Shooting From The Lip

Photo Credit: Bob Chamberlin/LAT

Thank you Los Angeles! After my little blog tirade a few days ago, I received a bunch of mail from Angelenos telling me about the incredible demonstration that happened in L.A. this past weekend. Reports vary as to the number of demonstrators, with estimates ranging from 100,000 to over a million, but regardless of the exact number, all reports describe the march as the biggest manifestation in California history. The march was to show solidarity with immigrants. The photos were awe inspiring, as were the reports of walk-outs in L.A. schools, where the students protested a proposed bill that would require students to show proof of citizenship. It’s strange that this march was happening as I was writing my little rant. I didn’t know anything about it and despite the fact that I was miles away from L.A., somehow I was on the same page. I know it sounds kooky, but I think I’m still connected to L.A. somehow.

I found out from some of my new friends here in Arizona that there was a demonstration here in Phoenix too. In fact, there were many marches all over the country, in places like Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Flagstaff, El Paso, and Chicago. I hope that those of you who were there will continue to share your stories and photos not just with me, but with the readers of this blog. Many of you write to me and tell me that I have inspired you at some point. Well, you inspire me too. You remind me that even though each one of us is an individual, we need to work together to make things better. Oh yeah, I know you’re thinking Kumbaya and all that groovy stuff. But even though I’m old enough to be bitter and cynical about the future, I refuse to accept that we can’t take this out of control train of a world and set it back on the right track.

And speaking of being out of control, I want to thank you all for being so tolerant when I get out of control. I think if you’ve been reading this blog for a while you probably have a pretty good idea of who I am. You didn’t call me out when I used the term redneck; you understood the humor in “Hitler Was A Homo”, the silly Oi song I put in my podcast, even though we all know it was in bad taste and slams two of my favorite groups to champion, women and gays. Still, my conscience bothers me.

Recently a friend sent me an email which made fun of African Americans. Not recognizing the sender’s name, I immediately fired back a reply asking that he/she not bother me sending me their racist shit. I received an apologetic reply within minutes from this friend of mine. The odd thing is this girl has always been totally PC. I never thought of her as racist, and I’m sure she doesn’t see herself that way. I guess what I’m saying is you guys let me off easy. Sometimes I need to be called on my own bullshit. My reactionary tendencies sometime get the better of me and I have always been the type to fight first and ask questions later, as Darby Crash found out on many occasions. But I also believe that I’m no better than anybody else and that we all need to help each other see where our ideals and our actions are inconsistent.

Shooting from the hip,

Alice