"Morbid Curiosity Cures the Blues" is a collection of true(ish) stories of...well, the weird. One quote from the closing of a story by Claudius Reich, about a bombing targeting homosexuals in London struck me. The story itself is called 'Dragon's Teeth' and is worth a read, as is the anthology on the whole.
This is what captured my attention:
"Y'know, I keep forgetting how many people want me dead. While homophobia has had a horrendous impact on the lives of me and mine, it's [the bombing, which killed several people] rarely this damn visceral.So much of the worst of it was during childhood and adolescence--While you don't get over that, not unscathed, nonetheless that was still half my lifetime ago. While I remain braced against fools acting hateful--when you're on the Better Dead list, though any given minute will likely be uneventful, you don't drop your guard--most days, the problem's absent or at worst negotiable. I don't cry easily. That some scumbag out there, who hates me for something that's properly none of his damn business, can make me sob, pisses the hell out of me. That my anger is merely the shield arm, protecting older wounds, makes me seethe. That there's nothing I can do--no cure, no defense in or from this fallen world--enrages me most.
I';d love to be left alone in a room with this bomber, or Pat Buchanan, or the guys from Laramie--just me and my steel-toed Docs and more righteous fury than I know how to live with day to day. There are those who've harmed me and mine in ways I can neither fathom nor condone walking freely upon this earth. I have seen the face of mine enemy and I'm more than ready to rise up and smite him. I yearn to see him put down like a rabid dog. I hope I get to watch.
Unfortunately, I imagine that's how the bomber felt."
I don't know if it's appropriate, but replace the word 'Homosexuality' with...well, almost any oppressed minority, and I think it still works. In my case, that minority is Jewish. I'm not in daily danger from wearing a Star of David, nor do I expect to be harassed on the street (at least, in that part of MI where I live) like my gay friends might, but knowing that people out there want me dead is still terrifying. There are people who would kill me first, as I'm the result of a 'mixed blood' marriage. That links me with my friends....with the community at large in a way some people won't (not can't) understand. Another quote comes to mind...
We have to stand united.
This is what captured my attention:
"Y'know, I keep forgetting how many people want me dead. While homophobia has had a horrendous impact on the lives of me and mine, it's [the bombing, which killed several people] rarely this damn visceral.So much of the worst of it was during childhood and adolescence--While you don't get over that, not unscathed, nonetheless that was still half my lifetime ago. While I remain braced against fools acting hateful--when you're on the Better Dead list, though any given minute will likely be uneventful, you don't drop your guard--most days, the problem's absent or at worst negotiable. I don't cry easily. That some scumbag out there, who hates me for something that's properly none of his damn business, can make me sob, pisses the hell out of me. That my anger is merely the shield arm, protecting older wounds, makes me seethe. That there's nothing I can do--no cure, no defense in or from this fallen world--enrages me most.
I';d love to be left alone in a room with this bomber, or Pat Buchanan, or the guys from Laramie--just me and my steel-toed Docs and more righteous fury than I know how to live with day to day. There are those who've harmed me and mine in ways I can neither fathom nor condone walking freely upon this earth. I have seen the face of mine enemy and I'm more than ready to rise up and smite him. I yearn to see him put down like a rabid dog. I hope I get to watch.
Unfortunately, I imagine that's how the bomber felt."
I don't know if it's appropriate, but replace the word 'Homosexuality' with...well, almost any oppressed minority, and I think it still works. In my case, that minority is Jewish. I'm not in daily danger from wearing a Star of David, nor do I expect to be harassed on the street (at least, in that part of MI where I live) like my gay friends might, but knowing that people out there want me dead is still terrifying. There are people who would kill me first, as I'm the result of a 'mixed blood' marriage. That links me with my friends....with the community at large in a way some people won't (not can't) understand. Another quote comes to mind...
"First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me."
~Pastor Martin Niemöllerand there was no one left to speak out for me."
We have to stand united.
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