Wednesday, November 4, 2009

The Maine Event

There are some days that you wake up, listen to the news and wish you could just go right back to bed, because the world you’re waking up to is just too screwed up for you to participate.

In a giant step backward for mankind, the learned voters of Maine voted to repeal the state’s law that allows gay marriage.

Now, I don’t have a personal dog in this fight, but I do have several dear friends that do. And no matter what organized religion tells you, they are no threat to anyone or anything. All that hooey about gay marriage being a threat to the institution is just one more red herring to distract the masses from the underlying discrimination behind the whole opposition.

Another red herring is that churches can be forced to marry people that are at odds with their teaching. A church will always be able to administer to its members in any way they see fit. Wherever churches refuse to perform gay marriages, new ones will spring up that will. It’s more of an anti-competition stance than it is a moral one. The whole argument is so stupid, it’s laughable. But that’s all the anti-progress camp has to offer, when their position is so weak on the facts.

The way I learned it back in Catholic School, (cold chill runs down back) Jesus himself was always a beacon of inclusion. He administered to everyone. The only people he ever shunned were those that were in it for themselves… Those that were out to make a buck in his name… Those that screwed people all week, but sat up in the front of the church on Sunday.

Who does that sound like to you?

To me, the issue absolutely crystal clear. Science has shown overwhelmingly that being gay is an inherent trait. People are born that way. To discriminate against someone for a birth characteristic should be illegal in every circumstance. It’s exactly like telling people with blue eyes that they can’t get married. Or people with dark skin, red hair or a bad attitude. America is not supposed to the kind of country that imposes arbitrary standards. We do… but we’re not supposed to.

More importantly, this is not supposed to be a country where a mob can legalize discrimination. That’s all this election was… a civilized mob, bent on driving a minority back into the shadows. A mob, whipped to a frenzy by religious bigots who see their role in society diminishing. What is it about us as a people that we have to have someone to shit on? Do we really need to persecute someone else just to make ourselves feel better? Feel more righteous?

If it were left to popular vote, the civil rights legislation of the 60’s would never have come to pass. Issues relating to equality and non-discrimination need to be taken out of the hands of those who get their world view from a book of two thousand year old fairy tales, which was written and sanctioned by men in power and a vested interest in keeping it that way.

You want to keep marriage sacred? Ban heterosexual marriage. They’re the ones with the 50% divorce rate. Or, make living together for 2 years a required activity. That will eliminate all the quickie marriages and the inevitable divorces that follow once the “shiny” wears off. This would eliminate most celebrity weddings as well, which can’t be a bad thing. That ought to put a nice J-hook in the old divorce rate bar graph.

Oh, but I bet the religious folk won’t like that either… after all, they still pretend that we’re all supposed to “save ourselves” for marriage.

OK, I’m drifting…

When I hear about this whole kafuffle, I think about some of my friends… fine, upstanding and very cool people. The go to work, they pay their taxes and they keep a nice house. They are wonderful, doting, supportive parents. There’s nothing about them as people that should prevent them from marrying the mate of their choice and being just as miserable as the rest of us. And whatever it is they do with their lives, I don’t see how it has any iota of an effect on the institution of marriage. Good marriages will be good and bad marriages will be bad, just like they’ve always been.

I’ve had enough of the busy-bodiedness of our culture. Would it really kill us to just get the hell out of each other’s goddamned business?


  1. Thank goodness I have brown eyes, or I might be in trouble...Lol!

    Great blog. I agree whole-heartedly. Who is anyone to say that two people who are in love should NOT get married? It's about as ridiculous as that JP in Louisiana not marrying that inter-racial couple because he was "concerned for their future children". But I won't get started on that...

    Again, great blog.


  2. Thanks Carly...

    At least with that coon-ass JP, he was pretty much laughed back into the stone age. (up north, anyway) These Maine-iacs just repealed a state law to confirm to thier predjudice.

  3. Small comfort is that 47% of voters approved same sex marriage. Today 47%. Tomorrow 52% and we're out of the dark ages.

  4. Even with that 52% someday, that still leaves 48% of the population biblically biased and amping up efforts to drag the country backwards.

    Perhaps they need to be shown a sign that they can understand... like a plague of locusts.

  5. Your blog made me smile and at the same time brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for NOT remaining silent as this is a subject that requires a voice. And I hope one day enough voices speak loud enough so that others understand it is NOT a sin to marry the one you love because they share the same sex as you. I pity the people who have such closed minds because these are the people who have never felt true THAT'S a sin....


  6. Eloquently put, my dear Sassy. I'm glad you are where you are, and do not have to abide by the myopic foibles of your southern neighbors.

    Love loves what it loves. You are a shining example that I pray never dims.

