Bisexuality, the last frontier

How is it different to say, I will not date you because you're Mexican, to I will not date you because you're bisexual? Would you date an openly bisexual person?

Is it prejudice and discrimination or is it a matter of taste?

 The western society has advance a lot in the last decades, new laws to ensure diversity and inclusion, even some traditionally conservative countries have issue some kind of law in that line.  But society still is far behind for acceptance of the other without prejudice.

 The comparison I made I think it's fair enough, your nationality is not something you choose, but something you are born; your place of birth doesn't make you handsomer, taller, skinny, or ugliest and fat; it doesn't affect your personality, since there are people of all different characteristics in a country, quiet, talkative, funny, serious, religious or atheist.  It doesn't even means that you are of certain race.  To generalize about a nationality is basically the same as generalize about your sexuality.

Are bisexuals that different from heterosexuals and homosexuals? are they mentally sick? are they just confused?  No, is the answer of all those questions.   There are a lot of common misunderstandings about bisexuality, let's review some:

Myth 1, Bisexuals are confused

No, it's people's attitudes to bisexuality that are confused.  Now a days, everyone can accept without big problems that a person can be attracted to another regardless of his/her height, weight, hair colour, race, etc.  So, how is it so difficult to understand that gender is just another quality.

 Myth 2, Bisexuals are promiscuous
Yes, so do heterosexuals and homosexuals.  Promiscuity is something about your personal values and what you decide that you want of a relationship, as their hetero/homo counterparts bisexuals are capable of being in a loyal long term relationship, or not. The sexual orientation doesn’t change anything about it.

Myth 3,  Bisexual guys can’t be masculine and bisexual women can’t be feminine.
If you take a closer look around, you will find that there are more than a few heterosexual guys who are a little bit camp, and homosexual guys who can be very masculine. Role genders are diluting little by little and people are learning to be free and express the way they want.  Bisexuality is not an exception, you surely would find camp and masculine bisexual guys, and feminine and butch bisexual women.

Myth 4, Bisexuals have to be equally attracted to men and women

You don't have to be equally attracted to red-heads and brunettes to be attracted to both, and preferring lettuce to liver doesn't make you a vegetarian, so why do some people insist that "true" bisexuals are exactly and equally attracted to men and women?

Myth 5, Bisexuality is a mental sickness
Several decades ago psychiatrist around the world take homosexuality and bisexuality out of the mental diseases, there’s no evidence or scientific proof of that whatsoever, that remark speaks only of ignorance.

Myth 6, Bisexuals are just homosexuals in denial
Sadly, that remark is very common in both, the heterosexual and the homosexual community, mainly due to the fact that some homosexuals use bisexuality as a façade, to help them through the coming out process.  That has affected a lot people’s opinion about true bisexuality.  But that is not true, bisexuals are not in denial, more than homosexuals are in denial of being heteros, or vice versa.

Myth 7, bisexuality is the “easy option”
As noted before, it isn’t, bisexuals face discrimination from both, the gay and hetero community, even when in some people’s mind there’s the idea that it can be more socially accepted being bisexual, reality and statistics show that is not the case.  Take a look at some statistics as the Stonewall's Workplace Equality Index questionnaire in 2009, to see the reality.

Myth 8, Bisexuals have to date both men and women

Some of us are in happy relationships with one partner, others have multiple relationships and some swap to dating the other sex whenever their current fling ends. Some bisexuals are happily married and raising children. Some bisexuals are single, some are celibate. You do not need to have ever have had sex to be bisexual. Some bisexuals enjoy casual sex, others don’t' have sex outside committed relationships.

Myth 9, Bisexuality is just a phase

Is heterosexuality just a phase?  Why people want to describe the things that they don’t understand as minor mistakes? 

Myth 10, Bisexuals is just to be indecise

There's no indecision!!, Sexuality isn't black and white, the world isn’t black and white, as soon as we can get rid of that silly dualistic mindset that oversimplifies reality, the better

Now, people would still be wondering , what if my Partner Is Bisexual, What Should I Do? Should I leave him/her?  Do I dare to date a bisexual?
Probably one of all of the above myths would cross your mind, is he/her going to be unfaithful, is he/her going to leave me for someone of a different gender?

Well, nothing is for certain, since each person is different, but being bisexual doesn't mean these things, bisexual people can and will be as committed and faithful as any other person with different sexual orientation, no more, no less.

So, if you fancy a boy or a girl, you like his/her character, if you are attracted physically to him/her, then why to miss the chance to find a perfect partner for you, just because some prejudices and myths.

Do you dare to give people a chance regardless of his/her race, nationality or religion? Do you dare to give people a chance if they happen to be bisexuals?

