Weekend Prop 8 Events -- South of the 10!

Can't make it to the march on Sacramento? Here are a couple of local options.

A TOWN HALL MEETING:

In the Aftermath of Proposition 8
Presented by the Los Angeles Sentinel
Are Gay Rights Civil Rights?
Are Blacks More Homophobic?
Are Blacks to Blame for the Passage of Prop. 8?

Saturday, November 22, 2008
8 A.M. To 11 A.M.
Los Angeles Trade Tech College
Auditorium
400 West Washington Blvd. @ Olive
More Info @ (323) 299-3800

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Peaceful March in Leimert Park with the Jordan Rustin Coalition

Join Black LGBT of Los Angeles In A Peaceful MARCH to protest the Passage of
Proposition 8!!!

Sunday, November 23rd @ 11:30 AM
Meet at Leimert Park Fountain (Corner of Vernon and Crenshaw)
Route: North on Crenshaw Blvd to King Blvd and then back to Leimert Park.

All Gay, Lesbian, Queer, Same-Gender Loving, Bi-sexual, Transgender, their families, friends and supporters are invited to come out and participate.

Please feel free to bring your own signs and bring your own drinking water.

Please DO NOT wear Red of Blue

*There will not be a rally afterward

Further information:
Rev. Freda Lanoix revfreda@aol.com
www.myspace.com/revfreda

Dorian, the sweetest cat ever, needs a new home.

Do you have room in your heart and living space for this soft, cuddly, sweet, loving cat? Do you know anyone who does?

She's just under 3 years old and gave birth to one litter of kittens a few months before she was spayed. I adopted her from Bark Avenue in February.

She has been an amazing companion, but I am embarking on a few months of uncertain living arrangements and I will not be able to take her with me. If I am unable to find her a home, I'm afraid I will have to take her back to Bark Avenue, and I really hope to not have to do that. :n(

Please feel free to pass this on.

Where I've Been

GreenLAGirl interviewed me for her Car-free Mondays series, which features car-free women bloggers in Los Angeles.

Is Greater Than published a piece I wrote about racism in the LGBT community following the results of the vote on Prop 8.

Also, I have begun the process of moving out of my South Main Street apartment-- more on this later.

and now they will have to face us.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I biked home this morning, but I held them back. I said to myself the things that I said to people last night in phone conversations and via text message: Whatever happens, we will be strong, we will keep fighting, change is happening and it will keep happening. We won't stop. Whatever happens, we will not stop. I held those words fiercely and shared them freely last night.

At this particular moment, however, I am thinking to myself We lost-- how could we lose? How can this be real? And I think of the Mayor of San Diego who gave a speech about how he had planned on veto-ing the city council's resolution against Prop 8, and how when the resolution lay before him, when he had to face the statement he would make if he vetoed it and stood in support of Prop 8, he could not. He could not bring himself to say to a whole group of people in the community that they were less, that they were undeserving. His voice was nakedly emotional as he said to his constituency that he knew not all would agree with him, but that he had to follow his heart.

And I wonder, what was in the hearts of the 52.1% of California who voted in favor of a proposition that contains the words "Eliminates the right"? How can they use a document that is supposed to grant and protect rights in such a twisted, unfair, malicious manner?

And I wonder, how they will face us? How they will face all of us who are hurt beyond measure, those of us whom they have decided are less than they, those of us from whom they have taken away so much.

And I wonder, how dare they. How dare they do this to their friends, relatives, children. How dare they do this to their community. How dare they insert their hate into the law.

And, helplessly, I wonder what else I could have done. What else I should have done. The sense of failure is deep and piercing.

When I sat down in front of my computer, I braced myself for the reactions I knew I would find. I prepared myself to give more words of strength and comfort.

But I broke, tears and sobs welling up from the intense disappointment and pain that so many of us share. I know: We will be strong, we will keep fighting, change is happening and it will keep happening. We won't stop. Whatever happens, we will not stop.

It is an historic day: a man of color stands as our president-elect.
It is an historic day: all of us who stand for equality have been called to action.

Yes, I feel weak and wounded in this particular moment.

No, I do not feel defeated. We are not defeated.

VOTE TODAY

OBAMA for President.

NO on CA Props 4, 6, 8, 9.

The LA Times published a guide with ideas for places to watch election coverage. I am not sure where I am going yet, but I don't plan on being alone with the results come in.

In less than twelve hours, things will be different. For better or worse. And then we will figure out where to go from there.

Ride Against Hate: A Moving Rally Against CA Props 4, 6 & 8

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Updated Ride Info:

Meet at 10:30AM, Flag Poles in front of Admin Building, UCI
End: ~1:30PM, Irvine Spectrum
Distance: ~7 miles.

This is a much much much easier route than I had originally planned, so I hope more of you will try to come!

Don't forget to bring water and lights if you plan on biking back to UCI in the evening.

I encourage the bikeless folks to meet up with us at Irvine Spectrum at 1:30PM for post-ride chanting, flyering, and awareness-raising.

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Metrolink Info for LA folks:

Getting here:
Take 8:45AM train to Oceanside, get off at Tustin Station (9:41AM).

Leaving the station, turn left on Edinger. Turn right at Harvard, and a right on Bridge. Continue down Bridge, turn left at the Student Center (Pereira) and you will see the Flagpoles on your right in about 80 yards.

Returning to LA:
Irvine Metrolink Station is only 2 miles from Spectrum.

We'll ride together to the station to catch the 6:22PM train to Union Station, arriving in LA at 7:36PM. Woo!

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Note from Narinda:

The original (and freakishly ambitious) plan was to start at UCI and hit various shopping centers up into Orange County, ending in Westminster. Due to a shortage of co-captains and foreboding weather conditions, we decided to make a change.

The route has been cut to 7 miles, and the route is going to concentrate on Church Row (a.k.a. Alton), and we will end at Irvine Spectrum where folks will be free to fraternize/flyer/chat/eat/consume.

For those of you who were interested in coming down from LA, Irvine Spectrum is only 2 miles from the Metrolink station and there is a train to Union Station at 6:20PM. I will be taking this train home after the ride, so we can ride there together! Yay!

See you all tomorrow!!!

Peace,
Narinda