Prop 8 or Prop Hate?

My brain feels paralyzed when attempting to comprehend it. It just doesn’t make sense and for the life of me, I can’t see how people can justify it. I don’t mean to be redundant. I had posted about my thoughts (One Giant Leap Forward And One Giant Leap Backwards) on Proposition 8 being passed back in November. Without a doubt, it was my most controversial post to date. Not only did it stir up a debate on my blog, but when it was featured on the front page of BrazenCareerist.com, the discussion quickly began heating up there as well. It was said to be the most commented on post BrazenCareerist has ever featured, which may have helped land it as #73 in their Top 100 Posts Of All-Time list. Things had been quiet for the past few months. Then, last week when The California Supreme Court upheld Prop 8's ban on same-sex marriage, all hell broke loose once again! So today, while the law may be in effect, the debate continues to rage on. I refer to it as Prop Hate. And still the question remains...How you can look at someone and say you don't deserve what I have?

Thru the years I’ve learned to choose my battles wisely and choose my words wiser. So in my previous post when I used the phrase "sexual preference", I really should not have referred to it as a "preference". Because the word "preference" means a choice, something you choose. I’ve always firmly believed that people who are gay did not CHOOSE to be that way. They did not CHOOSE to live this lifestyle. They did not CHOOSE to willing endure the all the hardships that being gay in our society brings. And they didn’t simply wake up one day saying...Hey, I think I’ll try this gay thing on for size and see how it works out.

To be gay is not a choice. It’s how you are born. Just like being born white, black, purple or even green isn’t a choice. You do not get a say in the matter. You do not get to vote on what you want to be at birth. I truly feel that once more of the world starts understanding that gay people did not CHOOSE to be gay and are actually genetically predisposition to be this way at birth, then the negative and inaccurate views on homosexuality will dramatically decrease. It’s very sad that in 2009 many people still need to be taught compassion, tolerance, and the acceptance of differences.

If you think being gay is a choice and not a genetic predisposition that you were born with, than take this challenge: If you are a straight person that thinks homosexuality is a choice and it is wrong to be gay, then pretend for a moment that being straight is considered "wrong". Could you force yourself to go gay? Not likely. So what makes you think a gay person could force themselves to go straight simply to abide by your right/wrong rule?

I think the reason I feel so strongly about this issue (like I mentioned in my last Prop 8 post) is because I had an Aunt who was gay, hid it all her life and eventually hung herself because she could no longer live with the stigma attached to being a gay. If her pain is any indication of how difficult it is to be gay in America, my heart really goes out to those directly affected by Prop 8 being passed and upheld. And these days, I now have a young cousin who has recently come out of the closet. I’ll be honest, I fear for him. I worry that a brutal Matthew Shepard beating will replay itself with my cousin being the victim. I worry that he will suffer like my Aunt did and follow in her suicidal footsteps. And lastly, I worry he will fall in love and not be given the same rights other couples can easily obtain. That one day when he’s old and gray, he will watch his partner lying on his death bed and be unable to make the decision about life support because our government does not allow him that right, simply because he is gay and they are not legally bound by marriage. Someone being gay does not disgust me, but that scenario does.

He’s into dicks. I’m into chicks. In the end, what difference does it make? He deserves the same opportunities straight society has - to marry and be miserable just like everyone else. I joke, but seriously, I think Lily Allen’s song "Fuck You" sums it up best...

Look inside, your tiny mind.
Then look a bit harder.
Cause we're so uninspired.
So sick and tired.
Of all the hatred you harbor.
So you say, it's not okay to be gay.
Well I think you're just evil.
You're just some racist.
Who can't tie my laces.
You're point of view is medieval.

Fuck you.
Fuck you very, very much.
Cause we hate what you do.
And we hate your whole crew.
So please don't stay in touch.
Fuck you.
Fuck you very, very much
Cause your words don't translate.
And it's getting quite late.
So please don't stay in touch.

Do you get a little kick out of being small minded?
You want to be like your father.
His approval your after.
Well that's not how you'll find it.
Do you really enjoy living a life that's so hateful?
Cause there's a hole where your soul should be.
You're losing control of it.
And it's really distasteful.

In short, one day when everyone is treated with full equality, we'll look back and realize how wrong this was. That they didn't choose to be gay, but you chose to discriminate against them by treating them unfairly, by looking at them and saying...You don't deserve what I have.

***NOTE***
Related post of interest...
11/5/08 - One Giant Leap Forward And One Giant Leap Backwards