“It takes no compromise to give people their rights...it takes no money
to respect the individual. It takes no political deal to give people
freedom. It takes no survey to remove repression.”
― Harvey Milk
Today is an important day.
SCOTUS is hearing arguments on 4 marriage equality cases today. It's a day that could change the face of marriage equality in the US.
Marriage equality is an important issue to me. We have it in our state now and that changed lives for many people I knew, including mine and my wife's and my son's. It means a lot to our family to have the right to marry, and to be able to be visible legally on documents, in hospitals and banks, and in my place of work. Not too long ago, we were denied this right.
So SCOTUS is on my mind today as the listen to the arguments and try to decide what is fair and constitutional.
My mind is also with the people in Baltimore who are rioting against police brutality and institutionalized racism. Although I stand with my LGBT family on the importance of marriage equality, I am torn by the pull of the violence in Baltimore. Protests like this seem to bring the worst out of some people who generalize all people of color as violent, and who see no justification for the violence.
I am a pacifist.
I do not see a need for violence in my personal life and I would not knowingly support violence or participate in it. That said, I am human, and humans often use violence to resolve conflict, be seen, heard, understood. Violence is sometimes the only option a people has to achieve a voice in an argument or dispute. Police brutality is, in itself, a very violent act. Coming from the place of a "community helper" this is even more problematic. There is no one you can trust. How does one rise above this? When black lives do not matter to people in power, they are lost needlessly. How do you make your lives matter? Sometimes the only option is to riot. make noise. commit violent acts.
A lot of people will condemn the people in Baltimore for letting the protests turn violent, but I will not. When you push, jab, silence and devalue people long enough and then you kill one their people, it's unlikely that the people will turn the other cheek. In fact, that cheek is also already injured.
So today it's not only marriage equality. It's equality in general. And peace.
“All men are created equal. Now matter how hard they try, they can never erase those words. That is what America is about.”
― Harvey Milk, The Harvey Milk Interviews: In His Own Words
― Harvey Milk
Today is an important day.
SCOTUS is hearing arguments on 4 marriage equality cases today. It's a day that could change the face of marriage equality in the US.
Marriage equality is an important issue to me. We have it in our state now and that changed lives for many people I knew, including mine and my wife's and my son's. It means a lot to our family to have the right to marry, and to be able to be visible legally on documents, in hospitals and banks, and in my place of work. Not too long ago, we were denied this right.
So SCOTUS is on my mind today as the listen to the arguments and try to decide what is fair and constitutional.
My mind is also with the people in Baltimore who are rioting against police brutality and institutionalized racism. Although I stand with my LGBT family on the importance of marriage equality, I am torn by the pull of the violence in Baltimore. Protests like this seem to bring the worst out of some people who generalize all people of color as violent, and who see no justification for the violence.
I am a pacifist.
I do not see a need for violence in my personal life and I would not knowingly support violence or participate in it. That said, I am human, and humans often use violence to resolve conflict, be seen, heard, understood. Violence is sometimes the only option a people has to achieve a voice in an argument or dispute. Police brutality is, in itself, a very violent act. Coming from the place of a "community helper" this is even more problematic. There is no one you can trust. How does one rise above this? When black lives do not matter to people in power, they are lost needlessly. How do you make your lives matter? Sometimes the only option is to riot. make noise. commit violent acts.
A lot of people will condemn the people in Baltimore for letting the protests turn violent, but I will not. When you push, jab, silence and devalue people long enough and then you kill one their people, it's unlikely that the people will turn the other cheek. In fact, that cheek is also already injured.
So today it's not only marriage equality. It's equality in general. And peace.
“All men are created equal. Now matter how hard they try, they can never erase those words. That is what America is about.”
― Harvey Milk, The Harvey Milk Interviews: In His Own Words
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