Sunday, June 5, 2011

Not Taking Pride For Granted

Ahhhh. The last time we met I was feeling very conflicted. I am feeling much more calm now, and far better able to manage my sailor's mouth. I have been sitting back and paying attention for about a month now, give or take. I think a huge part of being an informative voice, worth listening to, is being able to just absorb your surroundings. Also, however difficult it may be, one has to give an honest effort to trying to understand and comprehend where their opponent is coming from.

And however ugly that word may be, opponent is utterly accurate. I have truly gone to the websites and read what is being said about the GLBTQ community. However my completely awesome Mom raised me better than to repeat some of the filth that is being said about my queer family community. I will say this, I cannot fathom how anyone, anywhere, can begin to believe that allowing equal marriage rights would be on the same level as allowing brothers and sisters to marry. Or farm animals. Quite frankly, I'm rather insulted that the latter two are EVER in league with thoughts of the former two. But, people exist that entertain these thoughts.

After my last blog post I got some feedback that ran the full spectrum. Everything from totally positive, to close friends being concerned that my mood and temper might get in the way of me taking advantage of my life and my blessings. I am here to tell you that nothing that I get upset about will ever get between myself and the love in my life. Nothing ever could be worth allowing that negativity to touch or upset the love that I have been blessed with. I think when you have to fight so hard for something, you are just that much more appreciative of it. Exibit A: the breeder divorce rate. I am certain that feathers will be ruffled with that statement, and to the straight people that I love very much, that read this, I hope this never includes you. However, you all love me because I am a no-bullshit kind of person, so I am hoping that you will be able to see my point, and not become angry or upset with me for being honest.

GLBTQ Pride is upon us. Our beautiful diverse community will be shown tolerance, for one entire weekend. We will be able to sport our bumper stickers, flags, and rainbow pride clothes for 3 whole days. Minneapolis even puts up these awesome banners on all the light posts and street signs proclaiming that it's Pride time. This amazing facade could easily fool the uninformed into believing that all is uncorns and glitter in the queer world. I promise you a gorgeous Abercrombie-advertising young gay man will still get roughed up at some point. A close cropped lesbian will still be called a "dyke", by someone utterly unworthy of using that term. These things make me still, to this day, want to hang my head in shame. Because, somewhere deep down, I still wonder how or why we deserve this treatment.

And you cannot fathom being treated this way, until you have walked even just few steps, in our vastly differed footwear.

The song "True Colors", by the Divine Miss Cyndie Lauper makes me cry every single time I hear it. All I can think about is all the beautiful shades of the GLBTQ rainbow, and how we are so incredibly blessed to have every single person that helps to create that magnificence.

Imagine.

Imagine a place where we all are accepted and loved EXACTLY as we are. Gay. Lesbian. Bisexual. Transgendered. Queer. And every single facet in between. Loved for the very essence of the people we are, and NOT how we love. In my heart I believe that reality exists, but it will be a victory that we have to give every ounce of stength to win.

I hope that we all can carry our Rainbow Pride with us beyond this month. I hope that when Minneapolis is sweeping the glitter, and streamers and tossed away paper cups off the street they do not take the essence of our Pride with them. It's so much more than that!!!

It's holding your partner's hand when you're having a casual stroll down the street. It's standing up and being proud of who you are, all the time. It's not allowing anyone to make you feel as though you are unworthy of love, simply because of how you love. It's as simple as telling your co-workers that your best friend is gay, and you are not comfortable with the queer joke that someone just made. Or for that matter, you just happen to know someone is gay, and even though you barely know them, it's flat out unacceptable that the person might hear that joke. There are so many examples that I could be here all night naming them all off. Either way, I believe you get the point.

I hope that each and every person that reads this can honestly say that they would speak up. Or has. Or that they have had someone speak out and stand up in their behalf. I am not certain that that's the case though. The optimist in me won't entertain the negative for long however, and that brings me to my major point.

Bring Pride with you. Support absolutely any local GLBTQ cause or business that you can. They're not tough to spot. "Like" the Facebook pages. Pay attention to local politics. The local news is generally thrilled to report on how the queers are doing be it good or bad. Show up and be counted whenever you can.

I know these things seem trivial, but I assure you that someone is always paying attention. Someone always notices how many people are present on both sides of the line. And rest assured, the bigots have drawn the line. Where YOU reside when the vote comes is monumental, and I hope that your Pride keeps you on the diverse side. I also hope it helps you to encourage more minds to open and follow suit.

Thank you for taking a few minutes out of your day and visiting My Side Of The Looking Glass. I hope that you are blessed to be included in some beautiful diversity.