Tag: Equal Rights

Friday Philosophy: marriage equality

It was supposed to be Gay Pride Week here on campus.  Everything has conspired to screw that up, not the least of which were apathy and poor organizational ability by the volunteer coordinators of the event, including yours truly.

Our main mode of communication has been webmail.  That went down for two days in the middle of the week.  

Today there were thunder showers.  It is not a good idea to stand around in an open field, let alone on a podium with a microphone, if there is going to be lighting.  So AV Services didn’t even set up the mike.  The rally was canceled.

But I did write a speech and I don’t want to waste it.  You’ll find it on the other side, embellished with whatever doo-dads I can think of, find, or create.

Friday Philosophy: Stories at the Inn

By the end of the night we are expecting 5 to 7 inches of snow with a quarter of an inch of ice on top.  And my sinus is roaring in protest.  So the best I can do here is hope for something resembling coherence.

This morning there was a request by jlms qkw that we share A Few of our Favorite Things:

My favorite things are freedom from tyranny, especially the tyranny of the majority, the freedom to be Other, the liberty to be happy and at peace with myself.

But my most favorite thing is the ability to speak up for others who have not been as fortunate as I.

There are a lot of people who are less fortunate than I.  I cannot stand idly by while they don’t have the freedoms I have.

So I use the only weapon to fight for them that I have, which are my words.

Come on in and sit by the fireplace awhile.

Friday Philosophy: While we are waiting

In four states there were referenda about whether we GLBT people deserved to be treated equally with other humans…and the answer we received is that we did not.

We should be planning a way forward instead of casting the endless supply of recriminations, searching who to blame.  But people expect to see blame, so they usually miss the opportunities to look for that path forward.

ENDA, fairness in housing and public accommodations, and hate crimes protection are much more important, if only because they would benefit all GLBT people, not just the ones in relationships.  In my two decades of working on these issues, we have not made substantial progress.  It’s too easy to write these issues off as GLBT issues and tell us to wait until there is a better time.

And so we wait.  And we wait.  Just like we waited last year and the year before that and the year before that and every year I can remember since I came out.  And even before that.

Maybe while we are waiting, something could be done.

Friday Philosophy: the inadequacy of inequality

In the interest of full disclosure:

I was married for twenty-four years, from March of 1969 until some time in 1993.  We got married because there was a pregnancy and there was going to be Hell to pay with the in-laws.  So I agreed to run off to Miami, OK, to get a quicky marriage…and to spend at least the next 18 years of my life raising our daughter, who was born in August of that year.

In 1992 I began my transition from male to female.  Lawyers were contacted.  Papers were filed.

I quote myself from Sexual Disorientation (poor form, I know):

Me:  Personally, I was married to a woman for 24 years.  Then I had a sex-change.  Now I cannot marry a woman.  Go figure.  Aren’t I still me?

Me, again:  Follow-up thought:  Then again, in many states, I can’t marry a man either, but such is life for transsexual people.

Ruthless women

I wake up in the mornings now and realize that two of the most powerful political figures in my life share my gender.  Something I’ve waited a long time to witness.  Let’s make one thing perfectly clear though; women are not the kinder gentler sex!  We have not cornered the market on combining common sense with integrity, and we do not overflow with loving kindness, and decency is an exercise at times.  We probably won’t save the world without help.

Love Songs for Joshua

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The puppy is Ben who is the genetic perfection of a German Shepherd.  Ben grew up taking care of Joshua and now he takes care of an autistic boy in upstate New York.  The boy is Joshua who is the genetic perfection of a human being and a son, my son.

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