The heart asks pleasure first

In the gardens of life, there are times where the sun is reflected in a spring to give a beautiful shrine with one sun above and one below. Those moments fill our senses with pleasure, pleasure that we share with our loved ones, because after all, the heart ask pleasure first.

Let me share these two suns with you:

--

The heart asks pleasure first
And then, excuse from pain-
And then, those little anodynes
That deaden suffering;

And then, to go to sleep;
And then, if it should be
The will of its Inquisitor,
The liberty to die.

- Emily Dickinson

San Patricio

1846, Mexico became invaded by the USA army in the first of many unjust and thinly veiled wars of aggression that the States have held in their blood thirsty history, driven by the Manifest Destiny.  Captain John Riley and a battalion of Irish soldiers abandoned the US army to join the Mexican defence. They fought until the end, when Mexico City was captured, and find their final end in the Battle of Churubusco, alongside the Mexican army , capture only after all their ammunition has been exhausted, and General Pedro Maria Anaya said the historic phrase "If we had ammunition, you will not be here" when asking to surrender their ammunition to the invading army.

Held as heroes by Mexico, St. Patrick's battalion, also known as Los San Patricios, is honoured every St. Patrick's day on the ex-convent of Churubusco, by the Mexican Banda de Gaitas del Batallón de San Patricio (St. Patrick's Uillean Pipes Band).

Some say they united the Mexican side when they realise that the US was doing the same than Britain did to Ireland before, some say it was because their shared religion, others said it was just aventure. But the fact remains that a small Irish battalion try to help Mexico to defend itself from a foreign invasion, the one who cost it half of their territory. And for that Mexico is always grateful.

The chieftains release a new album called San Patricio, on which they tell this story, and honour it with 19 tracks with collaboration of Mexican and Irish musicians.  Lila Dows, Linda Ronstadt, Carlos Nuñez, Chavela Vargas, Los Tigres del Norte, Liam Neeson, Ry cooder, Moya Brennan, the Banda de Gaita del Batallón de San Patricio and the Chieftains deliver us a wonderful piece of music who mixes mexican and irish rythms, songs in spanish, english and gaeilge, mixture of feelings and cultural common ground.

I have always feel that traditional Irish Music and Mexican music, specially the called in spanish "sones" have a lot of common, I will go as far as to say that the sones are the Mexican interpretation of Celtic music. So it was not that hard to me to visualize this mixture, which was really great to hear it at last.

This is wonderful album that should not only be heard by Mexicans and Irish alike, whether with a Guinness or a Tequila, this music celebration is worth to listen for all the ones who like eclecticism in music, and like a good story telling.



"We are the San Patricios, a brave and gallant band
There'll be no white flag flying within this green command
We are the San Patricios, we have but one demand,
To see the Yankees safely home across the Rio Grande


But when in Churubusco we made our final stand
No court of justice  did we have on the land of Uncle Sam
as traitors and deserters of all we will be shot or hang
far from the green green gentle shore across the Rio Grande

We've disappeared from history like footprints in the sand
But our song is in the tumble weeds and our love is in this land
But if in the desert moonlight you see a ghostly band
We are the men who died for freedom across the Rio Grande".

What's wrong with Mexico?

There's a recurrent problem with Mexico, and it's that we don't face the truth, we don't like to expose our mistakes and feel ashamed when they are exposed, specially out of the country.   Mexico is a very complex society, with too many good things, but also too many vices that come from generations ago, and are still present.

Probably I took the easy way, in going out from there and try to find a better professional opportunity in the UK, I felt very disappointed with the mexican society after the 2006 elections, not only with the politicians, that never have gain any of my trust, but how society itself reacted. Yes, the mexican government has a lot to be blame in the current state, but also the citizens and the prevailing mindset in a great percentage of the population. I basically left because a very good job opportunity was ahead, but also because I felt depressed of the current state of the country, granted, we are not in the fringe of the third world, we are a developing nation that has a future, we are even rich if compared with other latinamerican countries, not to mention african or asian ones, but things are not changing in the rate I would like for me to have the life I wanted.

So, taking into account that and other personal factors I decided to leave.  But even in the distance it hurts to see the problems of my country, a country that has the potential to be a successful and rich one.

There are some problems on which the mexican society are not really to blame, as the drug traffic issue, who is a combined problem between the corruption of mexican governments and the USA society and government. We can not hope to finish with that problem when the USA keeps being the major drug consumer of the world, and when they sell all the weapons to the drug cartels, that most of the time are even better than the ones the police in Mexico has.That is a share responsibility that it seems it's out of sight for the people in the north of the border, even when there is some hope if one want to believe the Obama speeches about it.

