rant

This tag is associated with 19 posts

The Repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell

By Terry Hoffman-Vincevineus ⋅ January 3, 2011 ⋅ 3 comments

Within the past few weeks, our country has seen the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” (DADT). The policy was introduced as a compromise measure by former president Clinton who campaigned on the promise to allow all citizens to serve in the military regardless of sexual orientation. Despite good intentions, DADT effectively became a blatant [...]

Flags

By Theresa Nickol ⋅ September 18, 2010 ⋅ 3 comments

The flags were waving directly in front my face very early in my relationship. Whether I chose to ignore them or intentionally avoided them I still am unsure. It is a puzzling question to sort through once you are free and clear. You see each episode recurring in your mind and you are screaming at [...]

Food Revolution: Peaceful Minds for Healthier Bodies

By Katharina Hren ⋅ August 18, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment

When I introduced the warrior yoga poses, I asked the kids how we could be peaceful warriors. We talked about how we can make peace in our minds and bodies by standing firm in who we are no matter what anyone asks of us and who others try to tell us we are. Yoga as a practice helps bring unity to mind, body and spirit.

If It’s All Foreign to Me, I Simply Ask Questions

By Berni Xiong ⋅ August 18, 2010 ⋅ 3 comments

A few weeks ago I was devastated to learn I was unable to attend the Annual Block Party hosted by TRUE Skool, a youth advocacy group that promotes hip-hop art and culture as a means of creative expression and educational development. My 16-year-old son and I were psyched to go having known about it for [...]

There's Everything Right About Being Unique

By Berni Xiong ⋅ July 18, 2010 ⋅ 5 comments

THERE’S EVERYTHING RIGHT ABOUT BEING UNIQUE This is my positive spin on, “There’s nothing wrong with being different!” For over a year now, I have wanted to bring up this topic: Why are we judged and criticized for challenging the status quo? So, you ask, why do people judge or compare? I believe it is [...]

TJ Leyden: former racist skinhead now author and Peace activist—Part I

By Arno Michaels ⋅ July 18, 2010 ⋅ One comment

Not too long ago, I had the honor of engaging in a 2 ½-hour conversation with a man I consider a hero: TJ Leyden. TJ left the white power movement during the mid-nineties as I did, after spending many years recruiting kids to become violent racists. Since then, he has been a tireless advocate for [...]

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, DO THINK!

By The Bus Bandit ⋅ June 19, 2010 ⋅ 8 comments

Believe it or not, there has been some type of prohibition of homosexuals and homosexual behavior in the military going back to Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. In 1778, Lieutenant Frederick Gotthold Enslin faced a court-martial for attempting to commit Sodomy, found guilty, and was literally “drummed out of Camp.” During World War II, [...]

Will Fellows: Shall Not Be Recognized co-creator —part II

By Arno Michaels ⋅ June 19, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment

Will Fellows is the author of Farm Boys: Lives of Gay Men from the Rural Midwest, A Passion to Preserve: Gay Men as Keepers of Culture, and the forthcoming Gay Bar: The Fabulous, True Story of a Daring Woman and Her Boys in the 1950s. Producing a heartfelt written compliment to Jeff Pearcy’s powerful photography, Will completed the gay-straight [...]

Will Fellows: Shall Not Be Recognized co-creator

By Arno Michaels ⋅ May 18, 2010 ⋅ One comment

“I view some of what’s going on in the political arena, this roller-coaster going back and forth, as just a natural process of cultural change happening. It’s not all going to happen in a neat all-at-once kind of way. It’s going to go this way and then that way and forward and backward, and then lurch left and right.”

On Sister Mubaraka and Islam

By Angie Aker ⋅ May 18, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment

Islam. Muslim. Take a moment and evaluate your knee-jerk reaction to these words. Even if you’re a tolerant and progressive person, do you initially feel comfortable with these labels when you hear them or do you fill with conflicted feelings? Do you feel, as many do, that you don’t really know enough about different religions [...]

Sammy Rangel “FOURBEARS: Myths of Forgiveness”

FourBears: The Myth of Forgiveness: isn't a simple memoir; it is a graphically illustrated guide from tortured child, to remorseless beast, to healing and change. This book is about helping others find their way out of their history and into the here and now. Proof that what once held you down can now hold you up. After the book reflects on a horrific upbringing it looks to offer key and ground breaking insights of the inner workings of the mind of a victim and later a perpetrator of hate and violence. Service providers working in treatment centers and institutional settings would greatly benefit from this work. Anyone facing issues with forgiveness and change might find a process toward healing and recovery.