Obama's Justice

So, Justice David Souter is the next one to retire from the U.S. Supreme Court. Although his successor probably won't shift ideological leanings one way or the other, President Obama is faced with yet another very important task of choosing Justice Souter's replacement. I'll be watching with great interest!

Mount Karma

Two nights ago, I had a long talk with one of the best fag hags a homo could ever know. We lean on each other in good times, and just a little bit harder in bad times. However a conversation should start between us, it always seems to make us feel a little better when we hang up.

This particular conversation had an interesting twist. First, she asked me if I believed in karma. Then, a sudden gush of fresh, straight-up truth flowed from her lips. She is frustrated and angry that the man that wronged her seems to never get what's coming to him. Everything always goes his way, and he never ever seems to have anything go wrong. She stopped just short of wishing wrong upon him.

Now, I've had my share of men that did not-so-good things... and the pain was so unbearable at times. I was often frustrated in the same way, in that the person inflicting the damage always seemed to land on his feet. So, in this respect, I can totally relate to her. But, as for the question of whether the Black Man Next Door believes in karma, the answer is still yes -- but after pondering about 'karma', I now have a different outlook on how it actually works.

I don't think that just by doing one bad thing that one equally bad thing will automatically happen in return. Let's face it. You can do all the good in the world and still have something bad happen to you. In contrast, you can slit the throats of every child, rape every man and woman, and drive a truck bomb into a building -- and STILL win the lottery.

So, my view on karma is this. I think of it much like a volcano. Different volcanoes take varying amounts of pressure and time to erupt, much like karma. Some volcanoes ooze, others blow their tops in violent eruptions.... randomly and unpredictably. Good or bad karma can erupt into one gargantuan explosion of positive or negative events. Or, it may ooze out a multitude of smaller positive/negative events over a longer period of time. So, theoretically, a person's Mt. Karma could still be oozing good karma from things they did years ago, which explains why they got a promotion the very next morning after they hurled a Molotov Cocktail through your front window.

But what my treasured fag hag ultimately came to accept is that eventually, like volcanoes -- it's not a matter of if... it's a matter of when. Eventually, her tormentor's Mt. Karma will erupt - and for her sake, I hope she's not near it when that happens.

The Thousand-Dollar Judgment

Ahhhh, I've finally risen from the depths of a long day's sleep and came across a rather interesting article. After reading about gay twins that sued their gay bosses/owners of a Los Angeles restaurant, all I gotta say is: Flirters within our own community, take notice.

It sucks that these twins were only awarded $1,000 each. A nice, juicy $10,000 would have really hammered the point home. Like many others, I continue to question if the justice system takes sexual harassment against gays, and men for that matter, into serious consideration... just another reason why a lot of men don't even bother coming out to report violations or crimes against them. Their attorney, Sarah E. Hernandez hits the nail on the head:

"It's harder to prove sexual harassment with men because, unlike women, they don't break down and cry on the stand."

Yet, in knowing the odds of attracting serious attention from the court because of their gender and sexual orientation, these two young men fought a good fight on principle. I always get a good feeling when I read about people standing up for themselves -- especially gay men. The article can be accessed by clicking HERE.

Another Victim of the System

My heart goes out to Timmy Cole and his family, as I read that he was finally exonerated of a 1985 rape he did not commit.

Unfortunately, this fine man died in prison 10 years ago... and it is yet another testament to America's imperfect justice system.

His family is extremely strong for not having ill feelings toward the rape victim for inaccurately singling him out in a lineup. I understand that she was traumatized -- but the right thing to do is simply be honest and say that you aren't sure.

Yet, the most compelling part about this story is that Mr. Cole did not sell out his innocence just to be paroled early. He stayed true to himself, and his legacy is now worthy of the most revered legends.

As we speak, here in my home county, they are combing through cases and using DNA to exonerate dozens of inmates. Meanwhile, I wonder how many innocent people have been put to death. I wonder how much blood is on America's hand, and for those who religiously say "an eye-for-an-eye"... where is the eye coming from in payment for the blinded innocent that we've buried 6 feet under?