Joe Biden Chosen as Obama’s VP

According to an article in the New York Times, Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama announced that he has chosen Sen. Joseph Biden to be his running mate in the election for president of the United States.

Reports all over are rife with assumptions that Obama chose Biden on the basis of his age and sense of familiarity he will provide voters on election day.

The question that immediately comes to mind is who will be the marionette and who will control the strings? Since both are prone to saying things that are hard on the American ear (Obama’s speech on race and Biden’s blunt approach to politics) there can only be two possible outcomes:

1. They find a happy medium where they can convey their messages with impact without discouraging voters. An approach that displays cohesion, respect, and balance.

2. One will continuously have to apologize for the other, holding countless press conferences to state firmly that “well he didn’t mean what you thought he meant when he said that…”

It will certainly be interesting to see which path is chosen in this extremely historic royal rumble-esque election. This move by Obama may have leveled the playing field or just made it harder to play through.

Words, Words, Words!!

Words are one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. They are the making and unmaking of nations, the triumph and downfall of communities, and the cure as well as the disease of the human condition. Individuals have died, ascended to power, been imprisoned, and lived all by words and, more often than not, words alone. Since the naming of Sen. Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee, race has received a center stage platform for discussion. Unfortunately it seems that all anyone wants to talk about is the fact that it’s a problem. The next step however is taking responsibility, holding each other accountable, and truly thinking about the deconstruction of race as a way of life.

Recently the controversy on The View over the use of the n-word sparked a small skirmish of newsroom activity. For me, however it sparked yet another “head-in-my-hands-moment”. What was supposed to be a short segment on a mid-day talk show turned into a dialogue about race for the nation. It is extremely rare that women are seen speaking intensely about race, this conversation is usually reserved for panels of men scowling at rap videos on massive projector screens. This unexpected and heated debate unearthed a lot of confusion, misinformation, and perception than anyone really expected. Each side held valid points

• Children should not be taught hate-speech
• Everyone should be taught comprehensive history
• Cultural sensitivity needs to be apart of the societal conversation

No matter where you lie on the issue, it is more important to remember that one does not speak for all. This was a conversation between a handful of individuals and was the opening act to a fashion show. Not all of any kind of people uniformly think the same thing. That’s what makes debates like this so complex with shades of understanding that take so much more than the roughly 7 minutes The View spent on it. It would be irresponsible to take to heart everything heard on that episode.

Maybe you should go have your own conversation about race with your friends, your family, neighbors, coworkers, and most importantly yourself. Trust me, it makes the fashion show after a hell of a lot more interesting.

The Hidden Face of HIV/AIDS

The face of HIV/AIDS has continuously changed since it’s emergence in the early 1980’s. At first it was seen strictly as a young white gay male disease, however the epidemic has had an overwhelmingly large effect on every other racial, orientation, gender, and age group. Thus spawning several efforts by government agencies to decrease HIV infection as well as improve maintenance once individuals contract the disease.

National days for HIV testing bring this sensitive topic to light from within the communities and provides them with a chance to educate themselves.

One group that, in Hyacinth AIDS Foundation Health Educator Mark Cruz’s opinion, is left under-served by these tactics are Asian-Americans. In his interview he sites a combination of stigma, language, communication, and education as barriers to the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS in the Asian community.

Over the Rainbow

This month “The Advocate” Magazine celebrated their 40th year anniversary by showcasing 40 of the LGBTQ community’s most influential individuals.

“When we asked you to sift through a list of 100 notable politicians, artists, activists, and thinkers to choose 40 of your favorite gay heroes, we knew it wouldn’t be easy. Our criteria: A hero had to be entirely out. And more than just being supremely talented or superbly competent, he or she had to have contributed significantly to our LGBT lives. Yet, even with the limits, picking just 40 hardly seemed possible. Bravo, Advocate readers. Here are your best and brightest.” – The Advocate September 2007

At first glance the list seems extremely comprehensive. There are contemporary heroes as well as those who laid the foundation for their success. The rainbow parade of artists, poets, politicians, soldiers, and renaissance men and women that have positively impacted the community literally brim at the pages. It inspires, it gives hope, however it also raises questions.

Out of the 40 heroes that “The Advocate” recognized only 16 were women and a staggering 3 were people of color. It has been a long struggle for the LGBTQ community to break out of the young, white, male stereotype and according to this list they have a long way to go. Of course one cannot re-write history, those who made the list have certainly gone above and beyond the call of societal duty to secure fair visibility and treatment of the LGBTQ community.

However it seems strange that the rainbow coalition seems to be missing a few colors. The only people of color are Audrey Lorde, Pedro Zamora, and Bayard Rustin. These individuals have brought issues of the LGBTQ community of color to light and influenced the further acceptance of both communities. But assuredly there are several others that have done their part to pave the way. Individuals such as Andrew Jolivette, Parinya “Nong Toom” Charoenphol, or Laura Aguilar seem to have gone unnoticed along with a whole host of others that deserve the same amount of recognition.

So the questions must be asked: Who were the other 60 people that “The Advocate” provided? Who were picking the 40 that made the list?

Kudos to “The Advocate” for recognizing these influential figures. The fact that Ellen DeGeneres was their number one pick speaks volumes about how much the social norms have changed for the better. However hopefully next time they’ll delve a little deeper and educate their readers at the same time.

My First Post

I’m excited to have my very first journalistic blog.  If there’s anything you find intriguing feel free to post it on my page and I’ll do my best to give it my unique perspective. Let’s make news!