Last night and this morning brought a ridiculous mix of emotions, not surprisingly. Also not surprisingly, most of them are negative. I'm happy that Obama won. I used to be ecstatic, but that was before other results started coming in. Driving to the No on 8 post-election party, before I heard any real results, I was shedding tears listening to Obama's acceptance speech on the radio. Shortly thereafter, I was shedding tears for a very different reason.
I can't help but feel a sense of bitterness about the Obama celebration. All the talk of hope, inclusion, moving forward, joining together, I can't help but feel that it's not meant to be everyone joining together. How can it be, when 3 out of 4 initiatives against gay marriage passed? How can it be, when Arkansas wanted so badly to exclude the GLBTQ community that it trampled on the lives and needs of helpless kids, by passing a measure that unmarried couples cannot adopt or serve as foster parents? Do you understand that? Do you understand that hundreds of kids in Arkansas will be denied perhaps their first chance at stability in their upside down lives, and it's because people hate gay people just that much? Come on people, this is shit they do in China! How can it be meant for everyone when Obama's own words speaking out against gay marriage provided the last bit of fuel that helped push Prop 8 to success?
How can it be, when the news this morning is filled with pictures of people celebrating, beaming with joy and glee, at their accomplishment of successfully stripping away the rights of millions of people they have never met, but spent tens of millions of dollars to oppress?
I'm sorry--I'm very happy that Obama won. I do believe he represents the best chance for this country to move forward and heal. From a social context, his victory is amazing, and historic, and not something I thought I would see in my lifetime; not just that he won, but HOW he won. But I don't believe right now that this party is for everyone.
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I know you are hurting. I'm sorry the world is so unkind.
Whenever exclusion rears it's head I'm reminded of this poem...
First they came for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one
left to speak up for me.
by Rev. Martin Niemoller, 1945
Cheri, I wish this was not the case. So few stand up for those who need it. I wish there was something I could do....
If they ban you, it is only time before they ban me. If no one speaks for you, no one will speak for me.
It really breaks my heart. I wish that people could understand, but they cannot see past their misconceptions.
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