I have resigned my Bastard Nation membership
Today I resigned my Bastard Nation lifetime membership.
There were a number of reasons, but they all came down to BN’s “conditional endorsement” of the Rhode Island bill.
I cannot be a part of any organization willing to in any way shape or form to support legislation that erects new barriers for Bastards deemed “young.”
Rhode Island’s bill set the age of Original Birth Certificate access at 25- far above its age of consent (18.)
“Young” peoples’ human rights are not expendable.
To my reading, BN violated both its mission statement and existing policies to endorse the bill.
I personally objected to Marley, BN’s Executive Chair, throughout the process by which BN ultimately supported the bill. I did what I could to prevent BN’s support and failed.
It is now ALL our obligations to ‘go back for’ the human rights of Bastards in Rhode Island who were left behind by this legislation.
But I will be doing so separately from any of the organizations who supported this legislative abomination.
I am left feeling I did not leave Bastard Nation, so much as Bastard Nation left me, but more to the point, I feel BN left those under 25 in Rhode Island when they needed an “adoptee rights organization” most.
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July 24th, 2011 at 9:35 am
So, where do you go from here?
July 29th, 2011 at 3:28 pm
Age 25 is far too late, and 18, despite laws pertaining to the ‘age of majority’ fail to take into account the timeing and nature of adolescents’ development of identity. As one who was spat on, beaten and told to ‘get back on the reservation’ and yet instructed to check the ‘White’ box, I perceive sealed records to be entirely amoral.
July 29th, 2011 at 5:20 pm
Couldn’t agree with you more Brent.
The sealed records system itself must go.
The documents and falsified birth certificates are state sanctioned lies, some of which contain key evidence to crimes.
I requested access to my records twice while still a minor.
I’m sorry for the cruelty and bullshit others put you through, and yes, adoption and the expectations were very clearly central to that.
People can be unbearably vicious.
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Also I should leave a link here pointing to the post I wrote as a response to Joanne- Where do we (Mike and I) go from here?
April 26th, 2012 at 4:18 pm
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