Imagine you're out to eat when the waiter announces your order to the entire restaurant. "Excuse me ladies and gentleman, she said she wants tonight's special. Yea or Nay?" And then by a show of hands, the entire dining room votes on your meal. "I'm sorry, the other customers think you should have a salad."
It'd be totally ridiculous, right?
But the gay marriage ban that passed in three states on election night isn't so far removed from this restaurant scenario.
Entire states were asked to walk into a voting booth, close the curtain, and decide whether or not a gay person should be allowed to marry someone they love. A majority of voters in California, Arizona and Florida decided they should not be allowed that right. I don't remember being asked to vote before any of my straight friends and family members got married.
I've never been cryptic about my views on marriage, but I am deeply concerned with actions taken to limit rights and the use of bigotry to hold a nation back from achieving equality. And that's what this is all about--equality. The idea that gay people are somehow different, or deserve an altered set of rules to exist in America is insulting and dangerous. It creates an idea of "the other" and is a breeding ground for injustice. What worries me is that this is not really an issue of marriage (as long as it's between consenting adults, does anyone honestly care who anyone marries?) but more of a device used to spread intolerance.
There are suggestions that gay marriage leads to the destruction of the family (huh?) but I like Ellen's response to these claims:
"I don't know what people are scared of. Maybe they think that their children will be influenced. And I gotta say, I was raised by two heterosexuals. I was surrounded by heterosexuals. Just everywhere I looked, heterosexuals. And they did not influence-- I mean, I had dabbled in high school, who didn't? But I think people are going to be who they're going to be. And we need to learn to love them for who they are and let them love who they want to love."
Note: The blog has taken a political turn as of late. Back to reporting on the absurdities of life soon. But on some level, I think the political posts qualify.
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7 comments:
My favorite argument is "If we allow gay marriage, the next thing you know, people will want to marry their pets". Really? That's the comparison you want to make? I guess I did not realize there were a lot of Americans in committed loving relationships with animals. Perhaps we need to look into that issue a little deeper before we worry about anything else.
Britney Spears can marry some guy for 24 hours because she's drunk in Vegas. Yet my friends who have been in a loving, commited relationship for years and have a child together can't because they're both women?
I will exit my soapbox now.
i love the pet argument too. it's probably my favorite argument of all time--regardless of the topic being discussed.
i want to coach a debate team and tell the kids to mention some variation of "Yeah, and the next thing you know people will want to marry their pets" after every point the other team makes.
-And that's why we support this measure.
-So you're saying people should be allowed to marry their pets?
-What? We're talking about medicinal marijuana.
-Are you? Or are you talking about people marrying their pets?
-What?
-Wait, are you arguing pro or con?
-We're pro.
-So you're pro people marrying pets?
-NO!
-So you're con.
-Yes!
- So you're against medicinal marijuana but still want people--especially people with glaucoma-- to marry their pets?
I'm pretty sure my team would be state champs.
Genius. I think it speaks to what is really at the heart of every controversial issue, people are afraid their pets will ban together and spearhead a communist regime. I blame George Orwell and the school systems that make us read Animal Farm. I also blame Ann Gedes for dressing babies like food. Now people think that same sex marriage will lead to communisim and that Ann Gedes will eat thier babies.
Anne Geddes is, without doubt, the scariest photographer working today. What sort of mind comes up with the idea of putting babies in plant pots, even H.G. Geiger would draw the line that that sort of thing. What the hell does one feed a baby plant on? Placenta mulch?
As for the same-sex marriage issue – it’s shocking that people in love can’t get married – that’s what Berlin Walls, Shakespearian Plots and Sudden Discovery Of Being Related are for. Of COURSE same sex couples should be allowed to marry (duh!), if for no other reason than…why the hell should somebody be allowed to be in a long-term relationship and not be badgered by their partner about getting wed? If I had to put up with it, why should anyone else be spared?
The animal farm/anne gedes observation is spot on. and, just plain funny.
Orwell must have dropped that his book was about Stalinism, right? I mean, how else did people get that? I just thought it was a book about talking pigs.
Remember that toy for barn animal sounds, where you'd pull a string and it'd spin around, making the sound of whatever animal it landed on? Why didn't they have an Animal Farm version of that? "A pig says, 'Hi everybody, I'm Snowball! Let's ban together to improve our working conditions and form an egalitarian utopia!"
Kids love stuff like that.
anonymous 2: well said. quick question about hg. geiger? had to google it and i saw that it's a wheel dresser and welding accessories company. not sure how that fits in but it still made me laugh.
Apolagiz, mi orful speling, I ment:
HR Giger - the artist who designed the 'alien' for the film.
ha. that's funny too.
Little bit of movie trvia: The original alien coming out of the stomach was supposed to be a baby dressed as a head of cabbage.
that might be true. feel free to use it at parties.
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