bring it on
Since all of the recent hullabaloo over same sex marriages, I’ve heard an ocean of opinion on a subject that to me always seemed pretty clear cut. Growing up in a rather liberal San Jose during my childhood, I’ve always believed (probably somewhat naively) that people were past this particular issue and whatever part of the country hadn’t come around would do so soon enough. Even my most staunchly conservative friends would roll their eyes as Jerry Falwell screeched that homosexuality was causing the decay of western society. However, since attending San Luis Obispo, an area which has much more conservative values than my native San Jose or my current Los Angeles home, I’ve come to realize that there is still a pretty large group of people out there who think of homosexuality as either a mental disease or the result of too much exposure to radiation. The worst part is it’s not one of those values that tends to change much with time, I expect neither camp will change their feelings about the issue during their lifetime, so it’s up to the next generation to look at the the world around them and decide whether or not gay men and women have a place in it.
The following is a letter I read on Joshua Marshall’s blog.
Josh,
I’m 62 years old and grew up in Missouri. When I married my first wife, who as Japanese American, we had to do so in another state. At that time it was against Missouri state law for interracial marriages to take place. Times change.
40 years later the pain of that state-sanctioned inequality, which made some couples second-class citizens, still stirs an old, deep-felt resentment. While I’m not gay, I certainly have sympathy for the state-sanctioned unfairness that gay couples endure and believe that in another 40 years (probably much sooner) gay marriages will be a simple, accepted fact of life.
John
Everyone has their own opinion, but as for me, I just hope when I’m sixty years old my child will have learned about this as just another sad chapter of American history, lumped in with Slavery and Manzanar.
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Posted by Red Scott @ 10:34 pm
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Comments Off on bring it on
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Manzanar?
Comment by Rachel — February 22, 2004 @ 2:05 pm
“Manzanar War Relocation Center was one of ten camps at which Japanese American citizens and resident Japanese aliens were interned during World War II.”
So it’s a concentration camp. There are others, but this one is the most famous. It’s also a National Park.
Comment by Red/Brian — February 22, 2004 @ 2:54 pm
another reason i can’t wait to move out of slo :-)
Comment by nicole — February 22, 2004 @ 5:53 pm
I felt compelled to respond because it touches deep in my heart.
As highschool co-president of the gay-straight alliance I should indicate that san jose is not so liberal as you think.
It was the toughest job in my life going to a white christian morman santa teresa.
Some of my best friends are considered queer and It’s terrible to see the world against them. Most teenage queers have low amount of self esteem because they believe that something is actually wrong with them.
“Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly,”
Dr. MLK Jr.
I have grown to believe that love is the only force that can bond humanity into one. Our preconceptions and attachments however, enables us to do so.
There are three layers of our brain: cerebral cortex- which controls our imformation; lymbic system – which controls our emotions and the brain stem that controls our movements like breathing and surviving. So whatever imformation we have on our cortex-positive or negative, it affects our lymbic part which makes us how we feel, which travels to our brain stem, to make us how we act.
So in conclusion, if we really want a loving world where being a human being was the greatest gift in life, if we really want to end discrimination or what not, we have to start reprogramming our brains and start looking at the world as one. For example:” I do not live in san francisco, I live on earth. I’m of no ethnicity- I’m an earth human.” things like that. I heard that we only use like 5% our brains outta like 100. what would it be like if we did?
And another thing, if you belive in ESP or believe that we could bend spoons and stick them on our foreheads then check out brain respiration
It’s possible.
k.
Comment by Yellow_Yoga_Girl — February 23, 2004 @ 10:36 am
What’s possible? ESP or a loving world? In either case, I would have to disagree.
Comment by ug — February 23, 2004 @ 1:42 pm
well ug its takes some courage to love yourself first to realize how wonderful the world could be.
I didnt think so eighter coming from a such a shitty past.
the thought of a loving world -yea right.
But I do know that when you start loving yourself you start loving your surroundings.
As for ESP, I’m in school studying holistic and chinese medicine with DAHNHAK. Yea everyone knows yoga and the seven chakras but I did not know such elements like chi energy and external chi gong which is basically energy healing. I’ve done brain respiration training which included lots of meditating and although I did not succeed sticking a spoon on my forehead for more than three seconds I have seen my classmates accomphishing it.
I’m still a spectic myself of things like reading a book blind folded because I’ve only seen video clips of children doing it -not the real thing.
but there is room for belief.
my preconceptions would tell me to like not even be on this website due to information from the past but something needed to be said and a person like me with a strong will of being a peace maker and a healer says that this person has a soul like me and even though we are different in so many ways we both have the desire to love and to be loved. it is a program saying that we came from the same place that we are humans that we are a family that that love connects us.
I love you ug.
Comment by Anonymous — February 23, 2004 @ 2:35 pm
I love you more-est Yellow_Yoga_Girl.
Comment by ug — February 23, 2004 @ 10:20 pm
aww.
i
Comment by Anonymous — February 23, 2004 @ 11:19 pm