Month: June 2012

I made buttons with a bunch of people for the effort to defeat the anti-gay marriage amendment and voter ID amendment this November. They are to be distributed at the Pride Festival next weekend. I was with several people who don’t fit neatly into boxes: there was no telling whether they were gay, lesbian, straight, closeted, or in any of the varying stages of trans-sexuality.

And I thought about how, when people’s roles are fluid and not conventionally defined, you have to engage them as individuals. Your interaction with them is thereby enriched. "Scripts" are abandoned and new possibilities emerge, often beyond expectation.

There is a lot to learn from having a decent conversation with someone who is different from you. Yet people sometimes let their curiosity lead them into rudeness by, for instance, asking a foreigner, "What are you?" and giving them the uncomfortable impression that their features are being studied. In the same vein it is not okay to walk up to a person and say "Hola!" just because he or she appears Hispanic.

The people at this little button-making workshop were very different, but we were all similar in the belief that the right to vote and the right to marry are connected, and both of these issues are on the ballot in the upcoming state constitutional vote this November.

I tabled for my organization at a Youth Pride Fair in a St Paul park last Friday. I helped with registration, surveys and button-making.

One thing struck me about the place: these are my people. The young people there were mostly in high school. Many were black or Hispanic and all of them live in a society that marginalizes them for who they are. Yet they were friendly, interested in the health and wellness message of the organizations present, and excited to volunteer or work for them over the summer.

They have every reason to be angry and withdrawn or to have not turned out at all. It was a Friday, after all. I can’t imagine how hard junior high through college would have been if I were gay on top of all my other problems. But people came out for the spirit of it and showed their pride.

It may have been a somewhat nicer place than the Loring Park Pride Festival, too. What sticks out at me about that fair is all the cigarette smoke I have to breathe and the fried food smell that clings to my clothes. In other words, how similar it is to any other summer festival. Also the huge, veiny penises of Captain Kirk and Spock on display in paintings there last year were not in the spirit of a public fair, but who am I to question the artist? (I confess that I am looking forward to this year’s Pride Festival partly for the cheese curds and the swag.)

The Youth Pride event on the other hand was tobacco-free and while it emphasized sexuality as a big part of young people’s lives, it included organizations that serve their many other needs and wants, such as summer camps, homeless shelters and choral groups.

I checked in with a really slow office assistant who had emailed me saying to be there at 0850 when it was supposed to be 0920. She moved slow, talked slow, was slow.

But then things went better as an alumnus (who looked like he could be my brother) showed us what it took to get in. He seriously looked just like me – a nondescript white guy in a collared shirt with short hair. He had input in the admissions process and seemed reasonable in what he expects from essays, recommendations, etc. and what he feels is neat and novel on the one hand, or over-the-top and contrived on the other. Another guy (a 3L) showed us around. Both were very nice and smart.

We (me and three other men) sat in on an "Evidence" class for upper-level students. It seemed like something I would enjoy. Students were assigned roles and stated what they would do in a given situation as a judge, prosecutor or defender. The lecturer knew his stuff and was presenting common exchanges in a criminal case, such as when a cop’s testimony can be challenged as hearsay and how to respond to such a challenge. It is very interesting to think about what is admissible in court and what should be brought up later as grounds for an appeal.

One of my fellow prospective students was a music teacher from Joliet, IL A very nice guy who basically wants to fight for his people in education, who are under attack from all directions. Another was a business man from Kentucky who was rude enough to try to contribute to the large-group discussion (twice) even though he was not in the class. Another was a recent grad and college football player. Muscular but soon to be fat.

I liked the class. Law school is something I had never given a thought to until a friend of mine got admitted. I am so similar to her in politics, passtimes and reading that the idea suddenly intrigued me. I have always wanted to advocate for people and the environment. And I thought that being in this country’s wacked-out healthcare system was the only way to do that. I have always been drawn into science as well even though I struggle with the math and experimentation parts of it while loving the natural history, narrative and spirit of it. But when I consider the things that most influence the health of me and people my age, one of the biggest would definitely be the statewide smoking ban in restaurants. This was done through legal and legislative means, and is still being challenged. Each nonprofit or government health or environmental agency has lawyers helping to do the good work and get their initiatives applied. Anything you might be passionate about has legal people involved.

Ultimately I don’t think I would get in to the UMN program. But I am checking out William Mitchell College of Law in a couple of weeks and am enticed by the four-year part-time program which leads to the same degree. I also kind of like spending time in St Paul and am irritated with the sluggishness of UMN bureaucracy. My hope is that my many years of studying biology will be put to good use, instead of fading away like some language one used to study.

Included: me in Afton State Park, June 2012, on a very special and misty-cold morning.