Wake Up Everybody
Jeneane is angry that some have compared the rising Gay Marriage issue with the struggle for Civil Rights experienced by Black Americans:
"To compare the desire among gays to marry with the "bound-and-shackled, ripped-from-their-country-to-toil-in-servitude, whipped-lynched-raped-WITHOUT-any-protection-under-the-law" experience of those who fought and died as a direct result of the legacy of slavery during the civil rights era, is wrong."
She is reading the opinions and thoughts of others. She asks for opinions. I have one: "Every movement toward the ultimate goal is pure. We achieve through the combined struggle of all."
Jeanne, I trust you don't throw out an argument because the comparisons -- or the sacrifices -- are not exact. History does not repeat itself with purity. Speaking of only the last 200-odd years in North America... It did not diminish the struggle of the American Patriots when the Black Americans said "enough." It does not diminish the struggle of a Black in Selma to speak of a Gay at Stonewall. In any struggle it does not diminish the work of those who lived to compare their work to those who died. Each gave heart and soul. Each survivor mourns the loss of compatriots who made the ultimate sacrifice. Most truly understand the sentiment behind "If not for the grace of God there go I."
Jeneane, I think I'm a bit older than you. I say that only to let you know I am speaking from personal experience. My family was active in the Civil Rights movements. Members of my family have spent some time in the Gay Rights movements on the local level. I don't have pithy quotes or compelling rhetoric to express myself. I'll simply state some personal experiences. You can draw your own conclusion.
I remember running for safety. There were men shooting tear gas. There were people falling. Shouting, screaming, chaos. Skin color was why I was there. What an incredibly stupid reason for someone to die. No, I obviously didn't die, but others did. Not that day, but other days on other roads. That day, I just raised my voice with others to say "enough." I wish it had stopped there. But many are slow to recognize fellow humans.
I remember looking into the eyes of a big man. Sure, he was a boy of 18, but so was I and he was huge. My hips would have fit in a leg of his pants. He was afraid of me. No, he was afraid of my voice. A voice that wouldn't stay silent as he attempted to intimidate members of his society. I did not agree with him. I said so. He was angry. He wanted my voice silent. I was saying "enough." As I flew back into the wall -- recoiling from his punch -- I didn't think "This happened because he hasn't learned every Human is his true equal." but I was there precisely for that reason.
I remember walking down a dark street. I was heading for my car. I was in a safe part of town. I could hear the music from the club I had just left. I had been working to educate people about an epidemic many then didn't believe existed. My urban radar felt the slow car. Two young men in a front seat with laughter and anger on their faces. I stood and readied myself. Their words didn't adequately express their fears. Their epithets were make me feel less than human. By doing that they could justify the act they planned to commit.
They didn't know me. I represented a threat to their simple world. They were afraid of a world more complex. Their response to their fear was to rid their world of "people like me." They believed my pain would satiate their fear. I didn't stand there and imagine - "Oh, if I'd just stayed at home this wouldn't be happening."
It wouldn't have been happening to me, but it would have been happening to another. I obviously didn't give my life to a cause that night. If I had would my struggle have been more pure? If I had would the work of those who struggled and lived been diminished?
Is the right to marry as basic as the right to work, to vote, to live free? It is if you look at the basic seed value of each: A human being should be free to meet his or her needs without the interference of another human.
I will stand and breathe. I will eat and drink. I will sleep. I will stay warm. If you attempt to deprive me or others of that I will fight for my needs.
I will feel secure. If you attempt to deprive me or others of that I will repel you.
I will love; be loved; belong and share my love. If you attempt to deprive me or others of that I will ignore your rules.
I will be first and foremost Human. If you try to separate me from Humanity by calling me inferior you will experience my civil disobedience.
The basic struggle of every group is to have their needs met. Each struggle is pure. Every sacrifice -- large or small -- moves us toward the ultimate goal: to make unarguable "Each human has the right to satisfy basic needs without interference."
