writing and the pursuit of happiness

BPD! BPD! BPD!!!

Shahidah — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 02:13:20 +0000

To all the law enforcers who helped bring closure to my city tonight.

GREAT JOB! WE APPRECIATE ALL OF YOUR EFFORTS!!!

Thank you President Obama for your comforting and strong words. We are a better country because of you.

We do have the courage and resilience to go on.

Boston: Have Faith

Shahidah — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 17:15:49 +0000

There is much anxiety in Boston now. Apprehension of the remaining criminals is imminent. The city is on an unprecedented lock-down, and it is very scary but I have faith. Faith in the law enforcement that has diligently worked to get us to this day.

Maybe it’s because I have been working in Copley of Boston area all week and I have seen the Boston Police, the State Police, the FBI, and the military do such an awesome .work. I watched them do a great job as they secured the site, took care of the residents and established order in the city. I felt secure with them around. I watched the forensic scientist diligently combing the streets and rooftops on Boylston Street. I watched in awe and respect at their efforts. When I walked to the Cathedral to get a glimpse of President Obama’s car I felt safe in the crowd as the bomb sniffing dogs walked up and down the crowd. Yes, I am on high alert but I don’t feel beaten. I feel strength because of them, those many law enforcement officers whose job it is to keep us safe. I have faith in them.

The news is reporting that they believe the suspects are part of a bigger cell and many people have expressed fear but believe and have faith that our law enforcement officers are doing everything to ensure our safety. They are doing a great job. We will feel safe again and these persons will be brought to justice.

I am so extremely proud to know we have some great men and women working for us.

Over Here Mr. President

Shahidah — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:27:39 +0000

I’m trying my best to get a glimpse of President Obama but its not looking good. Just happy to be in the crowd showing solidarity to the city I grew up in and the school I graduated from…Cathedral High School.

Shameful Day Indeed

Shahidah — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 00:03:19 +0000

I listened to President Obama today and I too am just as angry and disappointed in the Senate as he is. Please explain to me why we need background checks for jobs but no checks for guns. Why do I need a background check to rent an apartment but not need one to buy a gun from a little gun dealer name Bubba? Closing loopholes does not prevent you idiots from buying guns!

To the Republicans that voted to block the bill…I expect nothing less of you heartless people.

To the Democrats that caved and blocked the bill…explain yourselves, cowards.

To the NRA who is simply smiling and gloating now please know that we the mothers, the fathers, the American people see you for the sham you are and will not stop fighting you.

To the American People disappointed, especially those who have suffered from senseless gun tragedies: Everything will be alright in the end. And since it is not alright it most certainly is not the end.

Boston Rainbows

Shahidah — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 13:58:56 +0000

A few weeks ago it rained in Boston, that heavy pounding cold rain that comes out of nowhere and blankets the city with thick dark grey clouds. Rain that heavy and sudden never seems to last for long and just as suddenly as it came it stopped and this beautiful rainbow stretched from one part of the city to the other. I don’t think I have seen a rainbow as big and as clear as that rainbow from my office window that day.

Today we mourn those lost in that horrific bombing. We’re sad, distraught, and puzzled but we will find our strength in each other. This thick dark heavy cloud will break and we will have a rainbow again.

Transgender @ Four

Shahidah — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 02:05:07 +0000

I think it is fair to say that most of you who have hung in here with my blog are probably liked minded folk who get a couple of change.org sign petitions request in your email box like me. Most of them I sign even though I’m not big on petitions but I’ve seen that they sometimes work so I don’t mind offering my support through my signature. Every once in a while there is one or two that I have to give the side-eye and just delete. I got one of those a few weeks ago. Take a look.

Shahidah -

Our daughter, Coy, is a beautiful, happy, friendly, 6-year-old girl. But her school is treating her differently from the other kids — just because she happens to be transgender.

We have five kids, and Coy is one of three triplets. When she was little, we used to dress her like her brother, but that made her really unhappy. She would be excited to go to the playground, but when we laid out boys’ clothes for her, she would get sad and ask if she could stay home.

When Coy was 4, she told us something was wrong with her body. She asked us when she could go the doctor to become a girl. We took her to a psychologist, who said that Coy is transgender and we should support her and let her be who she is. As soon as we let Coy grow her hair out and wear girls’ clothes, it was like someone turned on a light. She was happy all the time.

Coy’s school, Eagleside Elementary, was initially supportive, too — until this past December, when they abruptly told us Coy couldn’t use the girls’ bathroom anymore. Now we need your support.

We started a petition on Change.org to ask the school to stop discriminating against our daughter. Will you click here to sign it?

When Coy started at Eagleside last September, her teachers and classmates accepted her for who she was. They referred to her using female pronouns, and she used the girls’ bathroom for months with no problems. Then, all of a sudden, the principal told us Coy would have to use the boys’ room, the staff bathroom for adults, or the bathroom for sick children in the nurse’s office. Our daughter is not a boy, she’s not an adult, and she’s not sick.

Our state, Colorado, is one of 16 states where it’s illegal for public schools to discriminate against kids like Coy. Eagleside had an opportunity to teach kids to celebrate each other’s differences, but instead they set our daughter up for harassment and bullying. Coy doesn’t understand why she can’t be treated the same as all the other little girls.

We are grateful to have the support of LGBT advocates, thanks to the work of Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF) and GLAAD. We also know that lots of other schools have done the right thing for LGBT students (such as allowing Gay-Straight Alliances) after being petitioned to do so on Change.org. We hope that if enough people sign our petition, Eagleside Elementary will comply with the law and treat our daughter with equality and respect.

