I had the chance to interview Veteran Marine Activist Jeff Key, he could not have been more polite and helpful. I hope you enjoy this, Love and Light, JD
I live in a very small town as well as yourself. I do have very fond memories and ideals placed in myself from here. What was a young Jeff like in those days? and What do you carry with you today from your childhood?
I was imaginative and kind and very, very sensitive. I spent most of my young life trying to understand why all the things I found interesting were not things that little boys were supposed to like. I escaped into my imagination to leave behind the world of cruelty and misunderstanding that was Alabama at that time. Racked with homophobia, misogyny and racism we all suffered- even those “perpetrators” of this broken system. They too were victims of what we all had been taught was “the way things are supposed to be.
We also share the fact that you and I realized that we were gay at a very young age. I did not date though High School and I had a very hard time not being able to date or do the things that others my age were doing. How did you cope with that growing up in an area very steeped in religion and family values?
I don’t recognize exclusion and warped views of God as “family values.” That’s not my idea of family. I coped by drinking.
Music for me has always been the one thing that has driven me for years. It is the one world that I can loose myself in and no one can touch me. From being in such a small area I notice that creative people tend to have to "foster their own creativity". How old were you when you started keep a journal? Was that the place you could be your authentic self? How important is the written word and the power of words to you?
Words, and by extension, art mean everything to me. It is my connection to the divine… even when the writing is dark as it often is. God loves all of me, even my shadow. I didn’t “journal” until I got sober in my thirties. My place where I could completely be my authentic self was inside the world of my imagination. I was like a little gay Walter Mitty.
I have stayed in my home state of West Virginia. What was the driving force that made you want to break out of your small town life and life your life as a out gay man? Did it shake you up to be out of a conservative place to being in a more liberal place. Did it feel as if you had in a way found the place where you could be your true self?
The place where I can be my true self is in the presence of God. I know that may sound weird but I just feel so loved when I commune with that which created me. The funniest part of that is that I don’t claim to understand who or what God is. That’s part of the religion I left behind. I grew up in a denomination that claimed that it was NOT a denomination but the “one true church” and that everyone else- all those churches with pianos and organs in them were going to Hell. I don’t believe in “liberal” and “conservative.” They’re labels given to people and places to weaken them. Remember it was the South that gave us Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams. No matter where I go, I find people of like mind. Even as a teenager in Alabama, I was surrounded by a wild, intelligent, Bohemian group of kids. We all knew we were getting out of there one day. To my knowledge, I’m the only one who did.
I respect you for the fact that you as a Marine served our country. I was surprised that as a gay man you would join. I know that "Don't Ask Don't Tell" as an arcane policy can keep good gay soldiers out of our military. How much did that factor into your decision on going, knowing that it would be in a way like going into the "military closet"? Did it hinder your experience in anyway other than the obvious experience of loosing your military career?
It shouldn’t surprise you that I went into the Marines. There are a lot of gay men and women in the military, especially in the Marine Corps. Gay people often choose to put their own comfort, safety and wellbeing second to doing something good for others. It comes from being forced into a life of introspection from growing up in an ignorant and unfriendly world. We learn much earlier than we should have to about what it feels like to be shat on. It only seems natural that we would stand up for others who are being persecuted. As far as Don’t Ask Don’t Tell goes, I chose honesty and honor and commitment to my fellow Marines over any asinine and un-American policy.
After you had left the military, What started the foundations for you to write "Through The Eyes of Babylon"?. Was this your catharsis from what you had experienced in Iraq and your leaving the military for refusing to stay in the closet?
“The Eyes of Babylon” was already written. It’s my journals from Iraq. “Writing” the play was just about whittling it down to an hour and a half. I don’t know if it’s catharsis so much as it is my way of continuing to fulfill the oath I took when I became a Marine and following what I believe God’s will for me to be.
I found your story in the excellent documentary "Semper Fi" on Showtime. What was the genesis of how your story caught the attention of the network?
Eda Hallinan, the producer of the documentary saw my play at a small theatre in Hollywood. She walked me into meet with the Showtime folks and we had a greenlight almost immediately.
