This is unedited and jumps all over the place.

I do not apologize, I was following multiple trains of thought.

Butch Lesbians and Trans guys
 
female masculinity and male masculinity
 
born in the right body and born in the wrong body
 
being mistaken for a man and being mistaken for a woman
 
female identity and male identity
 
butch woman and trans man
 
Trans guys are MEN. Butch/Stud/AG lesbians are WOMEN. 

These are just some of the differences that make us unique. 
 
Those identities in no way undermine the other or the safety and comfort found within.
 
Being a trans man can mean having a level of “masculinity” that is not necessarily viewed as male.
 
There are trans-men who identify as femme or feminine. (This is their identity)
 
There are trans-men who do not take hormones and are okay with their bodies.
 
You can be a butch lesbian or straight woman who wants top surgery, but does not want to become a man.

You can be a biological female who makes the transition to become a man and still date men.
 
There are trans guys and butch lesbians who are just fine with being somewhere in the middle of the masculine to feminine divide.

There exist many a man and woman who are butch, but not lesbian, let alone homosexual.
 
I respect choice and the manner in which anyone wishes to explore his or her gender identity.
 
There are a number of trans guys who used to identify and/or pass as butch lesbians.
 
There are a number of trans guys who never identified as lesbian, butch or female. They have always identified as psychologically male.
 
There are gender police in every culture and sub-culture. It takes strength and courage to withstand any kind of criticism and negativity from those who know all too well what it feels like to be misjudged and discriminated against.
 
Definitions, labels, and names are not absolute however they suit many purposes.
 
Not all trans-guys are out. Similar to gays, lesbians and bisexuals still in the closet, trans-guys face similar reasons for not coming out or doing so later on in life. Still, many do not come out until mid-30s and up. (See Chaz Bono)
 
It’s the similarities that should bring us together; the differences are open to exploration and respected within their structural confines.
 
Granted, I do not have any expertise or intricate knowledge on the subject of trans identify, but I am speaking from my own experiences,  thoughts,  feelings and for my own peace of mind.
 
I strongly believe there is room for dialogue and the door is open. In the midst of stating what I believe to be accurate, I’m seeking answers and personal insight from those who know more than I.

What I do know is sex is one thing, and gender is something else altogether. Sex refers to our biological differences. Notably they are the differences we are given at birth; male, female and intersexed. Gender refers to the characteristics of constructed roles between men and women, masculine and feminine, in their social-cultural context.
 
I haven’t always held onto the belief that the T in LGBT is just as important as the LGB, but it’s a necessary growth process that has strongly developed within me over time. Maturity provides greater understanding to just about anything. Trans-guys, young and old have had a tremendous impact on gender expression and freedom. They are at the forefront of the gender revolution, just as lesbians were at the forefront of the women’s revolution. They’ve influenced the acceptance of my own gender and added to the comfort I feel within my masculine identity. I immersed myself in learning more. Believe it or not, YouTube provides a intimate look into the lives of trans-guys who graciously shared their stories from the very beginning. If I had to pick a word to describe some of the transitions, it would simply be – amazing. While his visibility varies, its impact is strong no matter how great or small his voice.
 
Butch lesbians and gay trans guys don’t have anything in common is what he said. I’ll give him that since I didn’t indicate otherwise in the post he responded to, but I reject the notion that lesbians have absolutely nothing in common with the transmasculine identity. This is mostly in response to a comment from a gay trans guy stating:
 
“Please do not equate butch lesbians with trans guys. As a gay transmen, there is nothing butch or lesbionic about me.”
 
This led me to immediately consider the statement an obvious insult to my intelligence since I had done no such thing. But then it got me thinking.
 
His statement would be just as accurate if a cisgendered guy were to say “please do not equate butch lesbians with straight guys. As a straight guy, there is nothing butch or lesbionic about me.” If I dissected each and every idiosyncrasy and took the time to pinpoint nuances shared between the two, I’d find nothing? I’ll save the semantics, but odds are as human beings we all share similarities just as we are sure to share a great number of differences. 
 
