“Yes, they certainly are.”
Two interesting stories this month that both feature queens acting badly. Last week was flight attendant Steve Slater quitting his job in flamboyant style. More seriously, Pfc. Bradley Manning “quit” the army by releasing 90,000 classified intelligence reports on the war in Afghanistan. How old school can you get? A homo bent on revenge! Totally Guy Burgess.
It is interesting that both men were employed as foot soldiers on the front lines of the “war on terror”. Ever since 911, airline travel has taken a one way ticket to fear and paranoia land, with the military on a parallel course, justifying every breach of common decency, dignity and the Constitution with the need for “security”. Our collective desire for security against all forms of possible disaster has surpassed even the level of farce, ruining the country along the way.
Many would call Manning a traitor, and I have to wonder... a traitor to what? A self-destructive war that feeds off the terror it claims to fight, creating only more terror and misery both at home and abroad? Hmmm. Sounds almost like a Batman episode, doesn’t it?
The Batman/USA never seems to figure out that the Joker can never be beaten, he’s the JOKER, for crying out loud! He’s the shapeshifter who always trumps the ultimate Bat card/weapon. America is like a collective ego, fearful of its own shadow, and so easily manipulated because of that. Kinda like gay men used to be, before we made peace with our own inner demons - our “joker”.
I’ve had a lot of strong synchs over the past year about patriotism, and it’s made me think about the differences between certain kinds of patriotism. There’s even been a synchronicity within gay culture, with lots red, white and blue, stars and stripes imagery along with the singing, dancing and flexing (for instance, the Ice Cream Truck song.
Even my latest muse... Ryan James Yesak (Youtube impresario, California Gays, etc.) famously declared 2010 to be the summer of patriotism”!
Double Rainbow guarding Liberty
In a way, Pfc. Manning and Mr. Slater are playing the “Lucifer” role - bringers of an uncomfortable light to places in our subconscious that we would much rather remain in permanent shadow. They are Id loyalists, and traitors to the ego. Batman needs to clean out his belfry, and I think that perhaps gay men are the ones to do it. Hell, we’ve been there and done that and honestly... the only thing left to fear, is fear itself. The Joker isn’t our enemy, he’s our ace in the hole.
The reason I took if off, was for you to see
What’s underneath, trying to break free
To the surface, and it’s only a matter of time
Before it does
--Ryan James Yesak
There are some things I just don't joke about...
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