Monday, December 15, 2008

Props for Prop 8

Over the weekend I was thinking about some of the events which have transpired over the last couple of months. The elections, Obama, Prop 8, the loss of Prop 8 and the aftermath that followed... and it struck upon me that having lost the right to marry may have actually been, dare I say, a good thing?

Think about it: What happened when California was granted the right for same-sex couples to marry? We celebrated for a day or a few days, but then the celebration died and we shrugged on with our every day. The same thing happened with Connecticut, even in the heart of Prop 8 Protests - we said "yay!" for the day and shrugged on.

Much of the dust has settled from the after prop 8 blame game yet I still feel that we as a community haven't celebrated the fact that we only lost to "Yes on 8" by a 4% margin. The anger that followed is totally appropriate but it should be noted that, in the loss of this small 4%, we've gained a tremendous movement! We've gained protests and anger and rallies and marches and community meetings with people working together, collaborating and fighting! A whole army of gays, both young and old, male and female, restored, alerted, recharged and woken up - all chomping at the bit to become involved.

In the end, this 4% loss may have been our biggest win yet.

2 comments:

Queers United said...

i agree, this loss brings about such renewed activism that it may just be the best thing that has ever happened.

mr pinky said...

Thank you, for pointing out that prop8 lost by only 4%. We are actually getting closer, and we have finally have woken up. My wish is that we, as a movement, build alliances with other minorities. Some of us queers have that minority perspective, but sadly, most do not. I am glad to see public non-gay support for gay marriage.

Additionally, there are two things that threaten democracy: unrestricted capitalism, and religious fundamentalism.

Eric, it is younger queers like you that give me great hope for the future. I feel the benefits every day of my activism, being out in my rural mountain neighborhood, and being out at work (out before I was hired). Similarly, you will feel the benefits of your activism with the passage of time.

mr pinky