Veterans

When I first started dating the babe, I didn't understand the appropriate phrases to use for Jewish holidays - like what do you wish something on Yom Kippur? I've since learned that it doesn't really make sense to wish someone a Happy one; lots of people wish each other a Meaningful Yom Kippur. I'm thinking of that today on Veterans Day, when I've heard for years "Happy Veterans Day," and today it just seems a bit off.

So, to all, I wish you a Meaningful Veterans Day. And I offer an excerpt from President Obama's speech yesterday at Fort Hood.

As we face these challenges, the stories of those at Fort Hood reaffirm the core values that we are fighting for, and the strength that we must draw upon. Theirs are the tales of American men and women answering an extraordinary call -- the call to serve their comrades, their communities, and their country. In an age of selfishness, they embody responsibility. In an era of division, they call upon us to come together. In a time of cynicism, they remind us of who we are as Americans.

Joyeux Noel

In honor of spending Christmas in Paris with my little sister (who is living here this year), my mom, and the babe, I bring you a second rendition of English-French-English blogging.

It's afternoon here on Christmas. Breakfast has been eaten. Gifts have been given. Pictures have been taken (including many cheesy smiles with scarves and shirts and necklaces). Inappropriate sex jokes have been made. The babe has experienced her first Christmas morning with the gentiles. It's been good times.

We ran ourselves ragged in gorgeous Prague for three days beforehand, but we had a delightful time. We went to the Jewish quarter, saw the Prague castle, went into (somewhere close to one million) tourist shops, and listened to a magnificent concert by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.

Highlights from the trip have included my sister surprising us at the airport and scaring the crap out of me, all of us making fun of my mom for her corny sense of humor, me having to run back to the hotel without everyone else so that I didn't have an accident in my pants, mom getting yelled at by a scary slavic woman, all of us being shameful Americans and delighting in the presence of Starbucks (both for the beverages and the bathrooms), a ridiculously fast and terrifying escalator in the Prague metro (which the babe described as getting sucked into a vortex), and the babe and I sharing a tissue while we watched It's a Wonderful Life.

For those of you who read French:

C'est l'après-midi ici Noël. Le petit déjeuner a été mangé. Les cadeaux ont été donnés. Les images ont été prises (y compris beaucoup de sourires de fromage avec les écharpes et les chemises et les colliers). Les plaisanteries inopportunes de sexe ont été faites. Le bébé l'a éprouvée premièrement Noël matin avec les gentils. Cet a été de bons temps.

Nous nous sommes courus déchiqueté dans Prague magnifique pendant trois jours d'avance, mais nous avons eu un temps charmant. Nous sommes allés au quart juif, a vu le château de Prague, est entré dans (quelque part proche à un million) les magasins de touriste, et a écouté un concert magnifique par l'Orchestre Philharmonique tchèque.

Les essentiels du voyage ont inclus ma soeur nous étonnant à l'aéroport et à effrayer la foutaise de moi, nous tous nous moquant de ma maman pour son sens à la guimauve d'humour, me dois la course de retour à l'hôtel sans tous les autres pour que je n'ai pas eu un accident dans mes pantalon, maman obtenant hurlé à par une femme slave effrayante, nous tous sommes Américains honteux et Enchanter dans la présence de Starbucks (pour les boissons et les salles de bains), un ridiculement rapidement et terrifier l'escalator dans le métro de Prague (que le bébé a décrit comme obtenant sucé dans un tourbillon), et le bébé et je partageant un tissu pendant que nous avons regardé c'Est une Vie Merveilleuse.


And for those of you who have a sense of humor (back to English):

This is the afternoon here Christmas. The breakfast was eaten. The gifts were given. The pictures were taken (including a lot of mice of cheese with the scarves and the shirts and the necklaces). The inopportune jokes of sex were done. The baby tested it first Christmas morning with the kind ones. This was good times.

We ran ourselves torn in magnificent Prague for three days in advance, but we had a charming time. We went to the Jewish quarter, saw the castle of Prague, entered into (somewhere close to a million) the stores of tourist, and listened a concert magnificent by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.

The essential ones of the trip included my sister astonishing us to the airport and to frighten the bullshit of me, we all making fun of of my mom for his direction to the humor guimauve, has me the return race to the hotel without all the others for that I had not an accident in my pants, mom obtaining yelled to by a woman Slav frightful, we all Delight in the presence of Starbucks (for the drinks and the bathrooms), a ridiculously quickly and terrify the escalator in the subway of Prague (that the baby described as obtaining sucked in a whirlwind), and the baby and I dividing a fabric while we looked at this is a Wonderful Life.

Totally rained on my parade

Protest Day:

1:30 - leave the apartment. later than we had planned, of course. it's ridiculously warm outside, especially cause we're prepped for gross, cold, rainy weather.

1:45 - on the metro, planning to get off at Archives/Navy Mem'l and walk to the reflecting pool.

