how do I feel about this election?
I'm a monogamous bisexual. I could very well end up with a female life partner. I'm a liberal woman. I want to be treated with respect in the workplace. I want to be paid equally. I want the same opportunities as a man. And I want all my friends to have the same opportunities as a white man, even if they aren't. And I know people who have had abortions, and I know that while it is never a good choice, sometimes it is the best choice. And I am friends with people of all the color and gender spectrums.
I am still friends with a couple of republicans. And all they want is for me to shut up about it. They want me to stop fighting for my rights and the rights of my friends because it offends them.
But here's the problem. I'm not challenging their rights. I'm not fighting to change them at all. I am not offended when they go to church or stay abstinent or choose to have 5 children or have marriages involving one man and one woman or when they go hunting. But every vote they cast is a direct attack on everything I am and everything I stand for. Their whole goal in politics is to make everyone conform to what makes THEM fulfilled. Every rally they attend is aimed directly at me and at the people I love, because the things that are fulfilling to us is not what they are used to. Every talk show they listen to, every charismatic preacher they listen to is directly attacking me and my friends. They want me to shut up, but if I shut up, I will certainly lose the right to be myself. But if I speak up, they can still go to church. They can still pray. They can still go hunting. They can still get married and have lots of babies. I am not trying to change them. None of their rights are under attack.
And I want to be their friends, because they are good people in other arenas but their opinions and votes are always against me. So why do they accuse ME of being offensive when I feel like I'm only defending myself and those I love?
I am still friends with a couple of republicans. And all they want is for me to shut up about it. They want me to stop fighting for my rights and the rights of my friends because it offends them.
But here's the problem. I'm not challenging their rights. I'm not fighting to change them at all. I am not offended when they go to church or stay abstinent or choose to have 5 children or have marriages involving one man and one woman or when they go hunting. But every vote they cast is a direct attack on everything I am and everything I stand for. Their whole goal in politics is to make everyone conform to what makes THEM fulfilled. Every rally they attend is aimed directly at me and at the people I love, because the things that are fulfilling to us is not what they are used to. Every talk show they listen to, every charismatic preacher they listen to is directly attacking me and my friends. They want me to shut up, but if I shut up, I will certainly lose the right to be myself. But if I speak up, they can still go to church. They can still pray. They can still go hunting. They can still get married and have lots of babies. I am not trying to change them. None of their rights are under attack.
And I want to be their friends, because they are good people in other arenas but their opinions and votes are always against me. So why do they accuse ME of being offensive when I feel like I'm only defending myself and those I love?