Certainly there's no defense for vandalizing Xmas trees or other decorations or personal property, but I wonder what constitutes "belligerence towards the celebration of Christmas," especially now that there are people who take offense when one says "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." If they are really offended that we acknowledge the diversity of religions and traditions, then I would be happy to tell them something much more offensive -- with the same initials as "Festive Yule." There are even idiots out there writing that "Xmas" is a pagan insult, not recognizing that the abbreviation is a common, long-time usage by Christians. There are truly horrendous assaults on Christians as seen recently in Iraq and Pakistan, but so much whining over the "war on Christmas" is trivial nonsense that cheapens the issue of real bigotry and sectarian violence.
Much of what vandalism there is in America is wreaked by out-of-control teenagers and thugs who simply take delight in destruction. There's no (anti-)religious or bigoted agenda there, just rampant hooliganism. Some friends were discussing how their street -- well known for their holiday decorations -- was attacked by thieves who stole their decorations. The conversation never raised the notion of a religious/hate crime aspect to it, but they seemed to think that it was just run-of-the-mill thieves and vandals.
I really don't care for the holiday, have no use for most of what surrounds it, but to each his own. I certainly don't want to ruin anyone else's celebration. Because I choose not to participate I get called "Scrooge" and "Grinch" -- characters who selfishly or maliciously tried to ruin the holidays of others. No, I wish simply to abstain, just as I would not attend a drunken frat party or a tailgate party at a football game. Not interested, thank you, but have a good time.
That doesn't seem to be enough for the Stepford elves who insist on conformity, not even to religion. All too common is the bovine cooing that if I'm not comfy with the religious aspect I should just get into the spirit of rampant commercialism and saccharine familial sentimentality, just what I dislike most about this holiday that ramps up family stresses, disappointments and violence. Suicides are very high this time of the year.
Actually I have a great respect for the religious aspect and would honor the birth of the prophet Jesus (pbuh) even if his birthday was actually March 1. We can agree to disagree on his actual birthday, his parentage and theological relationship to God. Honoring the Messiah and penultimate of God's prophets I could even see Muslims organizing to observe his life and his message on Dec. 25 by participating in efforts to feed, clothe, and house the poor, either alongside our non-Muslim friends or in our own separate efforts with a more Islamic flavor, perhaps calling it "Eid Issa Rasul Allah" or something like that.
Anyway, I hope everybody else enjoys their holidays as I enjoy mine. If that's not enough respect for some people then maybe they need to learn to respect my space.
In any event, happy new year.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
"Agora"... phobic?
In the new film, “Agora,” Rachel Weiss plays Hypatia, an atheist astronomer in 4th century Alexandria who is persecuted by the Christians who are taking power. After the movie a quick check online revealed that there is more historical fact in this movie then I would have guessed. Still it is clearly more concerned with drama than history!) As an atheist and an outspoken woman – indeed, the only identifiable woman in the film – Hypatia is an easy target for the new order.
While the Christians are the real villains of the piece Jews and Pagans don’t come off very well either. This film will be quite a thrill for some of my atheist friends. My religious friends will see the story as a warning against fundamentalism and bigotry (and sloppy, simplistic writing!) Then again, my religious friends are not the fundies and tight-asses who are portrayed as the heavies here, Christians, Pagans, Jews….
But no Muslims in this story… or are there? This was 300 years before Muhammed (pbuh) so of course there couldn’t be, but this is Egypt! The architecture is Roman/Egyptian, but the clothes and arid landscapes are clearly mid-eastern. The worst of the Christians – Cyril and Ammonius – are played by Arab actors (Sami Samir and Ashraf Barhom, respectively). The more European looking actors are mostly accomodationists, “pragmatists,” and other “useful idiots” who, foolish or opportunistic, end up working for the new order.
The story is one of mid-eastern religious fundamentalists taking over and destroying a scientific, free-thinking woman – and indeed science and free-thinking. Silencing the brave, brilliant, atheist woman will set astronomy back by 1200 years. While Hypatia is teaching astronomy in the Library of Alexandria, we don’t hear from less educated voices until the religious zealots have taken over, destroyed the great library, and then spout the common ignorance of flat-earthers. See how they spread and enforce ignorance? Never mind the fact that, with few exceptions, people of all religions were in those days even more abysmally uneducated than today’s Fox News viewers.
Also never mind that the keepers of wisdom and literature at the library were also religious, and that Christians were among the students. The traditional Romans are more European in appearance and outlook, and their religion more formal than obviously heartfelt. Where they fight for their religion it seems more a defense of the existing class structure and their own privilege than of any theological precept. One religious community attacks another. Never are individuals brought up for crimes. Amenabar preaches that religion is dividing and atheism is more open and reconciling.
But even this formal Roman culture of intellect that is only formally religious is more open and accepting than the darker skinned riff-raff in their dark eastern robes and dark headscarves who are spreading their newly tolerated upstart religion and… well… darkness.
Of course, it’s 4th century Alexandria. These horrible fundamentalists threatening to destroy all wisdom, light, and freedom can’t possibly be Muslims. Or can they? And if the more intellectual and assimilated members of the new religion then ended up serving as bridge for the fundamentalists, what is the implication for the moderates of today? Is Amenabar here preaching tolerance? Or is he saying that only so much can be tolerated? He says his movies are to provide questions, not answers. The biggest question here is, what questions does he really intend to ask?
While the Christians are the real villains of the piece Jews and Pagans don’t come off very well either. This film will be quite a thrill for some of my atheist friends. My religious friends will see the story as a warning against fundamentalism and bigotry (and sloppy, simplistic writing!) Then again, my religious friends are not the fundies and tight-asses who are portrayed as the heavies here, Christians, Pagans, Jews….