In any case, the butch-stud / trans guy dynamic is a delicate one for some and a completely non-existent one for others. Some guys made use of the label at one point or another and others who are not out yet still do. There are a lot of trans-guys who began their transition by first identifying as a butch lesbian. There are a lot who didn’t. Either way, there should exist an understanding among butch lesbians and trans-guys not only out of a sense of urgency, but because here are two sub-cultures within the LGBT community that have the least visibility, yet experience the most discrimination. Ours is a shared invisibility that feels important to me. A strong alliance helps to not only shape, but strengthen a community where visibility is often taken for granted. How we identify is taken for granted. It makes sense to me  to support each other, but it’s not a sentiment that’s widely shared or appreciated.
 
For the trans guys and lesbians it doesn’t make sense to, I was there once. What would a trans-guy have in common with me?  Well, apart from the obvious fact that (in general) we both exude a level of male-ness that sets us apart from the rest, we are so comfortable within that framework that we will do whatever we can to preserve or complete our comfort. Because we dare step outside of the norm just to be ourselves. There’s that. I understand that being transgender has everything to do with how one feels about their core identity, which is outside of the realm of sexual attraction.

I feel that my masculine identity in some ways empowers me to move through a world where my contributions to the LGBT community assert my role and the role of my brothers and sisters as one of strength and diversity. We empower the other through our queer similarities, the things that bring us together, and we grow by understanding differences. The respect attained is two-fold.
 
What have we learned? Trans guys are men. They aren’t lesbians, girls, tomboys or women. They are men.

There are older butches and stone-butches who have witnessed an emergence of new energy radiating among younger trans guys. Their minds are being opened to the possibilities and knowledge not previously available regarding gender identity and its extremely broad range. The same holds true for butch lesbians who are completely comfortable in their skin. No matter her mannerisms she is a masculine-identified woman.
 
What’s with the trans-masculine butch identity? Trans-masculine refers to any person who was assigned as female at birth but feels that “female” does not accurately describe their gender. This is a term that represents a wide range of folks within the male-oriented queer family. Trans men, gender-queers, and butch lesbians whose masculinity or male traits are often rejected fit under this umbrella.
 
The fact is that some trans guys remain a part of the lesbian community. There are many others who prefer to fully assimilate into a heterosexual-homosexual-pansexual-asexual-[insert here-sexual] existence and would rather not be associated with the female remnants of their past. That is understandable in every sense of the word. I respect and at times admire however a person chooses to live their life. At the end of the day, I know that I have enough in common with other human beings to continue embracing diversity, tolerance, choice and a zest for life. I consider trans guys brothers within this rainbow family. I don’t ascribe to the “you’re either with us or against us” mentality that can be found within certain LGBT circles. The T in LGBT isn’t some fad that passes as soon as the transition is over. It’s a staple in the LGB community for a reason and trans identity needs the support and demands the acknowledgement that we all work so hard to achieve. We are all, or none and we achieve everything by standing together. When it all comes down, gender is anything you make it to be for it is your very own.

I welcome dialogue. And please, by all means, feel free to correct any inaccuracies you may come across.

The Real Housewives of Atlanta reunion show is coming. Check out some video previews over at Black Gay Gossip’s entertainment blog.

The Hard Candy Calendar Update  From the photographer/designers own pen:

The calendar is almost done. I’ve been hard at work trying to finalize everything. It won’t be long now.

That’s what she said. I’m definitely looking forward to the calendar’s completion. I’m gazing at the 2009 calendar right now and it’s looking bleak not having a 2010 version to replace it with. Please head over to the website to check out the new promo shots. There’s a new one of Kuni and I.

A Semenya Caster update: The Mail and Guardian’s website published a report by Harold Adams, ASA’s team doctor at the IAAF Championships in Berlin, claiming Leonard Chuene had reversed a decision to withdraw Caster Semenya from the 800m event after consulting senior ANC politicians.

