And most of you just let it happen.
To say I am angry would be an epic understatement. I don't even want to talk to any of you who didn't actively join in the fight against Prop 8 by making donations, by going door-to-door, by phone banking, or by working the polls on election day. Is that
really so much to ask? And by-the-way, for all of you who said you would donate, I will be checking for your donations to show up on reporting from the
California Secretary of State.See, if discrimination against any of you was going to be written into the state constitution I would absolutely be in the streets by your side. But Gay & Lesbian people are so completely used to being second-class citizens they are really walking around shell shocked all the time. Despite the clever humor and wry wit wielded by many of us second classers, we are damaged goods so used to being beaten down we don't even realize when we need to fight back. We are so used to being beaten down everyday that we don't directly challenge our friends and family to take a stand with us. And when you don't join us we don't call you on it. There are no consequences for you. We don't want to embarrass any of you any more than we are already embarrassed ourselves, standing there somehow guilty of loving (something you do so casually and openly) and unable to fully protect ourselves on our own. But I am saying today, if you didn't stand with us and actually do something to fight this change in the constitution then the onus is on you. YOU need to do something now that it is too late to do something about this, this time. I will be looking to see what you are willing to do and see if that is enough to remain your friend. Because that is what it has come down to. We have to decide who are our friends. Who is willing to hit the streets and take up arms to protect and defend us from the fundamentalists seizing control of the state? And who among us are siding with the enemy. Because that is what is at stake here.
And for those of you who voted yes on Proposition 8, we are going to be coming for you. I demand the IRS investigate churches, synagogues, and mosques that funneled money from the pulpit into the Yes coffers. That is not what the tax exempt status you received was given for. As Californians, we must demand a stop to the out-of-state money that turned a state-wide challenge into a national referendum on the rights of a minority. We must directly target the leaders and followers of the moment that has eroded the constitution and smeared hate across the state. And if the early reports are correct, people of color have some serious soul-searching to do - is that what all these years of struggle have been about? To then turn around and shit on the people below you?
If you voted yes, you are no longer allowed to say you are friends with Gay people. It's like saying oh yeah, I like black people, I have black friends, whilst you wield a firehose spraying them down. You are talking nice to my face while you stab us in the back. That IS what this is.
For Gay & Lesbian people, remember life is too short, and love is in such a short supply, don't let either slip by so casually.
