I can blame. I can complain. I can even feel that people are insane. But right now all I feel is pain. I have voted for over 20 years. I have been disappointed by some outcomes. I have been dismayed by some results. I have never actually been hurt by them. Today, after running through every thought possible, I only feel hurt. There are still people in my own backyard (LA County) that do not believe that I deserve the same rights and responsibilities as they do. The word Marriage is still as divisive as it was when I first heard about “Gay Marriage” as a young man in Massachusetts. Back in the day when those early fighters sat down in the MA State House until they were heard. I live in West Hollywood. Part of LA County and in 2008 on the same day that this country overwhelmingly elects an African American man as its next President, we are still not equal enough to be married. We are now constitutionally banned! I remain hurt. I figured it out. I have never felt discrimination until today. I am a GWM (Gay White Male) who grew up in Newton, MA with a very supportive network of friends and family when I busted Out at 18 years of age. I have lived a very out life; had partners at family events, checked into hotels in small towns and immediately asked where the local gay bar was, proudly exclaimed who I am in job interviews, consulted to old-muckety mucks and talked about my partner, and spent more than 15 years working tirelessly for GLBT Youth. Never, ever felt discrimination until today. Discrimination hurts!
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I couldn’t agree more. This is truly a sad day.
The very people that helped elect our first black president, the very people that should know first hand what discrimination feels like, helped overwhelmingly to vote discrimination into law for my son and many others like him. See below:
“Exit polls for The Associated Press found that Proposition 8 received critical support from black voters who flocked to the polls to support Barack Obama for president. Blacks voted strongly in favor of the ban, while whites narrowly opposed it and Latinos and Asians were split.”
As a woman I have faced discrimination. But I have never felt the pain I feel today. Because this discrimination is directed at my son. People can say and do a lot to me and I can take it. But when it comes to my babies, you better watch what you are doing. You DON’T MESS WITH MY BABIES. So, today I hurt. I really really hurt. For my son, for you Sam and for all my beautiful LGBT family members. But soon, maybe even tomorrow, cuz I am resilient, soon I will be ready to fight for my son and for other mother’s sons and daughters. I will fight for equality til the day I die. I promise you that.
Discrimination of any kind hurts. Until EVERY person is treated equally, and guaranteed protection of those rights by the laws of this Country, the pain felt by so many today will remain. It is truly sad.
We can, we are entitled, to feel the pain. But, the pain can make us stronger. IT WILL make us stronger. Fighting for equality for all “until death do us part”.
I came to the same conclusion earlier today. For the first time in my life I feel the real pain of discrimination. It’s something I’ve never felt before. Certainly never on such a large scale. To be told by so many, “You’re not the same and you don’t deserve to be treated as an equal.”
While all of our heads are spinning today, rest assured by tomorrow, we will begin to get back on track.
Gay = Smart
Dear Yes on 8 Supporters,
I have a voice and it will be louder than ever. I have friends with voices, lot’s of voices. We will be heard. We will be accepted. You’ll see.
We don’t accept this slap in the face. We won’t stop demanding equal rights. We will achieve equality. “Whether you like it or not.”
My hope is that all who had felt saddened throughout the day of November 5th, 2008 over the issue of Prop inevitably went to bed feeling joy due to what transpired once the night had arrived.
People came together. They held up their signs. They took pictures, filmed video. Brought their children. Talked to various news reporters. Applauded together. Chanted together. Laughed together. Marched the streets of our great California cities together.
They brought with them their ethnicity, their gender, their sexual orientation, their religion, their determination, their humanity, and their love.
I feel so blessed to be a member of the LGBT community in this life. The trait of my orientation alone – as a human being – bonds me with women, men, Asians, Latinos, African-Americans, all other ethnicities, as well as all sectors of religion.
We are one of the tangible, physical, and visual examples of what one means when they say, “We All Are One”.
And on the night of November 5th, 2008 at 7:00 pm, when we peacefully and proudly walked out into the street to crowd that intersection of Santa Monica & San Vicente in the city of West Hollywood, holding our signs, taking our pictures, cheering for goodness and love, I looked all around me and felt an affirmation of what I had always known to be true – “We All Are One”.
And we were. And are. And always will be.
There will inevitably be sad times ahead. But there will also be great moments of growth through joy. The important thing is, is to honor those moments, all of them. For they each mark the turns in our experiences which shape the courses of history to make better the futures for all.
I have to tell you that this outcome is even more distressing for those of us living in even more repressed, hyper-conservative states. There was hope for the nation when California got on board. This sets us back a step. I wish I could say I am hopeful, but I guess if the nation can finally embrace an African-American to put him in the White House I need to take heart. Right now it’s just a bitter pill to know that California voted in favor of legalizing discrimination.
“The roots of sexism and homophobia are found in the same economic and political institutions that serve as the foundation of racism in this country.” -Angela Davis