I might have been young during the sixties, but that was definitely my time. I paid attention to politics, and I was aware of what was going on. I remember The Pentagon Papers, Watergate and Richard Nixon. I remember the Viet Nam war and the upheaval it caused here in America. But there was one event that prompted me to do more than just read newspaper articles and do library research so that I could sit around and talk politics with my friends (who were indeed just like me).

The Kent State massacre was the single most horrifying event in American history. I call it a massacre because that’s just exactly what it was. Any time somebody puts National Guard troops on a college campus with live ammo, it’s dicey. But when you do it during a hot and heavy re-election campaign, it’s a recipe for disaster. That’s exactly what was going on in Ohio on May 4, 1970. Governor Rhodes was running for re-election on a “law and order” ticket. This was tailor made for his campaign.

Of course, Tricky chimed in by making the observation that when protests become violent they invite disaster (I’m paraphrasing here). Somebody even spread the rumor that it was a student sniper that caused the Ohio National Guard to open fire. That was completely untrue. Did some students throw rocks? Yes, most from a great distance. And rocks are no match for guns. Did they throw tear gas canisters? Yes, they threw the canisters that the soldiers launched at them back at the soldiers.

But at the end of the day, the National Guard wheeled around without warning and opened fire, killing four students and wounding nine others. Years later, we were still waiting for someone to be held accountable. Instead, a judge dropped the charges against the guardsmen in 1974 — four years after — for lack of evidence.

This spurred me to do something other than write letters to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, or to the editors of the local paper. I was about 18 years old when I put together a presentation and took the whole issue of Kent State on the road. I spoke at several campuses in the area, including Bridgewater State, the University of Massachusetts, and Plymouth State.  I tried to get Op Ed articles published, and I’m not really sure that I was successful at that.

I kept on the Kent State massacre until it was eventually eclipsed by the Watergate break-in and the resignation of Richard Nixon.

Years later, my friends and I were sitting around talking and making jokes about Tricky’s “hit” list, and about having an FBI file. For the hell of it, I filled out a Freedom of Information Act request to see if I’d had one. To my utter surprise, I did! It was based entirely my activities surrounding the Kent State massacre. They even had photos of me talking at a podium at one of the colleges, and getting people to sign the petition. It was absurd.

Still active twenty years later

In the early 90s, I wanted very much to get involved in the fight for GLBT rights. The main reason I wanted to take action was because Beth and I had discussed having children from the beginning. We were hoping for a better situation and a more open world for them to be born into. The civil rights group that had it all together, in my mind, was the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). I still think that today. I decided to join them as the Sixth Congressional District Coordinator for Massachusetts.

In that capacity, my job was to lobby our congressional representative, Peter Torkildsen. When I took on the district he had been rated at 53% by the HRC. That means that Torkildsen supported GLBT legislation only 53% of the time, and the legislation he supported was of the less critical nature. We wanted him to improve his support of the GLBT community and we really wanted him to sign on to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA — which would protect the GLBT community while on the job . (Yes, it’s the same ENDA that was just recently re-introduced in the House.)

Basically, any employer can fire you for being gay (even if he/she suspects you are gay).  An employer can also fire an employee who supports gay people. Now, you may laugh thinking this would never happen here. But it does. In fact, in the early 90s, Crackerbarrel Corporation fired 39 employees it either suspected of being gay or employees who supported their gay co-workers. That’s why nobody I know would dare bring a hunk of Crackerbarrel cheese into my house. Ever.

In addition to lobbying Torkildsen on ENDA, we also wanted to get businesses to sign on to ENDA. I was out at Millipore, so I approached the VP of Human Resources about ENDA. Not only did I get the Corporation to sign on, but the HR group amended the company’s non-discrimination statement to include “sexual orientation.” (Funny, years later I’d work with one of the biggest homophobes on the planet and would actually lose my job — in large part because of this. That story is coming.)

I finally did get Torkildsen to commit to ENDA and, by the time I left the lobbying job, Torkildsen was up to an 83% approval rating. The only reason I stopped working for the HRC was that Beth became pregnant and she was in the midst of a difficult pregnancy. Peter Torkildsen eventually lost his seat to Democrat John Tierney, a strong supporter of the GLBT community.

Soon, my family responsibilities would take priority.  I would not be able to physically make that kind of commitment to HRC for several years, but I did stay active by supporting HRC online.  Lately I’ve been thinking about take on an active role with the HRC again, particularly since Barack Obama seems content to drag his feet on several campaign promises he made to the GLBT community. Stay tuned for chapters yet to be written!

Okay, I know you’re all probably getting whiplash, but we’re now back in the present just for a short time. I’m honestly trying to stay away from politics on this blog, so consider this a commentary on character.

I write on my own blog called Turn-Left, and I confess to being an unrepentant liberal. Recently, a few of my conservative compatriots became so irritated with my positions that they started infiltrating my blog. One of these clowns (for lack of a better word) decided he “wants to teach me a lesson.” Yeah. I don’t really know if he was expecting me to be impressed enough to become a myopic, rigid, religiously-driven conservative, but his type brings out the commie pinko progressive Democrat in me. [If the truth be known, I'd be a card-carrying member of the Green Party if I thought they had a chance in hell of winning. Their platform is spot on for me.]

