Let's just attack each other.

A lion was stalked and killed.

A trans woman was beaten to death.

A four year old boy was killed by a stray bullet.

Supporters of #BlackLivesMatter met in Cleveland to discuss strategy.

These are the news items I paid particular attention to in the last week or so. Not in any particular order.

The story that hit me the hardest was a couple of weeks ago, and that is the story of Sandra Bland being pulled over in Texas for not using a turn signal. She was jailed and died in her cell three days later. She had been unable to pay the $5,000 bond to get out of jail. For not using a turn signal (and for what I think, knowing her rights).

Each of these news items touched off debate, conversation, and unfortunately, judgment.

Before I could get to my second coffee, people in different groups were attacking others for not seeing things as they see things, not taking the correct kind of action, or condemning people who could not possibly help or relate.

Oh my.

My activism is not neatly boxed into one issue. I give a shit about many issues and I try to use my voice to make the world a better place for all living beings. I have been a fighter of injustice since I was a kid.

Yes, a white gay guy living in privilege who gives a shit about others, and I'm not alone. I'm not into fighting and being told I don't belong. There are definitely discussions I stay out of when I think it's not my place, but there are so many issues where my voice can be powerful. I don't write that just because I think my voice is stronger than yours. I write it because I believe everyone's voice can be powerful.

When we use it.

I Periscoped earlier this week with the title "Talking about Sandra Bland" and most folks were not interested, a couple had no idea who she is is, and one said it was funny seeing someone living in white privilege talking about Sandra Bland. Yep.

It is so easy for activists, or humans, to attack other activists rather than asking questions, having a conversation or opening one's mind to learn something about an issue that is equally as powerful as yours, but one you might not know much about.

But it's not impossible.

Thanks for reading.

In mourning

NOTE: I am just expressing feelings here. This is not a though-out blog post.

I have been watching the news coverage from Charleston, South Carolina and my heart is heavy.

Then the news goes to the Aurora shooting trial here in Colorado.

Nine people murdered while in a bible study.

Twelve people murdered while going to see a Batman movie.

It's heartbreaking.

From here in Colorado all I can do is mourn, and write.

My head is full of thoughts about racism and violence. They are not clear enough for me to write about them yet. I'm sure I will.

Sending big love to all of you. I know that is not enough. Believe me, I am angry. I want to fight back against racism and violence.

I have been on Periscope a lot lately. I end each live video with "please be kind to one another".

And I think of many family members of those murdered in Charleston, who spoke words of forgiveness to the racist terrorist who murdered their loved ones.

What a world.

Thanks for reading.

Looking at ourselves

This past week sure has been eye opening for me. To read more on that go back one post and read "no homo". Through that post and conversation and comments that were a result of that post, I have realized things that are hard for me to stomach.

Forgive me while I just share some random thoughts.

I have been part of the vegan community for along time. I know we have our faults. A community filled with so much passion and compassion in trying everyday to decrease animal suffering is also a community as diverse as any other. We all come from from different parts of the country (and world!) and we all have our life experiences outside of being vegan.

Also, we all have different reasons for becoming vegan and participate in different levels of activism.

This isn't only in the vegan/animal rights communities. I find it in local politics, the LGBTQ communities I am part of as well as the homeless activist community I am proud to be a part of.

Regardless of what community we are a part of and are passionate for, we are a representative of that community. Like it or not, our actions and our life steps have an affect on what others may think of our community.

For me as a vegan and animal rights activist, I am very aware that I represent the billions of animals that suffer for food, fashion and entertainment. I am asked about that all of the time. If I am acting like an ass, and folks know I am vegan, it doesn't look good for the voiceless animals whom I am trying to help.

Racism, heterosexism, sexism, homophobia, hate, etc. have no place in the vegan/animal rights communities.

The more I wrote about "no homo" the more I learned how many people use the comment. People in the vegan/animal rights communities. It was totally disheartening.

Many times in my life I have to look in the mirror and take a good look at who I am and what I am doing. My language, my behavior. How does someone feel about veganism after an encounter with me? Do my posts, tweets and comments reflect well for the voiceless?

I don't like when I hear homophobic comments at vegan events. I don't like realizing that there is acceptability by vegan athletes around the term "no homo".

So I speak out against it. I let folks know that what they are saying is offensive.

And then I go back to that mirror and take a good look at myself.

Thanks for reading and thanks for being a voice for the voiceless.

Your racist crap doesn't scare him

Have you heard of Sebastien de la Cruz?

Holy cow!

He's 11, an incredible, Hispanic singer and has now sung the national anthem at two NBA finals games.

