For a series of ifs, connection was lost For want of connection, compassion was lost, For want of compassion, expression was lost, For want of expression, humanity lost For want of connection, understanding was lost, For want of understanding, perspective was lost, For want of more perspectives, greater vision was lost, For want of greater vision, humanity lost For want of connection, listening to others was lost, For want of listening to others, agreeing to disagree without hatred was lost, For want of disagreement without hatred, peace was lost, For want of peace, humanity lost For want of connection, appreciating differences was lost, For want of appreciating differences, acceptance was lost, For want of acceptance, lives were lost, And for each and every life lost, Humanity lost If they are carriers, we must lock them away, If they don’t worship as we do, we must convert them, If they are a different race, they must be dangerous If ...

I rip the bonds and break the chains, I burn the box and say amen I damn all limitations That bring lack of connection I damn the following mindsets, Cause them to burn up to ashes So that we can build better things Than our former superficial ways: This person is a different race, We can’t connect in deeper ways They’re scary and they need to change So we can pretend we’re all the same This person might have a disease And they might bring it home to me And it might cause me real problems Best to lock them away in a dark closet This person has a different way Of seeing and describing God, Yahweh, Creation, existence, life, and Source, They need to pray and take my course This person has romantic thoughts For people other than who they “ought” They should change their sexuality To fit what I approve and comfort me These lies shall die in the pit of Hell As human hearts grow and swell So we can accept those who are differ...

When I tell you of my experiences, don’t try to explain them away Justify them or rationalize them, Pretend they didn’t happen Or tell me that I shouldn’t feel the way I feel because they have, That’s dismissive, And that is not Love I understand that you might not understand Because you haven’t experienced it yourself, I understand that you might want to offer me your perspective, And I even welcome that because widening perspectives leads to growth and healing, But before you offer me your perspective, You have to validate mine We are grown-ups, full of wisdom and life experience, We are not eight-year-old children unable to think abstractly or understand That just because someone else’s experience is different than mine Doesn’t mean it didn’t happen exactly as they said it did, Doesn’t mean I need to cry about how it’s unfair Or try to make everything the same so that it can be fair, We aren’t all going to get our cookies at the same time, ...

He shut his laptop with a sigh, turning to look for the remote control. He hadn’t turned the light on this evening, and the darkness hindered his search. Rubbing his bleary eyes, he stood up from the couch and stretched, padding his way over to the light switch that was, of course, on the other side of the room. The sun had only just begun to go down, so there was enough of a gloaming to keep him from banging his shins into the coffee table as he had last week. Small victories, he guessed. The light hurt his eyes as he snapped it on, and he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror that hung over the sink in the kitchen. Not pretty. He had forgotten to shave, again, and he couldn’t remember the last time he had bathed. Ugh. Of course, it didn’t matter. His avatar looked professional enough, and it’s not like there was anyone around to smell him. Even the cat had long ago run off, escaping the confines of the small and dark apartment. Technically, like him, the cat was mandate...

We kill each other in our hearts every day, Asking other human beings to change Who they are, what they love, all that they express So that we can be comforted by not having to confront differences We ask people to change, Telling them its for their own good, “Society isn’t going to accept you like that” “You need to dress more professionally,” “God loves you too much to leave you in that state” “You need to line up with who Jesus says you are,” “Get better at this, that’s what the world’s looking for” And we, with good intentions, teach our children to market themselves for the best opportunities: The best education, the best jobs, the best friends, the best communities, When instead we should really be teaching them how to fall madly and passionately in love With who they really are Buying and selling the souls of men, We slowly kill and alter them Until they are unrecognizable shadows of their former selves, The world accepts them, And we ...

Nobody deserves to die for being who they are Nobody deserves to be attacked or told that they should change, “Oh, if you only acted differently, things wouldn’t be this way,” You should be able to hold your head high as you walk down the street And express exactly who you are to everyone you meet Do you know what it’s like to be the only one of your kind In a room full of people who are very hostile To part of who you are, though they claim to be cool, As long as you hide yourself and follow the rules We keep crying for justice, but I don’t understand How we can have justice when there’s an us and a them, How can we love others when we categorize And decide who is worthy of love in our eyes? Racism’s ridiculous, sexism is wrong, But for years we have been singing this same old song Since the beginning of time, and yet still we fight Because people are still killed just for not being white “If you don’t believe this way, you’re not seeing t...