  7. I totally agree. Some things should not be up for debate, and equal rights is one of those things.

  8. Thanks Gina.
    The rights of our citizens should never have to be put to a vote. Our country was designed to prevent the majority from steamrolling the minority. We seem to have forgotten that.

  9. This was an excellet post. It is entirely unfortunate that there are so many closed-minded, self-righteous people who make rash and harsh judgements. It makes heaven weep, I'm sure. And you are right when you say that we have forgotten that the majority should not "steamroll" the minority, who also have a voice.

  10. You are da bomb my man!!

    I couldn't agree more with you. And you said it better than I could ever have. Great post.

    My favorite line was, "You want to keep marriage sacred? Ban heterosexual marriage. They’re the ones with the 50% divorce rate."

    I'm stealing that one in case I need it in an argument. I'm going to prepared unlike George Castanza on Seinfeld.

  11. Thanks Cher and GUYS...
    I think I do some of my best flaming when I'm pissed off...

  12. I HAD a personal dog in this fight... well, not myself, but a family dog, if you will... We'll just say he was a fiesty Irish Setter...

    I've talked about him a few times on my blog... He committed suicide this year. While the events that lead to this act can never be completely validated.... I have to factor his sexual preference into the depths of darkness he'd faced his entire life.

    I like to pick and choose which parts of my faith I believe. I've questioned many things that I was taught in Catholic school... and, I don't think that my uncle is in hell for committing suicide nor for being gay.

    I don't think he would have been the "marrying type". Though he was gay... He sure wasn't flaming... and was able to mask his secret.

    It was his parents, though, close minded and non accepting, who made him keep this secret. That must have been a difficult and lonely battle to have fought.

    Anyway... I just wanted to say, Awesome post... and I completely agree... The same rules should apply to all people... This shouldn't even be nearly as much of a debate as those close minded individuals make of it.

  13. It's a shame that people have to mask who they are because of the hard-headedness of others. No one should have to live a lie and I'm sorry your Uncle had to carry that burden around.

    That's why I always laugh when I hear people talk about the gay "lifestyle"... like one day thousands of people woke up and said, "Gee, I'd like to be the object of persecution and derision, and possibly get my ass kicked today!" Who would choose that for themselves?

    People need to butt the hell out of other people's business, on this subject and a score of others. What's wrong with living your own life and taking care of your own household, and leaving your neighbor the hell alone?

  14. Thank you for this. I *do* have a dog in this fight--the Red Wings-fan "Beloved" whom I sometimes mention at Puck Huffers and I are both women. At my blog, I tried to articulate the wrongness of having a minority's rights put up for a majority vote. Instead, I basically cried and whined. It is a stone-cold soul beatdown, to be honest, and it gets very old very fast. Governor Paterson is forcing a State Senate vote in New York this week, and I'm a bit worried that it'll lead to another damned vote, even though I want to see progress happen so badly.

    I do wish people could just leave others the hell alone and concentrate on fixing real problems, instead of working so hard to *make* problems for other people.

  15. Thank you for the kind words, Lilo. I only wish that a posting like this was never necessary. It wouldn't be in any enlightened society.

    But people being what they are, they need a boogeyman, upon which they can heap the blame for all ills real or perceived.

    As a culture, we need to worry about keeping our own houses in order and allow others to do the same. The fact that basic civil rights are being subjected to a vote... with countless millions of dollars pissed away trying to persuade people one way or another, is viscerally disturbing.

    I wish you nothing but love and happiness with your sweetie. Although I DO have to look at her a bit crossly, just for the fact of being a Wings fan... =o)#

  16. These wonderful, thoughtful, heartpure comments give me hope. None should have their basic right to live their love subject to a vote. Hypocrisy is our county's fatal flaw. Hubris is always unforgiveable.
    Thank you all for keeping the flame of faith! May it burn a majority of arrogant, self righteous asses.

  17. Thank you, Tony, for addressing this issue. Whatever happened to LIVE AND LET LIVE! Or more specifically, LOVE AND LET LOVE! Marriage is equal to marriage. Civil unions are not equal. Separate is NOT EQUAL. It is so sad. Marriage is about love. If two people love each other, we should be happy for them. No matter what. The Bible says God is love. So tell all the religious people that hating gay couples is the same as hating God. Love thy neighbor...hello?!!!!

  18. This post was very well done and I agree with almost everything you said and dam it, does it really matter because the little group of arrogant legislators do exactly what they want and not what is best for us and often I can't stand the news either....thanks for visiting our site.

    Dorothy from grammology

  19. Basic human rights should never be dependent on legislator, or voters. It's a shame we have to even VOTE on this.

    I have faith in the nation's youth though... young people who will have grown up with gay people as friends and will know that they are no threat to anyone or any institution. One day, it will be in their hands.