This is probably bad news for Leonard Chuene if the reports are true. There is however dissension in the ranks. I’ll be following this story.

In my twenties…
I stopped listening to the crowd.
I never went along anyway.
And was often the odd one out.
I would find myself going.
In the opposite direction.
What I didn’t realize then.
Was that I was self-deflecting.
You know the gay saying “I can’t even think straight”.
I realized some thoughts I held onto were self-destructive as fate. I mean fuck. Insecurity took over and I’d often feel anxious about where I was going, where I would be 5-10 years from the day that a young stud would be turning twenty. Deep thoughts were not welcome because I barely knew who I was or what I wanted. I wondered whom exactly I was living for; myself or somebody else. I was losing all control and that helplessness was strongly felt. I never considered what I learned a waste though, not once. I took what I learned and never looked back. That higher learning has proven invaluable time and time again.

In my later twenties…
I started to realize that I was selfish,
And that most people inherently are.
Whether they admit it or choose to embellish.
The friendships I fostered were from afar.
Funny cause in my early twenties I didn’t quite know just who I was. I took for granted lasting friendships, thinking random girls were what was up. I realized that the most important connections I’d ever made were the ones in which I’d already lost touch. I reconnected with some, but lives take twists and turns and naturally those relationships evolve into something else if there is no growth in the interim. I blame myself mostly, for being a hermit in disguise and not thinking twice about it while on the ride that was my life.

In my early twenties…
I didn’t mind being the new person wherever I was.
Starting over and developing relationships,
But never claiming to be novice.
Personal friendships that I attained,
Are near and dear to me to this day.
I look at what I do and although it’s more than sufficient, it really isn’t anywhere close to what I thought would be intrinsic. When my opinions weren’t as strong and I wasn’t as judgmental as everyone. When rose-colored glasses were worn for fun. I lived in my head, one day at a time, while life took shape and forged right on. The boundaries I established early on were either extended or broken down. As I approached my 30 years I felt far more secure within myself.

In my middle twenties…
My decisions were no longer based on,
“it’s me against the world”
Change was no longer the enemy
And that was one hell of a battle.
I’ve learned to appreciate.
Every opportunity that comes with change.
Every learning curve that comes with age.
As life moves forward, so do I. Throughout encounters and heartbreaks. Sometimes there were breakthroughs and I’d wonder how someone I loved so much could hurt me so. Soon enough I’d be wondering how I could hurt someone I loved so much and still deserve to be loved and touched.

There comes a point in all of our lives where we go through emotions, battle with thoughts, feel lost and alone and still we’re able to come out on top. We find the answers to the questions plaguing our minds and it’s not for naught. Answers we realize through experiencing most of what life has offered us. No one has the answers to everything, but knowledge is an everlasting, evolving process and that simple concept is one I love. Upon reaching turning points we must constantly embrace change and differences and most importantly an open mind. Thought I’d never realize that having a companion means far more than having a few women on the side. Decisions are firm as I take life on. Constantly overcoming new twists and turns. I focus on what’s inside and no longer am I. All wrapped up in my own selfish wants, neglecting my needs for foolish pride. 

image by Nonetta

The Invention of Lying is a movie with two edges, one dull and one sharp. Ricky Gervais and Jennifer Garner make an odd couple who are almost too opposite for any attraction. The premise of the movie is that everyone tells the truth. There is nothing else to do and if you
have ever said aloud something that you were just thinking then you can understand this movie. When the waiter comes to the table, during Gervais and Garner’s first date, he tells Gervais that he is in way over his head and this girl is too good for him, she agrees. The
waiter then asks Garner, “If I ask for your Number will you give it to me? Hesitation, no she says” and that is a flavor of how this world works, everyone says what he or she think and they are very blunt.

