the world is your acorn

Well, I got up ass-early (for me, anyway) this morning to do my part for the Vote No on 1 campaign, arriving just after 7am at Hillsboro High to stand in front of the 100 ft boundary with my Vote NO on 1 yard sign and hand out “I Voted NO” stickers to anyone who wanted them.

I’ve never done such a thing, and wasn’t really eager to, but felt that this was the last thing that I could do for the campaign. So, I stood there, smiling and saying “Good Morning” to people. Being non-confrontational but wanting to be friendly, I decided I would approach my task with the understanding that everyone is there to make democracy work, so even if people disagree on political issues with me, we all are joined at the very least in that common cause. And plus it’s ridiculous to walk by people and avoid eye contact if you’ve been standing there staring at them since they drove in the lot. Anyway, most people seemed to agree, returning my greeting with a smile. Some people became suddenly fascinated with their shoelaces or their cellphones as they walked by, but being a shy girl myself I understand that.

One lady, however, was suspicious and angry:
Me: Good Morning! ((smile smile))
Lady: No! I don’t want any! ((frown frown stomp stomp))
Me: I’m sorry, I was just saying hi.
Lady: No! Not from you! ((frown frown stomp stomp run away))

There was just hatred and anger radiating all over from this lady. I couldn’t believe it. What did I do to her? Even if she suspected I was going to try and campaign or something her response was totally unnecessary. And if she is planning to vote “yes”, what right does she have to be angry with me? I haven’t done anything to her, and advocating voting “no” doesn’t do anything to her. In fact, voting “no” doesn’t change a thing. Gay marriage will still be illegal. The constitution will stay the same. If anything, I should be angry with her for trying to shut the door on any hopes I might have of getting marriage rights in this state. Ok, I might have understood it if she was going to be smug, or disgusted, or irritated. Angry and mean I just don’t get. I also noticed that she snuck out a side door on her way out, and circled the long way around the parking lot to get to her car. I think that her heart might be 3 sizes too small.

The youth coordinator at the Vote No on 1 campaign organized a demonstration downtown yesterday. People were out there from 11am-6pm holding signs, chanting, and talking to people. It was really cool to see a lot of young people involved and volunteering their time. There were even people who saw us and just joined in on the spot, and called their friends to come by.

Also, Val from Avalon Farmcast came by to do some interviews and then join the demonstration for a while.

Here is a bit of video that I took from the afternoon:

I have been thinking about what Kat said over at NIT yesterday about both the Vote No on 1 and James Dobson events being at churches. If I understand correctly, I think the main argument was for separation of church and state. Which I vehemently agree with. I have spent many hours since yesterday thinking about* the issue, and here’s what I came up with:

It is a religious issue. The major arguments against gay marriage (or for defining marriage as between a man and a woman) are religious arguments. How do we fight on our side without entering the religious arena? I personally don’t see marriage as a religious institution, but many do. Even had our event not been on church property, it would have been a religious event. Religious faith leaders would have spoken, and they would have spoken as religious faith leaders. And, even as a non-Christian, it was extremely important for me to hear Christian ministers and pastors from different denominations saying “No, we do not support this amendment. No, not all Christians hate you.”

I wonder if it is ok or not for churches to endorse a political issue. Everything Guy made the point to me today that “separation of church and state” is to protect the people and political mechanisms, not to protect the churches. Churches must stay out of politics, but the law does not say anything about the converse. So is it bad for your church to tell you how to vote? Especially if the issue at hand is one that reeks of moral judgements? My gut instinct is to say hell yeah it’s bad, but I can’t say why. If I am to accord respect to my fellow citizens, then I have to assume they are smart enough to make their own decisions, and if their church endorses something they still have the freedom to disagree. But I suppose I just don’t trust my fellow citizens enough. Or I’ve grown to fear the power of religion.

I haven’t come to any conclusions. I still don’t know how appropriate or not it was for Vote No to have their event at that church. What I do know is that I want say that appropriate doesn’t even seem to be an issue at this point, and that appropriate won’t win our fight. I want to say that politics isn’t appropriate, and neither is the government making rulings on marriage. I want to say that appropriate stopped having meaning a long time ago for me when I understood that a majority of voting American citizens believe that my sexual preference is wrong, or unnatural, or a disease, and that it’s their business in the first place.

I guess I’ve stopped writing from my head and am now just pissy, so I’m done.

*And by “thinking about” I might mean rationalizing, but you make the call

On Saturday morning, Everything Guy and I canvassed for the Vote No on 1 campaign at Oktberfest in Germantown. I don’t generally like to canvas because when I talk to strangers I tend to over-analyze the interaction until it makes me crazy. When canvassing the problem is magnified exponentially because there are bound to be people who disagree and want to argue. I am generally pretty good about walking away from people who disagree with me and wishing them a good day, but this past Saturday we had a particularly bad encounter which I haven’t been able to get off my mind since.

The story will betray my own prejudices, but I’ll tell it anyway. The point of canvassing for us is more to make sure people are aware of the issue, not to change folks’ minds. Which means that, if someone is obviously homophobic or doesn’t want to talk, we let it go. This one guy on Saturday, however, wanted to talk. And wanted to disagree. His idea of “talking,” though, involved spouting some sort of Conservative Christian party line to us, not listening to our side, then responding with the next irrational non-sequitor queued up in his little brain.

