MIAMI UNIVERSITY: Oxford Drag Show and Zenformation

Ok, so one very drunken night I met this guy in Oxford and he told me he ran a blog. I more or less had forgotten about it (blame it on the alcohol)... BUT! I ran into his blog again on Technorati today and found he had mentioned me in his "THE OXFORD (FUCKING OHIO)DICTIONARY OF QUOTATIONS:Blog Awards, Deodorant for the Parts that Matter, Old Bigots and Drag Shows" post.

The part, in toto, is reposted below, but I have to say I love this man. He's a GREAT ally.

"You know, I'm sick and tired of a few queers ruining [the Local U.]'s reputation with stupid drag shows. No way in hell is it that popular!"

"It's one of Oxford's biggest tourist attractions, for a good cause, and, well--"

"I don't give money to THIS university to help faggots get outta closets!"

"Well, I don't give a shit about cold-hearted bigots, but I'm still letting you have your say..."

- Heated conversation with a middle-aged, obviously drunk Local U. Alumnus last week.

This was the closest I've come to dragging a guy out of a nice restaurant and beating him within an inch of his white-slacks-an d-deck-shoes life in several years. Normally, I can deal diplomatically with hatemongers of all sorts - Klansmen, Aryan Brotherhood and Christian Identity members, anti-Semites and Radical New World Zionists, Brown and Black Power types, etc...

The only thing that stopped me? His saint of a best friend from his college years, who reminded me that, yes, even off the clock I - along with the thousands of other employees of my greater institution - still represent the ideal of a diverse educational landscape that values all opinions, even unpopular ones. Fisticuffs two blocks from the Local U. campus would accomplish nothing, aside from possible arrest and a trip to the unemployment line for yours truly.

The Spectrum Drag Show, in recent years, has become one of this community's biggest tourist attractions. The AIDS charity events draw hundreds of people and thousands of dollars into Oxford, which helps the Local U., businesses, and the city itself in terms of public image and revenue. I'm proud, too, to call some of those drag queens friends - they really do make for some gorgeous ladies.

And hey, how many Oxford Fucking Ohio hetero bloggers pose for a quick pic with one of the drag show's founders, Barry from QueerCincinnati? Yeah, the guy's an out-and-proud Local U. alum - and has as much right to be who he wants to be in this town as your average straight alum from the 1960s, 1970s, or even 2008.

What good would it do to be involved in just another drunken brawl on the sidewalk, over someone twenty years my senior being unable to cope with change?

With true diversity comes tolerance. And with tolerance comes that understanding that everybody has a right to their own opinions - even opinions one doesn't agree with.

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Kisses darling. Excellent piece.

It's sad, then, I have to do what I am going to do.

(Zenformation has been blogrolled)