The movie is slow and I almost left, then Gervais goes to see his mother, who is dying, in the hospital. The hospital staff have told him that she should be the next one to die. He is upset and sits with his mother to console her during her final hours. When she tells him how afraid she is to go into the black obis he wants to say something and he thinks and thinks and then he says, “Mom, it is not a black obis but a beautiful place where you will be with all your friends”. He continues, “Everyone will be given a mansion and it will be beautiful and you will be with all of your family that has died”. His mother smiles and dies…..Behind him are 4 or 5 hospital staff that have heard everything he said and want to know more. Please tell us about the mansions and what else will be there when we die.

He escaped the hospital room by the does not get free from his comments. People find out that there is hope for after you die and go to his apartment building and hold an all night candle light vigil. He finely comes up with the meat of the film the reason to stay and watch the beginning of religion. The phrase that I am using from the movie is “The Man In The Sky”. Gervais tells the people that there is a man in the sky and he told Gervais all of this stuff. At one point the
people love the man in the sky, then they turn on him “Fuck the Man in the Sky” was the cry of the crowd. Then after more talking and explanations they accept the man in the sky and the story that we all know of another “Man in the Sky” goes on to become more fact than fiction because they still don’t know how to lie.

The best catch phrase I have heard in a long time “The Man in the Sky said” ranks right up there with “Do you have your towel” from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

John Drew

We are talking about five students who are living a gay lifestyle that is leading them to dress a way we do not expect in Morehouse men.”
– Dr. William Bynum, vice president for Student Services

See, if it weren’t for this well placed caveat I wouldn’t have much of an issue with the newly vamped dress code for Morehouse students. First things first, I need to put it out there for those who are unaware that cross dressing neither strictly nor automatically applies to gay men and women. Many straight men cross dress and it’s a seemingly accepted practice among women.

My first thought upon learning of the new dress code was assimilation. There’s been a cultural awakening taking place within the black community for going on the greater part of a decade. The fear of making social waves, unacceptable missteps in a community that prides itself on not being apart of “mainstream” America while falling over itself in other respects to do exactly that. And let’s not get started on sexuality. That thinking goes against the very foundation of everything Morehouse stands for. The aim is to prepare young black men and future leaders for assimilation into corporate America. White corporate America. The ramifications of not making bold proclamations against socially liberal thought is becoming almost sacrilegious. Allowing the opposite has gone on far too long say the cheerleaders of the new policy.

Dress like the rest, dress for success touts the new Black Ivy League of the south. Stop wearing your favorite purses and  pumps to class because this is an example of what “not to be” and what behavior will not be upheld any longer on campus.

This is assimilation folks. This is their right as a privately funded institution of higher learning. If you are gay, bisexual and black, you better dress the par or else. The inclusion of a ban on sagging pants, grills, and certain hairdos are fodder used to distract us from the real message. When one guy is cross dressing we can turn the other cheek, but when five guys are doing it everyone pays. Check your sexuality, grills, fitteds and sagging pants at the door. We don’t wanna hear about it, see about it or talk about it anymore.

Fuck individual pride, personal freedom and whatever semblance of creativity you brought to the table when you were first accepted into this prestigious institution.  Not only will you think and act like capable black men and future leaders, you will dress like them too, even though your counterparts wouldn’t dare include such language in a dress code aimed at creating higher standards for men. They’d expect those standards to already be in place. They’d say something simple like dark or tan slacks and polo’s, button downs or blazers for the masculine uniformed black elite is now the norm.

Being you is no longer an option, for you now represent the collective. 

The Morehouse legacy includes bastions of men who have garnered love and respect for great personal and professional achievements in their lifetime. Men like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. whose legacy includes the likes of Bayard Rustin, special assistant to Dr. King for several years, and an openly gay man. I suspect Mr. Rustin may have been torn on the issue. He was no stranger to forced conformity at the risk of losing everything and everyone. Despite the obvious heteronormative bias in the dress code, the politics of class is another thing altogether.

