For many in the gay world this was a shock —  how could the jury be unable to reach a verdict? Clearly McInerney shot King, no one is disputing that. I found myself upset like others…

 … but after I calmed down I thought about what I was angry about.

I knew it was not right that the defense (McInerney’s lawyers) used the ‘gay panic’ strategy to say that McInerney killed King because he had been repeatedly harassed and had enough — because you know, there is nothing worse/more insulting than people thinking you’re gay. That is a tired excuse that does not excuse anyone for murder. The signs were there, McInerney came from an abusive family and hung out with known white supremacists and King was genderqueer and a person of color.

But why I was really angry was because I wanted justice, I didn’t want McInerney to get off easy. In this case the jury was split on whether he should be found guilty of murder or voluntary manslaughter.

And then I got thinking… about the life of McInerney and King. King was a foster child living at Casa Pacifica, a shelter for abused and troubled children in Camarillo.

And McInerney was a person clearly disturbed and living in a home with an abusive father who would beat him and while that is no excuse for murdering anyone they were both children growing up with troubled pasts.

From the beginning these two peoples lives were shaped by their surroundings. McInerney’s by a bigoted family and King who had to endure being taunted for his gender presentation at school. And where were the adults, the teachers, the guardians, the parents? Where are the policies that are there to protect children like King from being harassed and to help troubled youths like McInerney when the adults have failed?

Clearly justice needed to be served because his actions cannot go without punishment. But the question remains how far are we willing to go? Is it just to punish McInerney, who is being tried as an adult meaning that if re-tried could get life without the possibility of parole?

Currently the U.S. is the only country in the world that has sentenced over 2,000 children to life without the possibility of parole.

The question lies on us….how far are we willing to go, as activists and as humans to end the life of another person by supporting laws that put away children for the rest of their lives for a crime they committed before they had mentally developed?

I was left troubled because I could not answer that question. I wanted justice. I want LGBTQ and gender noncomforming people to stop being persecuted and if by encarcarating one person to serve as an example for others.

What do you think? What does justice look like in this situation?

]]> http://jackygro.wordpress.com/2011/09/04/mcinerney-murder-trial-serves-as-a-reminder-that-the-system-doesnt-work/feed/ 0 jackygro Jacky Guerrero PO http://jackygro.wordpress.com/2011/09/03/larry-king-trial-serves-as-a-reminder-that-the-system-does-not-work/ http://jackygro.wordpress.com/2011/09/03/larry-king-trial-serves-as-a-reminder-that-the-system-does-not-work/#comments Sat, 03 Sep 2011 06:18:08 +0000 Jacky Gay http://jackygro.wordpress.com/?p=610 ]]> This week a judge declared a mistrial in the murder trial of Brandon McInerney, who was 14 at the time, who fatally shot Larry King in the head during his computer class in Oxnard, CA.

For many in the gay world this was a shock —  how could the jury be unable to reach a verdict? Clearly McInerney shot King, no one is disputing that. I found myself upset like others…but after I calmed down I thought about what I was angry about.  I knew it was not right that the defense (McInerney’s lawyers) used the ‘gay panic’ strategy  to say that McInerney killed King because he had been repeatedly harassed and had enough — because you know, there is nothing worse/more insulting than people thinking you’re gay. That is a tired excuse that does not excuse anyone for murder. The signs were there, McInerney came from an abusive family and hung out with known white supremacists and King was genderqueer and a person of color.But why I was really angry was because I wanted justice, I didn’t want McInerney to get off easy. In this case the jury was split on whether he should be found guilty of murder or voluntary manslaughter.  And then I got thinking… about the life of McInerney and King. King was a foster child living at Casa Pacifica, a shelter for abused and troubled children in Camarillo.  And McInerney was a person clearly disturbed and living in a home with an abusive father who would beat him and while that is no excuse for murdering anyone they were both children growing up with troubled pasts.  From the beginning these two peoples lives were shaped by their surroundings. McInerney’s by a bigoted family and King who had to endure being taunted for his gender presentation at school. And where were the adults, the teachers, the guardians, the parents? Where are the policies that are there to protect children like King from being harassed and to help troubled youths like McInerney when the adults have failed?  Clearly justice needed to be served because his actions cannot go without punishment. But the question remains how far are we willing to go? Is it just to punish McInerney, who is being tried as an adult meaning that if re-tried could get life without the possibility of parole? Currently the U.S. is the only country in the world that has sentenced over 2,000 children to life without the possibility of parole.  The question lies on us….how far are we willing to go, as activists and as humans to end the life of another person by supporting laws that put away children for the rest of their lives for a crime they committed before they had mentally developed?  I was left troubled because I could not answer that question. I wanted justice. I want LGBTQ and gender noncomforming people to stop beingpersecuted.  Does that entaill encarcarating one person to serve as an example for others?

What do you think?  What does justice look like in this situation? 

After going off on this rant, I emailed my close buddies to see what they had to say about Vegas and one of the responses I got was from my homie Arely Z. who on top of having a doctorate in political science (I can’t exactly remember her entire title) she has a way of breaking it down like no other. She took my Vegas rant to the next level. I am just going to drop it in as is… check it out:

“i particularly like the part where you say: “i like vagina”

but- hey- you’re on to something actually.

