I think about the number of people who chose to go to Chick-Fil-A on a certain day to show their support of unequal rights versus the number of people who did not go, and that gives me a bit of hope. If there was a day set for people to go to McDonald's to show their support for marriage equality (with the necessary media stimulus), there would no doubt be long lines there also.
If you lived in a society where most people were gay, how would you feel about strangers telling you that you could not, should not marry a person of opposite gender? To be told that you are unnatural, immoral, and that fulfilling your desires would somehow damage social institutions and the fabric of society? How would it feel to be told that your preferences are somehow so dangerous that we need to enshrine a denial of your rights into state and national constitutions? Would it feel oppressive to you to have people proclaim that the Word of God says you are to be condemned for your very nature?
It has somehow become fashionable for people to proclaim their piousness by a demonstration of intolerance. Their condemnation of others inflates their opinion of themselves as moral. And in today's political environment, this demonizing of others fits well in people's minds alongside proclamations of individual responsibility. This judgment of others along with the denial of social responsibility has been placed under the Banner of God, and it will take time for people to recognize that philosophy as being one of greed and intolerance. Until then, know that there are a great many people out there who support the LGBT community, even if they are only able to show that support one Chick-Fil-A sandwich-not-eaten at a time.
This was written in response to "Being Gay in Tucson Hurts", by Jane Devin (reprinted in the Huffington Post).
If you lived in a society where most people were gay, how would you feel about strangers telling you that you could not, should not marry a person of opposite gender? To be told that you are unnatural, immoral, and that fulfilling your desires would somehow damage social institutions and the fabric of society? How would it feel to be told that your preferences are somehow so dangerous that we need to enshrine a denial of your rights into state and national constitutions? Would it feel oppressive to you to have people proclaim that the Word of God says you are to be condemned for your very nature?
It has somehow become fashionable for people to proclaim their piousness by a demonstration of intolerance. Their condemnation of others inflates their opinion of themselves as moral. And in today's political environment, this demonizing of others fits well in people's minds alongside proclamations of individual responsibility. This judgment of others along with the denial of social responsibility has been placed under the Banner of God, and it will take time for people to recognize that philosophy as being one of greed and intolerance. Until then, know that there are a great many people out there who support the LGBT community, even if they are only able to show that support one Chick-Fil-A sandwich-not-eaten at a time.
This was written in response to "Being Gay in Tucson Hurts", by Jane Devin (reprinted in the Huffington Post).
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