But no Muslims in this story… or are there? This was 300 years before Muhammed (pbuh) so of course there couldn’t be, but this is Egypt! The architecture is Roman/Egyptian, but the clothes and arid landscapes are clearly mid-eastern. The worst of the Christians – Cyril and Ammonius – are played by Arab actors (Sami Samir and Ashraf Barhom, respectively). The more European looking actors are mostly accomodationists, “pragmatists,” and other “useful idiots” who, foolish or opportunistic, end up working for the new order.
The story is one of mid-eastern religious fundamentalists taking over and destroying a scientific, free-thinking woman – and indeed science and free-thinking. Silencing the brave, brilliant, atheist woman will set astronomy back by 1200 years. While Hypatia is teaching astronomy in the Library of Alexandria, we don’t hear from less educated voices until the religious zealots have taken over, destroyed the great library, and then spout the common ignorance of flat-earthers. See how they spread and enforce ignorance? Never mind the fact that, with few exceptions, people of all religions were in those days even more abysmally uneducated than today’s Fox News viewers.
Also never mind that the keepers of wisdom and literature at the library were also religious, and that Christians were among the students. The traditional Romans are more European in appearance and outlook, and their religion more formal than obviously heartfelt. Where they fight for their religion it seems more a defense of the existing class structure and their own privilege than of any theological precept. One religious community attacks another. Never are individuals brought up for crimes. Amenabar preaches that religion is dividing and atheism is more open and reconciling.
But even this formal Roman culture of intellect that is only formally religious is more open and accepting than the darker skinned riff-raff in their dark eastern robes and dark headscarves who are spreading their newly tolerated upstart religion and… well… darkness.
Of course, it’s 4th century Alexandria. These horrible fundamentalists threatening to destroy all wisdom, light, and freedom can’t possibly be Muslims. Or can they? And if the more intellectual and assimilated members of the new religion then ended up serving as bridge for the fundamentalists, what is the implication for the moderates of today? Is Amenabar here preaching tolerance? Or is he saying that only so much can be tolerated? He says his movies are to provide questions, not answers. The biggest question here is, what questions does he really intend to ask?
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Investigate the Israeli attack on the Freedom Flotilla!
Israeli commandos boarded the Mavi Marmara in the middle of the night guns already out and aimed at passengers.
What would you do?
On the Mavi Marmara some of the people bringing humaniatarian aid to Gaza defended themselves with “poles” and “bars” that were in fact railings and pieces of deck chairs hastily improvised – pieces of the boat they were sailing on. What knives and “weapons” the IDF found were those normally found on board a ship for necessary maintenance and work. When the ship had been boarded in Turkey Turkish officers inspected everything going on board, putting people through metal detectors and screening as complete as if they were boarding a plane. (Just as they had inspected all the supplies the relief workers were bringing them.) Turkey is a member of NATO, a long time ally of the US and – at least so far – an ally of Israel. Is their word not good enough?
Turkish aid volunteers were shot in the face. Furkan Dogan, a 19-year-old Turkish-American boy was shot four times in the face at point blank range. Is that defensive? Trained commandos who are shooting in purely self-defense would aim at legs and arms. At close range the IDF shot Turkish passengers in the head, and in the chest. That’s not self-defense. That’s murder.
Wounded passengers were denied medical care or access to bathrooms. Many were forced to soil themselves while captive and bound by IDF soldiers. Even when they were bound soldiers aimed guns at them whenever they would talk. Al this from survivor testimonies at http://www.freegaza.org/boat-trips/survivor-testimonies
As soon as they took control of the ships – not just the Mavi Marmara – Israeli soldiers took all telephones, computers, cameras – anything used to communicate or record what was happening. Even professional journalists’ cameras, recorders, and computers were taken from them. The aid workers and news people were stripped of any ability to document what was happening. Beyond their own testimony any proof of what was happening was immediately taken and destroyed by the IDF. That was clearly their aim anyway. Some footage was sneaked out. Some of this is visible in an interview with Iara Lee at http://www.democracynow.org/2010/6/10/exclusive_journalist_smuggles_out_video_of Ms. Lee’s description of the attack is eloquent, clear, and consistent. I urge everyone to see this! Ms. Lee also has a written account at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/05/EDC31DQ215.DTL
While aid workers, sailors, and journalists were kept in captivity Israel controlled the information going to the media. Not only were they able to control information getting out, they would not release the names of the killed or wounded leaving friends and families uncertain and worried.
Israeli soldiers also took all wallets, cash, and credit cards. Returning relief workers have been finding charges on their accounts being made in Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities they had never been to.
Much noise has been made accusing the Turkish relief organization, IHH of having ties to terrorists. Even the Washington Post, a firm supporter of Israel, reports that there is no substance behind these charges. ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/09/AR2010060905930.html?wpisrc=nl_cuzhead ) Yes, there are some dealings and contacts with Hamas, but Hamas is the de facto government in Gaza. If you want to save people from starving and illness in Gaza, how do you propose not having dealings with Hamas? Previous loads of supplies confiscated by Israel, which they had promised to distribute, were kept so long that clothes were too destroyed by mildew to be passed on. Food was rotted, and building supplies were denied to the Gazans whose homes were destroyed by Israeli bombs. Not exactly building credibility there.
Having destroyed most of the documentary evidence of what actually was happening on the ships Israel now wants to prevent any outside neutral investigation. Even Israeli naval officers apparently concerned for their own integrity say that an outside investigation is absolutely necessary.
It is not at all unreasonable to demand that Israel be held to the same standards of international law that other countries are obliged to follow. The Israeli government too often complains of being held to a double standard, but they constantly invoke exceptional conditions to justify their own double standard. If their charges against the activists on the Mavi Marmara are true they certainly have nothing to fear by an outside investigation of the events in question, and should even welcome the chance to exonerate themselves.
