The Cost of Hate

This past week I attended the Midwestern Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, Ally College Conference in Ann Arbor Michigan. The conference itself was excellent and it was great to see a supportive and affirming community of Queer people gathered in one place to discuss issues. However, sadly the greater communities response to the conference was not as supportive as one would hope.

One event that was held on Saturday night in the Michigan Memorial Union was a dance for the attendees of the conference. As the dance was ending (around 2am)and delegates were leaving the Union a car carrying several unidentified individuals drove by with bb-guns and opened fire on the delegates. While no one was seriously hurt, this is still an incredibly violent response and someone could have experienced serious bodily harm as a result. It is not a far leap to move from assault with a bb-gun to deadly assault with a real weapon. In addition the larger issue is that anyone felt they had the right to open fire on a group of teenagers and young adults simply because of their sexual orientation.

This experience, along with others in my own life, have left me questioning what is the cost of hate? Both literally and figuratively. As a queer identified person it saddens me that there are very few places where I can feel supported and affirmed in my identity. The media and various conservative organizations launch almost daily attacks on LGBT people in this country and LGBT individuals are disproportionally the victims of hate crimes; with Transgendered individuals being more likely to be killed in a hate/bias incident than all other groups (including African Americans, Jews, Women, etc) combined. These attacks, both physical and verbal, are not just attacks on queer people but on all people. It saddens me to live in a world where we sanction or ignore violence against any group...simply by virtue of being a member of that group.

At the conference one of the key note speakers advocated for LGBTQ youth to get involved in anti-racist, anti-ableistic, etc. movements because if we allow hate and violence towards any group...it means we are allowing violence against all people. You can not pick and chose.

When I think about the hateful rallies, media, postings, blogging, speeches, etc. that target not only LGBTQ individuals but also people of color, people with disabilities, people without citizenship, women, Muslims, etc. I wonder how the world would look if we did not spend millions of dollars and hours sanctioning these actions. How much good could an organization do if they focused on making positive changes (feeding the hungry, providing shelter to the homeless, fueling our failing education system) rather than funneling money and time into acts of hate.

I am left wondering what is the true cost of hate? In this time of financial crisis how much money continues to be spent on furthering a hateful agenda? On denying others rights?

Calling all Nominees...

Anyone else nominated for Sub-Saharan Africa in June?

Lets be RAS buddies together...:)


In other news I submitted my final portfolio to my Master's committee...so two weeks from now I will officially be an M.Ed. Woot Woot!

Anyone Else Out There?

So in order to combat my RAS (restless applicant syndrome) I am trying a few things...

The first is starting to connect with others who have similar nominations as me SOOOO are there any others out there nominated for June, Sub-Saharan Africa, Portuguese Speaking, Health Extension? Based on what I know from pcwiki I am guessing this is likely Mozambique, although I recognize this can change...

The second is to find others who are sitting in the limbo between medical and placement so that we can commiserate through our RAS together.

The third is to become better at blogging...I have no idea if I will have access to internet while in service but I want to begin to practice now so that I am able to ramble about my experiences effectively when I do.

So...ANYONE ELSE OUT THERE? Let be blogging friends so that I am not going through this process alone...who knows we may end up in the same country for service!

Medical Clearance

I finally received my letter in the mail stating that I received full medical clearance. My file was passed on to the placement office and I also was contacted by the assistant to my placement specialist.

She asked me to send in an updated copy of my resume including any new work or volunteer experiences I had gained since my nomination last August. She also said that my final review for placement would likely take place in 4 to 6 weeks...

I am very glad that grad school involvement is really picking up now as I prepare for my final Master's Oral Defense date because hopefully that will serve to help keep me distracted as I wait for the next step in the process.

Most of my classmates are well immersed in the job search for after graduation and I am beginning to get pressure from people asking why I am not applying for jobs. I am trying not to stress out over the fact that my field typically does the majority of its hiring during Now-May which is right during the time when I may or may not hear back from Peace Corps. I just do not feel right applying for a job I know I will not take if I hear from PC...however, the reality is also that if I do not apply for a job now I may not be able to find one until this time next year. It is completely nerve wracking.

More later :)

EEEK...is this normal?

How do you deal with the stress of waiting? I feel like I have hit the point of obsession...

Seriously, I need some tips. On Monday I received the wonderful early AM e-mail that stated my status had been updated. When I logged in I was greeted with:

MedicalComplete. A decision has been reached regarding your medical review. Please look for a letter in the mail.

Is this normal? I am slightly paranoid that it means I am getting deferred or rejected since it didn't just say that I have no holds the way my dental did.

I am rather proud of myself that I apparently submitted a complete packet because they never asked more additional information...although this also makes me paranoid because maybe they didn't ask for more information because it was obvious that I wouldn't pass the health portion anyway...

I have also begun to obsessively check my mail...on Monday it was probably pretty unlikely I would receive the letter seeing as how I had just received the e-mail; however, I figured it was worth a shot. However, the last few days I have checked the mail and legitimately have thought there would be a letter in my box...but no such luck. How long does it typically take for the letter to reach you?

Lots of questions. Any input would be appreciated.

Updated Status!

"Peace Corps is currently reviewing your medical documentation"....keep your fingers crossed for me :)

And...6 months later...

Alright so apparently I suck at blogging. No really, I completely forgot that I was even keeping this blog until recently. Unfortunately not much has happened in the past 6 months with my PC process. Here is the quick run-down

August-Nomination received
September-Medical Packet received
October-Dental packet completed
November-Appt with Podiatrist, Family Physician, Eye Doctor ($310)
December-realized I forgot to get a polio vaccine with my medical work
-Polio vaccine ($70)
-mail completed packet to PC
January-Received letter from PC dental saying I need two fillings
-get 2 fillings ($140)
-send back packet again