Ask, Tell

I'm going to admit something, I had nothing today. I really did not know what I was going to talk about. I scoured my news sites, looking for a topic to talk about, and I was about to give up. Then I refreshed the page, and saw it, I saw history being made. I saw the article in which the House of Representatives in a majority vote of 234-194, repealed Don't Ask Don't Tell. I was shocked, in awe, I was proud, and I was happy. Then of course that little nibbling sensation came to me and asked 'What took so long?'

The appeal will be implemented some time in 2011, and marks a bit of a changing point in America. And it's not just about acceptance, it's not just about equality and civil liberties, this is about common sense. I remember the stories a few years back about a number of gay translators being removed from service. I remember these men who provided an invaluable service, that of translating a language others could not speak, were being thrown out of the army for something that was not of their control. We were losing these men, these invaluable men, for being themselves.

The real problem with Don't Ask, Don't Tell is that it at first sounds so reasonable. If you simply don't tell people you're gay, you won't be thrown out, nobodies going to inquire so you can serve just as much as any other person. The problem is that it's unjust and unfair, no other person is being asked to hide who they are. The problem, the real problem, is it's not asking gay men to not tell they're gay, it's asking them simply not to be gay.

For the entirety of these men's service, they cannot let on that they are gay or they will be discharged. For years they will have to resist their very natural attraction to any man, enlisted or not, in fear of being discovered. It's the 1970s all over again, except this time gays are hiding for their right to defend this country, and not to keep themselves from being persecuted. I'm not going to beat my chest and be ignorant and state that asking a gay man to not be gay is like asking a black man to not be black... It is possible to actually hide the fact that you are gay, obviously, but the simple truth of this matter is that these people are being asked to sacrifice more than any other enlisted man, they're being asked to sacrifice themselves before they even finish boot camp.

Allowance does not mean no discrimination, it does not mean equality, it does not mean that one man is worth the same as another. The asking of gays to jump through hoops to attain something a straight person can have without issue is in the news all the time as of late with jobs, marriage, and service to this country. It's amazing that we can exist in this time, and only just now fix one of these problems. I'm happy this appeal has seemingly gone through, I await for it to be implemented, and maybe lead to narrowing that gap between gay people and the rest of the nation.

Though, a good way to start would be for most to stop thinking of them as gay people, and just as people.

The End

This is my last day of punishment and I have NOTHING to write about.

Here we go!



I won't say everything is good, cause it's not.
Things are up, things are down,
It's life. It's living.
But, somehow, those little annoyances validate.
They make everything more intense.

Because, in what fucked up sense,
Can a world of all one-sided feeling
Be better than a world of topsy-turvy
Ups and downs, expressions; pain
Love and exploration?




That's all I have. I'm tapped. I need a day off.

Back to you, Will.

Ranty Poem Thing!

Is an open mind the key to an open heart,
Or does it lack any connection?
Are we all just wandering, aimless and disadvantaged?
No point, no thought, no chance?
Oh dear god, I hope not.

Because, to me, it would seem
That there would have to be a point to living.
Why else would philosophers moon
And the singers croon over the meaning?
A valid point, you know.

But the general mind disagrees,
Calls me a fool for bothering to wonder.
Tells me to let it go, because I'll never know
Even if there was some grand scheme of things.
How upsetting... or accurate?

There is no chance to wonder.
We can never pause living to think.
Whether you choose to know or you let it all go,
Either way, it's all just a guess.
Very true.

So what is the point of this poem?
Wondering if there is reason to wonder?
There is always the thought because we are taught
That "what is the point" is the greatest question of all.
Pffft.










Yeah, I don't know what that was.

I'm tired, I'm all broken up inside my head-box-thing.

Maybe once I pump out my to do list and my grocery list and actually get it all done before Thursday, theeeennnnnnnn I'll have a real brain.

Cause I'm a real girl!


Yay!

One more day, one more day, one more day, one more day, one more day.

Open

When you say you almost say it,
It sets my mind ablaze
When you say you almost do it,
It drives me to the edge

When you say you almost meant it,
It strikes me through the heart.
When you say you almost felt it,
It fills me with hope.

You're not what I thought,
Nor what I hoped.
You're less,
You're more.

But when you look at me that way,
With gaze so settled and face so lost,
Like you know, like you see something I've missed,
It scares me.

Teach me to trust again,
Show me how to see you.
Let me learn how to open up,
And when I can truly be yours

All Questions Have Answers

When you find that you
Know more of what you are not
Than what you are, run.






When you are not what you were,
When you live and you defer,
When your mind is all blank,
When you have no one to thank...
Is it easy?

If you had stayed by my side,
If you hadn't run to hide,
If you knew not to idly amble,
If you didn't leave in shambles...
Could we have lasted?

While you're off in your world,
While you're plans all unfurled,
While you wince at the smoke,
While you cough, cry and choke....
Do you regret?

Did you realize it's the past,
Did you know we couldn't last,
Did you dash while you were able,
Did you find something else stable...
Now that you're gone?

Are you writing that book,
Are you still a bad cook,
Are you tossing and turning,
Are you missing or yearning...
Somehow I doubt it.

While you were gone,
Someone else came along.
Showed me how to live,
Told me I have everything to give.
So I guess it was your loss.