Maya Angelou on Gay Marriage
Box Turtle Bulletin has a
post up about prominent black civil rights leaders that have recently come out in favor of gay marriage. The two quoted in the post are NAACP Chairman Julian Bond (who I've been a fan of since I saw him give an MLK Day speech in college) and poet Maya Angelou.
The BTB post has great quotes from both supporting marriage equality, but my favorite is a line from Maya Angelou because it does such a good job of emphasizing the human element in this debate--something that I thing is easily forgotten, especially among anti-gay marriage folks.
In a call to New York state Senator Shirley Huntley, Maya Angelou told her that she, "would ask every man and every woman who’s had the blessing of having children, ‘Would you deny your son or your daughter the ecstasy of finding someone to love?’”
It's an important point. I wonder how many of the anti-gay marriage crowd would voluntarily give up their own right to fall in love.
30 is the New 20!
My birthday was Saturday. I went with a group of friends, including my twin brother, to Las Vegas to celebrate. Great times!
I'm now officially old (I think I say that every year). If I keep telling myself that 30 is the new 20 maybe I'll believe it. Is it weird that I still feel like I'm in my early 20's? I did get carded at a casino this weekend, so at least I have that going for me.
No Gay American Idol
I didn't vote for Adam Lambert to win American Idol. In fairness, I didn't vote for Kris Allen either, but had I voted, I definitely would have voted for Kris. He's too adorable not to vote for! Well, that and I really can't see myself buying a
cd of Adam Lambert's
shrieking, but I could definitely see myself buying something of Kris', especially if it is a lot of
acoustic stuff.
But, does my support for Kris and lack of enthusiasm for Adam make me a gay
traitor? Am I a bad gay that just handed the far right
the ammunition they needed? I doubt it, but some people really seem to think so. In all honesty, while Adam surely is the better performer of the two, Kris earned his win, and I liked his stuff better. I just can't get behind the "America still hates" gays whining.
Sorry guys. Hopefully I can keep my gay card (if I ever even had one to begin with, that is).
Nine Year Old Marriage Activist
Meet Steven. He's nine years old and an activist for marriage equality. Because he wants to be, not because of something some adult forced on him (ahem: people that make their kids hold horrible signs with horrible words against gays).
If you want to read one of the most touching stories I've read in a really long time, you should check out Steven's
story. Even cuter than him might be how proud his parents and teacher are of him.
Let's Get Gay Married in Maine
Five. That's the number of states that allow full marriage for gays and lesbians (thanks to Maine
today). How amazing is that?
Maine just became the 5th. It might take my state my entire lifetime to make a move this big, but to see so many other states going the right way on this sure is exciting!
Gay Marriage- I've Changed My Mind
I've decided that I've changed my mind about gay marriage. Don't jump to conclusions--I still fully support gay marriage, so that's not where I'm going with this.
For a long time, I've tried very hard to give people that were against gay marriage the benefit of the doubt on the issue, telling myself that they're confused or can't overcome the teachings of their upbringings or religious beliefs to understand the absurdity of the idea that gay marriage would somehow destroy the institution of marriage. Don't get me wrong, I haven't been happy to hear people be against gay marriage, but for a lot, not all, but a lot, of them I tried to understand where they were coming from and give them the benefit of the doubt.
That time has passed, though. They're adults. They having minds of their own, and I've just grown sick of watching grown adults hide in their own bigotry, ignorance, fear, whatver else it is. I stopped believing in Santa Clause, and they can stop believing in this equally unproven idea of the destruction of marriage.
Call me jaded, or just call me realistic, but it's simply time to stop giving the anti-gay marriage crowd a pass. This is a personal issue for me. It always has been, but I've come to realize that I shouldn't be required to separate my personal life from a political issue that is so important to me.
To sit back and watch a mother
claim that she "would go to the end of the earth for [her gay daughter]" and say that she "would never hurt her," but then go on to vote against gay marriage (and her daughter) as a legislator in Maine makes me cringe. To see another legislator
say that the Maine bill to legalize gay marriage "isn't about civil rights...[it's] is about a social agenda, which tears at the very fabric of our society," smacks me as willful ignorance at best and straight bigotry at worst. For another lawmaker to
claim that he doesn't believe that "… this [marriage bill in Maine] is about love and equality. [But] is in fact of recognition and legitimization of … a tiny segment of our society for selfish needs blows my mind.
Like I said, I used to try to give these people a pass. They don't understand what being gay really is. They haven't sat down with a gay person to understand how similar being gay is to being striaght. They're confused and led astray by the real anti-gay conglomerates out there. They just don't want to make too many waves.
I can't get there anymore. Watching someone claim that gay marriage is about selfishness rather than love makes my head want to explode. I'm probably one of the most easy-going, non-violent people you've ever met, but when I have to listen to stuff like this, rage has become my reaction.
There comes a time when you can only let people claim the ignorance card for so long. To hear a mom tell her daughter that an institution is more important than her own daughter makes me lose faith in humanity. To see people pretend that gay marriage will end marriage as a whole while turning a blind eye to the real ills of marriage makes me sick to my stomach. I'm over this. I used to think bigotry was too strong a word for people that were against gay marriage because of their own misinformation on the subject, but now it seems entirely appropriate. Ignorance can only go so far. When that ignorance becomes willful, there's more to the story.
The good news is things are changing, and the momentum is on our side. The bad news is,
every time I hear this kind of stuff, I still want to puke.
New Blog Friend
Hey everyone. I'd like to introduce you to my new friend DannyBrou and his blog. He's ex-ex-gay (not sure if he uses that term or not), and his blog is about that ordeal, his life, being a gay dad; all kinds of interesting stuff.
He and I just met a few months back through a friend of mine. Somehow it got out that I have a blog about ex-gay issues, and having gone through ex-gay counseling himself, he was interested in reading it. So, I gave him the address, and the craziest thing in the world happened--he'd already been to this little blog of mine before and even commented on it. It's such a small world we live in, even the online part of it.
DannyBrou, believe it or not, is actually the first person I've known personally to have gone through ex-gay therapy. I've talked to a lot of people over the years through email and blogs that have been, or still are, ex-gay, but he's the first one I've known in real life. It's pretty amazing what kind of a difference talking with him has made on my perspective on things, and I'm so very appreciative for that and having met him.
Anyway, go check out DannyBrou's
blog and leave him a comment.
PS- did I mention that the Rockets are going to the 2nd round of the NBA playoffs since I was in high school? Consider me pumped!
