The Fight for and the Right to Independence

We have just concluded another 4th of July celebrating the independence of our great country. It seems quite ironic that for many in this country this fight for independence and freedom, for which many have fought and died carries conditions. I'm reminded almost daily that for many Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender U.S. Americans, independence is still not possible...but we must not give up the fight for equality for everyone of our citizens.

I am honored and happy to share with you this amazing piece composed by friend and colleague, Dr. Warren Blumenfeld. I hope you will let him know how much you appreciate the great work he continues to do in the fight for equality and freedom. "None of us are free, until all of us are free."


Why Do You Call Me “Faggot”?
An Editorial in Verse by Warren J. Blumenfeld

As you drive down the boulevard
Why do you call me “faggot”?

Alone or with your fellows
You shriek menacing refrains
Bellowing in mocking intonations

You blast your horn
Or slow your pace
Or circle back to reprise your taunts

What fuels this need inside?
Who gives permission and cover?

Where does this entitlement stem?
Who offers tacit approval?

When I express gender traditionally
Why do you call me “faggot”?

When I gender non-conform
Why do you call me “faggot”?

When I walk alone or in company
Why do you call me “faggot”?

For I am a person, like you, making my way in the world

I am a professor at your university
I am a neighbor in your town
I shop where you shop
And I breathe the air you breathe

Sunlight shines on me as on you
Rain and snow wash over me as over you

Like the Eastern Goldfinch, the Cardinal, and the Dove
Heartland winds tug and lift me
Do they lift you too?

And I am comfortable in my skin
Are you comfortable in yours?

So why do you call me “faggot”?

Dr. Warren J. Blumenfeld, Associate Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Iowa State University. He is co-editor of Investigating Christian Privilege and Religious Oppression in the United States, Editor of Homophobia: How We All Pay the Price, and co-editor of Readings for Diversity and Social Justice.

Permission granted to forward, post, or publish this essay. wblumen@iastate.edu

Dr. Warren J. Blumenfeld
Associate Professor
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011
Office 515-294-5931
Home 515-232-8230
Email: wblumen@iastate.edu
Blog: http://www.warrenblumenfeld.com