I am a male, white baby boomer.
I was raised in a mostly white suburb of an upper Midwestern city. I was told to hate by some of my peers, and to love by a conflicted and flawed man named John Lennon. I craved women’s bodies, and subservience, and was amazed by their humanity. I was taught a lot of conflicting values, that I would need to sort out myself.
I am one of you.
I have changed my signature to say, “2016 is the Year of Women.” It used to say, “We are the Change we are Waiting For.”
I live in a very diverse community in North Minneapolis. I rode my bicycle through the parkway on Sunday, and I saw families of all kinds of races, ethnicities and national origins enjoying the beautiful day, and I felt happy. I love to be part of a community that is as culturally rich as mine.
I can honestly tell you that at times I have struggled with misogyny, racism, homophobia, and other bigotries. And I feel I can honestly tell you I am winning those struggles, and that there is nothing that makes me happier than embracing people as human beings, with all their differences, wonders, and flaws.
I thank all of you. All of you. Every last one, whether you are the die hard radical who takes yourself too seriously, but struggles to make sure we are aware of horrors our government inflicts; toxins our corporations are releasing into the groundwater; and other very serious and very dangerous threats, or if you are a working single parent, who just wants to make sure your child has a chance, and likes a good joke, recipe, or music video from time to time. More likely, if you are some combination of these; some mixture of seriousness, fun and loving care. You are my allies, and I am yours.
I am not looking for validation.
I prefer challenge, and more importantly, to encourage honest expression. Besides the good things I can say about myself, I am also a somewhat spoiled, slightly out of shape middle aged man with a potential mid-life crisis going on. I spend too much time thinking about fast cars, and looking at women’s asses. (I’m sorry, ladies! I really do love you as human beings, I swear it. I try not to be creepy and stare! Don’t hate me!)
What I am looking for is a dialogue. Who are you? What do you stand for? I think we hash out our differences well enough on this site, but what about our similarities? We are the anti-GOP; the anti-haters; the pro-humans. So what do you have to say that others might find interesting on this topic?
Comments are allowed, below.