The foregone conclusion I’ve drawn from this is that it makes sense for Morehouse. The respectability of Wall Street was lost and found within the framework of the last financial crisis and we began to see it for what it really was. A place for white collar criminals to prey on innocent people and their money at almost no loss because regardless of what happened their coffers got filled. This is just a small part of the Ivy League elite, the exclusive all male atmosphere where success and achievement are measured based on how you look and who you know. What they don’t teach you in school is that at the end of the day the suit does not make the man, but it does make one hell of a first impression. That’s life in general.

I’m seriously reconsidering my university’s decision not to impose a strict dress code upon the student body. Perhaps the girl with pink hair or the guy with the tongue ring and dreads wouldn’t have graduated, let alone with honors. Am I really glad that I didn’t go to college to learn how to dress myself or am I just saying that to make myself feel better? I have no knowledge of the dress codes of the two universities I attended on my journey to higher learning. I don’t recall the use of expression repression as a precursor to graduating with honors and having a successful go at the real world either.   

Many of the blog reactions I’ve read focus on race because the kind of dress being banned crosses class and culture lines and its targets are racially blatant. Interestingly enough, if a predominantly white university issued the same strict code I suspect the reaction would be one for the record books. I’m talking NAACP and all sorts of racial lambasting coming into play. Whatever happened to substance over style anyway? There have been many parents applauding the move because it “prepares their young men to compete with the white majority” after graduation. Do your job at home and the college won’t have to. What one wears is certainly important and a first impression is most often most important, but are we being led to believe that college age black men need to be told what to wear to an interview after graduating from a college as prestigious as Morehouse? Someone asked if something like this were to happen on the campus of Harvard or Princeton would it garner the same reaction. It’s doubtful they would deem it necessary to include such language in their dress code for obvious reasons.  The fact that Morehorse finds it necessary to do so says a lot about the college and those who are tasked with teaching its young minds and preparing them for the future. It says they believe these young men just aren’t ready and on the surface it says neither are they ready to embrace diversity. The college wants to assimilate further and set a new standard so as to attract a greater socially reserved interest which will pay off big among black social conservatives.

I suspect policing the gray areas will cause the most upheavel. Let them enforce another rule that bans selective and arbitrary enforcement of the dress code because it’s bound to happen. The school has expectations of its students and faculty, and since it is a private institution it can facilitate those ideals in whatever manner it decides. Whatever image they consider to be representative of success and leadership is their interpretation whether we agree or disagree. For the record, I disagree and find most aspects of the dress code laughabale at best and discriminatory at its worst.

A Brown Girl

I Bleed Ink is an online magazine celebrating the literary and artistic talents of the LGBTQ community. We are in need of submissions for our targeted launch date of November 1, 2009.
Please submit your literary submissions as a MS Word attachment. Submissions must be original works with rights held and retained by the contributer. There are no length requirements, however, longer works of fiction may be separated into multiple posts. Submissions with an overabundance of spelling and grammar errors will not be published.
Art submissions should be submitted as clear, high resolution jpegs or gifs. This includes photography, paintings, or line drawings.
If you are a performer, such as a Spoken Word artist and you would like to submit your work, please send links to your video performances.

Let’s support, celebrate and encourage the creative minds that keep the minds of the LGBTQ community stimulated. Send your contributions to submissions@i-bleed-ink.com. Keep up with what’s happening with the magazine by adding them to your twitter. Spread the word!

I Bleed Ink, Do You?

Despite the lackluster reputation of lesbian porn, we enjoy all kinds, including gay porn. Hot sex is hot sex and if the idea of shared sexual intimacy between two people of the same sex is repulsive, you should probably stop reading now. One of the biggest reasons gay porn is widely available is because it’s better marketed and mass produced. Add to that the glaring realization that the audience for it is a dominant force to be reckoned with. The financial sustainability and support from the gay male demographic is undeniable. Gay men support gay porn, but then again so do a number of gay women. There is a power dynamic in play in most gay porn that sets the stage for explosive chemistry on screen. As I alluded to previously, if the chemistry is there the scene will sizzle.

