TURN AROUND ...

Might be your last chance.

The news today brought down the rain of terror and bigotry and anger and frustration and we ate it like corn dogs on a stick. Not good for you, but you're hooked on 'em anyway. Did you know that the new Miss America is an Arab?

No, she's not. She's a terrorist.

Wait, that's not right either.

And Mr. Chance shot up people today. Oh, yeah, that horrible man.

What?

He didn't?

He DID NOT. They got that wrong, too.

And does it matter anymore who does the killing these days? Will he or she represent every person that looks like him or her or will they represent the person who believes that it is okay to kill, that guns are cool, and Stand Your Ground means no one else gets to stand theirs?

Today, I remember telling my father that if Bess Myers could be Miss America (because she was tall, not white or black) that I could, too, and my father saying, "Yes, you can," because he wanted me to know I could be anything I wanted to be ... what every parent should do.

Then, while sitting here, trying to put my pennies together for something good to happen in my studio and having someone tell me who I am, wanting me to accept a label they designed and tried to press upon my forehead, I decided to fight for what I know and believe in. If you want to discourage me, then you are shit out of luck.

I could tell you that I'm frustrated. I could tell you I'm hurt. I could tell you that I've had enough and that I will do something about it. But, I am sick and tired of being sick and tired, and so I say "ENOUGH!" Or as Tayto said today when we're were stomping to the "If you're happy and you know it" song--STOP! I'm saying, STOP. Turn Around, America.

YES. So, turn around America ... we're made up of people galore, the abundance of unplanned creation that we are not just white, black, brown, yellow or red or the colors mixed together that make more Americans of different hues than before. Nothing stays the same and if we'd just turn around we might find that we've finally grown into a Nation we can all call our own--then perhaps I did something good today.

Where are you going, America, America ...
Where are you going, my country, my home?

Turn around from segregation
Turn around from Jim Crow
Turn around, and we're a Nation of People Galore

Turn around, turn around,
Turn around and we're a Nation of All People Galore

Where are you going, America, America ...
Where are you going, my country, my home?

Turn around from hateful speech
Turn around from divisive talk
Turn around and a Strong Nation for all is in reach.

Turn around, Turn around,
Turn around and a Strong Nation for all is in reach!

Peace