What would you do?
On the Mavi Marmara some of the people bringing humaniatarian aid to Gaza defended themselves with “poles” and “bars” that were in fact railings and pieces of deck chairs hastily improvised – pieces of the boat they were sailing on. What knives and “weapons” the IDF found were those normally found on board a ship for necessary maintenance and work. When the ship had been boarded in Turkey Turkish officers inspected everything going on board, putting people through metal detectors and screening as complete as if they were boarding a plane. (Just as they had inspected all the supplies the relief workers were bringing them.) Turkey is a member of NATO, a long time ally of the US and – at least so far – an ally of Israel. Is their word not good enough?
Turkish aid volunteers were shot in the face. Furkan Dogan, a 19-year-old Turkish-American boy was shot four times in the face at point blank range. Is that defensive? Trained commandos who are shooting in purely self-defense would aim at legs and arms. At close range the IDF shot Turkish passengers in the head, and in the chest. That’s not self-defense. That’s murder.
Wounded passengers were denied medical care or access to bathrooms. Many were forced to soil themselves while captive and bound by IDF soldiers. Even when they were bound soldiers aimed guns at them whenever they would talk. Al this from survivor testimonies at http://www.freegaza.org/boat-trips/survivor-testimonies
As soon as they took control of the ships – not just the Mavi Marmara – Israeli soldiers took all telephones, computers, cameras – anything used to communicate or record what was happening. Even professional journalists’ cameras, recorders, and computers were taken from them. The aid workers and news people were stripped of any ability to document what was happening. Beyond their own testimony any proof of what was happening was immediately taken and destroyed by the IDF. That was clearly their aim anyway. Some footage was sneaked out. Some of this is visible in an interview with Iara Lee at http://www.democracynow.org/2010/6/10/exclusive_journalist_smuggles_out_video_of Ms. Lee’s description of the attack is eloquent, clear, and consistent. I urge everyone to see this! Ms. Lee also has a written account at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/05/EDC31DQ215.DTL
While aid workers, sailors, and journalists were kept in captivity Israel controlled the information going to the media. Not only were they able to control information getting out, they would not release the names of the killed or wounded leaving friends and families uncertain and worried.
Israeli soldiers also took all wallets, cash, and credit cards. Returning relief workers have been finding charges on their accounts being made in Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities they had never been to.
Much noise has been made accusing the Turkish relief organization, IHH of having ties to terrorists. Even the Washington Post, a firm supporter of Israel, reports that there is no substance behind these charges. ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/09/AR2010060905930.html?wpisrc=nl_cuzhead ) Yes, there are some dealings and contacts with Hamas, but Hamas is the de facto government in Gaza. If you want to save people from starving and illness in Gaza, how do you propose not having dealings with Hamas? Previous loads of supplies confiscated by Israel, which they had promised to distribute, were kept so long that clothes were too destroyed by mildew to be passed on. Food was rotted, and building supplies were denied to the Gazans whose homes were destroyed by Israeli bombs. Not exactly building credibility there.
Having destroyed most of the documentary evidence of what actually was happening on the ships Israel now wants to prevent any outside neutral investigation. Even Israeli naval officers apparently concerned for their own integrity say that an outside investigation is absolutely necessary.
It is not at all unreasonable to demand that Israel be held to the same standards of international law that other countries are obliged to follow. The Israeli government too often complains of being held to a double standard, but they constantly invoke exceptional conditions to justify their own double standard. If their charges against the activists on the Mavi Marmara are true they certainly have nothing to fear by an outside investigation of the events in question, and should even welcome the chance to exonerate themselves.
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
Signs of Hatred, Signs of Progress
Whenever pro-Palestinian activists demonstrate we can always count on a bunch of Zionists to counter-demonstrate across the street. I am happy to note that whenever they show up, there are more Jews on our side of the street than they can muster up on theirs. This week, following the IDF’s murderous attack on a humanitarian flotilla bringing aid to Gaza I noticed that as our numbers were larger than ever, they were a much smaller crowd than we’ve seen. At the demonstration at Powell and Market on Monday there were 4 Zionists across the street. Among a few hundred people standing for Palestine I recognized at least several dozen Jewish friends. The next day we filled the sidewalk in front of the Israeli consulate. The Zionist group has always taken up a good section of the sidewalk opposite. This time their diminished numbers had a spacious section in their usual spot while our overflow crowd jammed spaces on either side. On “their” side of the street alone our overflow outnumbered them 4 to 1.
Among their signs insisting that Israel wants peace was one that declared “Until Gaza is Destroyed the Job Isn’t Done.” I guess that sets the terms of their “peace?” For Palestinians it’s the peace of the grave.
Another sign boasted “Israel sends 15,000 tons of aid into Gaza every week.” In centuries past astrologers were called “mathematicians”, so let’s do the math…. Let’s see for 1.5 million people that breaks down to 1 ton for every 100 people, or 20 pounds per person per week or a bit less than 3 pounds per day. At home with the computer that checks out to 2.857142857 pounds per person per day to a people under siege. I have to admit to not knowing what is in there. But for something that is very important… say… how much of it is water? Israel has destroyed the Gazan infrastructure including water filtration. Gazans don’t have access to potable water* so let’s say that if the Israelis were shipping in 2.857142857 pounds of water per person per day – a pound is a pint – so that’s less than 3 pints (1.5 liters) of water per person per day for drinking and washing. Factor any food into the equation and there’s obviously less water. Building materials to provide shelter for the people who were bombed out of their homes? Forget it. Israelis boast openly of keeping the Gazans on a “diet” and intend to starve them out. And here they tout a number that is supposed to look generous, but yeah, do the math and it is more of their boasting that they are committing genocide in slow motion.
