(an e-mail message) (pg 8)

THE HOLY STRAIGHTEDGE JIHAD IS COMING!!!

ARE YOU READY TO FIGHT??

In the next we days we urge you to gather as much food (non-meat and non- dairy of course) and as many weapons as possible. We must be prepared, we shall overcome. Death to all druggies!

You fools may think my quest is a joke, but I tell you it is not. There is only one truth. And that truth is you have killed and shall be judged. Don't think you can hide it, I can smell the meat, drugs, and alcohol on your breath. I can smell it in your farts. There is no escaping me, the mighty vegan warrior and my army of vegan power killers. I will come and tear the meat right out of your stomach and then feed it to you again. How will you like that? I will shove beer so far up your ass it will come out of your ears, will you like it? I will shove a bong straight up your nose and it will come out of your eye sockets, it will be the high of your life. I am sure you druggies will love it.

Those who are with me must act immediately. As XXX said, go to your local burger king, and take no prisoners. There is no escaping the revolution.

==============
XVeganWarriorX

(queerness article) (pg 9 and 10 -- centerfold)

away (pg 11)

away

a way to numb this dull pain
a panacea to answer the unasked question

from the tumbling waves of voices
a vacuum violence can be seen
far in the mute offset distance
where scale is as shallow as this mind

to the dewdrops of the cornfield
this knowledge drags along
pulling with force unbearable
that breaks this pure wrinkled body

through the holes in this body
the sights become dim
and the grind seems to fade away
to some melting distance untouched

pathos, (pg 11, bottom)

April 26, 1994   11:46PM

pathos,


a wretched absorbance
with mouth like a desert
takes everything away from me

as he radiates unlimited tears
from his clouded plastic eye
as it tries to focus on a blur

and then a strand of bare rain
pierces his glowing metallic head.
-he will pierce my body, 
   ,wilted,stained,cold,
 over and over again,

The Unspoken (pg 13)

The Unspoken

What a beautiful morning!
Breakfast is all set on the table.
He comes down and sits across
The table.
Picks up the newspaper and opens
The thin-walled barrier.
Between him and me
Oh how lovely the birds sing
And how the grass dance! -How the
Silence.
Of morning leaves so much Unspoken.
And leaves me hurting Trying to tell myself that
He still loves me. -Yes, he does.
Today is a beautiful day, Tonight is a beautiful night.
Where the sounds of
Outside.
Welcomes me and they know my
Sorrows.
Will not end

feminism (pg 14, 15, and 16)

i always heard about feminism and the feminist movement, but never bothered to stop and think about what it meant. and more specifically, what it meant to me. it was last year in one of my women's studies class that i really started to think about it. there are so many ways that feminism can manifest itself in this society: on the personal level, on the social level, on the political level, etc. i can go on and on. but one must define feminism, and if action is an inherent quality of feminism, then there must be some sort of solidarity among people who identify themselves as feminists. and a common, agreed-upon definition of feminism is a fundamental step in forming such unification.

solidarity is important, and too many times, i think that those who call themselves feminists are too narrow in their thinking; their focus is too limited and specific. politically, this can be regarded as an important tactic, because it focus all their efforts into one goal, but in many ways it isolates certain people. what i mean is that mainstream feminism is mostly a white middle-class women's movement. and concerned mainly with the issues that plague these women. but if they were to allow people of other races, ethnicity, sex, or class to join their movement, then their focus will be more "dispersed" and less focused, because there will be so many different possibilities of issues to be dealt with. example? look at NOW...

what use is fighting sex discrimination when in the movement itself you allow class and race discrimination? sexist oppression is created by the same patriarchy that perpetuates racism, classism, homophobia, and male dominance. and if the goal of feminists is to destroy this patriarchy, then ALL the systems of oppression must be destroyed as well. okay, say that finally sex discrimination has been eliminated: all the other systems of oppression will still exist, and sooner or later, male dominance will come again and patriarchy re-established.

