Tattered Pride
Written January 2004

The majority of people, if you ask them, would tell you that they are not racist or homophobic. With that said, I find it amazing that, when people considered "minorities", or those of "alternative" sexual preferences wish to make choices for their own betterment and advancement (that have no effect on us as self-proclaimed "normal" people), all of a sudden it's a national fucking crisis of "morality". Imagine being told who you can or cannot marry, or being beaten to death over what you do in the privacy of your bedroom. Show me a man who says we've come a long way since the days of sending blacks to the back of the bus, and I'll show you someone who's full of shit.

I've known plenty of people in my life thus far who have been of other races or sexual preferences. I have never wanted to tie one of them to the tailgate of a truck and drag them down the street, nor have I felt the desire to dictate whether or not they can legally spend their lives with someone they loved, because they are still PEOPLE. The sooner we realize this, and grant EVERYONE the same set of basic human rights, the sooner we can move forward as a human race.

(Chorus)
Half dead at the gates, we heard your broken breathing
We thought you'd been shot, but looks can be deceiving
You were coming apart from the inside
Some kind of supplanted suicide

The television ticker creeps with uncertainty
Telephone trials and nation-wide emergencies
Now they're calling off the dogs
They whimpered and winced at the thought
No one's gonna crack the firecracker mystery
The bombs are gonna fall with funeral intensity
No use climbing up the walls
There's no more home at all

You threw your hands up, now
Put the gas on high and struck a match
But no one noticed the explosion
You were exploding

Repeat chorus

The question arises, who's gonna trust you?
The only ones talking ae the ones who have fucked you
The congress hushes as the zippers drop
Oh, it just never stops

You threw your hands up, now
Got down on your knees and opened wide
But no one knew that, in your own way
You were exploding

Repeat chorus

Take off your tattered pride
Dust it off and hold it high
"If everyone else is alive, then why aren't I?"
Believing's not a crime
Show no shame, you'll do no time
"If everyone else can be fine, then why can't I?"

Everyone deserves some respect
Everyone deserves some respect
Everyone deserves some respect
Everyone deserves some respect
Respect
Respect
Respect
Respect
Respect
Respect
Respect

RESPECT.