(no subject)
hey friends!
there's a protest in the city this evening against the passage of prop 8. i have chosen not to discuss politics in my journal because of the personal nature of beliefs and the fact that i don't feel that my lj is the place to have arguments about it. but here it is, because i can't stop thinking about it, and people in my classes can't stop bringing it up, and because everyone's facebook statuses are about it, and because i really can't escape it.
so i guess the first thing i should say is that i don't really believe in marriage. honor, love and commitment between people is fantastic, and that's what i think it should be. that, i'd be down with. but the institution of marriage? so problematic for me, in so many ways, including but certainly not limited to the basic language around marriage, the attitudes around it, the intrinsic exclusionary practices in it, and the value and position it holds in Western societies. i don't ever want to participate in it, but that's just my opinion.
but my opinion on marriage isn't what matters here. because far be it for ME to tell SOMEONE ELSE what they are or aren't allowed to do with other consenting adults, period. the thing that matters is that there are rights that go along with marriage that multitudes of people are being denied. that, i am not cool with at all.
one of the other things is that every excuse people use against same-sex marriage is utter bullshit. there's the whole 'homosexuality is wrong' thing that i don't need to address at all. and then there are reasons like 'the bible defines marriage as being between a man and a woman', which makes NO goddamn sense if there is separation of church and state. IF the state chooses to recognize marital unions and grant those unions certain rights, then it is the state's concern who gets those rights and who does not, NOT the church's right. there are other reasons that involve children but all of those are only used to strike emotion and fear in people; they're not logical arguments ((because, let's face it, flist. each and every single one of you knows that straight couples fuck kids up every fucking day. sexuality has nothing to do with it)).
and the whole controversy around this is that i guess the world sort of expected california to have same-sex marriage because it's depicted as this magical~* open and accepting and loving place? well, clearly the world was wrong. the whole state is not made up of places like the sf bay area and los angeles, to be quite honest. and even the bay and la had plenty of people that voted against the same-sex unions, too.
and i guess i should stop saying 'the world' as if that doesn't include me. i honestly hadn't really considered the idea that prop 8 would pass. but i live in berkeley and have been surrounded by NO ON 8 signs and buttons and pins and stickers and rallies for months now. i forget that outside of berkeley (according to one of my students, as near as oakland), it's not like this.
i guess i had too much faith in the younger generation that wears rainbows just to support their gay best friends? the generation where a good portion of us have been out of the closet since high school (no, really. christa's been out since middle school dude). the generation full of Gay-Straight Alliances and queer dances and all that awesome shit.
or maybe this generation isn't full of that stuff and i just have no idea how privileged i've been and continue to be? i mean, i'm under no illusion that violence and harassment against queer people has stopped. on the contrary, i'm well-aware of it. but somehow i guess i thought we had larger numbers than this. and i guess that's what disappoints me most of all.
same-sex marriage isn't going to fix everything. it's not even the biggest issue facing the queer community right now. as i've previously mentioned, homohating violence is still alive and well, as is work discrimination, and we have the highest rates of homelessness, prostitution and suicide (especially for those of us that are trans). marriage, not so high on my priorities.
but the attitudes and arguments that surrounded the YES ON 8 campaign are more than just symbolic. they're real indicators as to how the queer community is perceived, in california and elsewhere. and i can't stand by and do nothing. i have to stomp around and yell and wave rainbow in the streets.
and should we, somehow, make some grand change in the process, and turn this shit around, it won't be the end. because there are still multitudes of people who are denied the rights and privileges given to married couples by society (polyamorous people, asexual people, people who have no desire to get married, and other groups that i can't even think to name right now). but right now, i've got marching to do, okay?
there's a protest in the city this evening against the passage of prop 8. i have chosen not to discuss politics in my journal because of the personal nature of beliefs and the fact that i don't feel that my lj is the place to have arguments about it. but here it is, because i can't stop thinking about it, and people in my classes can't stop bringing it up, and because everyone's facebook statuses are about it, and because i really can't escape it.
so i guess the first thing i should say is that i don't really believe in marriage. honor, love and commitment between people is fantastic, and that's what i think it should be. that, i'd be down with. but the institution of marriage? so problematic for me, in so many ways, including but certainly not limited to the basic language around marriage, the attitudes around it, the intrinsic exclusionary practices in it, and the value and position it holds in Western societies. i don't ever want to participate in it, but that's just my opinion.
but my opinion on marriage isn't what matters here. because far be it for ME to tell SOMEONE ELSE what they are or aren't allowed to do with other consenting adults, period. the thing that matters is that there are rights that go along with marriage that multitudes of people are being denied. that, i am not cool with at all.
one of the other things is that every excuse people use against same-sex marriage is utter bullshit. there's the whole 'homosexuality is wrong' thing that i don't need to address at all. and then there are reasons like 'the bible defines marriage as being between a man and a woman', which makes NO goddamn sense if there is separation of church and state. IF the state chooses to recognize marital unions and grant those unions certain rights, then it is the state's concern who gets those rights and who does not, NOT the church's right. there are other reasons that involve children but all of those are only used to strike emotion and fear in people; they're not logical arguments ((because, let's face it, flist. each and every single one of you knows that straight couples fuck kids up every fucking day. sexuality has nothing to do with it)).
and the whole controversy around this is that i guess the world sort of expected california to have same-sex marriage because it's depicted as this magical~* open and accepting and loving place? well, clearly the world was wrong. the whole state is not made up of places like the sf bay area and los angeles, to be quite honest. and even the bay and la had plenty of people that voted against the same-sex unions, too.
and i guess i should stop saying 'the world' as if that doesn't include me. i honestly hadn't really considered the idea that prop 8 would pass. but i live in berkeley and have been surrounded by NO ON 8 signs and buttons and pins and stickers and rallies for months now. i forget that outside of berkeley (according to one of my students, as near as oakland), it's not like this.
i guess i had too much faith in the younger generation that wears rainbows just to support their gay best friends? the generation where a good portion of us have been out of the closet since high school (no, really. christa's been out since middle school dude). the generation full of Gay-Straight Alliances and queer dances and all that awesome shit.
or maybe this generation isn't full of that stuff and i just have no idea how privileged i've been and continue to be? i mean, i'm under no illusion that violence and harassment against queer people has stopped. on the contrary, i'm well-aware of it. but somehow i guess i thought we had larger numbers than this. and i guess that's what disappoints me most of all.
same-sex marriage isn't going to fix everything. it's not even the biggest issue facing the queer community right now. as i've previously mentioned, homohating violence is still alive and well, as is work discrimination, and we have the highest rates of homelessness, prostitution and suicide (especially for those of us that are trans). marriage, not so high on my priorities.
but the attitudes and arguments that surrounded the YES ON 8 campaign are more than just symbolic. they're real indicators as to how the queer community is perceived, in california and elsewhere. and i can't stand by and do nothing. i have to stomp around and yell and wave rainbow in the streets.
and should we, somehow, make some grand change in the process, and turn this shit around, it won't be the end. because there are still multitudes of people who are denied the rights and privileges given to married couples by society (polyamorous people, asexual people, people who have no desire to get married, and other groups that i can't even think to name right now). but right now, i've got marching to do, okay?