HOME | DD

Description
November 4th, 2008.

A woman stood up in the crowd of supporters, families, church organizations, and students celebrating their close victory. Her husband tried to stop her, to pull her back down to her seat and her feigned conformity. "I have to do this." She whispered confidently. He felt the love and trust they had for each other, and he let her stand.

"To the proponents of Proposition 8, congratulations." She smiled, beginning the announcement.

The faces all turned to meet her, filled with smiles of anticipation.

"We have stuck down centuries of progress and decades of effort in just a few months. Our victory has been counted, and our lies have come to fruition.

More than 16,000 same sex marriages in California will be broken today. Their 56,000 adopted children will grow up knowing that their parents were denied the right of marriage. We are sure that it will not affect them, that they will happily continue to be our allies when we have given them a few months of holy matrimony and snatched it away from them. Whether they fought us in our efforts or not they will surely feel robbed of something, something that we have and they haven't, anymore.

At least we, the straight people will feel alright. Even if we can't have children of our own we will be able to content ourselves with knowing that we can and are married. At least we have the right to withdraw our children from schools who seek to teach tolerance and understanding. Our future generations of gay children will grow up understanding that to be shameful of themselves is right, and that to ask for more is wrong. The cycle of discrimination will never end thanks to our efforts.

The church will stand as a never ending symbol of collective authority and power. This will ultimately ensure that the church and the state is never separate, and we will ensure that equality will never be granted to the groups that we choose to oppress.

Yes, this is the result of our efforts. We can feel happy, sure, and safe that our moral commandments will be held by the law above all others. This is what the freedom of religion has ultimately granted us, a right to to force our beliefs down the throats of the rest of the state, and guide the rest of the country to do so also. This is what freedom of the press has granted us, a right to lie and to use a child's education as the bait that hooked people to enter the voting booth for the purpose of eliminating the rights of an entire group.

We are happy knowing the country and the world will surely follow, that the ideal of the family will be upheld and that the rights of a reproductive household will be cherished above all others. Our ability to produce children will be the source of our rights. To contribute to society is to continue the species of the human race. The ability to give birth to children gives us our right to marriage. This bond of love and commitment will never be more than a partnership. To love and to raise children that are not of our own blood will never be as important as the creation of that life.

We are happy knowing other children are less likely to be raised with beliefs different from our own. We can justify our lack of reasoning with our fear that somehow a group of people will be raised in an unconventional background apart from us. We can justify our lack of reasoning with the commandments we follow, or the backwards logic that what we believe is true to be right, and what they believe should be right is wrong.

We are happy knowing that we will always be superior. That on our graves we may inscribe, if we wish, "Loving Wife. . ." or "Loving Husband. . ." without question. That our children may walk to school safely and possibly get away with the abuse of others to uphold the beliefs we have taught them ourselves. That we may someday have grandchildren in our likeness, for in truth it matters not if half of the unions of our children are divorced, but that those grandchildren will someday exist for us.

We will leave the same legacy of our forefathers in hate, discrimination, and oppression. And we are happy knowing it.

Yes, congratulations to us all."

The silent audience sat still in shock. They looked upon the woman and her family in shame. It was collectively understood that this woman would have no part in their community anymore. She would never be invited into their group in any way again, and someday be forced to move her family to another city.

The group turned their heads and shunned her, swallowing their underlying guilt and continuing with the celebration of their victory. But their hearts were now swayed, their minds betrayed by the possibility that the majority was wrong.

Description
November 4th, 2008.

A woman stood up in the crowd of supporters, families, church organizations, and students celebrating their close victory. Her husband tried to stop her, to pull her back down to her seat and her feigned conformity. "I have to do this." She whispered confidently. He felt the love and trust they had for each other, and he let her stand.

"To the proponents of Proposition 8, congratulations." She smiled, beginning the announcement.

The faces all turned to meet her, filled with smiles of anticipation.

"We have stuck down centuries of progress and decades of effort in just a few months. Our victory has been counted, and our lies have come to fruition.

More than 16,000 same sex marriages in California will be broken today. Their 56,000 adopted children will grow up knowing that their parents were denied the right of marriage. We are sure that it will not affect them, that they will happily continue to be our allies when we have given them a few months of holy matrimony and snatched it away from them. Whether they fought us in our efforts or not they will surely feel robbed of something, something that we have and they haven't, anymore.

At least we, the straight people will feel alright. Even if we can't have children of our own we will be able to content ourselves with knowing that we can and are married. At least we have the right to withdraw our children from schools who seek to teach tolerance and understanding. Our future generations of gay children will grow up understanding that to be shameful of themselves is right, and that to ask for more is wrong. The cycle of discrimination will never end thanks to our efforts.

The church will stand as a never ending symbol of collective authority and power. This will ultimately ensure that the church and the state is never separate, and we will ensure that equality will never be granted to the groups that we choose to oppress.

Yes, this is the result of our efforts. We can feel happy, sure, and safe that our moral commandments will be held by the law above all others. This is what the freedom of religion has ultimately granted us, a right to to force our beliefs down the throats of the rest of the state, and guide the rest of the country to do so also. This is what freedom of the press has granted us, a right to lie and to use a child's education as the bait that hooked people to enter the voting booth for the purpose of eliminating the rights of an entire group.

We are happy knowing the country and the world will surely follow, that the ideal of the family will be upheld and that the rights of a reproductive household will be cherished above all others. Our ability to produce children will be the source of our rights. To contribute to society is to continue the species of the human race. The ability to give birth to children gives us our right to marriage. This bond of love and commitment will never be more than a partnership. To love and to raise children that are not of our own blood will never be as important as the creation of that life.

We are happy knowing other children are less likely to be raised with beliefs different from our own. We can justify our lack of reasoning with our fear that somehow a group of people will be raised in an unconventional background apart from us. We can justify our lack of reasoning with the commandments we follow, or the backwards logic that what we believe is true to be right, and what they believe should be right is wrong.

We are happy knowing that we will always be superior. That on our graves we may inscribe, if we wish, "Loving Wife. . ." or "Loving Husband. . ." without question. That our children may walk to school safely and possibly get away with the abuse of others to uphold the beliefs we have taught them ourselves. That we may someday have grandchildren in our likeness, for in truth it matters not if half of the unions of our children are divorced, but that those grandchildren will someday exist for us.

We will leave the same legacy of our forefathers in hate, discrimination, and oppression. And we are happy knowing it.

Yes, congratulations to us all."

The silent audience sat still in shock. They looked upon the woman and her family in shame. It was collectively understood that this woman would have no part in their community anymore. She would never be invited into their group in any way again, and someday be forced to move her family to another city.

The group turned their heads and shunned her, swallowing their underlying guilt and continuing with the celebration of their victory. But their hearts were now swayed, their minds betrayed by the possibility that the majority was wrong.