
Too often, wronged people are pushed to forgive things said or done quickly. Before they’ve even had time to process what has happened. . . . And yet, the person who does the wrong is seldom asked if they have repented. Because pushing for people to forgive regardless of whether or not the person who committed the wrong has repented is the very definition of cheap grace. (East of Midnight, October 25)
Raziq Brown has an interesting solution to cultural appropriation.
Most conversations about cultural appropriation miss the point. Instead of talking about what white people should or shouldn’t wear or perform, the conversation should be about what white people care about—Intellectual Property Rights. . . .
If Congress gave The African American Smithsonian Museum or The NAACP a lifetime patent on “Blackface Performance” (because black people invented blackface minstrelsy) and every white person who wore blackface could be sued for copyright infringement, I wouldn’t give a damn about white people in blackface.
I’d even encourage small black owned businesses with a license to sell “blackface paint” to market in suburban neighborhoods. (Facebook, October 25)
Kindle the spark of humanity
Matt Meyer sums up the current president’s core motivations.
There’s a lot of things about Trump, but one thing that strikes me is that he seems to believe and embody the idea that each person acting in their own brutal self-interest, moment to moment, is what’s best for everyone. (Facebook, October 24)
The Rev. Ken Beldon urges people to stop calling the president mentally ill.
Call what he and his administration have been saying and doing evil.
Call it cruel.
Say it’s beyond the bounds of decency.
Say that he’s a dangerous ethno-nationalist who is recommitting the destructive mistakes of a century ago, and that what he says is strength is actually pathetic weakness.
Call him a liar.
Say it’s a sin.
But, please, do not label him mentally ill. (Facebook, October 23)
The Rev. Dawn Cooley wishes that she had been at the restaurant where Mitch McConnell was heckled recently.
I used to think that I would scream at him—I am so filled with anger. But I decided that is not what I would do after all. Instead, I would calmly walk up this table and ask if I could pray for him. Who says no to a prayer, right? Then I would outstretch my arms in supplication and in my loudest preacher’s voice that would fill the room, ask people to join me in prayer, and then pray a prayer something like this:
Spirit of Life and Love, God Known by Many Names,
We pray for this man here before me. May you shine your light upon him and may that light kindle the spark of humanity within him, for his seems to have gone out. (Facebook, October 22)
Doug Muder points out that the main reason a blue wave is needed is that the GOP-controlled Congress is not serving as a check on presidential corruption.
There are many different reasons to want a change of leadership in Congress. . . . But for the long-term health of the Republic, the biggest is that Congress has a constitutional role to play, and it is failing in that role. Blatantly unconstitutional things are happening in the Trump administration, while Congress averts its eyes.
It should be a bipartisan desire that the President work for the American people, and not for foreign princes or presidents. The fact that even this most basic issue has become partisan is a measure of just how far the Republican Party has fallen. (The Weekly Sift, October 22)