“Rid of Islam” was another sign decorated with the Danish cartoon that shows the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) with a bomb in his turban. That image has become an icon for the Islamophobes. It just declares the person who copies it as a hateful idiot. The image isn’t worth reacting to, and really the message is no better, although it reveals a genocidal turn of mind. Trying to eliminate a religion, scapegoating it as a menace to the world has already been tried. Of course Jews should know this better than anyone.
And what are the lessons of the Holocaust? The Zionists seem to see those lessons as an instruction manual. I used to say that Israel was better than Nazi Germany, but that’s an awfully low standard; they should do better. The distinction is harder to maintain. At this point the only difference I can see is in the Wannsee decisions. We always imagine Nazi Germany with the death camps, but those were only in effect after 1942. Comparisons between Gaza and the Warsaw Ghetto are common and apt. With apartheid and checkpoints in the West Bank and the ghetto/open air prison conditions imposed on Gaza there is little to distinguish Israel’s treatment of Palestinians from the Nazi’s anti-Semitic policies from 1933-1942.
Again, I am happy to say that more and more Jews, realizing the horror being perpetrated in their names, are standing up against it. It is getting harder for Zionists to claim to act in the name of all Jews, and as their numbers and their support within the Jewish community are shrinking. It is clearer every day that criticizing Israel is not anti-Semitic. Telling a friend or a relative that they have to live by the same rules of civilized society that others are compelled to follow is not an act of hatred. It is often the best thing you can do.
*The Middle East Children’s Alliance is focusing on building water filtration plants at schools so that children can have access to clean, fresh water. Please support this effort by contributing at http://www.mecaforpeace.org/project/maia-project
Among their signs insisting that Israel wants peace was one that declared “Until Gaza is Destroyed the Job Isn’t Done.” I guess that sets the terms of their “peace?” For Palestinians it’s the peace of the grave.
Another sign boasted “Israel sends 15,000 tons of aid into Gaza every week.” In centuries past astrologers were called “mathematicians”, so let’s do the math…. Let’s see for 1.5 million people that breaks down to 1 ton for every 100 people, or 20 pounds per person per week or a bit less than 3 pounds per day. At home with the computer that checks out to 2.857142857 pounds per person per day to a people under siege. I have to admit to not knowing what is in there. But for something that is very important… say… how much of it is water? Israel has destroyed the Gazan infrastructure including water filtration. Gazans don’t have access to potable water* so let’s say that if the Israelis were shipping in 2.857142857 pounds of water per person per day – a pound is a pint – so that’s less than 3 pints (1.5 liters) of water per person per day for drinking and washing. Factor any food into the equation and there’s obviously less water. Building materials to provide shelter for the people who were bombed out of their homes? Forget it. Israelis boast openly of keeping the Gazans on a “diet” and intend to starve them out. And here they tout a number that is supposed to look generous, but yeah, do the math and it is more of their boasting that they are committing genocide in slow motion.
“Rid of Islam” was another sign decorated with the Danish cartoon that shows the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) with a bomb in his turban. That image has become an icon for the Islamophobes. It just declares the person who copies it as a hateful idiot. The image isn’t worth reacting to, and really the message is no better, although it reveals a genocidal turn of mind. Trying to eliminate a religion, scapegoating it as a menace to the world has already been tried. Of course Jews should know this better than anyone.
And what are the lessons of the Holocaust? The Zionists seem to see those lessons as an instruction manual. I used to say that Israel was better than Nazi Germany, but that’s an awfully low standard; they should do better. The distinction is harder to maintain. At this point the only difference I can see is in the Wannsee decisions. We always imagine Nazi Germany with the death camps, but those were only in effect after 1942. Comparisons between Gaza and the Warsaw Ghetto are common and apt. With apartheid and checkpoints in the West Bank and the ghetto/open air prison conditions imposed on Gaza there is little to distinguish Israel’s treatment of Palestinians from the Nazi’s anti-Semitic policies from 1933-1942.
Again, I am happy to say that more and more Jews, realizing the horror being perpetrated in their names, are standing up against it. It is getting harder for Zionists to claim to act in the name of all Jews, and as their numbers and their support within the Jewish community are shrinking. It is clearer every day that criticizing Israel is not anti-Semitic. Telling a friend or a relative that they have to live by the same rules of civilized society that others are compelled to follow is not an act of hatred. It is often the best thing you can do.
*The Middle East Children’s Alliance is focusing on building water filtration plants at schools so that children can have access to clean, fresh water. Please support this effort by contributing at http://www.mecaforpeace.org/project/maia-project
Sunday, September 06, 2009
Boom and Bust
(It's not about economics!)
Today I read of the passing of Al Gordon, a true hero in a great way and his tribute is in the LA Times.
On one day he was my own personal hero, but I confess, this story is much more about me than him. I only met this gentle warrior briefly when he got me out of the Hollywood Jail, and I've never had the opportunity (or thankfully, the need) to see him again.
But a posting about Mr. Gordon's passing, provoked some questions, so here is the whole story:
One summer day in 1982 the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence went on a tour of Hollywood. We made a pilgrimage to Frederick’s thereof and Boom Boom got a new bust.
Actually we’d been invited to speak to the Los Angeles chapter of Dignity and had a nice long weekend, half a dozen of the impish and possibly impious nuns in the City of the Queen of Angels. We were Sister Missionary Position, Sister Vicious Power Hungry Bitch, Sister, Mary O’Stop, a couple of others…. Oh, dear, forgive me, but it was 27 years ago… and of course, your own erstwhile Sister Boom Boom. One day was spent as a pilgrimage to various holy sites. We started our tour at a grand cemetery where we saw the columbarium that included what was left of Marilyn Monroe. A demure little plaque in the wall marked her spot.
