Jamie Buckley's Blog

My name is Jamie and this is my blog.

[jamiebuckley]

Stop working and pay attention to me hooman.

[jamiebuckley]

Tomorrow it will be two years since I moved to America. I moved here almost two years after the fall of the Defense of Marriage Act. I moved here almost six months before the passage of the Marriage Equality Act. I moved here at a time when feelings were high that love had won, we were equal and our fight was over. 

Tomorrow it will be two years since I moved to America. I moved here to be with my husband, after spending eight years apart fighting to be together. After spending eight years not knowing if it would ever be worth it, if we would ever make it to a point we could be together. I moved here after learning that we could, and we did. I moved here and we have built a life together. 

Tomorrow it will be two years since I moved to America. I moved here leaving family and friends behind, but I have since gained friends and family here. I have become part of a community of friends who love and celebrate each other. I moved here and stepped outside my comfort zone to experience new things and meet new people. 

Tomorrow it will be two years since I moved to America. 

Today I woke up afraid for the first time in two years. Today I woke up wondering how many steps there are between the passing of yesterdays Executive Order, and my own deportation. Today I woke up and wondered if remaining critical of the current administration could hard my future chance at citizenship. 

Today I woke up afraid that when I go home in October, they might choose not to let me back in. Today I woke up wondering if I have to experience Immigration Detention Center again. Today I woke up wondering if Tim would have to get that call again that told him I wasn’t coming home. 

Today I woke up afraid.

But I woke up in my own bed, while many residents, citizens and potential immigrants woke up in detention centers and war zones to be told they wouldn’t be allowed in based solely on their religion or place of birth. I had the luxury of reading about it on my phone while people experienced it firsthand. 

I have friends and family who voted for Donald Trump. I understand why they chose to do it. But a lot of that decision was based on a “He won’t actually do that” mentality I believe. Unfortunately he now has. 

To me, this is no longer a party issue. It is now a right versus wrong issue. Donald Trump issued an executive order on the premise of national security saying that these countries had terrorists in them that could get into the US. Conveniently he didn’t ban any immigration from any of the countries he has business ties to, one of which is Saudi Arabia which is where almost all of the 9/11 terrorists came from. 

But let’s be honest, let’s pull back the dramatic stylings. There is not a high chance I will ever be deported, or refused re-entry. I a white male from the United Kingdom, one of America’s closest allies. 

Except I am a homosexual. Except I am an outspoken critic of the administration. Except that nobody expects it to happen to them and so they let it happen to others. 

That isn’t acceptable to me. I am not Muslim. I am not female. I am not transgender. I am not black. I am not Hispanic. 

But I am human, and that is why I will fight for them all. This Administration is wrong. These are not the values America was founded on. These are not the values I see those around me supporting. 

Tomorrow it will be two years since I moved to America, and I am afraid for it’s future. 

[jamiebuckley]

Privilege

Privilege. It's a bit of a dirty word right now isn't it? I've been thinking a lot about privilege lately. I never thought of myself as privileged, either growing up or now. But I thought long and hard about it and I'd like to share my thoughts. I do have privilege. I have male privilege, which means that I can walk down the street without feeling afraid. I have income privilege, which means I have a stable job that can support me. I have housing privilege, which means I have a comfortable home I can go to. I have relationship privilege, I have a husband that loves me and wants to be with me. I even have gay privilege, which means I've never felt afraid simply for being gay. I've never been threatened for being gay, I've never been treated different because I was gay. So you see I do have privilege. But I don't think of myself as privileged. I think having privilege and being privileged are two separate things. Having privilege means it was given to you. I didn't choose to be a white male. I didn't look around at the other option and say "I'd like that paint job please, it seems better than the rest." Being privileged means you take those things that give you privilege and you turn them into a coat of armor, complete with a visor that like most 15th century Knights means you can see absolutely fuck all around you. Having privilege means taking those things that (unfortunately) elevate you above others and using that leverage to pull others up with you. Being privileged means climbing on the backs of others to get a better view and then complaining when they start wobbling under your weight. I have privilege. But I refuse to ever be privileged. I won't stop fighting for those around me to have it as easy as I do. People of color who are treated different in our judicial system because of their skin color. Woman who aren't given the choice to do what they want or need to do with their own bodies. Gay men refused insurance for having HIV/AIDS, denied housing for being in a gay relationship, fired for being gay (or a woman or both). Native Americans being told to shut up and let an oil pipeline desecrate their holy land. Muslims brothers and sisters told to go back to their country. Don't let your privilege define you. Take it and make it a weapon against the very people who try to wield it.