One thing I suggested was that, even if he believes that Jesus says homosexuality is wrong and that gays should have no rights in society, this is a constitutional issue rather than a gay issue. The law already deals with gay marriage, but what place does the content of that law have in our state constitution? His response was that he felt it has to be in the constitution so that the homosexuals don’t come back the next year and amend it for their own purposes. The statement was so nonsensical that I was struck speechless. Did he really think that? Does he believe in some sort of “homosexual agenda?” Or does he just repeat whatever he has been told? I can’t think of a single feasible reason for the “arguments” that he was making. None of it made any sense to me. Were we not making sense to him? Or did he not care what we were saying?

Anyway, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the conversation (if you can call it that) since then. It’s difficult for me to articulate why it bothered me so much. Maybe it was that I couldn’t “win” the argument, since we seemed just to be talking past each other. Maybe it was being faced with the stark reality that there are real life people like that out there, allowed to vote and procreate. Maybe it was remembering that I am no longer living in a place where peer pressure leans toward tolerance and political correctness, where “Jesus says so” was never enough to finish a debate.

Last night, watching news coverage of Dobson’s hate rally at Two Rivers Baptist Church, I felt entirely deflated. I find it hard to believe that people hate me so much that they’d go out of their way to gather together, talk about how their values trump mine, and strategize to take rights away from me and my family. Rights that do not in any way effect how they would live their own lives. What makes people do such things?

More importantly, does this mean that I am not strong enough to fight for my people? Once done with my education here in Nashville, will I just run back to a safe space, leaving those living here to continue to be shat on by hateful, ignorant neighbors? Do I regret my involvement with this campaign, wishing I had just stayed in my safe university bubble, hiding from the Southern homophobic majority?

I admire and am grateful for those who can stand for what they believe in and fight the fight in the face of homophobic spitefulness. I’m coming to discover that I am not very good at it, and do not like it much. I’d like to do my part, and won’t discontinue my involvement in the campaign, but it is becoming very hard for me to feel charitably towards the people who work so hard to promote hate and meanness for no good reason.

Stand For All Families event is on tonight, rain or shine. We have a tent, lots of chairs, great speakers and live music. Come support ALL families!

This Saturday, September 16th is statewide Wear your Vote No On 1 Button day! There’s no easier way to help the cause than just wear the button. You can get one at the office at 1709 Church St. in Nashville. There are tons of people who just don’t know what is going on. If you’re one of those people, here is my quick take on it:

• There is a proposed amendment defining marriage as strictly between a man and a woman for the state constitution of TN. The amendment will be on the ballot this September.
• Gay marriage is already illegal in the state of TN. This amendment simply makes it a constitutional issue, which is inappropriate. Really, gay marriage is being treated as a political toy.
• Without even debating the issue of gay marriage, we have to consider whether we want the first amendment ever to the state constitution of Tennessee to reflect discrimination and a restriction of rights. Whether we want the first amendment ever to the state constitution of Tennessee to be one that targets a certain group of people, to be one that dictates morality, to be one that defines a largely religious, economic, and cultural institution.

Obviously there is more. You can learn more about it at the Vote No on 1 website. You can also join the MySpace group, or search Groups for “Vote No on 1 TN” on Facebook.

Everything Guy and I went down to Vote No On 1 headquarters this afternoon to get involved in volunteering. Randy, whose title I can’t remember, chatted with us for a while about what’s going on and what they’re trying to do. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.

The WNBA’s defending champions, the Sacramento Monarchs, met with President Bush yesterday at the White House. It seems strange to me that those players find it an honor to meet him. It’s the kind of sexism and homophobia that he exhibits that kept professional women’s sports from thriving for so long, and even still it struggles. Many lesbian athletes remain closeted, afraid to fill the stereotype and give naysayers more reason to disparage women’s sports.

“One of the things you’ve done is you’ve set a great example for young women athletes,” Bush said. “As the father of twin daughters — who had trouble finding a backboard, I might add — sorry, girls. I love the fact that there are role models, though, for young women, that somebody can look up to and say, ‘Gosh, I want to be like her. I want to realize my dreams by being like Yolanda.”‘

“Not my daughters,” is what he’s really saying. Bleh.

from Hothouse: Two Cherokee women have gotten legally married! Though challenged, the marriage has been upheld by the highest court in the Cherokee Nation. When they got married in 2004 same-sex marriages were allowed by tribal law, but that law has since been changed. It will be interesting to see how the US government chooses to deal with this (if at all).

Top US Indian court upholds first gay marriage [Reuters]

Sheryl Swoopes has come out! Woah! While two others (then-active, not playing anymore) from the wnba have come out before her, Swoopes is a superstar and a spokesperson for the organization. Again, woah. I’m excited for her and I’m excited for female athletes who have to hide behind that vague, asexual jock facade. I’m also excited for the whole of women’s sports, which is so afraid of being demonized as being “what dykes do”, that it hides and disguises its lesbian participants. Of course not all female atheletes are gay, but some are. Sheryl Swoopes is, anyway. Did I mention she is also going to start promoting Olivia Cruises?

Swoopes could open door for others to follow [ESPN.com]