Rebecca finished her exams Monday morning and flew out yesterday to California to be with family there. (She'll be back next Wednesday.)
I gave a presentation today, then finished up a short reflection paper and my e-portfolio and sent them off to my professor. I still have work left to do for my thesis and the course I'm designing, but course work for my third semester of grad school is now over, and if everything goes well, I'll graduate in the spring. That's a little crazy to think about, since it means that I have to finish my course work and thesis in the next five months. Even crazier to think about is the fact that a week after I graduate, Rebecca and I will be taking our vows.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
National Issue: Hillary Clinton's Speech
Hillary Clinton made a bold statement yesterday. "Some have suggested that gay rights and human rights are separate and distinct; but, in fact, they are one and the same . . . . being LGBT does not make you less human . . . ." she said. She went on:
"It is violation of human rights when people are beaten or killed because of their sexual orientation, or because they do not conform to cultural norms about how men and women should look or behave. It is a violation of human rights when governments declare it illegal to be gay, or allow those who harm gay people to go unpunished. It is a violation of human rights when lesbian or transgendered women are subjected to so-called corrective rape, or forcibly subjected to hormone treatments, or when people are murdered after public calls for violence toward gays, or when they are forced to flee their nations and seek asylum in other lands to save their lives. And it is a violation of human rights when life-saving care is withheld from people because they are gay, or equal access to justice is denied to people because they are gay, or public spaces are out of bounds to people because they are gay. No matter what we look like, where we come from, or who we are, we are all equally entitled to our human rights and dignity . . . .
We need to ask ourselves, 'How would it feel if it were a crime to love the person I love? How would it feel to be discriminated against for something about myself that I cannot change?'"
She did not outline consequences for countries that continue to perpetuate violent behavior, justified by legislation, toward LGBT individuals, although in October, UK Prime Minister David Cameron suggested ending foreign aid to countries that do not recognize LGBT rights. Several African countries objected, and Nigeria recently tightened legal discrimination against LGBT people.
Rick Perry, a now long-shot for the Republican nomination, upon hearing Clinton's speech, shared the thought that "Promoting special rights for gays in foreign countries is not in America’s interests and not worth a dime of taxpayers’ money." You can read more about his stance here.
While I don't that the U.S. has the right to control foreign governments (much as we did in a great portion of Latin America and other nations during the Cold War to "prevent Communism"), I believe that it is our right as a nation to give aid to those countries who uphold human dignity. I also believe that it should not be illegal to love someone. And I'm sure that this speech will not change anything overnight, but it is more hope.
And we could all use a little of that.
"It is violation of human rights when people are beaten or killed because of their sexual orientation, or because they do not conform to cultural norms about how men and women should look or behave. It is a violation of human rights when governments declare it illegal to be gay, or allow those who harm gay people to go unpunished. It is a violation of human rights when lesbian or transgendered women are subjected to so-called corrective rape, or forcibly subjected to hormone treatments, or when people are murdered after public calls for violence toward gays, or when they are forced to flee their nations and seek asylum in other lands to save their lives. And it is a violation of human rights when life-saving care is withheld from people because they are gay, or equal access to justice is denied to people because they are gay, or public spaces are out of bounds to people because they are gay. No matter what we look like, where we come from, or who we are, we are all equally entitled to our human rights and dignity . . . .
We need to ask ourselves, 'How would it feel if it were a crime to love the person I love? How would it feel to be discriminated against for something about myself that I cannot change?'"
She did not outline consequences for countries that continue to perpetuate violent behavior, justified by legislation, toward LGBT individuals, although in October, UK Prime Minister David Cameron suggested ending foreign aid to countries that do not recognize LGBT rights. Several African countries objected, and Nigeria recently tightened legal discrimination against LGBT people.
Rick Perry, a now long-shot for the Republican nomination, upon hearing Clinton's speech, shared the thought that "Promoting special rights for gays in foreign countries is not in America’s interests and not worth a dime of taxpayers’ money." You can read more about his stance here.
While I don't that the U.S. has the right to control foreign governments (much as we did in a great portion of Latin America and other nations during the Cold War to "prevent Communism"), I believe that it is our right as a nation to give aid to those countries who uphold human dignity. I also believe that it should not be illegal to love someone. And I'm sure that this speech will not change anything overnight, but it is more hope.
And we could all use a little of that.
Monday, December 5, 2011
MI Hate: Joyce Daniels
I do not know Joyce Daniels. She doesn't know me either. She probably doesn't know any gay New Yorkers, if I had to guess.
And yet, as a mayoral candidate (now mayor) of Troy, Michigan (a city right next to the one in which I grew up), she posted on facebook: “I think I am going to throw away my I Love New York carrying bag now that queers can get married there.”