[jamiebuckley]

1124 points and 219 comments so far on reddit

Yes, yes, yes. 

[jamiebuckley]

Walked into the comic shop to get ideas for a comic to buy Tim for Christmas and somehow walked out with two trade paperbacks for myself.

[jamiebuckley]

This past weekend the husband and I bundled into the car and drove up to Vancouver overnight. We originally intended to go to Capilano Suspension Bridge on Saturday evening for the Christmas lights but it was gonna be $40 each and with the dog in the car we wouldn’t be able to stay long. So instead we opted to go to Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge which is nearby and even better, free and allows dogs!

Unfortunately it was snowing so we didn’t stay long but what I saw was stunningly beautiful and I’ll have to go back sometime.

From there we headed downtown to our hotel which was at Nelson & Granville so not quite downtown but pretty close. The weather didn’t really participate tho and apart from walking the pup to a nearby dog park we stayed in for the night and watched the Sounders win the MLS cup. After that, it was all downhill.

Around 2am, the room next door decided to start auditioning for a porn movie. The woman was groaning so loud that it actually infiltrated my dream and then I woke up and discovered it was in fact real. Tim had enough and went and knocked on their door and was told to fuck off so he got the manager who talked to them and that shut them up for all of half an hour. We called the front desk 3 more times and the last time the night manager said he was calling the police to have them evicted.

That didn’t transpire tho and they kept going all night, I think I managed to get a total of two hours sleep. When we went to check out the next morning we were both all puffed up and ready to make they discount the room, we didn’t have to say a word tho as the manager had already made them pay for our room when they checked out! That’s customer service.

From there we drove over to Nick & Jasmine’s house to do some photos in the snow and let Kirby meet Zephyr & Woody. Unfortunately because their yard isn’t fenced we couldn’t let Kirby off to wrestle properly with Zephyr, hopefully they come visit us soon as I think Zephyr and Kirby will get along famously.

After some snow shots it was time to head home, but not before we of course get stopped at the border. No idea why we got stopped but thankfully we were at the Pacific crossing so we didn’t have to wait long.  

[jamiebuckley]

We were meant to be going to Leavenworth this weekend but both passes are forecast to have heavy snow and neither of our cars is equipped for that. I'm bummed out cos I was really looking forward to it. I guess I'll need to find something suitably Christmassy to do in Seattle now.

[jamiebuckley]

He say like this for a good few minutes, I think he froze and needed a reboot.

[jamiebuckley]

Turn on my S.A.D light.

I think this years winter blues are hitting me worse than last year. I'm finding myself feeling blah more often and on weekend where it rains the whole time I feel myself going stir crazy sooner. We're on Day 2 of a 4 day weekend and I'm ready to go back to work already.

[jamiebuckley]

Westport by the water

This past weekend the husband and I traveled over to Westport for the night. Our friend Michelle wanted to do a photo shoot on the Sunday to celebrate 5 years cancer free so we decided to make a weekend out of it. It being November it was pretty wet the whole time but that didn’t stop it being an adorable little town that I’d like to visit again. Since the husband joined the local winery’s wine club, I see that happening in the future.

[jamiebuckley]

Travel, travel, travel.

I just got back from a weekend in Westport. Next weekend I’m going to Leavenworth, the weekend after that is Vancouver. That’s a very busy couple weeks, especially with Thanksgiving smackdab in the middle.

[jamiebuckley]

Hi, I’m Jamie.

Welcome. First post, big pressure! I’ve had blogs for years but I figured it was time to start another. I live in Seattle. I’m 28. I’m a photographer and a barista. I have a husband and a dog. You’ll probably be seeing a lot of both of them. I like video games, books, music, movies, the usual stuff. I like being in the outdoors when I can be bothered to go outdoors. I’m very sarcastic. If I’m mean to you I probably like you. I’m from Scotland originally.

I don’t like talking about myself.