A much grander and utterly poseworthy tomb held the remains of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and adding splendor to his bier was a long reflecting pool. The sisters, processed along the pool, the others in traditional robes, Sister Boom Boom bringing up the rear in fishnets and a black and white polka-dot bathing suit, accessorized with a chain for a belt, on which I had my big, multi-colored baby’s rosary, keys, and handcuffs. (Never leave home without them!) Swiss tourists went frantic with their cameras, yelling at each other (auf Deutsch) “Look over there! Look there! It’s Fellini!!!!”
From there we were conveyed to Hollywood Boulevard where we caused a huge stir. In San Francisco people would always engage with the Sisters, ask us questions, chat and joke with us. In Los Angeles they crowded and stared, preserving the show-biz tradition of the fourth wall. After just a few minutes admiring the impressions at Grauman’s (now “Mann’s”) Chinese Theatre we were asked to leave – for upstaging the cement? Well, we’ve been kicked out of better places… or have we? Hmmm… Out on the sidewalk of the stars, Sister Boom Boom sat by a star making a leggy cheesecake pose while another Sister took pictures. But, wait! I should have checked first. Whose star was that? Zsa Zsa Gabor??? Thank you very much, I’ll have my own star! Pulling out my lipstick I autographed a blank star and Sister Boom Boom was briefly a meteor on the sidewalk of the stars.
The pictures taken, we processed to our pick-up truck where a few of Hollywood’s Finest (so to speak. Actually they weren’t too bad!) came up to us asking, “OK, who defaced the sidewalk?” Seeing where this was going, and to save trouble (and as there were too many witnesses to deny anything!) I raised my gloved hand and admitted to the “crime.”
This wasn’t my first arrest (That was at the Pentagon with a group of Quakers when I was 14, at a war protest.) so I knew to co-operate, take the full rap and keep the other Sisters clear of trouble, so they could do what was necessary. Of course, the tourists were having a field day, crowding around with their cameras and asking Sisters at the periphery if we were making a movie. The police were very professional, polite and gentle throughout. (Thank God for all those people and their cameras!) When it came time to handcuff me one of the cops saw my accessories and asked if he should use my handcuffs or theirs. “Yours, Dear,” I answered., “Let’s keep this professional.”
Sister Mary O’Stop was careful to get pictures of the officer with his badge name and number. It’s the usual smart thing to do when your friend is getting arrested, but I had that info burned in my brain. The number I’ve forgotten in the many years since, but I’ll never forget Officer Tabak. He was a real cutie! Anyway, I later told Sister that instead of focusing so much on him, handsome as he was, she should have been getting pictures of me for Sisters’ archives. Sigh! God bless the novice!
While the police read me my rights, the tourists were snapping away and I was giving the cameras my best, reaching my arms out from behind, the best I could to show my cuffed wrists. The officers told me to stop posing for pictures, and I protested that they were taking the photos, shouldn’t I be polite? Cuffed and put into the car we drove off to Hollywood Station. The cops were joking all the way and I joined in the jolly banter. Rule one when getting arrested: be calm and co-operative. Rule #2: show no fear. Truth is I was more than a little nervous, but I wasn’t about to let anyone see that.
They lectured me like a child, with silly questions: “Do you know how many thousands of dollars it will cost the taxpayers to clean up your damage?” Right. A little lipstick on the sidewalk. I offered to tackle the job with a soapy rag. “What if somebody steps in it?” They might get a little lipstick on the sole of a shoe? People step in much worse all the time. I kept responding to silly questions with sensible answers, and they kept shrugging acceptance of my replies, but they persisted. Oh, well. It was Hollywood. They had their role to play and I had mine. Working with these gentlemanly professionals was a true pleasure, and I’d like to thank the academy…
Once at the station I was put on a bench with a chain across it, my cuffed wrists behind me locked to the chain. It wasn’t really uncomfortable, but in the time I was there (It felt like hours, but I couldn’t look at my watch) chained to a bench in my fishnets and bathing suit, not a one of the handsome, rugged policemen took advantage of me. That wounding of my pride is really the worst that happened all day. Never mind the continuing silly questions. (“What the hell are you?” I’m Sister Boom Boom from the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, in San Francisco – always answered with a bright, cheery smile.) But while I was chained down, a policewoman – of course it would be a woman – asked the one sensible question I heard all day: “What shade of lipstick was it?”
“Loganberry Frost” I announced, “It’s the only shade I ever use!” (Actually it was Ming Rose, but I had to offer tribute to our most fabulous Sister Loganberry Frost!)
Some poor girl was chained down next to me. I think she was on drugs, and given our bondage and location I don’t blame her at all for not offering to share. They’d pulled her out of a stolen car where she was a passenger. Where the driver of said vehicle was there was no indication, but the poor dear was just a passenger, and apparently she had a record. The poor thing was panicking very loudly and I tried offering her comfort. “Keep, cool, Honey. Save your energy, and don’t let them see you panicking. It only plays into their hands.” Of course I was talking to myself as much as to her.
They took my belongings and inventoried everything, fingerprinted me and took my mug shots. The photographer was disturbed by my photogenic smile and told me to stop smiling so big. Just as I was about to be put into a big cage with a very colorful collection of fellows (and here’s where I really got nervous!) the word came down that I was to be released.
My wimple, purse, and waistchain were returned to me and I was released due to the kind efforts of Al Gordon, a darling, softspoken, grandfatherly figure who had gotten me out on recognizance and later got the charges dropped. As for his charges, it was all pro bono – icing on the cake! God bless Al Gordon!
The other sisters met me telling how they had gotten a bucket and towel and cleaned the sidewalk – getting before and after pictures – saving the taxpayers of Los Angeles the onerous costs of cleaning lipstick off a sidewalk. We were far from the police station when I realized they had taken my handcuffs from my chain! How dare they! Well, we had to head back to San Francisco. It would be much easier to replace them than to go back and make a fuss, and we certainly didn’t want any more trouble with the police.