For the most part, men, women and straight couples are rarely stigmatized for watching and enjoying lesbian porn. So why stigmatize lesbians for watching and enjoying their garden variety? Some lesbians have even been accused of being “secretly” bisexual for watching gay guys get off.

Lesbians that watch gay porn aren’t intimidated by the male actors and their (counter) [private] parts. There is a focus that’s shifted onto specific aspects of the sexual dynamic and how it relates to how they see themselves in the moment. Straight porn carries its own weight, but nine times out of ten you don’t even get to see the woman bask in the glow of her own orgasmic aftermath. Boo! That’s reserved for the guy about 90% of the time. I know, I know,  I’m blatantly generalizing, but how often have you seen women in straight porn reach orgasm, let alone multiple times? Yeah, that’s what I thought. The dynamic lies not only in the roles performed, but the emotion and raw energy being expended, which makes authentic same sex porn even more appealing.

What I appreciate most are the power dynamics regardless of the type being watched. The loving, caressing and tender embracing is more than fulfilling in the bedroom, but what I really want to see is power, control, desire and longing manifested within the act itself. Lesbian porn was accused of being either too tender or downright ridiculously giddy and sometimes both. Overall, the general consensus among women loving women was that the quality of real lesbian porn had been sub par for years. It has improved considerably as of late. Another thing to note is that it has always been a staple fixture in the lesbian community, you just needed to know where find the good stuff. What lesbians wanted was porn made for women, by women (FWBW).  And at the very least they wanted to watch women who looked a lot like, and represented a wider variety of girly to not so girly girls. Is the passion still there? It certainly is, but with a nice mix of vanilla and not so vanilla sex, so there’s a little something for everyone.

Au naturale lesbian porn has seriously lacked the financial and marketing support her male counterpart has enjoyed for years. There had to be a reason for this. Real-lesbian-porn seemed to be a oxy-moron or some sick joke of epic proportions for the longest time. Did it even exist? If you were lucky, then yes. Some of the most popular old school lesbian porn was performed by bisexual butches, femmes, pansexuals and just a scattering of actual lesbians. Apparently, butch lesbians, who are the least represented in the porn industry, (hell, even midgets have a place) are few and far between. Most of us don’t mind watching porn, but we’d rather not participate in it unless we are in our bedroom doing the acting, directing, the whole nine… or something to that effect. But who’s counting, and more importantly, who’s complaining? There’s certainly no reason to complain any longer. If we want authentic lesbian porn to continue being produced, we have to support the girls and bois behind the scenes making big and little things happen, and I sincerely thank them for it.

www.babeland.com is a good place to start. A friend turned me onto the www.CrashPadSeries.com a few years ago when my taste for lesbian porn was re-awakened. Thanks, babe. There is even something for trans guys to check out; Transentities (Papi and Will are a couple of freak nasties and damn proud of it) Some additional links I came across recently and in my past include www.goodvibrations.com, www.gooddykeporn.com, www.reallesbianporn.net, www.boundheat.net (?) and bringing up the rear is www.pornmoviesforwomen.com. Check them out sometime. When you and babygirl are looking to spice it up a bit. Or just you, looking to spice it up all by yourself. Shhh, we won’t tell. If you come across any broken links, please let me know.

In conclusion, there are some solid lesbian production companies that can be found on the Internet. Word of mouth advertising among other things can be a catalyst for encouraging the current and future production and marketing of real, quality, lesbian porn. We’ve got work to do ladies and gents. Let’s get to it.

image by Ronald

Chairman of the Nobel peace prize committee Thorbjoen Jagland holds a picture of the 2009 winner.

Congratulations, Mr. President. What an honor. Right wing heads are popping all over the place today. They’re speaking of their disbelief that the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to a young, African American, sitting president. He’s only the third US President to achieve such an honor. After Chicago lost the Olympic bid (thank goodness) conservatives couldn’t help but spout the usual brand of “I told you so’s and that’s what Obama gets” as if he was the one pushing hardest for the bid and not the deluded Mayor Daley.