How did the exposure on Showtime change the response to your work? What has been the reactions you have seen from other gay men and women that still serve, or have been kicked out of the military due to "Don't Ask Don't Tell". Do you have any that you still carry in your mind today? Has the play gone beyond your expectations of what you wanted to accomplish with the piece?
That’s three questions bi-otch! It’s true the movie has given the play some “street cred” but I think the audiences before the movie were every bit as responsive and receptive. The response I’ve gotten from other servicemembers, those who still serve and those who previously served has been overwhelming positive. Just as it was during my time in the military, my Marines continue to support me in ways only brothers and sisters can.
You served in the Bush era post 9/11 era. I myself seen at that time the distortion of patriotism and the demonization that any defiance against the war could bring on someone labeled as "unpatriotic". How did you feel about that being at the time "on the inside looking out"? How do you feel about that time looking back on it now?
I went to Iraq to protect my fellow Marines and to do what I could for the Iraqi people. I knew that we were at least in part responsible for Saddam so I felt like we owed it to the Iraqis. I had no idea what the big plan really was. It was the same plan as throughout history: let the poor people go fight to make the rich richer and tell them it’s for “God and Country” AND make sure you keep them uneducated enough that they’ll buy it.
I know that when I watched Obama get elected president I felt such as sense of pride the day I voted, as well as that night. How did that night personally affect you after eight years of the Bush administration?
I believe that he is a good man and smart man and that he would make a good president so I was happy. Also, because I had grown up around so much racism, I saw the fact that we now had a bi-racial president as a good thing. On the other hand, it was the night that Prop 8 won in California so there wasn’t much joy in the evening for me. I had bought a candy “engagement ring” to give to Adam, my husband if freedom and liberty and equality had won out over bigotry and hate. My intention was that we would make our marriage legal. Prop 8 won and I lost. We all lost.
I know that President Obama has not been in office long. I know that he has not quite lived up to the promises that he made to the gay community. He did just sign in The Mathew Sheppard Act. How did that affect you as a gay man at a time when we as a community are fighting harder than ever for our rights?
Every small step in the right direction gives me hope. It’s so hard after being beat up so badly for so long. But I do what I do because it’s right to do, not because of some attachment to results.
You recently were married, How important is it to you to see gay marriage pass in this country? I know it is such a hot bed issue with the Christian Right. As a gay Christian man, Do you think using faith as a weapon to keep our community down is an act of ignorance on the part of the Right? Especially with the Prop 8 fiasco, How do you balance living in the state who financed and pushed it though the most, with being a legally married couple. Is that your own little rebellion? How much did getting married change your outlook on the issue?
We’re not legally married. That was stolen from us. I never use the term “gay marriage.” That’s exactly my point. I don’t want “gay marriage.” I want marriage equality. I want equality period. If the government wants to call the arrangement XYZ123, I don’t care. The haters can then call theirs marriage and call us infidels like they always have. It’s EQUALITY I want. Those idiots who want to legislate their particular religious beliefs are so short-sited! They’re oddly also the same folks that cry out for more and more state and local government control. That means if a Baptist person ends up living in a county where most of the people are Church of Christ, the CofC’s could make having a piano in church ILLEGAL because they believe it’s sinful to do so. How very, very short-sited. I love my Southern folk but so many of us are too stupid not to vote against our own best interest. My marriage is not an act of rebellion. It’s between Adam, God and me. The haters will have to answer for their life on judgment day. I’ll be answering for mine.
You started The Mehadi Foundation as a way to help veterans who suffer from PTSD and from other problems with addiction. I respect you so much for that. What were the steps that brought you to start such a program for your fellow veterans?
While I felt that I could no longer be a party to evil, I knew I still had to be true to my commitment as a Marine. An important part of that commitment to me is taking care of my fellow servicemembers. Oh yes, the wealthy elite like to talk about how much they love the military but they’ll step over a starving veteran to get to their flag waving rallies. It’s disgusting. www.MehadiFoundation.org. My foundation is broke right now. But I hope for a brighter day. If each one of your readers would send $1 per question, it would help a lot!
I know your one busy man these days. How do you balance your work and family lives as well as your organization?