There is so much wrong with this. To suggest that one should discard a product simply because it was made in a place with disagreeable public policy is not a new idea. That, after all, is behind the Fair Trade movement. However, Daniels wasn't making a blanket statement that, for instance, she wouldn't keep things made in China because the country has a communist government. She was singling out one group with a hateful slur.
She has since removed the statement, and made some comment that it perhaps wasn't the best language to use, but she said it. She can't take it back. It's floating out there now with all its negative energy and political ramifications.
This is why I don't identify as queer - I know that it's become an umbrella term for the LGBTA movement for some people, including one of the undergraduate student groups at MSU. But I will not claim hate and ignorance. I will not be discarded like this tote she has thrown out. I will stand up, because for me, that is what Committing in the Mitten is all about.
And yet, as a mayoral candidate (now mayor) of Troy, Michigan (a city right next to the one in which I grew up), she posted on facebook: “I think I am going to throw away my I Love New York carrying bag now that queers can get married there.”
There is so much wrong with this. To suggest that one should discard a product simply because it was made in a place with disagreeable public policy is not a new idea. That, after all, is behind the Fair Trade movement. However, Daniels wasn't making a blanket statement that, for instance, she wouldn't keep things made in China because the country has a communist government. She was singling out one group with a hateful slur.
She has since removed the statement, and made some comment that it perhaps wasn't the best language to use, but she said it. She can't take it back. It's floating out there now with all its negative energy and political ramifications.
This is why I don't identify as queer - I know that it's become an umbrella term for the LGBTA movement for some people, including one of the undergraduate student groups at MSU. But I will not claim hate and ignorance. I will not be discarded like this tote she has thrown out. I will stand up, because for me, that is what Committing in the Mitten is all about.
MI Love: Hazelnut Hot Chocolate
Sparty's is the MSU-brand convenience store. Some of them are also cafes, including the one in Hubbard Hall where I work as a tutor. I'm not always impressed with what I get at Sparty's; I'm not sure they've ever made me a chai that tasted like one. However, they have rocked my socks with their latest seasonal flavor: hazelnut hot chocolate.
I don't know how I've never thought of it. I love hazelnut coffee. I love hot chocolate. It makes so much sense that they'd be delicious together. Thank you, Sparty's!
Yet another reason to GO GREEN!
I don't know how I've never thought of it. I love hazelnut coffee. I love hot chocolate. It makes so much sense that they'd be delicious together. Thank you, Sparty's!
Yet another reason to GO GREEN!
Finals Week
Sometimes I say that Rebecca and I are just like any normal couple. Well, as normal as a couple can be when one of them is in med school and the other is in grad school. Advanced degrees don't lend themselves well to normal lives.
So a normal part of our abnormal lives is finals week. We've both worked hard all semester and expect to do well, but there's still that looming uncertainty. In my case, I have one exam, a presentation, and an online portfolio. I have no idea how many exams Rebecca has, but probably a lot. She's done a week from today and then will fly out to visit family in California for a week or so. I'll be staying home trying to work on my thesis.
During my undergrad, I once blogged about how school is kind of like a video game - each year is a level, and the end of each semester is a save point. Graduating is beating the game.
Not too much longer.
So a normal part of our abnormal lives is finals week. We've both worked hard all semester and expect to do well, but there's still that looming uncertainty. In my case, I have one exam, a presentation, and an online portfolio. I have no idea how many exams Rebecca has, but probably a lot. She's done a week from today and then will fly out to visit family in California for a week or so. I'll be staying home trying to work on my thesis.
During my undergrad, I once blogged about how school is kind of like a video game - each year is a level, and the end of each semester is a save point. Graduating is beating the game.
Not too much longer.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
My Gay Christmas
Rebecca and I officially started off the Christmas season on December 1st with Christmas music.
A very gay, very sassy Christmas tree followed on Saturday - the tree is not gay, but the decorations might be, given the proportion of purple to everything else.
Finals will then interrupt our jolly season until the 11th, when we are hosting a Christmas cookie collective. If you are in the Lansing area, you should come help and then take home an assortment of sweet treats.
We wish you a gay holiday season!
A very gay, very sassy Christmas tree followed on Saturday - the tree is not gay, but the decorations might be, given the proportion of purple to everything else.
We wish you a gay holiday season!
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Floral Global Chic
The theme for our commitment ceremony is "Global Chic." Basically, I want it to be a fun and elegant representation of beautiful things from many cultures. In my travels, I've seen orchids in Ecuador, Peru, and Taiwan, so it just felt natural to have them at the ceremony.
I've been buying them a few at a time with coupons from a couple different stores. (The Lansing World market was out of red out on the floor after my last visit, but I think I'm all set on red anyway.) We'll have four colors: red, pink, purple, and white, which will be dispersed through the venue.
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