Read the news story at CNN.com

It reminds me of the two times former President Bush won Time Magazines “Man of the Year”. Twice, mind you. Remember your reaction liberals? Well, multiply it by ten and you’ll have conservative and some moderates reactions to the news this morning. 

Comments such as this one are flooding the Internet:

 ”Are you kidding me? The Nobel Prize has really lost it’s credibility and prestige from this day forward. It should be awarded to men or women who have devoted a LIFETIME to achieving peace, not some pop star version of it.”

When Al Gore won the prize in 2007 these comments were typical. They’re just as typical now. Yes, perhaps the prize should have gone to Sarah Palin or Rush Limbaugh as a statement that America is striving for peace and renewed prosperity. They should be honored for their tireless work toward open dialogue, cohesion and contributions to health care reform, which they support 100%. Yeah, that’s the real joke.

Let’s get serious for a minute. It may be too soon in the minds of many Americans, but it’s about damn time in the minds of many others. The negativity mostly from the right is disappointing to say the least; virile disdain does not coincide with peace in any dimension.

It strikes me as odd how much incompetence was celebrated during the presidency of George Buch jr., but the condemnation accompanying Obama’s win is supposed to be taken seriously. If the Nobel committee is suddenly a joke for awarding this honor to our president, then the joke is on the usual brand of ignorant conservatism.

They do realize that Obama neither nominated or elected himself.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it gave the prize to Obama for his “efforts to strengthen international diplomacy,” his vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons” and for inspiring hope and creating “a new climate in international politics.”

 So why take shots at the president, instead of the committee? 

Premature? Maybe a little. We still don’t have health care for all of our citizens, we’re still a nuclear country, we’re still sending troops to Afghanistan and Iraq and we’ve done little in the way of bringing about peaceful resolutions to Israel and the Palestinians. The Taliban is alive and well, drugs are rampant in Afghanistan as is drug use among soldiers stationed there and the killing and terrorism has not waned to any end. Not to forget the nagging bit of knowledge that not all Americans enjoy equal civil rights. Not yet at least.

On the other end of the political spectrum, Europe is sending clear signals to the American people and the world at large. They want the rest of the world to understand that they are relieved that Americans picked Barack Obama for president. They recognize and fully agree with the promise of hope and change and they have faith in his ability to implement the audacity of that hope on the world stage.

Final thoughts:

I don’t see how Obama can escalate further military action in good conscience if he accepts the award, which he must. The committee took a huge, unexpected leap and they have taken a indirect hand in honoring the promise of re-shaping our future through reachable policies regarding world peace rather than simply awarding past ones. Despite any disgruntling about what Obama’s administration has or hasn’t yet accomplished at home, I’m extremely pleased with the Nobel committees choice. 

Members of the Gay Liberation Network and attorneys for 22 people falsely arrested by a Town Hall District police officer released police videotape during a well attended press conference Tuesday showing that the officer trumped up the bogus charges.

Officer Richard Fiorito is charged with targeting lesbian and gay motorists for wrongful DUI arrests, and roughing up and verbally abusing some of them with anti-gay and lesbian slurs. The film released Tuesday shows a person passing sobriety tests, yet Fiorito arrested him and wrote a police report saying that the motorist couldn’t even complete the tests, let alone pass them.

GLN has been working with the falsely accused motorists and their attorney, Jon Erickson of Erickson & Oppenheimer, to raise community awareness about the civil rights violations and demand that the police department put Fiorito on desk duty pending the resolution of the charges against him.

In addition to police Internal Affairs and Independent Review Authority investigations and the twenty federal lawsuits already filed against Fiorito, another ten to twenty more suits are expected to be filed over the next several weeks. Given the ample evidence of criminal wrongdoing in the 22 lawsuits filed against him, GLN has also been demanding that the Cook County States Attorneys Office file criminal charges against Fiorito.