i may not be presenting my argument as clearly as i want to, but what i'm saying is that we must change the definition of feminism to be more inclusive and to be more radical. the person whom which i agree most with in these issues is bell hooks. in her book, "feminist theory: from margin to center," she says, "feminism is a struggle to end sexist oppression...to eradicate the ideology of domination" (p.24). "individuals who fight for the eradication of sexism without supporting struggles to end racism or classism undermines their own effort" (p.39).

feminism is not a lifestyle and it's not an identity that people should readily adopt. it must be an active STRUGGLE. whether in everyday life where one individually encounters discrimination, or on a political level, feminism must be active, constant, and a struggle. feminism develops from individual experience as well as a commonality of shared experiences (among others). it means communicating with others. bell hooks says that feminism that merely wants to "reform" the system is ineffective, and it may do more harm than good. feminism has to be a RADICAL movement. i mean, we are dealing such a powerful, conservative enemy called the patriarchy, and if you want to make any changes, you have to destroy it altogether. that means destroying racism, classism, etc. as well as sexism. you must go "all out" or not do anything at all. you make your choice: to be a feminist or not.

while i was reading bell hooks, the thing that really hit me was how she said the current feminist movement was such a white middle-class women's thing. and all this feminist theory assumes that all feminists are literate. but there are people out there who can't READ about feminism and READ about the systems of oppression that are stifling them in their everyday lives. what use is theory if it's not put into action? feminists don't have to have a college education to be feminists! and that's what really made me think... we're being too exclusive. it's like some fuckin' fancy club where if you are not like them, you're not in: 'you're black, get the hell out.' 'you're asian, you don't belong here.' 'you're a man, you know nothing about what we want.' 'you're just a poor bitch, what the hell do you know about feminism?' 'you're too young to know what feminism is about.'

no wonder people who are not white, middle-class, literate, and women are intimidated to join the feminist movement or even identify themselves as feminists. what kind of movement wants to cut off its own potential support line? feminism should be a struggle that EVERYONE in this world should support and contribute to. that's the only way to do it. what good is a "radical movement to overthrow the patriarchy" when only half (or maybe much less) of the human race is working for it? i'm referring to the need for everyone, men AND women, to help bring about radical revolution.

why men, you ask? i mean, they are the ones who perpetuate patriarchy and dominate society... yes, the system of patriarchy gives men infinite advantages and benefits, but they are hurt by it just as well. again, non-white men suffer from the system of patriarchy that legitimizes racism as well as sexism. and women live in a world with men; they interact in their everyday lives. they are their mothers, sisters, co-workers, etc. and to see the women they care about, etc. hurt by sexism hurts them. of course, men are much less affected by sexism than women, but their lives could only be much better if sexism was eradicated, along with all the other systems of oppression.

so redefine the words and struggle to radically eradicate all systems of oppression! let's draw our power from ALL people, of all races, of all classes, of all sexes, of all ethnicity, of all sexual preference, of all literacy levels, of all ages..., and combine these powers to bring about the revolution to totally destroy the patriarchy that oppresses us all!

mother (pg 17)

mother

should i become a mother?
marry a strong man and have
zit-faced brats running and laughing
all over the house that i spent a day cleaning.
hibernate in an oily and steamy kitchen
watching oprah on a mini-TV set
that he mounted underneath the microwave.
sing songs to my daughters and
let the boys go out to play.
invite some neighbors with curlers in their wet hair
for some tea, perhaps
and spend a breathless afternoon.
clean and dust the palace before
the prince returns.
and when he does, i'll puke toad hairs
and watch guts and bloody fingernails all over him.
yes, i want to become a mother
and grow ugly and old and fat off of
happiness ever after.

words (pg 18)

words

on maggot egg dust
you said.
all those soft utters
like greasy butter-
hallmark card wishes
slip from my hair onto the ground
like hot maple syrup.
hard boiled eggs with broken shells
are better than none at all!
but you don't understand me
your waves don't reach me.
i found all these little holes to bury them
maybe i'll let them grow and then chew on them.
stop it it's useless like liquid air-
you know why i hate wearing skirts
and having pretty things in my hair
(i like fly larvae braided with my hair.)
and you know you make me slip
and slide all over your butter
syrup maggot eggs apple dust charm
so why do you still insist on?

Herjazz was read times since 3/3/1996.