(image from Eddie Colla)
My teachers taught me how & when to fight.
And there's no time like the present.
My teachers also taught me how, & when, to love.
And there's no time like the present.
My teachers also taught me to love the fight.
And I do.
And I do.
And I do.
What follows has nothing to do with Van Jones. Nor is it about Barack Obama. I'm not concerned with The One Who Shall Not Be Mentioned.
What follows is about Us. The We. The People. The constituents of this global union who, having been pushed to the edges for so long, are finally there, and together. And we know that the world is not flat, and that this edge is no edge at all, but a gleaming center. A homebase.
We are strong, in love with each other. In our love for each other.
What follows has nothing to do with Van Jones, Barack Obama or any of those outsiders. What follows is about Us.
I witnessed two friends get married this Labor Day weekend. 'B,' a bio-woman baker. 'J,' a tranny electrician. They were "straight married," which is to say that 'J' has successfully completed all the "official" paperwork to have his gender-identity reflect what he has always known. And now, the State will recognize their relationship. A relationship that, without this "official" paperwork the State is openly hostile to.
But this is not about the outsiders. The State and its rules and regulations.
I learned a lot about marriage this weekend. About the convulsive vitality of family. Out here, at homebase, we have been choosing Family. Constantly expanding it outside of the bounds/bonds of blood relations. Always seeking to create new bonds, & strengthen those that already exist.
We need to know who will fight with us, when the time to fight comes.
We need to know who will love with us when the darkness falls. When someone is carted off to prison, or beaten in the street, or beaten in the home.
We need to know that We do not need to apologize for who We are.
We are building who We are.
We, actually, elected a president--a person who we hoped in, with, and for. Most of us understand the mechanics of this corrupt political system. We know limitations, we have been brutalized for pushing its boundaries. Nonetheless, millions of people engaged in serious work, with fervent hope and the best of intentions.
We wanted him to be one of Us.
But he is not. The ouster of Van Jones makes that apparent. Forget about what Jones said or did. Forget about that "Truther" nonsense. Forget about the so-called "political climate" we are supposedly in. This is not about Van Jones. By not standing up for his own decision, and a good decision at that, he shows us exactly where he stands.
He does not stand with Us.
And, after eight years of the Bush doctrine, we're ready to apply some of that same logic, ourselves.
And we know how to fight.
"and I can’t tell you who the hell set things up like this~June Jordan
but I can tell you that from now on my resistance
my simple and daily and nightly self-determination
may very well cost you your life"
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