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Playing the Deity card
Sep. 19th, 2011 12:34 pmThe other day, my dear hubby posted a wonderful YouTube video. Apparently, Michele Bachman (aka Psycho chickie so deranged as to make Sarah Palin look qualified!) was appearing at a Republican convention, and a group of people put together a flashmob protest outside of the building. The main purpose? To address the fact that you cannot “pray away the gay”, which is one of the medieval-thinking concepts that Bachman and her husband advocate. The peaceful protesters chose Madonna’s “Like a Prayer”, and performed a choreography in the square.
PERFECT!
The video truly brought a tear to my eye. Why? Because so many emotions came jumbling forward for so many reasons. For one, it highlights the fact that we have a truly backward-thinking-PSYCHO in a high-powered office running for yet another high-powered office. That has me scared – TRULY scared. And it should scare EVERY SINGLE AMERICAN to realize that there are politicians out there who truly believe in their hearts that some people are lesser and do not deserve equal protections. I may not agree with every belief, religion, creed, etc.; but as an American I believe in equality FOR ALL! Bachman does not.
Another reason the video made me emotional was the history of the song. I don’t know how many people remember this, but think back to the controversial nature of the Like a Prayer video. 20-something years ago, Madonna (who was a Catholic), put together this expression of herself as an artist. In the video, she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and she witnessed a brutal attack on a woman by white guys who saw her, and ran off – but not before stabbing a woman to her death. The woman was found by an innocent black guy who wanted to help. But he too was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and carted away by the police. This left Madonna, playing scared eye-witness, wondering what to do? Risk having the real criminals come after her if she busts them? What-to-do? What-to-do? She finds herself in a church, asking for God’s advice. She has all kinds of images – that of a black saint coming to life. That of the stigmata. That of being held by angels. Eventually, she does the right thing and goes to the police, thus clearing the innocent black man.
Because of the “misuse” of church imagery, Pope JP2 excommunicated her. Let’s think about that for a moment – EXCOMMUNICATED! Imagine that. The system, the foundation, the faith that you have known your entire lift – to be thrown out because of what you say, what you do, what you believe. I am glad that Madonna, as a human being, is a strong enough person to face such rejection and to move on with life. Some people cannot. I think sadly of all those good little teens who go to their parents to tell them that they have homosexual feelings, only to be brutally rejected. How many young and beautiful people have taken their own lives after the cruel rejection from their families, their homes, and their churches? Sadly, we will never know the true statistics. Such deaths are rarely talked about. Lives are swept under the carpets as if they never existed. Families work hard to ignore their own wounds, as if to pretend they simply never happened. Oh, they happened alright! They happened!
Mz. Bachman, you cannot pray away the gay. I applaud the people who came up with a beautiful and artistic way to make a peaceful statement. I applaud Madonna for persevering and keeping her artistic integrity throughout the years, despite the condemnation of the Pope. I applaud the bold pioneers of the age who work to make a difference – whether it be standing up against Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, or working on the It Gets Better project.
Times are better, but it ain’t over yet. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Separate Ain’t Equal. And this faggot has no intention of moving to the back of the bus. Not now. Not later. Not EVER!
PERFECT!
The video truly brought a tear to my eye. Why? Because so many emotions came jumbling forward for so many reasons. For one, it highlights the fact that we have a truly backward-thinking-PSYCHO in a high-powered office running for yet another high-powered office. That has me scared – TRULY scared. And it should scare EVERY SINGLE AMERICAN to realize that there are politicians out there who truly believe in their hearts that some people are lesser and do not deserve equal protections. I may not agree with every belief, religion, creed, etc.; but as an American I believe in equality FOR ALL! Bachman does not.
Another reason the video made me emotional was the history of the song. I don’t know how many people remember this, but think back to the controversial nature of the Like a Prayer video. 20-something years ago, Madonna (who was a Catholic), put together this expression of herself as an artist. In the video, she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and she witnessed a brutal attack on a woman by white guys who saw her, and ran off – but not before stabbing a woman to her death. The woman was found by an innocent black guy who wanted to help. But he too was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and carted away by the police. This left Madonna, playing scared eye-witness, wondering what to do? Risk having the real criminals come after her if she busts them? What-to-do? What-to-do? She finds herself in a church, asking for God’s advice. She has all kinds of images – that of a black saint coming to life. That of the stigmata. That of being held by angels. Eventually, she does the right thing and goes to the police, thus clearing the innocent black man.
Because of the “misuse” of church imagery, Pope JP2 excommunicated her. Let’s think about that for a moment – EXCOMMUNICATED! Imagine that. The system, the foundation, the faith that you have known your entire lift – to be thrown out because of what you say, what you do, what you believe. I am glad that Madonna, as a human being, is a strong enough person to face such rejection and to move on with life. Some people cannot. I think sadly of all those good little teens who go to their parents to tell them that they have homosexual feelings, only to be brutally rejected. How many young and beautiful people have taken their own lives after the cruel rejection from their families, their homes, and their churches? Sadly, we will never know the true statistics. Such deaths are rarely talked about. Lives are swept under the carpets as if they never existed. Families work hard to ignore their own wounds, as if to pretend they simply never happened. Oh, they happened alright! They happened!
Mz. Bachman, you cannot pray away the gay. I applaud the people who came up with a beautiful and artistic way to make a peaceful statement. I applaud Madonna for persevering and keeping her artistic integrity throughout the years, despite the condemnation of the Pope. I applaud the bold pioneers of the age who work to make a difference – whether it be standing up against Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, or working on the It Gets Better project.
Times are better, but it ain’t over yet. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Separate Ain’t Equal. And this faggot has no intention of moving to the back of the bus. Not now. Not later. Not EVER!