Anyone who’s ever been pulled over for suspicion of speeding or drunk driving knows that cops are human like the rest of us. Some can be downright disrespectful, belligerent and intimidating when dealing with a stressful situation. The video shown above was mounted on the squad car of officer Richard Fiorito. It shows Michael Vaughn, the man in the video, having a field sobriety test administered. Officer Fiorito alleges in his police report that Vaugn had trouble keeping his balance and raised his arms higher than instructed. His passenger was suspected to be in possesion of a small bag of marijuana, which has nothing to do with Vaughn and they were at the park after midnight. These were some of the reasons given for his initial suspicion. After completing the field test Vaughn was arrested and charged with a DUI.

Fiorito patrols the Lakeview community, which includes Boystown; a bastion of entertainment for gays and lesbians in the heart of Lakeview. It is the epicenter of gay entertainment in Chicago. He is accused of pulling over gays, lesbians, people with disabilities and heterosexuals who had anti-gay slurs directed at them despite being straight. There is a pending investigation against Fiorito that has been confirmed by the Independent Police Review Authority. This is in addition to the lawsuit brought against him by more than a dozen people so far.

A question I’ve often pondered is where are the good cops to stop the bad cops from misbehaving? One of the people arrested by Fiorito had this to say. 

What the video fails to mention is that the transport officers from Town Hall to Area 3 were the ones who initially played the role of my legal counsel and advised me to immediately hire an attorney to look into his “well known pattern of being an overtime whore. In this respect I still maintain respect and admiration for the CPD as they were the immediate individuals who provided comfort and reassurance that I wasn’t the only one caught up in this drag net, and set me on the path for justice.

The city has a history of backing the police department even when abuse of power is evident and caught on video. The biggest crooks should be the crooks not a few rotten cops and most if not all politicians. You know the old saying, “some things never change.” That rings true here. The area Fiorito patrols experienced a wave of robberies over the summer and very few if any suspects were brought in to custody. Perhaps with the focus on making DUI arrests instead of protecting the people who live, work and play in the area from harm or worse it’s understandable how one can manage to rack up over 313 DUI arrests over an 18-month period. While the community he serves is victimized by actual criminals. It’s a bit unusual to accumulate quite so many DUI arrests, but for now this case is pending investigation and I’ll be following the story for the outcome.

A citizen’s personal safety should never be compromised for the sake of greed. There are plenty of good police officers and I understand that the majority of them do their job well and are serious about serving and protecting the Chicago community. However, violating trust as a public servant should carry severe consequences and the blue code of silence that keeps officers like this on the streets will eventually run its course.

One fellow cop declared:

“I’m so sick and tired of people like you to say that you pay our salaries.. Hello, we pay taxes too so in part we pay our own salaries. And for the person who left the bar, you stated that you were so tired that you yawned so how do you even remember if you failed to stop at a stop sign or red light. You could never walk a mile in our shoes because most of you are not fit to deal with the crap that we deal with. When you break the law, I don’t care who you are, you have pay the price like everyone else. I get so tired of “law abiding citizens” saying that they don’t break the law and that we need to catch the real criminals. A crime is a crime doesn’t matter what kind it is or who you are. Everyone has to abide by the law.”

What about the cop that broke the law while trying to break a female bartender’s face? He received no jail time when his sentence was carried out. It’s a sobering thought, but really, no one should be above the law.

The beautiful are unafraid
to bear the deepest parts of the soul
They face fears without regard
to any sentiment that may engulf
They bravely take the charge
don’t cry foul when the tables turn ’round
The beautiful reflect the good in some
while never once on us looking down
The beautiful are the rarest
the most well rounded of us all
Personify the golden mean in man
And the gravity that’s soon to fall

Dedicated to those who constantly make me want to be a better person. The world needs you. Never stop being.

image by Nonnetta