I don’t. I feel like I’m going crazy most of the time. You would not believe the number of requests I get for interviews or appearances or many other things. Most of them offer no pay and I have 53 cents in the bank. Bills are late so in truth I have negative money. But my Southern brothers and sisters will just keep on voting in the wealthy elite, the corporate welfare that our government doles out keeps them living like royalty while the poor dirt farmers and coal miners continue to try and tread water. All they have to say is “abortion and gay marriage” and these poor bastards will just keep voting for them. It’s unbelievable. My grandfather’s generation fought sometimes to the death to establish unions like the UMWA to help protect the working poor. Now you hear the poor working class Southerners talk about how the unions destroyed American business. They’ve bought a bill of goods alright, right off the snake-oil wagon. When Southerners find themselves finally without a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out, maybe they’ll see that we were right. Of course by then, the Carl Roves and the Dick Cheneys of the world will have run off with all the money made by the sweat of OUR brows, never to be heard from again. There’s a wonderful book by a man named Joe Bageant called “Deer Hunting with Jesus.” It talks about how working class and poor Southerners have been convinced that they should use the voting booth as a devise of self-flagellation. http://www.joebageant.com/
He’s an ole Southern boy like me who also saw outside the smoke and mirrors show that’s put on for us. The whole repression of gay folk is just another part of the evil money making machine. They have to keep the specter of “those evil sodomites and baby-killers” so they can keep on raking in the dough.
Now for something completely different. What are you listening , watching, or reading these days that inspire you. What gets you excited creatively?
Reading is exceptionally difficult for me. I’d love to read more but I just don’t because it’s so hard. I like to check out documentaries from the library. In the past few days I’ve watched documentaries on the lives of Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams, Oscar Wilde and Tony Kuchner. I’m listing to Velvet Underground on my iPod this week but most every day at the gym I listen to the same thing: Serj Tankien “Elect the Dead.” I also listen to Robert Shaw Singers’ “Rachmaninoff’s Vespers.” It’s other-worldly.
What do you see as the next step in your very amazing journey? Did you ever think that you would end up where you are now?
I’m just an ole country boy trying to get along. What we’re experiencing in our country economically right now is not so much the result of the evil actions of a few but the long-term result of a system designed to rob from the poor and give to the rich. I’ll keep doing my thing although on a daily basis it seems to get harder and harder. We’re currently looking for investors for the off-Broadway run of my play. If we’re not able to do so, I don’t know what will happen next. In some ways it is very strange for me when people recognize me out in public. To sit in a movie theatre with a bunch of people and see yourself up on the screen is like a weird dream. I’m grateful to God for every good thing that’s happened in my life, even grateful for the hard times if you can believe it. I’m 12 years sober and I’m grateful for the hell of alcoholism and all it taught me, more so how much recovery has taught me. In other ways though, I kind of always thought I was destined for an extraordinary life. When I was a little kid, I always used to pretend I was famous and traveled around with the Osmond family. Isn’t that just a hoot?
What is the legacy you would like to leave with all the work you have done. What is the one thing you would like people to know after all is said and done?
I hope, above all things that my journey, and my living my life in such a public way will help people in their own journeys and ultimately down the path toward complete self-acceptance and a recognition of the Divine within all of us.
Do you think that you will see "Don't Ask Don't Tell" be abolished under this administration? What do you think would be the benefits for those GLBT men and women who are thinking about serving our country? Do you think simply the repeal of the policy will change much, or will it take the military to under go change on a much deeper level. Will we as gay men and women have to teach them?
I remain cautiously optimistic with regard to the lifting of the ban. I’m the bastard stepson of the “lift the ban” movement because I still say that our military is being badly misused for corporate gain and I’m not eager to send my young gay brothers and sisters into that system. But institutionalized homophobia is wrong and if someone wants to serve, they shouldn’t have to lie to do it. Talk about "core values".
Here are the links to contact Jeff
http://www.SemperFiTheMovie.com
http://www.TheEyesOfBabylon.com
http://www.MehadiFoundation.org
http://www.Twitter.com/JeffKey
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1418291099&ref=profile
Here are the links to contact Jeff
http://www.SemperFiTheMovie.com
http://www.TheEyesOfBabylon.com
http://www.MehadiFoundation.org
http://www.Twitter.com/JeffKey
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1418291099&ref=profile
