Houston, We No Longer Have a Problem

I just want to send a shout out to the city of Houston. 53.6% of you were able to look past Annise Parker's sexual orientation and evaluate her credentials. You are the largest Texas city to ever elect an openly gay mayor. Kudos!

Dallas was so close... maybe next time?

God of Convenience

I hope everyone had a very safe, happy, and cherished Thanksgiving yesterday! Although I was unable to spend it with my family due to work, I'm thankful to be one of 89.8% of Americans that's not padding unemployment statistics right now. Instead, it was a day of thanks, friends, co-workers.... and football!

Last night, my Texas A&M Aggies played against the Texas Longhorns, in which we were heavy underdogs. A rivalry such as this becomes very important when you have a best friend rooting on the other team. We butted heads last night, and for the most part, kept dialogue to a minimum. But, when the Longhorns won a very good, close game, I was irked when their quarterback approached a news reporter and started spouting off about God, and how he's an awesome God, and the Lord Almighty this, that, and the other.

Of course, being deeply religious and proud of a close relationship with God is nothing for me to be hating about. I'm glad that young athletes embrace their religious roots. However, this little episode reinforces why I'm suspicious of athletes and this outpouring of religion on a football field - especially as a sideswipe answer to the reporter's actual question.

You see, last time the Longhorns were at our home field, things didn't end so well for them. They lost to a heavy underdog 38-30, and the Aggies helped sabotage their season. This same quarterback, Colt McCoy, sang a drastically different tune after that loss. There was no awesome God, Allah, Budda, Sheeba, and whoever else roams the divine clouds - only the evil, Satanic claws of defeat, pain, and angst. It was talk about what went wrong... what to improve on... you know, "football talk"... not "God-is-great talk".

What kind of message are we sending when we only show public displays of divine affection when we either win or get something we want? Perhaps if I had seen him on his knees thanking God for not suffering any life-threatening injuries in such a high collision sport, he'd have more credibility in my eyes.

With that said, I wish both sides all the best. There's a lot of talent and leadership that will aid many of these guys in their journey to greatness. But the next time one kneels after a touchdown and blows a kiss to the Heavens, I hope he/she can publicly acknowledge that there are blessings in defeat as well.

Happy Holidays everybody, and make it a great day!

Vacation in Chile

I really didn't know what to expect when I arrived here in Santiago, Chile a few days ago. Of course, the usual questions roamed through my head when visiting foreign locations. How many Black people would I see? What is gay/lesbian life like here?

My intentions were to visit Buenos Aires, Argentina -- a place widely considered to be less conservative than Chile. But, that didn't pan out, so I now take in the surroundings here.

The scene here seems to be quite open in a lot of ways. The pretentiousness is nowhere near levels seen in the states. I don't see men and women walking down the street in super-designer labels, perfect bodies, and perfect hair. When walking down the streets of Santiago, I get the feeling that they are who I see they are as they walk by me.

A transgender walks hand in hand with a young lady. Two lesbians embrace near the Plaza de Armas. Even the Barrio Bellavista (where most Santiago clubs seem to be) blends in with other areas in a weird, can't-put-my-finger-on-it kind of way. Maybe it's the absence of Rainbow flags marking the entrance and exits to the neighborhood, among other things?

I'm definitely heading out to one of their disco clubs tonight... and I was told that things don't really get lit up here until after 1:00AM. I'm looking forward to sampling the gay culture here, and maybe even talking with some of the local gay men and women (through translator, because my Spanish sucks) to learn what it has been, and is like living in Chile.

Racism: The Two Way Street

So, I was sitting at home enjoying a hot cup of coffee this morning when I received a very thoughtful story from my mother. In light of recent comments regarding anti-Obama sentiments linked to racism, I felt this story would serve as a reminder to keep things real on both sides of issues.

A Caucasian woman, somewhere in her mid 50s, was seated next to a Black passenger while boarding a flight from Dallas to London. She was obviously disturbed by this and eventually rang her call button to summon a Flight Attendant. A middle-aged White male quickly answered her call.

"How may I help you, Ma'am?" the Flight Attendant asked.

"Can't you tell what's wrong?" she snapped, "you placed me next to a Black man, and I don't agree with sitting next to someone from such a repugnant group. I demand to be reseated."

"Please calm down, Ma'am. This is nearly a full flight, so I will see if an empty seat is available," he replied softly. Then, he went away for a few moments and returned.

"Ma'am, just as I thought, there are no available seats in Economy class. However, I spoke to the captain and he informed me that there is a seat in First class," the Flight Attendant explained.

Before the woman could respond, he interrupted her and continued, "While it's not usual for our airline to permit someone from Economy class to sit in First class, we can certainly make an exception in this case. The Captain feels that it would be scandalous to make someone sit next to someone so disgusting."

The Flight Attendant turned to the Black man and said, "Therefore, Sir, if you would like to, please collect your carry-on luggage and join us in First class."

Witnesses to the event stood up in their seats in shock; gay and straight; Republican and Democrat; Black and White; young and old; man and woman... and they erupted into applause and cheer as the Black man was escorted to First class.