Click here to sign our petition demanding that Eagleside Elementary allow our daughter, Coy, to use the girls’ bathroom.

Thank you,

Kathryn and Jeremy Mathis
Fountain, Colorado

Now, I have a real problem with signing this one but I have not deleted it. Her parents say that when she was four she expressed unhappiness over her body, and a psychologist determined she was transgender. I’ve been pretty speechless about this since I got this email on March 6 but I have thought about it pretty much everyday. Can a four-year old child really be transgender? I think of my daughter at four who wanted to be a boy like her brothers and was often caught outside with no shirt on with her Osh Kosh B’Gosh overalls. She displayed strong tomboyish ways all the way up to the sixth grade. I went with it. Same with my son’s. I didn’t freak out when my boys carried my purse or slipped into a pair of my shoes and I don’t understand parents who do. I did not encourage my daughter to act or dress like a boy a four nor did I encourage my boys to act or dress like girls just because they liked a pair of pumps in my closet. I know not all children grow ‘out’ of their desire to be the other sex but should a parent go this far and should other children and parents be subjected to it at a six-year-old level? I just find this story very disturbing, not because of the little ‘girl’ but the parents who clearly made this decision for her. I feel bad for the parents who feel like they are bad people because they don’t want to confuse their own children with this new transgender issue.

The parents say their son was very unhappy until they started dressing him as a girl. I would never want my children to be miserable so I understand the parents but only up to a point. I think they went to far. What if at nine the girls decides she wants to be a boy after all? This is not a childish whim, I know, but how much indulgence should a parent give?

This is more of a what do you think post because I have no answers and my only opinion is that I do believe that something as drastic as changing the child’s gender identity should be put on hold for a few years.

It’s one of those things IMO that falls into the category just because something can be done does not mean it should.

What say you?

What We Owe

Shahidah — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 17:27:08 +0000

These are only a few snapshots of the people we owe. On this Inauguration Day and every day we should recognize where we come from and who we owe.

I am proud to stand with my President today.

Happy Inauguration!

Hey Girl, Happy Birthday

Shahidah — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 03:10:21 +0000

My birthday was January 3rd. I was all set to have a pity party about it because new year same shit. Sorry, for the language its just how I felt. BLEH.

But my mom is awesome and she makes bad feelings melt away like snow in the Bahamas! It has been tradition for my mom, my daughter and me to explore NYC for my birthday weekend. This year it was Brooklyn.

Hey Brooklyn your city is awesome!

First surprise. Brooklyn Nets game at the Barclay Center and my name in lights courtesy of my mom and daughter…oh, and of course my dad who respects the girls weekend but still contributes.

We ate, we walked, we laughed, we shopped and we ate some more! I needed it.

I had a fabulous weekend with Aminah 1 and Aminah 2! I feel invigorated and motivated so for all of those who have followed the blog, get ready I have some awesome things coming up.

Catfish from the Neely’s Restaurant

Typed from my IPhone. I hope this works

The Year of Foolishness

Shahidah — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 16:37:50 +0000

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

Charles Dickens

I don’t believe anything is more fitting to describe the last year in America than this opening from Tale of Two Cities. It was the incredulous year that brought us Romney vs. Obama, Conservatives vs. Liberals, Teabaggers vs. Government, Sanity vs. Insanity, Fox vs. MSNBC, Rich vs. Poor and the Angry White Christian Male vs. Women/Blacks/Latinos/Asians/Gays etc. It has been a year of hateful buffoonery.

Hate was a cultural theme throughout the year as we headed towards November elections. America 1 wanted to bring us back to an era lost, the wonderful golden age when Black Americans were second class citizens, women possessed little rights in the workplace or home, Latinos were obsolete in the polls, and white men were the only men who could call the White House home. America 1 does not want your sick, your tired or poor or huddled masses that yearn to breathe free. America 1 wants you to die of a heart attack if you can not afford healthcare and freedom is subjective.

America 2 wants to pilot us into a better future, care for the sick, the poor and personal freedoms. America 2 grew in numbers that restored a lot of my personal faith in humanity. America 2 fought hard and long against the racism, the sexism and for the equality of all people, not just a chosen few.

America 2 gave us Barak Obama while America 1 gave us pathological liar/robot Mitt Romney. America 1 gave us voter suppression, long voting lines, and lie after lie about socialism, entitlements, welfare, and who saved the auto industry. America 2 stood in lines for up to seven hours, knocked on doors, went toe to toe with Citizens United, and sent Tagg Romney a clear message: America does NOT want your dad.

America 1 spewed lies via Fox News and its elected officials. America 2 gave us MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart.

America 1 gave us Rush ‘Jabba the Fatass’ Limbaugh, Glen ‘American Terrorist Bastard’ Beck, Michelle ‘Batshit Crazy’ Bachman, and Sarah ‘STFU’ Palin, repeatedly, like irremovable cysts in our ass. Their audience is the most uninformed and least educated electorate ever. They shun education; remember when Rick Santorum uttered this gem; President Obama once said he wants everybody in America to go to college, what a snob. America 2 said What an idiot, yet America 1 cheered this kind of rhetoric; Anti-Obama, Anti-Education and very Pro-Stupidity world. America 2 gave everyone the right to affordable college tuition/loans/grants.

It would be nice to say that after November the two Americas would come together and stand united but the shootings in Newtown, CT has even proven to divide us. Very sad that such a tragedy only invoked more bitterness from America 1 with the intent of keeping guns instead of regulating laws to keep them out of the hands of people who clearly do not need them.

Onward to 2013 we go. The fight will continue…

Something to Think About

Shahidah — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 17:04:47 +0000