There’s so much wrongness there, you can just swim in it.

As true as this is, Jay doesn’t want us to drown in it. Getting sucked into media soundbites about race can draw us away from the most immediate issues at hand. Jay goes on:

A lot of the most important race issues are institutional, systemic, structural issues. Questions like:

Why in 2010 do Black people not have the same educational opportunities, the same access to health care, the same economic and employment opportunities?

Why are Black people so disproportionately affected by this recession?

Why, in 2010, does it so often seem like on an institutional, systemic, structural level Black people are still disproportionately affected by almost everything thats bad?

Those questions cannot be answered by analyzing the racial awkwardness of a YouTube video. Answering those questions means figuring out how we can change public policy and pressuring the government from inside and outside to make those changes.

Damn. Who wants to listen to John Mayer, anyway, when you can watch Jay-Smooth spit the truth? Check him out at his new site, Nil Doctrine.

This not only a nation of poverty and desolation…this is the nation that taught our hemisphere what it means to be a freedom fighter, and what it takes to break the chains of slavery. Its only when you see that full scope of Haiti’s history that you understand what our obligation is. That we need to act not because Haiti is some nation of perennial victims that we need to have pity on. We need to act because Haiti is a nation of heros. And we need to repay them for what they’ve given us. THAT is what our responsibility is.

Damn. That gave me chills. Looking at it in this way gives so much more meaning, not only to the suffering we see in pictures and on the news, but to our deep connection and responsibility to the people of Haiti.

Jay goes on to suggest four different ways to get involved, and stay involved, in the solidarity effort:

Volunteerism
Activism
Self-education
Donations

Like many folks, I’ve contributed what I can afford financially, but Jay’s post gave me a swift kick in the ass to step it up in other arenas. I’ve provided links to the categories above to help us get started.

Sometimes I get overwhelmed by the magnitude of suffering around the world, but thats no excuse for inaction. If you’re like me and need a reminder of both our responsibility and power to act, re-watch Jay Smooth’s video and kick it back into gear. There is much work to be done.

I don’t really know what to say about Roman Polanski. Well, okay yes I do. He’s a scum-sucking rapist who has managed to evade justice for 30 years. What I don’t know is how on earth so many people could be defending him after all of this.

There are some wonderful posts by people who can express their outrage and share their experiences with sexual assault much more eloquently than I…check some of them out on Tari Rocks! and Feministe.

But one thing I can speak about is the need for men to speak out against rape. As many of you know, I’m Transgender, meaning that, in my case, i was born female but for most of my life felt more like a man, and I am now transitioning to living as a man. One of the most difficult parts about my transition is the fact that we live in a horribly sexist culture and some men commit incredible crimes against women.

Doesn’t it make you sick to your stomach to know this man drugged and raped a child? That is not what being a man is about! This is precisely why men must speak out against rape. In addition to needing to unite with women against sexual assault, we also need to provide other boys and men with positive role models. And a big part of being a role model is speaking out against injustice.

Governments and celebrities protecting rapists because they are famous is clearly an injustice, which is why I’m grateful for role models like Jay Smooth and Dwight Furrow who call it out while so many others were silent or, even worse, defended him.

For Jay Smooth’s vlog post calling out Polanski’s celebrity defenders, check out Ill Doctrine

For Dwight Furrow’s post tearing apart media and governmental defense of Polanski, visit Philosophy on the Mesa

To take action against sexual assault, visit RAINN (Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network).