I'm thinking of writing a brief letter that goes something like this:
Dear 25 Members of the New Mexico State Senate,
Fuck you. Fuck you from the bottom of my angry, dyke-ass heart. How dare you pass a Defense of Marriage Act? How dare you do that mere days after James Maestas got kicked in the stomach so hard, the food he had eaten came back up his esophagus and into his lungs, kicked and abused that way because he's gay? And, how dare you congratulate yourself for passing hate crimes legislation, patting yourself on the back for your progressive ways, and then passing a DOMA the very next year? That's a slap in the face. You have to choose: Are you a body that supports discrimination, or not? You can't have it both ways...
But I guess that's not very professional. Nor does it have much to do with music. But I could write one that goes like this:
Dear 25 Members of the New Mexico State Senate,
Are you stupid?
There are a number of moral, social and evolutionary reasons to lambast your sorry asses for passing the DOMA. I am not going to list them all here. I am going to make an economic/social argument. Because maybe appealing to our much beloved capitalist values will help you see the light.
Remember how the governor is trying to woo the film industry to New Mexico so we can stop relying on tourists and instead reap the monetary benefits of Hollywood's deep pockets? Remember how Santa Fe currently is struggling to find its economic identity by developing a plan to re-invigorate the city, not via tourism, but via the development of the arts and culture industry? Remember how our state is one of the poorest in the nation? Remember how our state is trying to get/keep big companies to move here to try to assuage that poverty? Remember how the rest of the country views our state as a backwater freak show, and how many people think we're actually part of Mexico, not the United States? Remember all that?
Well, ladies and gentlemen, unless we as a state can be seen as progressive, or even normal, we will never achieve the goals of attracting companies or changing the way we make money or getting anything but negative attention. And one reason why? People who work for progressive companies, Hollywood-ites, arts and culture types-these people like the idea of equal rights for LGBT folks. Some of them are in fact ACTUAL gays and lesbians, trannies and queers themselves.
But that's another bit of argument. My specific investment in this letter is to tell you that, as a music writer, I know that your decision on the DOMA will adversely affect New Mexico music. A huge percentage of the musicians I know are very gay-friendly. A huge percentage of the musicians themselves are actually gay. A huge percentage of the people I know in the music industry-writers, producers, club owners, piano tuners-are gay or gay-friendly. In fact, two of the biggest music clubs right here in our capital, Swig and The Paramount, which generate a gazillion tax dollars (I know you know these places, because I've seen you drinking there) are owned by gays and lesbians.
And let me tell you, 25 Members of the New Mexico State Senate, many of these people will high-tail it to Canada quicker than you can say "sodomy" to escape the crappy atmosphere you have created. And they will take their money and their music with them. And I take that personally, as a queer, and as someone whose job centers around music. With this atmosphere of intolerance and prejudice you have created, you not only are attacking who I am at my very core, you are attacking my livelihood.
Sincerely,
Jonanna Widner
Music Writer and Big Ol' Lesbo
PS: Fuck you.