Great point:

1) Sexual inhibitions- ‘queer people have had to do that, and they don’t need to go into the desert”

But, something that I felt you were sort of getting at but didn’t unpack fully is the point about how ‘Vegas’ is built around the notion of an ‘adult’ party land, a place to get away, and be ‘sexually free’. An erotic place where people can have a good time, etc. It makes me think about various traditions- like Carnival in Brazil and elsewhere- where it’s based on the same idea- leave your ‘morals’ and ‘inhibitions’ at home, and go expunge yourself. But the ‘expunging’ has its limits. It’s expunge yourself with heterosexually- and EVEN interracially, but not homosexually. So, leaving your morals at the door, is not that at all.

The interesting thing about it is that 1) norms, morals, and inhibitions do NOT apply to queerness. You don’t queer out in vegas. Why? Because it is built not only upon Capitalist Fantasy (that’s for another podcast), but on Heteronormative and Male-Centered sexual and erotic desire that interpellates everyone and everything that enters Vegas. It’s like- Amsterdam- same thing. The Red Light District is supposedly a place to go Animal crazy and fuck like beasts. But, it’s for Male Bodied people that can go on ‘sexual’ vacations and tour and/or troll the women of color in the windows and prostitutes. I didn’t find ANYTHING about the Red Light District ‘freeing’. In fact, it was a psychological imprisonment and I felt nautious.

Vegas is interesting like that- because it is definitely heteronormative to the point of being weird. I mean, why don’t Gays go to Vegas? I don’t know anyone that goes to Vegas- well, I hate it, because anytime I go there I’m reminded why I hate Americans’ notions of “having a good time”. But more than that, why is VEGAS the ‘go to’ for heterosexuals? But not for queers?

I try to avoid Vegas at all costs. Not only does it depress me, but I just don’t feel ‘safe’. I have felt ‘safer’ at Burning Man- where it’s really no rules, no surveillance, nudity, and lots of drugs. And, this brings me to the final ‘ah ha’ moment of your podcast. Vegas in the end is NOT the ‘free’ place it tells people in commercials it is. No, not at all. In fact, Vegas is more corporate owned, privatized, and surveilled than probably any place in the world. The Casinos have the cameras on you at all times. You have to pay to SPIT on the ground. The ‘partying’ is tightly controlled via the velvet rope. The alchohol don’t come cheap.

That’s it for me. What pretends to be a ‘freeing’ place is actually a prison- a hell of the American desert. A place that makes you feel the more money you spend, the better you’ll feel. And, when it comes to sexuality, it is just that. A pretense. It doesn’t ‘free’ people; it chains them down. I mean, why are people that are JUST about to get married going to Vegas? Why aren’t they going to Burning Man to fuck two people at once, to queer out, to smoke peyote, etc/ Cuz they know if they do that, they might really NEVER get married.

Vegas reinforces the norm, it doesn’t cross it.”

What do you think? 

However, depending on your mood you might be into pop music, or indie rock, so I’ll give you my top stations and then you can share yours!

Also, if you start selecting your favorite tracks and you compile a list you’d like to listen to you can create a play list on Playlist.com so you don’t have to listen to a bunch of crappy songs until you get to your favorite. Here’s an example of one of my playlist’s.

Happy/Jittery/Excited — This is when I am at my gayest and I wish I was at a club!

# 1 David Guetta Radio

Calvin Harris Radio

Passion Pit Radio

Crystal Castle Radio

Daft Punk Radio

Melancholy/ Romantic / Mellow — I usually listen to this music when I need to get in touch with my feelings or need some heart soothing music.

# 1 Florence and the Machine Radio

Peter Bjorn and Jon

Adele Radio

Death Cab for Cutie Radio

Arcade Fire Radio

Lykke Li Radio

Pissed/Frustrated / Jaded– I think this is self explanatory. Sometimes you just want to scream.

#1 Cold War Kids Radio

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Radio

Most of the time I am just really into the party mode.

Feminist Bookstore. Portlandia.

I know this is several months old BUT it is still worth talking about.

If you haven’t watched Portlandia yet you MUST check it out. This show is an IFC 6-series short-based comedy starring Fred Armisen, who is most notably known for his Obama impersonation on Saturday Night Live, and Carrie Brownstein who is the vocalist/guitarist for WILD FLAG and Sleater-Kinney. The show takes place in Portland, Oregon a place where “the dream of the 90′s” is still alive and where being weird is celebrated.

Throughout the show Fred and Carrie dress up as various characters which as soon you watch you’ll quickly realize that they are people you see everyday walking down the street in Los Feliz or Silverlake…but weirder.  The bicyclist, the techie on his Mac at Intelligentsia Cafe, or one of my favorite…the women at the feminist bookstore. These are just hilarious characters that will have you laughing at any time of the day.

Anywho, back to my point. They writers of this show (Fred, Carrie and Jon Krisel) took it to another level…the queer one…. when they created a short starring Fred as “Nina”  and Carrie as “Lance.” I was delightedly surprised when they aired it because I have never seen a cross-dressing couple on T.V. Fred and Carrie did a fantastic job executing these well-developed characters that it had me captivated. And add that to the whole “cacao” story-line and it’s the cherrie on the pie…or cake..whatever.

So say “cacao to cacao” and enjoy this funny ass show. BTW, they have gotten the “go” and are shooting the next series this summer and are looking for extras, if you’re interested click here!