2:00 - walking down Pennsylvania Ave. Hmm...there's a protest going on here, but I'm pretty sure that no one at the Prop 8 protest would be waving a Chinese flag. We step into the street to try to see whether we can get around this group of protestors. Aaaaah! We're back on the sidewalk! We're back on the sidewalk! Dear god. A police officer just screamed at us as if we had stepped off the sidewalk and proceeded to pull out machine guns.

2:01 - talk to friend A, who is at the Prop 8 protest, who tells us that they're not going to start marching anytime soon.

2:02 - realize that these are Free Tibet and Pro-China protestors.

2:03 - try pushing through them to cross the street.

2:04 - ask one of the numerous police officers - AAAaaah! We're back on the sidewalk! We're back on the sidewalk! Oy. Stand ON THE SIDEWALK while asking a police officer when we are going to be able to cross the street.

2:05 - learn that the protestors are waiting for the motorcades going to the G20 summit. learn that we cannot cross the street until the motorcade is over.

2:06 - decide to wait...

2:20 - have lost partial hearing in both ears from very talented protestor screaming "China Is A Liar!"

2:25 - police officer in front of us stiffens and looks concerned...hand goes to gun.

2:25.5 - i stiffen and look concerned...hand goes to the babe.

2:25.75 - realize that some of the Free Tibet protestors are getting into a scuffle with some of the Pro-China protestors.

2:26 - police car pulls up. tough guy police officer gets out. has a billy club. slaps it on his hand. moves into crowd and begins shoving people apart. babe and i try to make ourselves smaller.

2:27 - more police officers. much pushing. random folks trying to take pictures. officer shoves random woman. random woman calls officer a dickhead. the babe and smoosh closer together.

2:29 - calmer...

2:35 - hear police officer say that the street could be closed for another 30 or 45 minutes.

2:36 - curse. decide to try to get to the protest some other way.

2:37 - wander down some random streets. talk to a police officer. realize there's no way we're getting around this. talk to friend A again, who says they're marching now. decide to get on metro and try to meet them.

2:45 - rain.

2:46 - downpour.

2:47 - sideways rain.

2:50 - get into metro station. drenched. see would-be protestors folding up soaked signs and throwing them away because they couldn't cross Penn Ave to get there.

3:03 - come up escalator stairs at metro center. no rain. call friend A, who is no longer marching. ran away because of the rain. tells us to call another friend. doesn't answer phone.

3:05 - start walking in right (hopefully) direction.

3:08 - hear yelling. good sign.

3:09 - see lots of wet, bedraggled gay people. great sign.

3:11 - "What do we want? EQUALITY!! When do we want it? NOW"

3:15 - meet up with friends at the end spot. cheer. take pictures. sing the national anthem.

3:16 - rain. umbrellas up. cheer...

3:30 - leave the rally. have appointment at 4:00.

What a day - with about 20 minutes of it actually spent protesting Prop 8. After watching the san Diego videos, I wish we had been there with T.

My favorite sign said "When Can I Vote on Your Marriage?" I took a picture, but technical difficulties keep me from posting it.

I Am a Real American

Inspired by jen, who I sort of want to be when I grow up.

I sat in my feminist legal theory class yesterday and watched a presentation on critical race feminism. The presenters showed a portion of the video A Girl Like Me. At one point during the video, the creator performs the famous Brown v. Board of Education doll test with young black children. I watched as a young girl chose the black doll in front of her when asked which doll was the bad doll and chose the white doll when asked which doll was the nice doll. She wasn't confused about why. When the interviewer asked, she said, "Cause this one's black...cause this one's white." And then the interviewer asked her which one she looked like. You can see it on her face. She starts to reach for the white doll. She wants desperately to pick up the white doll. But she knows the truth. She picks up the black doll.

I cried.

It's enough to make you want you to cover your head and quit - that over 60 years after the original tests, these kids are still getting that same message.

But we talked about it. We, a room of racially-diverse people, sat and discussed what it means to be black or white or African or Jamaican or female or male in this country. We agreed and we disagreed.

It doesn't fix it, I know. But I think that, for me, it's part of what it means to be A Real American.

It means acknowledging the state of things. It means acknowledging that there are still little black girls in America who think that being black is bad. It means taking that information in and crying about it and breathing it into all of your cells so that you know that when you breath back out into the world, you're breathing out something better.

It means accepting that the history of America is not only one of hope and promise and resourcefulness and freedom, but also one of fear and discrimination and pain and untruths. Not so that we can flog ourselves. But so that we can see it and learn from it and make the conscious choice to do better, to be better.

It means learning to embrace gray. To see the story from the other side, and to see all the myriad of stories that occur in between.

It means embracing your own story, the parts that make you proud and the parts that make you ashamed. It means sitting with the knowledge that you are part of what this country is and that you are part of what it will become.

It means acknowledging what an amazing gift it is to call this place our home and these people our people - this flawed home and these flawed people - and to get to play our own role in its growth.

It means believing that nothing real is perfect.