It Gets Better Than What?

I often get in debates with my mother about how good she did as a mother raising a child. She doesn't think she did all that good of a job. This is probably the opinion of most good mothers. It's much like an artist (any creator, really). Whatever we write, paint or produce is never good enough. We're fabulous creators, but at the end of the day no one can convince us that our award winning piece is as good as it really is. Same with mothers. The good ones will never be able to realize they've done their best and raised something incredible. This is strange to me especially since mine seems to be on the same page that I turned out alright. Yet she still doubts doing a good job raising what has become so great.

If you ask me, the end result is the proof that you've done a good job. However, ask certain people and they'll never agree that baptism by fire is a good method no matter what a great metal it produces. It all brings up thoughts on this "It Gets Better" campaign that continues to rear its head from time to time. It appears the beginning of the 21st century has been dedicated in part to saving our battered bullied teens. Which is both lovely and a bone of contention with me. Nobody saved us and now just because kids are seen as more vulnerable we have to tell them not to worry ... it gets better. 

I'm trying to think of someone fabulous I adore, admire and respect who was not born from great tragedy and  strife. I can't think of anyone. Can you? Please tell me because the older I get the happier I am when someone can tell me one of my long standing opinions is mistaken.

Which begs the question are we saving lives, creating fierce dragons or crippling the already weak even further? As we say almost weekly on The Fabulous D Show, if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. If you're not going to be a warrior then what in the hell are you doing fighting? And if you are fighting then I guess you're a god damned warrior. Slap a name tag on and don't worry about anyone patting you on the head. You just go on right ahead fighting.

It gets better. They keep saying it gets better. It does get better. If you stay on your own course and stick up for what you believe in then it gets better. But it gets better because you make it all better for yourself. One day you'll be out from under the thumb that's crushing you. You'll be happy you were true to yourself after that. Then you can build your empire far away from all those people you didn't like.

I am who I am. I'm strong and born to be brave. Few people stopped to pat me on the head. I got my support and I sought my shelter when the shit storms came. I got it all by myself. Crafty, no? Nobody reached out and offered a supportive shoulder. And when I held the knife to my wrists I made sure it had more purpose than if I was actually going to kill myself. Don't be silly. The last reason anyone should threaten suicide is to actually do it.

Osama Bin Laden is Dead!

It would appear that Osama Bin Laden was shot in the head yesterday and captured. If you want an extraterrestrial view, I have one for you. Yet another moment in time where I see people doing something and it does not compute. Seeing all these people chanting and being proud Americans (only at special American occasions such as this) boggles the mind. Watching the initial news report on MSNBC they continuously said, "You will always remember where you were when you heard this news."

No you shouldn't! You remember where you were when 9/11 happened, you remember where you were when JFK was shot and most likely you remember where you were when Princess Diana died. I say this not because you should remember where you were or any of these events should have effected you personally (unless they actually did), but due to the culture we live in and "the way we feel" it just so happens that these big unfortunate muck ups engrave a time in our memories.

Remembering where you were when they killed a terrorist is not really a defining moment. It's a moment. People were standing in the streets chanting as if it was V E Day! Apparently for most Osama was the face of the bogeyman. We've caught and killed the bogeyman, you can go to bed now. Does the war now end? Can we retire the body scanners and begin carrying full bottles of liquid on board? Shall we hold hands and get along with each other?

Has Beens Unite

Let's face it, people like me are all stuck in the best moments of their lives even if it's still some of the best. While brainstorming guests for Season 4 of The Fabulous D Show it was remarked that my list was full of has beens! Upon taking a look it made me realize that I find it very hard to take interest in new things. It's just not that interesting to me if it doesn't have a connection to something that helped spark me originally. That doesn't mean I made a list of people you've already heard on my show (or heard anywhere for that matter). It means I made a list of people who are not particularly on the radar anymore.

What delighted Rosie O'Donnell most on her talk show was having her childhood infatuations on to interview. That theme has been seen again and again on almost anyone's show. There are always new things tantalizing the newest generation. To us it will never be like the stuff we first fell in love with. It's just like how a child born into Myspace has never felt quite right with Facebook. Just like how The Internet's First Super Stars would never feel all that comfortable in the 21st century social networking era of the Internet. I will always want to have more people to interview from before than after, just because it brings me a fuzzy feeling of nostalgia along with unearthing some relics for you all to take a peek at. If we didn't have talk show hosts clinging to their first inspirations there would be far less variety for the new to pick from. Neopostmodernism at it's finest, we've all taken a little of then to make a lot of now.

Did RuPaul bring Michelle Visage on as a regular to RuPaul's Drag Race just because Michelle is fabulous? While that's reason enough that wasn't the reason at all. They were hosting The RuPaul Show when I was just a baby queen. They had history. History with each other and history with all the baby queens they communicated to. What is the first thing I thought when I saw Michelle again? Not about the fierce divas they are, but who they were to me. It's Ru and Michelle back together just like "we were" in 1996!