After singing in the first one earlier this week, he got a ton of hateful, racist comments through Twitter, and I imagine on other social media. The problem was that why on earth was a Mexican boy in a charro outfit singing the national anthem? He's probably an illegal. How un-American!

Hateful tweets continued.

So what did the San Antonio Spurs do? They invited him back to sing again. This is when I saw him, from a YouTube video of his second performance. The applause he got was deafening.

I have to admit I got tears in my eyes. Such a beautiful young man with so much talent. Receiving so much hate just because of the color of his skin and his embracing of his culture.

What does Sebastien have to say about all of this?

"My father and my mama told me you should never judge people by how they look." His father is a US Navy vet. (I add that because I am a US Navy vet!). He also said in a later interview, "What you think of me does not affect me, I just brush you off," as he took his hands to brush his shoulders.

Amen.

We love him!

We could write 100 blog posts or more about racism and how it presents it's ugly head every day in every community. As we say about many messed up things in the world, if we speak out against something that is so wrong, we give voice to the voiceless and we create change.

Rock on Sebastien. We can't wait to hear you live one day!

Thanks for reading!

3 1/2 hours - Join me during my half marathon!

On May 19th I will run my first half marathon. That's 13.1 miles. I am doing this to raise money for Urban Peak, the non-profit I work for that serves youth experiencing homelessness.

On my first training run about two months ago I could barely run one mile. At 2.5 miles I could barely breathe.

I kept going. I listened to many on my life who are runners, and I kept my eyes on the prize.

As one who constantly tries to be a voiceless, I would do anything to shine light on the things in the world that I fight against or want to support.

I think that I will be able to finish this half marathon in 3 1/2 hours, maybe a little less. The race begins on Sunday, May 19th at 7:00am Mountain Standard Time.

I will be running from 7:00am - approximately 10:30am.

During this time, will you do me a favor? Will you send me positive vibes? Will you send me some love? Will you think of me and send me a great big smile?

And when you are done with that, will you think of what you can do to make this world a better place for all living beings?

It doesn't have to be a half marathon. It could be a letter, a phone call or a volunteer shift. It could be wearing a t shirt, going to a potluck or posting something on your Facebook page.

It could be simply spreading kindness.

We have so much power to be a voice for the voiceless. We have so much power to speak out against hate, animal cruelty, rape, racism, speciesism, torture, and list goes on and on.

Will you join me? Honestly, I need all of the support I can to finish this thing.

Thank you!

Love, Dan

Living in exile

I used to think that only gay people had to deal with this based on my personal experiences. Of course that has never been true.

The Christmas before I came out I was with some friends who were also gay and in the Navy and they were talking about going to Washington DC for the holiday. I thought it odd that they wouldn't go home and their response was that this is what it was like to live in exile. Back then, as now, some families did not want their openly gay children at family gatherings or special occasions. Yes, it's hard to imagine and I assure you this still happens.

More common these days is that the gay family member will be "invited" to the big family gathering or special occasion but the partner or spouse is not welcome. Yes, in 2013, this conversation is being had at many kitchen tables and in many living rooms.

When my cousin Jennifer got married she made it very clear that me and my partner were invited. This was back in 1997 and it almost seems like a lifetime ago. Jennifer and I had grown up together, I love her very much and it didn't even come close to a thought that my partner would not be invited to her wedding. (Not to mention that gay people stereotypically give great wedding gifts!)

In the 23 years that I have been out there have been many times I did not want to attend a family gathering because of who might be there or what might be said in front of my partner and now husband. I have always understood that there will be people everywhere, in and out of family, that are not comfortable with me dating or being married to a man. Knowing this helps me in making decisions on whether or not I want my beloved to be treated poorly. This is more like self-imposed exile, and it is no fun.

 Mike and I have family members who decide not to visit us because they are afraid they won't be able to eat meat while visiting us. The practice in our home is that there is no violence allowed, including that of eating animals. It's really not that big of a deal as our neighbors are not vegan and there are a ton of places to eat around us that serve meat.

And then there is religion. Friends who are of different faiths in their parents eyes are not included in certain gatherings because one of them is not of the family faith.

And race. The list could go on and on. Whether we choose to not be a part of something or that choice is made for us, living in exile is no fun. What we can do about it is to show up at gatherings with love and openness and to accept nothing more than love and recognition for who we are or who our partner or spouse is. We can also make sure that through word and action we never allow friends or family to live in exile, whether it is self-imposed or not.

We want our friends and family to always feel love and support from us, to always know that they have a safe, loving place in our home.

To anyone reading this is is living in exile: You are not alone. We love you.

Thanks for reading.