Just a simple repost this morning. I wrote this in 2008 in the wake of our stunning Prop 8 defeat. It was the response to conservative claims that our anger after that loss was due to the fact that we were being lawless crybabies.
Our anger was not a product of lawlessness but from years of psychological, mental, and physical abuse by those who did not see us as equals. As you can read by this link, the post received the most comments of anything I ever wrote:
Message to the religious right - this isn't just about marriage, it's about history
I keep hearing all of this nonsense about us lgbts attacking people,
about us using intimidation and violence to oppress people, about us
somehow being ugly aggressors.
Newt Gingrich
(who wrote the book on deceptive messaging during his tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives)
actually accused us of being "secular fascists." Gingrich's attack on
us seem to be the prevailing theme with those on the other side of the
Proposition 8 argument.
And I think there needs to be some historical perspective on this matter.
True, Proposition 8 has galvanized our community. We have become a bit
more politically engaged in our anger. That is a good thing.
However, any display of violence on either side of the argument should
never be tolerated.
Nor should letting the religious right frame the moment.
I have a few questions to people like Newt Gingrich, Bill O’Reilly,
Chuck Norris, Gary Bauer, Peter LaBarbera and the rest who are trying to
push this "gay intimidation" image.
Where were you in the late 1970s when Anita Bryant accused us of trying to “recruit” children?
Where were you in 1983 when Paul Cameron accused gay men of stuffing
gerbils up our rectums and castrating children? Or afterwards when he
went from state to state pushing his phony research papers all designed
to make us the boogiemen of American society?
Where were you when Jerry Falwell exploited the AIDS crisis to generate
more money for the Moral Majority? Or when those dying of AIDS were cast
out of their communities and excommunicated from their churches?
Where were you when Colorado passed that law in 1992 that basically said
cities in the state had absolutely no right to protect gays and
lesbians from discrimination?
Where were you when over the course of 20 years all of those phony
“pro-family” groups told lies in front of federal and congressional
state houses in attempts to beat back pro-gay laws or spread discredited
research that gave “upstanding, moral” families the perfect excuse to
put their gay sons and daughters out on the cold streets?
Where were you when organizations like Concerned Women for America, the
Family Research Council, the Traditional Values Coalition, and Focus on
the Family unconsciously gave reasoning for groups of roaming thugs to
bash our heads in, chase us out in heavy traffic, beat us to bloody
pulps with nail embedded boards, and hang us from fences on dark and
lonely roads?
How is it that you can dare call us aggressive when for over 30 years,
you have done everything in your power to make America hate and fear us?
How it is that you can dare infer that we don't have a right to get just
a tad angry when for over 30 years, you have done everything in your
power to make us hate and fear ourselves?
Every lie, every indignity, every attempt to dehumanize the lgbt
community has brought us to this point. The Proposition 8 vote was the
last straw in a chain of indignities that stretch as long as Jacob's
ladder.
This ain’t just about marriage. Nor is this a single moment in time.
We are not the aggressors. We are learning to fight back.
When I was coming out, it wasn’t the fact that I was gay that bothered
me more than the knowledge that so many had already written my life for
me; told me who I was, what I liked, what I didn’t like, and even where I
was going after I died.
Worst of all, they had the nerve to tell me that I had absolutely no
rights to the words "values," "family," "tradition," or "honor."
And you know what the saddest thing about this is? I was not alone.
Hundreds of thousands of lgbts went through the same experience. It was
our "rite of passage."
So while I may not have a media spin machine behind me and therefore
very few will give a damn about what I say, while I may not be a member
of a religious think tank who is presently working to use this moment to
again dehumanize lgbts, and while I may not be considered as a "leading
gay talking head," I am an American, a human being, and a child of God.
Therefore, I will never forget what has brought me to this point of outrage.
And I will do my best to make sure that this country never forgets either.
Lastly, I will do my best to make sure that YOU never forget.