But many other problems are indeed responsibility of the Mexican society itself, not to blame others on it, the corruption from the common people who prefer to give money to a police man than face the repercussions of braking the law, either in the form of driving in alcoholic state, going beyond the speed limit, or do not obey a traffic light, from the student who copy on their exams as if nothing was wrong with it, or the common citizen that buys pirate music and films from a clandestine industry that is related to other more serious criminal organizations. From there to the highest level of corruption in the government.

This video is one of the best portraits of Mexican reality, the problems it has, the possible solutions, the challenges it face. And I would like to share with my readers, who may be interested in that.




I would like to have a sense of hope, and think that our generation and the ones below will be able to change this, we do have some things that are changing, but still, I'm not quite optimist about all the matter, I'm rather sceptical about it.  But I do want to be able to see change happening in my life time.

Do you think there's hope? Do you think things are going to change? What do, us, common people can do to help this happen?

Caprica

These days it is rare to turn on the telly and catch up a series that is not just more of the same bollocks.  I watched the complete series of Battle Star Galactica and find it quite good, refreshing and funny, with a weird end though. But after have seen that series, I’m now into  Caprica, the prequel series that take place 50 years before the events on BSG. 

Battle Star was good, full of adrenaline, good effects, interesting plot, and fun; but Caprica is becoming even better.   In a world where is not trendy to question things, and where polarities are becoming alarmingly big, and both theists and atheists call the other idiot, if not something worst, Caprica dares to go and talk about religion, about terrorism, about Artificial Intelligence, about xenophobia, about moral issues. 

The story develops in a polytheistic society, a refreshing view TBH, which of course is not perfect, but that has to face the thread of the emerging monotheism.  A monotheistic cult, and terrorist group, called the Soldiers of The One, is responsible of a big terrorist attack that starts all the events that will, as we know, end on the Cylon wars.

One of the worst legacies of monotheisms on this planet has being intolerance. Not that intolerance would not exist without it, but it has rise it up and legitimize it in a very dangerous way.  Before monotheisms people did not wondered if the other’s God was real, or if they had the responsibility of get rid of their ignorance and false idols to the rest of the planet, since the The One and only God is the only valid belief. Ironically, in today’s world, it seems that militant atheism is the inheritor of that, now they want to “save the believers from ignorance” and deny that any other possibility that is not an absence of gods can be valid.  Caprica acknowledge this fact, and portraits the dangers of monotheism:

The man investigating the bombing looks at the dangerous philosophy he sees lurking within monotheism:
It doesn’t concern you, Sister, that kind of absolutist view of the universe? Right and wrong determined solely by a single all-knowing, all-powerful being whose judgment cannot be questioned, and in whose name the most horrendous of acts can be sanctioned without appeal? 

But not everything in Caprica is about monotheism vs polytheism, there is much more, and obviously being a Sci-Fi series technology is the centre of action.  A.I. is the big player here, not a novelty to listen to the premise of A.I. rebelling themselves against the humans and trying to eliminate them, we have Terminator, the Matrix, etc.  It is not Asimov’s Robot series, and the paradoxes and behaviours of the perfect servant; what it makes Caprica a little bit different is that it goes into the question of what Consciousness is, what a person is, and how we can replicate/create a new consciousness:

The human brain contains roughly 300 megabytes of information. Not much when you get right down to it. The question isn’t how to store it, it’s how to access it. You can’t download a personality. There’s no way to translate the data. But the information being held in our heads is available in other databases. People leave more than footprints as they travel through life…. medical scans, DNA profiles, psych evaluations, school records, emails, recording, video, audio, cat scans genetic typing, synaptic records, security cameras, test results, shopping records, talent shows, ball games, traffic tickets, restaurant bills, phone records, music lists, movie tickets, tv shows… even prescriptions for birth control.

What is that makes us sentient beings, what is our personality, character, soul? And, can it be emulated?

And this A.I. is very special, and is precisely how we know that is not just a very smart avatar, but really a conscious being,  Zoe, the Eve of the Cylons, hopes and believes.  She have faith, she have hopes and she believes that there is a purpose on her existence, is not just that she’s self aware, is that she has gain consciousness and creativity.  If an A.I. can reach faith, love, hopes and dreams, then is it just a machine, or is it a new kind of conscious being that we create?

There’s also other side themes, as minorities and xenophobia, on the portrait of the Tauron and Gemenon societies that basically are portraits of the third world in the series. And the moral issues of virtual reality and games.

In one phrase, I think that Caprica is Frakking amazing! I’m enjoying it very much

Have about you?  Are you following Caprica? What do you think of the themes shown on the series?...