But today, carrying over from yesterday, I am angry and bitter. I feel like I have been sucker punched, thrown under the bus, and voted off the island. It's all because of the apparent (and I mean apparent as I have heard over 2,000,000 ballots have yet to be counted and nothing has been certified) passage of proposition 8. You know, the one that says that gay people are less than straight people. That our relationships and our families don't count. That one.
I always thought of myself as a bit of an idealist, not needing the government to tell me that my love was real. Somehow though, on the morning of the 5th, I didn't feel that way anymore. I felt like I had been told by my state that I wasn't a citizen that counted.
Imagine, if you will, putting YOUR marriage up for referendum. YOUR family. How would you feel if people voted no, that you couldn't have those same recognitions, rights, and protections that your neighbors have because someone that you don't even know thinks it isn't okay. Just think about that. How would you feel? I can speculate that you'd feel awful. I can also speculate that unless you are gay and recently married in CA that you can't even begin to imagine the pit that would be sitting in your stomach, the disgust for the system that would eat at your core, and the hurt, anger and bitterness that feels absolutely paralyzing.
Today, I feel betrayed by the emptiness of the "inalienable rights" guaranteed me by the CA constitution. Let's just go ahead and put "unless you are gay" at the end of that article.
So, today, I am trying to work past the negativity that I have felt for the last two days. I am going to try to channel my thoughts and energies into ideas and action. It's time for one more gay voice. I hope anyone who reads this will take a moment today to think about the sadness that your gay friends, neighbors, and coworkers are feeling. Take a moment to send a quick note, or give a special hug. I came into work today to find a note taped to my monitor. It said:
Went home thinking about the two of you and Rhys--Yes, California is not
what one hears out there. We won't give up the fight."
It was from my boss. So maybe I can take that sentiment and start thinking about Obama's hope and change. Please pass it on.
2 comments:
for me, Obama's victory combined with the Prop 8 decision (along with the ones in other states) have given me both the hope and the anger to start doing more to fight for gay rights. Of course I'm not quite sure how to do that yet, but I hope to figure something out. In the meantime, yeah, I've been thinking about you three a lot and even though I feel upset and angry about this, I know that you guys must be feeling so much worse. so *hug* We love you guys!
I choose not to label my sexuality. I am what I am, and I feel that if I love somebody, anybody, I should be able to spend the rest of my life with them and delegate certain tasks to them when I am not capable of doing so. Doing so gives them access to my finances when I cannot, allows them to make medical decisions when I cannot, and grants them authority over my children when I cannot. And vice versa. All of these activities are traditionally and legally bestowed upon married couples, and have absolutely nothing to do with what religion I adhere to or whom I choose to share my genitalia with. Legally restricting this arrangement to one man and one woman, rather than two people, is ludicrous, and I cannot believe that a supposedly secular state within a supposedly secular and progressive country as our own would vote, en masse, to append something so discriminatory into its constitution. Marriage is a religious tradition - if you want to be married, go to church. If you want it recognized by the government, get a civil union and stop restricting it to those who are married.
If there was ever an example to practice civil disobedience, this is it. It is not a crime to ask a question - everybody who wants to be married to their partner should start going to their county clerks daily until they are granted a license to wed. If you get denied, go back as soon as you can and request it again. Do this daily, and bring your friends. Have your friends bring their friends. Be vocal. Get yourself arrested. Get fined. Keep being a thorn in somebody's side until they end it on their own. Be noisy. This bigotry needs to end!
Tell the little guy I said hello, and plenty of people out there still care.
~E
Post a Comment