Has this what America has become, folks? That the majority of our citizens enjoy the sight of a targeted group of people continuously being marginalized? That we have members of our society say, without any sense of irony, that "marriage is now safe in Maine" when the divorce rates still skyrocket? Saying "our children are now safe" when they're involved continuously in nasty custody battles where straight couples use them as legal leverage? Wasn't there a verse, dear Christians, about removing the plank from your own eye before tending to someone else's?
I am heartbroken by Maine's loss, because just like California, rights that were granted by our government have been stripped by our fellow citizens. I am heartbroken because next will be New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Iowa, undoing all the progress we made this year. I am furious because our chicken-shit president stood by and did NOTHING, despite the promises he made to the HRC a month ago.
But most of all, I'm tired. I'm tired of justifying myself every single election year. I'm tired of having my life put up to a popular vote. I'm tired of lies being told about me and others like me. I'm tired of being told that my relationship would never be on the same level as, say, Bill O'Reilly's.
I'm tired of being told I shouldn't care about marriage. Well you know what? If it's not such a big damn deal, then you, who are married, should get divorced right now. Still live together, still love one another. Just don't be married. Of course, you'll have to change your wills, life and health insurance policies, bank accounts, house deeds, car titles, next of kin........oh. I guess marriage *is* a big deal, huh?
All of my life, I've been told I'm nothing of value: from kids in school, from family members, from churches, and from government. And for a while, I believed them. I believed that because I was different, because I was weird, that it would be better for me to not exist anymore. I couldn't foresee my life being worth living because so many people fucking hated me.
I hope none of you have ever felt that way, because it is a truly horrific way to grow up: to love Jesus only to be told He hates you; to love your extended family only to be told they hate you; to reach out to your classmates only to be ridiculed. Gay teenagers commit suicide not because they feel there's something wrong with them, but that they believe they will never find happiness amidst all this hate that surrounds them.
And if you have contributed in any way to the marginalizing of someone else, shame on you.
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This is an amazing post.
ReplyDeleteI hate that you ever had to feel like you were worth nothing. I hate that anyone ever has to feel that way.
I have hope that things will change in the future; the numbers alone tell me that. But I hate waiting. I cried this morning, because it's just so frustrating that other people are able to determine how we can live our lives. Like other people have said, if interracial marriage had been on the ballot in 1967, there's no way in hell it would have passed. So why are we voting on gay marriage? It's totally ridiculous.