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Bad things happen when I think
Nov. 12th, 2008 08:14 pmOkay, so maybe that's exaggerating, but I get all philosophical (read:preachy, I really need to shut up about 8, huh?) when I think.
Anyway, last week I think I mentioned that one of the characters on Knight Rider dressed up as Captain Jack Harkness for Halloween. Of course, people posted about it on a couple of my Torchwood comms and one of the members commented that she was disappointed that they focused on Jack's 'omnisexuality' more than anything else.
I was thinking about it and, really, it makes sense that they focused on Jack's sexuality because Americans are so hung up on sexuality. For more than a century, we got hung up on race, before that it was about Brits. We love having something to piss on another person about. Think about it, a very common insult these days is 'you're so gay.' If a guy is seen as anything other than completely masculine, people think he's gay. If a woman tends to dress in a masculine manner, people think she's a dyke.
Some time since Nov. 4th, I'm not entirely sure when, Keith Olbermann made a Special Comment concerning Prop 8. I won't go into all of it, you can watch the video on YouTube for that, but the thing that stuck with me the most was that he said it's a civil rights issue, and he's completely right. It's not about children, it's not about the church. It's about a majority denying a minority a basic human right. He also brought up a point that I made last week: how would straight people like it if we were the majority and denied them the right to be married? Would they stand for it? NO. If it hadn't passed, would the proponents just accept that? NO. So really, is it any wonder that we've taken Prop 8 to court?
I'm usually pretty content living in the IE, but I really wish I lived in LA county so I could go to the rallies and show my support that way since I don't have the money to donate to the cause.
Most of you probably know this already, but this isn't an abstract issue for me, it's not an issue that I associate with strangers. I have two wonderful friends on LJ who are a couple, though they don't live in California. I'm pretty sure half the women on my friends list are bisexual. Hell, I'm bisexual. I have a woman that I love very much. This issue is about me and the people in this world who are like me. If the most progressive state in the Union can't stand up for a minority, what hope do the people in other states who will eventually face this issue have? Massachusetts started it. It's California's duty to keep it going, to set an example for everyone else in this country that we all love so much.
I haven't lost hope that I will eventually have the right to marry the woman I love, if we ever get to that point. Why? Because the majority of my country had the good sense to elect a man who is from a minority group, who is progressive, who bloody well said 'no' on 8. That's what made me vote for President-Elect Obama. Not because he's black, or progressive. I honestly didn't read what he does or does not support. That ad I saw on TV for No on 8 with Obama's picture was what made my decision. In his own vlog about 8 passing, Sam Harris said that the Yes campaign took audio clips and spliced them together to make it sound like Obama supported 8 on the bot recordings. He did not. How many people said 'yes' because of those bots? How many people destroyed a lot of other people's hopes because the Yes campaign lied? Too many.
This is probably very foolish to post unlocked, but my real name is Susan Ward and Proposition 8 passing hurt me very deeply. If you didn't know anyone who was affected by it, now you do. I hope anyone who voted yes who sees this post realizes the enormity of what they've done; how many people they've hurt, and feel ashamed.
If anyone wants to post a link to this, feel free. I, personally, will not be going around spamming communities with it, but I think that people need to know what's at stake.
Anyway, last week I think I mentioned that one of the characters on Knight Rider dressed up as Captain Jack Harkness for Halloween. Of course, people posted about it on a couple of my Torchwood comms and one of the members commented that she was disappointed that they focused on Jack's 'omnisexuality' more than anything else.
I was thinking about it and, really, it makes sense that they focused on Jack's sexuality because Americans are so hung up on sexuality. For more than a century, we got hung up on race, before that it was about Brits. We love having something to piss on another person about. Think about it, a very common insult these days is 'you're so gay.' If a guy is seen as anything other than completely masculine, people think he's gay. If a woman tends to dress in a masculine manner, people think she's a dyke.
Some time since Nov. 4th, I'm not entirely sure when, Keith Olbermann made a Special Comment concerning Prop 8. I won't go into all of it, you can watch the video on YouTube for that, but the thing that stuck with me the most was that he said it's a civil rights issue, and he's completely right. It's not about children, it's not about the church. It's about a majority denying a minority a basic human right. He also brought up a point that I made last week: how would straight people like it if we were the majority and denied them the right to be married? Would they stand for it? NO. If it hadn't passed, would the proponents just accept that? NO. So really, is it any wonder that we've taken Prop 8 to court?
I'm usually pretty content living in the IE, but I really wish I lived in LA county so I could go to the rallies and show my support that way since I don't have the money to donate to the cause.
Most of you probably know this already, but this isn't an abstract issue for me, it's not an issue that I associate with strangers. I have two wonderful friends on LJ who are a couple, though they don't live in California. I'm pretty sure half the women on my friends list are bisexual. Hell, I'm bisexual. I have a woman that I love very much. This issue is about me and the people in this world who are like me. If the most progressive state in the Union can't stand up for a minority, what hope do the people in other states who will eventually face this issue have? Massachusetts started it. It's California's duty to keep it going, to set an example for everyone else in this country that we all love so much.
I haven't lost hope that I will eventually have the right to marry the woman I love, if we ever get to that point. Why? Because the majority of my country had the good sense to elect a man who is from a minority group, who is progressive, who bloody well said 'no' on 8. That's what made me vote for President-Elect Obama. Not because he's black, or progressive. I honestly didn't read what he does or does not support. That ad I saw on TV for No on 8 with Obama's picture was what made my decision. In his own vlog about 8 passing, Sam Harris said that the Yes campaign took audio clips and spliced them together to make it sound like Obama supported 8 on the bot recordings. He did not. How many people said 'yes' because of those bots? How many people destroyed a lot of other people's hopes because the Yes campaign lied? Too many.
This is probably very foolish to post unlocked, but my real name is Susan Ward and Proposition 8 passing hurt me very deeply. If you didn't know anyone who was affected by it, now you do. I hope anyone who voted yes who sees this post realizes the enormity of what they've done; how many people they've hurt, and feel ashamed.
If anyone wants to post a link to this, feel free. I, personally, will not be going around spamming communities with it, but I think that people need to know what's at stake.