On one day he was my own personal hero, but I confess, this story is much more about me than him. I only met this gentle warrior briefly when he got me out of the Hollywood Jail, and I've never had the opportunity (or thankfully, the need) to see him again.
But a posting about Mr. Gordon's passing, provoked some questions, so here is the whole story:
One summer day in 1982 the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence went on a tour of Hollywood. We made a pilgrimage to Frederick’s thereof and Boom Boom got a new bust.
Actually we’d been invited to speak to the Los Angeles chapter of Dignity and had a nice long weekend, half a dozen of the impish and possibly impious nuns in the City of the Queen of Angels. We were Sister Missionary Position, Sister Vicious Power Hungry Bitch, Sister, Mary O’Stop, a couple of others…. Oh, dear, forgive me, but it was 27 years ago… and of course, your own erstwhile Sister Boom Boom. One day was spent as a pilgrimage to various holy sites. We started our tour at a grand cemetery where we saw the columbarium that included what was left of Marilyn Monroe. A demure little plaque in the wall marked her spot.
A much grander and utterly poseworthy tomb held the remains of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and adding splendor to his bier was a long reflecting pool. The sisters, processed along the pool, the others in traditional robes, Sister Boom Boom bringing up the rear in fishnets and a black and white polka-dot bathing suit, accessorized with a chain for a belt, on which I had my big, multi-colored baby’s rosary, keys, and handcuffs. (Never leave home without them!) Swiss tourists went frantic with their cameras, yelling at each other (auf Deutsch) “Look over there! Look there! It’s Fellini!!!!”
From there we were conveyed to Hollywood Boulevard where we caused a huge stir. In San Francisco people would always engage with the Sisters, ask us questions, chat and joke with us. In Los Angeles they crowded and stared, preserving the show-biz tradition of the fourth wall. After just a few minutes admiring the impressions at Grauman’s (now “Mann’s”) Chinese Theatre we were asked to leave – for upstaging the cement? Well, we’ve been kicked out of better places… or have we? Hmmm… Out on the sidewalk of the stars, Sister Boom Boom sat by a star making a leggy cheesecake pose while another Sister took pictures. But, wait! I should have checked first. Whose star was that? Zsa Zsa Gabor??? Thank you very much, I’ll have my own star! Pulling out my lipstick I autographed a blank star and Sister Boom Boom was briefly a meteor on the sidewalk of the stars.
The pictures taken, we processed to our pick-up truck where a few of Hollywood’s Finest (so to speak. Actually they weren’t too bad!) came up to us asking, “OK, who defaced the sidewalk?” Seeing where this was going, and to save trouble (and as there were too many witnesses to deny anything!) I raised my gloved hand and admitted to the “crime.”
This wasn’t my first arrest (That was at the Pentagon with a group of Quakers when I was 14, at a war protest.) so I knew to co-operate, take the full rap and keep the other Sisters clear of trouble, so they could do what was necessary. Of course, the tourists were having a field day, crowding around with their cameras and asking Sisters at the periphery if we were making a movie. The police were very professional, polite and gentle throughout. (Thank God for all those people and their cameras!) When it came time to handcuff me one of the cops saw my accessories and asked if he should use my handcuffs or theirs. “Yours, Dear,” I answered., “Let’s keep this professional.”
Sister Mary O’Stop was careful to get pictures of the officer with his badge name and number. It’s the usual smart thing to do when your friend is getting arrested, but I had that info burned in my brain. The number I’ve forgotten in the many years since, but I’ll never forget Officer Tabak. He was a real cutie! Anyway, I later told Sister that instead of focusing so much on him, handsome as he was, she should have been getting pictures of me for Sisters’ archives. Sigh! God bless the novice!
While the police read me my rights, the tourists were snapping away and I was giving the cameras my best, reaching my arms out from behind, the best I could to show my cuffed wrists. The officers told me to stop posing for pictures, and I protested that they were taking the photos, shouldn’t I be polite? Cuffed and put into the car we drove off to Hollywood Station. The cops were joking all the way and I joined in the jolly banter. Rule one when getting arrested: be calm and co-operative. Rule #2: show no fear. Truth is I was more than a little nervous, but I wasn’t about to let anyone see that.
They lectured me like a child, with silly questions: “Do you know how many thousands of dollars it will cost the taxpayers to clean up your damage?” Right. A little lipstick on the sidewalk. I offered to tackle the job with a soapy rag. “What if somebody steps in it?” They might get a little lipstick on the sole of a shoe? People step in much worse all the time. I kept responding to silly questions with sensible answers, and they kept shrugging acceptance of my replies, but they persisted. Oh, well. It was Hollywood. They had their role to play and I had mine. Working with these gentlemanly professionals was a true pleasure, and I’d like to thank the academy…
Once at the station I was put on a bench with a chain across it, my cuffed wrists behind me locked to the chain. It wasn’t really uncomfortable, but in the time I was there (It felt like hours, but I couldn’t look at my watch) chained to a bench in my fishnets and bathing suit, not a one of the handsome, rugged policemen took advantage of me. That wounding of my pride is really the worst that happened all day. Never mind the continuing silly questions. (“What the hell are you?” I’m Sister Boom Boom from the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, in San Francisco – always answered with a bright, cheery smile.) But while I was chained down, a policewoman – of course it would be a woman – asked the one sensible question I heard all day: “What shade of lipstick was it?”
“Loganberry Frost” I announced, “It’s the only shade I ever use!” (Actually it was Ming Rose, but I had to offer tribute to our most fabulous Sister Loganberry Frost!)