I guess no matter who we are, racism has no boundaries, and none of us are immune to its poison. Perhaps we should be careful in generalizing a particular group of people, regardless of which side of the fence we are on.

There will always be the White man that marched alongside Black men when justice eludes color. There will always be a straight man that rides on the brightest float in the Gay Pride parade. There will always be a Republican or Democrat that is willing to part with his/her own political affiliations to do what's right. Simply put, we can all be guilty, and there will always be someone that won't fit the definition of the label we've placed upon them... and they will turn us into the fool that sits on an empty row of the aircraft... marinating in our own folly.

For the woman in this true story, I feel sorry for her. Someday, she will get an organ transplant due to a life threatening illness... and I'd love to see the look on her face when she learns that her new heart came from a Black woman. Maybe, just maybe, it will open her eyes.

Texas Ban on Gay Marriage Unconstitutional

Here is the story regarding a monumental ruling by Dallas Judge Tena Callahan:

CLICK HERE

Attorney General Greg Abbott will fight the ruling tooth and nail, but at least this is a start. It's a cruel irony that the dust was kicked up because two men wanted a divorce.

Malice in Dallas?

Wow, who'd have thought that the beautiful Fountain Place tower here in Dallas would be plunged into the news two days ago? It could have been a very tragic terrorist attack, but was averted by an excellent operation performed, in part, by the FBI. Moments after the story broke, a rather vocal blogger had this to say:

"This also SCREAMS that we need to close our borders and control who comes into our country, and assure it's only with our permission and at our invitation."

Of course, the blame game continues against a myriad of targets: Obama, Bush, Democrats, Republicans, Muslims, Arabs... you name it. In the meantime, I'd love to hear this blogger's thoughts on how closing the borders and controlling who enters our country will help secure us against our own citizens... those like the American who attempted to pull off a similar terrorist act in Springfield, Illinois that very same day.

Yes, that delusional American citizen who empathizes with people such as John Walker Lindh; the deranged American, such as Timothy McVeigh, who thinks mass destruction is the answer to getting across anti-government messages. It's these people that we can't account for with border closures and immigration control, and none of us know how many homegrown nuts we truly have.

Besides... while I'm all for improved border security, protecting over 7400 miles of international border is unrealistic -- and I doubt it's the answer to plucking the homegrown nuts off the tree... or even those that follow the rules and come into our nation legitimately... only to unleash some hidden agenda in the future at some point.

Cycle of Evil, Part I

Today, I feel like I'm 52 years old. For those of you who are keeping tabs, that's almost two decades ahead of my current age. The reason is very simple, and very sad as well.

You see... earlier yesterday, I hired a younger relative to mow my yard for some extra cash, because I'm a firm believer in working for your keep. He was out of gas and out of money... stranded without employment, motivation, or a future. Plus, he's had his run-ins with the law, which has since spawned a gargantuan rift in our small family.

On one side, there are those of us that believe nurturing and understanding will eventually break the cycle of evil. On the other side (which I'm on), we seek to avoid playing the role of "enabler" -- teaching and endorsing a sense of learned helplessness and diffusion of responsibility. I just can't afford to chunk money at him carte blanche; I demand hard work for honest gains. Sadly, I've been criticized for that approach and accused of not being there for a family member.

So, imagine how upset I was when I got home from work last night and the yard wasn't completely mowed. I had also discovered that he'd somehow used an entire 2-gallon jug of gasoline for my yard, which made no sense. I swiftly concluded that he put the rest of the gasoline into his car and drove off after doing a half-ass job.

There I was, grinding my teeth, when I received a text message from him. He wanted cash for an incomplete job, so I ran up to the ATM in the middle of the night to retrieve some cash. Then, I'd give him his money after he turned on the back porch light and/or flipped on a flashlight and finished mowing the yard closest to the house. Yeah, I'm prepared to take the label of asshole for that one. I'm cool with that. Nevertheless, however strong my resolve was, it had cost me precious sleep... hence, I feel like a 52-year-old man.

I'm so frustrated with him, and I wonder what it will take to break this cycle that he and other young men like him are in. What will it take to stop the stealing, drugs, and irresponsibility? Incarceration? Well, I'm wary of the overuse of incarceration as a means of staving off criminal and irresponsible behavior... and I certainly don't think capital punishment is the ultimate answer for anyone.

I'm just thinking to myself: How many youngsters like him have gone to jail and actually come out cleansed of their deviance? Are we just feeding a cycle of evil by breeding new generations of criminal predators through incarceration? Or, are we as a society marking young deviants with a scarlet letter of eternal failure? (Play your Race of Spades card here, if you dare.. or wait until my next post to see if it can be trumped.)

More and more, I think that even if juveniles escape back into society with the determination and motivation to make themselves a better person, they will ultimately carry with them an insurmountable stigma. Just ask the Michael Vicks of society... it doesn't matter that they served their punishment... they will always be criminals in society's eye.

With that said, should we blame them if they ask themselves, "What's the point?" Should we blame them if they have the mentality that they have nothing to lose? It's a vicious cycle of evil, I tell ya.