Now, these conservatives aren’t really bloggers. They are just insulting name callers. That’s what they’ve done to me and the rest of the liberals on my blog. You know, the usual stuff: “militant homosexual” (because I dared to say that everybody should be able to marry whom they want; it’s guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution), “anti-American” (because I believe that nobody should be tortured in any form in any war, and that George W. Bush should be indicted for war crimes), and “God-hater” (because I firmly believe in the separation between church and state). Since then, Joker has said that he’d enjoy a burger and beer while he watches me being waterboarded. Know what? Fuck him. How’s that. There. Feeling better. So, let me get to my question.

How is it that these true believers, these patriotic Christians (by their own definition) can square up their religious beliefs with their support of torture and illegal wars that are doing nobody any good. Our soldiers are dying. More than a million Iraqi civilians (read: The people we are supposed to be liberating) have died, and another million are displaced refugees. It had nothing to do with “freedom.” It had nothing to do with protecting America. It was all about oil.  I’m curious about that. See, it doesn’t work for me. I’m a Catholic by birth, but a Buddhist by choice. (Long story. We’ll get to it some day.)

The Buddhists simply do not “do” violence. Buddhists in Tibet won’t even pick up arms to liberate themselves. They are abused by China, yet they won’t hurt others even to free themselves. The Dalai Lama has to live in India because the Chinese will kill him if he returns to Tibet. (He escaped from there in 1959.) Every year at the center I sporadically attend, they spend hundreds of dollars to buy lobsters from food stores and return them to the ocean. To some, this sounds stupid. However, the Buddhists have a great spiritual respect for the planet and all living things.

To be perfectly honest, America claims to be a peace-loving nation but that’s not the way the numbers go. In fact, the U.S. has spent more time in war than in peace. There are only two of those wars that were justified — WWI and WWII.  Not Korea. Not Viet Nam. Not Afghanistan. Not Iraq. None of them.As a result, I’ve begun to fulfill the requirements of dual citizenship with Canada. Should my children want to fight for the U.S. if we are threatened or under attack, I support that. However, my children will never fight in an Iraq- or Afghanistan-style war.

These conservatives are, simply put, hypocrites of the tallest order. They wouldn’t know Christianity if it hit them in the face. They simply use God’s name to justify what they do and what they support. And, by the way, did you know that the commandment “Do not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain” has absolutely nothing to do with the swear “Jesus Christ!” It has nothing to do with that. What it means is: Do not use God’s name to justify the evil things you do. I got that right from the mouth of a Bishop.

Anyway, that’s it. I’m done. They’ve taken up enough of my positive energy for today, and I feel much better now. Thanks for putting up with that.

This blog spends a lot of time looking back, but I’ve still got to live in the present which is not always an easy task. On the mornings I’m not at Starbucks, I’m the one who gets up at 6:00 a.m. to get the kids off to school. I usually give myself a fifteen-minute advantage so I can shake off the sleep. Got to be alert and upbeat with these two on a Monday morning. Neither of them enjoy school, and Monday mornings are the absolute worst.

Anyway, I had two thoughts this morning that I want to share with you. First, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I have: Gas is creeping up again. Now, I’m paying $2.23. That would be less a problem if I were not traveling 72 miles a day, but I am. So, I was thinking how great it would be if I had a Port Key on my patio. All you Harry Potter fans know what I’m talkin’ ’bout. You know like the boot that took them to the Quiddich World Cup. That kind of Port Key. For those who don’t really know what a port key is, click here. All will be explained.

Now, I’m sure it would be embarrassing at the beginning. You know, the sight of me making a thudding entrance in the Walkers Brook parking lot would be entertaining to be sure. But I’m sure with time I’d be able to make one of those more dignified walking-style landings like Mr. Weasley. People would hardly notice me coming out of thin air.

I don’t have problems with motion sickness. I was always the master of the roller coaster and the round-up at Nantasket Beach. I can handle the spinning thing okay. And just think of the gas and time I’d save. I’d be able to hang around here and write longer (faster transport time than a car), and absolutely no need for gas. I’ll take it.

It was after this initial thought that things got wierd. I happened to be watching Death on the Nile on Beth’s computer while I write on mine. The nastiest character in the movie (and also the victim because of her shitty attitude) is named Lynette. For some crazy fucking reason, Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme came into my head. Anybody but me remember her? I was thinking what a three-time loser she is. Think about it for just a minute.

First, good old “Squeaky” was once a member of a dance group called the Westchester Lariats, and she appeared on the Lawrence Welk Show and at the White House. If that isn’t enough, she’s also a former member of The Manson Family. If Lawrence Welk doesn’t make you a loser, hanging out with Charlie Manson definitely does. You’d have to be short on gray matter to pay homage to that weasly little rat-faced git. Life in suburbia and membership in the Lariats must have really sucked and she had to be desperate for something, although I’m not quite sure what.

The ‘third’ part of the three-time loser thing is not just that she failed to kill Gerald Ford, but that she chose Gerald Ford at all. Gerald Ford? Why, man? Yeah, okay, it was infuriating that he pardoned Tricky. That didn’t make me happy either, but the important thing is that we got rid of Tricky. We held him accountable and he paid the price. (We don’t bother to do that anymore, by the way.) It wasn’t necessary for old “Squeaky” to take it to that extreme.

After this last thought, the kids took over and all thoughts left. I know there was another messed up thought coming over the horizon, but maybe it will make it later. We’ll see. Until then, I’m going to prepare myself mentally to serve coffee and various treats to the entitled masses. Have yourselves a good day.