Some poor girl was chained down next to me. I think she was on drugs, and given our bondage and location I don’t blame her at all for not offering to share. They’d pulled her out of a stolen car where she was a passenger. Where the driver of said vehicle was there was no indication, but the poor dear was just a passenger, and apparently she had a record. The poor thing was panicking very loudly and I tried offering her comfort. “Keep, cool, Honey. Save your energy, and don’t let them see you panicking. It only plays into their hands.” Of course I was talking to myself as much as to her.
They took my belongings and inventoried everything, fingerprinted me and took my mug shots. The photographer was disturbed by my photogenic smile and told me to stop smiling so big. Just as I was about to be put into a big cage with a very colorful collection of fellows (and here’s where I really got nervous!) the word came down that I was to be released.
My wimple, purse, and waistchain were returned to me and I was released due to the kind efforts of Al Gordon, a darling, softspoken, grandfatherly figure who had gotten me out on recognizance and later got the charges dropped. As for his charges, it was all pro bono – icing on the cake! God bless Al Gordon!
The other sisters met me telling how they had gotten a bucket and towel and cleaned the sidewalk – getting before and after pictures – saving the taxpayers of Los Angeles the onerous costs of cleaning lipstick off a sidewalk. We were far from the police station when I realized they had taken my handcuffs from my chain! How dare they! Well, we had to head back to San Francisco. It would be much easier to replace them than to go back and make a fuss, and we certainly didn’t want any more trouble with the police.
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Let the Moon FIGHTING begin!
Any Islamic month starts the night of the first visible crescent moon. What's "visible" remains an open question and when we start Ramadan fasting, and celebrate Eid at the completion of the month can be a point of some conflict.
For this year anyway the beginning of Ramadan should be pretty clear. On the evening of August 20, almost everywhere in the world, the Moon will not yet be far enough from the Sun to be visible... only 10 degrees when it sets over San Francisco. By the next evening, the 21st, it will be easily visible wherever the sky of the Western horizon is clear. Fasting begins on August 22.
Eid is celebrated at the beginning of the next month and then the visibility of the moon is less certain. September 19th it MAY be visible in parts of the American southwest, setting Eid celebrations on the 20th. Or it may not be visible anywhere in America that evening, so perhaps we should celebrate Eid on the 21st. A group of sheikhs somewhere will have already decided. It's not worth fighting over. I may disagree with ruling councils on matters of principle, but there's no point in arguing over one day more or less of fasting. Besides, if you don't go with your mosque on this one, you just miss a party -- and gain nothing for it.
For this year anyway the beginning of Ramadan should be pretty clear. On the evening of August 20, almost everywhere in the world, the Moon will not yet be far enough from the Sun to be visible... only 10 degrees when it sets over San Francisco. By the next evening, the 21st, it will be easily visible wherever the sky of the Western horizon is clear. Fasting begins on August 22.
Eid is celebrated at the beginning of the next month and then the visibility of the moon is less certain. September 19th it MAY be visible in parts of the American southwest, setting Eid celebrations on the 20th. Or it may not be visible anywhere in America that evening, so perhaps we should celebrate Eid on the 21st. A group of sheikhs somewhere will have already decided. It's not worth fighting over. I may disagree with ruling councils on matters of principle, but there's no point in arguing over one day more or less of fasting. Besides, if you don't go with your mosque on this one, you just miss a party -- and gain nothing for it.
Saturday, August 01, 2009
A response to Tariq Ramadan's statements on Islam and Homosexuality
Tariq Ramadan, a leading European Muslim intellectual has posted an article "Islam and Homosexuality"
My response to Brother Tariq:
Assalaamu Aleikum,
The way homosexuality and Islam are being positioned against each other
creates a false dichotomy and does no favors for GLBT folks or for Muslims.
One of the more interesting facets of this issue is how many people who have
been outspoken anti-gay “defenders of tradition” have suddenly decided to
include gays in their defense of Western Culture. "Friends" like this
nobody needs.
Brother Tariq here takes on quite a few issues, rather confusing the point.
But one of the beautiful things about Islam is that it recognizes that we
all bring our own backgrounds, biases, and information gaps to any argument
and should listen to diverse opinions with respect.
The word “homosexuality” and the understandings of that word have a peculiar
history. The term was itself coined in 1868 for political purpose and
quickly found a medical niche. We know that there has been same-sex love
through history, that it exists in all human cultures and that there is
same-sex activity in hundreds of animal species. There is a growing body of
scientific evidence that same-sex attraction is innate, that it has a
largely genetic component. Like left- or righthandedness, one’s eye color
or height, it is part of a range of normal variations. However the way
sexuality is understood varies greatly from one culture to another.
Brother Tariq makes a very firm declaration about the universality of
religious rejection of homosexuality, but there are in fact a growing number
of religions that accept same-sex love. Unitarians, Quakers, and an
ever-expanding range of protestant denominations accept GLBT members and
offer same-sex marriage to loving couples. In the largest denominations –
the Lutherans, Anglicans, and Presbyterians – the issue has been
controversial exactly because same-sex love has been gaining so much
acceptance. What “a majority of rabbis” accept I can’t say, but the Reform
and Conservative branches of Judaism are accepting of homosexuality. Gay
and lesbian rabbis are common and serve on rabbinical boards. A small, but
growing number of Muslim groups are even becoming more accepting.
In Islam condemnations of homosexuality rest on the story of Lot (Sodom and
Gomorrah) which is about men raping men. This is common in prisons, and we
see it mostly in situations where men who identify as heterosexual attack
men they perceive as gay. I’ve personally known men who were savagely
attacked and gangraped by groups of men this way. There are also stories of
such abuse by Egyptian and Iranian police. This has nothing at all to do
with men loving men or women loving women.
Brother Tariq’s assertion that “Muslims are now being called upon to condemn
the Qur’an, and to accept and promote homosexuality to gain entry into the
modern world,” is quite an overstatement. There are people like Geert
Wilders who urge us to reject or revise the Qur’an, and that of course is
impossible. Some people do make impossible demands only to create trouble.
That is quite separate from the issue of homosexuality, even if they do
exploit that issue. Homosexuality is not something that can be promoted any
more than blue eyes or being six feet tall can be promoted. People can
experiment and “fool around” just as they might wear contact lenses or high
heels, but in the end you are who you are. Heterosexuality is promoted, and
in many places even mandated, but our God-given human nature will out, and
homosexuals forced into heterosexual marriages by cultural and familial
pressures live unhappily in loveless marriages, often leading double lives,
cheating on their mates. Not only are gays and lesbians being deprived of
fulfilling, loving partnerships but so are their heterosexual husbands and
wives. Gay people know that a sexual orientation cannot be promoted. It
can only be accepted – or rejected – that there are people of different
sexual orientations, and that everyone, regardless of orientation is
entitled to equal rights.
Brother Tariq is addressing the situation of Muslims living in western
nations. Muslims who live in pluralistic societies, or as minorities, are
obliged to respect the laws and customs of the lands we live in. In
democratic nations where we are part of a dialogue where attitudes towards
homosexuality are changing, we can take a voice in that conversation.
Politically it is in our interest to promote acceptance for diversity. Our
religion tells us to “live and let live.” Brother Tariq is quite correct
when he says:
“There is no ambiguity, and ample clarity: European Muslims have the right
to express their convictions while at the same time respecting the humanity
and rights of individuals. If we are to be consistent, we must respect this
attitude of faith and openness”
This is exactly what GLBT activists are working for – no more; no less.
My response to Brother Tariq:
Assalaamu Aleikum,
The way homosexuality and Islam are being positioned against each other
creates a false dichotomy and does no favors for GLBT folks or for Muslims.
One of the more interesting facets of this issue is how many people who have
been outspoken anti-gay “defenders of tradition” have suddenly decided to
include gays in their defense of Western Culture. "Friends" like this
nobody needs.
Brother Tariq here takes on quite a few issues, rather confusing the point.
But one of the beautiful things about Islam is that it recognizes that we
all bring our own backgrounds, biases, and information gaps to any argument
and should listen to diverse opinions with respect.
The word “homosexuality” and the understandings of that word have a peculiar
history. The term was itself coined in 1868 for political purpose and
quickly found a medical niche. We know that there has been same-sex love
through history, that it exists in all human cultures and that there is
same-sex activity in hundreds of animal species. There is a growing body of
scientific evidence that same-sex attraction is innate, that it has a
largely genetic component. Like left- or righthandedness, one’s eye color
or height, it is part of a range of normal variations. However the way
sexuality is understood varies greatly from one culture to another.
Brother Tariq makes a very firm declaration about the universality of
religious rejection of homosexuality, but there are in fact a growing number
of religions that accept same-sex love. Unitarians, Quakers, and an
ever-expanding range of protestant denominations accept GLBT members and
offer same-sex marriage to loving couples. In the largest denominations –
the Lutherans, Anglicans, and Presbyterians – the issue has been
controversial exactly because same-sex love has been gaining so much
acceptance. What “a majority of rabbis” accept I can’t say, but the Reform
and Conservative branches of Judaism are accepting of homosexuality. Gay
and lesbian rabbis are common and serve on rabbinical boards. A small, but
growing number of Muslim groups are even becoming more accepting.
In Islam condemnations of homosexuality rest on the story of Lot (Sodom and
Gomorrah) which is about men raping men. This is common in prisons, and we
see it mostly in situations where men who identify as heterosexual attack
men they perceive as gay. I’ve personally known men who were savagely
attacked and gangraped by groups of men this way. There are also stories of
such abuse by Egyptian and Iranian police. This has nothing at all to do
with men loving men or women loving women.
Brother Tariq’s assertion that “Muslims are now being called upon to condemn
the Qur’an, and to accept and promote homosexuality to gain entry into the
modern world,” is quite an overstatement. There are people like Geert
Wilders who urge us to reject or revise the Qur’an, and that of course is
impossible. Some people do make impossible demands only to create trouble.
That is quite separate from the issue of homosexuality, even if they do
exploit that issue. Homosexuality is not something that can be promoted any
more than blue eyes or being six feet tall can be promoted. People can
experiment and “fool around” just as they might wear contact lenses or high
heels, but in the end you are who you are. Heterosexuality is promoted, and
in many places even mandated, but our God-given human nature will out, and
homosexuals forced into heterosexual marriages by cultural and familial
pressures live unhappily in loveless marriages, often leading double lives,
cheating on their mates. Not only are gays and lesbians being deprived of
fulfilling, loving partnerships but so are their heterosexual husbands and
wives. Gay people know that a sexual orientation cannot be promoted. It
can only be accepted – or rejected – that there are people of different
sexual orientations, and that everyone, regardless of orientation is
entitled to equal rights.
Brother Tariq is addressing the situation of Muslims living in western
nations. Muslims who live in pluralistic societies, or as minorities, are
obliged to respect the laws and customs of the lands we live in. In
democratic nations where we are part of a dialogue where attitudes towards
homosexuality are changing, we can take a voice in that conversation.
Politically it is in our interest to promote acceptance for diversity. Our
religion tells us to “live and let live.” Brother Tariq is quite correct
when he says:
“There is no ambiguity, and ample clarity: European Muslims have the right
to express their convictions while at the same time respecting the humanity
and rights of individuals. If we are to be consistent, we must respect this
attitude of faith and openness”
This is exactly what GLBT activists are working for – no more; no less.
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