Here we are approaching another presidential election and once again there is a Conservative who has to use “the gays” for her strategy to try to get elected. Her name is Michele Bachmann. I’m sure you’ve heard about her. Recently, she gave a speech that spoke about how black slaves in the 1800’s had healthier family units than they do today.Considering her background she clearly has knowledge in living as a black slave in the 1800’s and living as a black person today.
Listen, I have to tell you. I have no problem with her personally. She looks nice and seems intelligent. It’s just her lifestyle that is an issue for me. It goes against every belief I have. Would you believe in her marriage she thinks her husband is the Master? Now let me explain what that means to those of you who don’t understand. As Master he is given all of the power to make all of the family decisions. The wife’s role is to obey the husband. The wife can voice her opinion but the husband is the all knowing and strong one so only he is able to make good family decisions. Only he knows what’s best for his family. The wife is to simply trust in her husband and tend to less stressful activities like making dinner for the family.
I feel so badly for Mrs. Bachmann who can’t see how enslaved she is. There are many great women’s facilities who could help her and give her the support she needs to see she has self worth. Doesn’t she know she has value? She can make decisions and choices for herself without the control of her husband. But, her lifestyle forces her to be subservient to her husband and this very reason is why I feel it is so damaging to the institution of marriage. Once other men see this way of life they are going to want it and then force their wives to live in that manner. And if not force them, those men will brain wash their wives into thinking that is what God wants. Then they will teach their sons and daughters the hierarchy of the family and the cycle will never stop. Worst of all the children will see it as an acceptable way of life which worries me even more. It’s just so damaging to our children’s welfare.
Mrs. Bachmann has to know her lifestyle is not accepted by the majority. She may think she knows what’s best for her and her family but the life she’s choosing clearly exemplifies her lack of understanding and her need for help. As we all know the majority always knows what’s best for everyone. I promise I won’t mention how the majority has been wrong through out history. You know like when the majority saw Native Americans as savages so that gave permission to kill them. Then I won’t mention how the majority kept blacks enslaved until the Federal government realized it was unconstitutional and intervened. How about how the majority supported the round up of the Japanese Americans putting them into camps during WWII? And I can’t forget how several Southern states still had interracial marriage as being illegal as late as the 1990’s until the Federal government eradicated the law. But, those are just a few silly things that really don’t prove how the majority can be wrong. The majority in this case understands Mrs. Bachmann’s lifestyle is really and truly harmful to our society and must be stopped. They are different than majorities of year’s past and know this time they have it right.
OK, so now I want to get serious here. I wanted to show in the above that any one person’s view can be skewed according to one’s own’s beliefs. I strongly believe there is nothing wrong with it because that’s what we all do. However, when a person’s views are justified by their belief’s to attempt to prove why one group of people should not exist and then use their views to change the laws to be against that one group is incredibly dangerous. We have seen through out history how pointing a finger at one group can be damaging. And yet we continue to repeat history. All we are doing is putting a new face to our targeted group.
I challenge you to go back in history and look at any group of people who were considered not of the norm or the majority. You will notice there is a common thread that follows each of them. There seems to be a mentality to the majority group where they feel superior and entitled. And because they are larger in numbers they have the ability to “overthrow” the minority. I find it fascinating that I have not found one minority group in history who deserved their “punishment” simply because they were different than the majority. And yet, we find ourselves continuously apologizing for oppressing another group when time passes and somehow we understand our wrong doings. And yet the damage was done and lives were destroyed. So why is it we continue to do it?
Now, I go back to Mrs. Bachmann who professes to know what is best for our society which she justifies from her own Christian beliefs. I want to reiterate that I have no issue with her opinion. Where I have issues is when she wants to use her opinion to make laws that prohibit me from the same rights as the majority. Yes, I am one of those “homosexuals” Mrs. Bachmann discusses in her speeches as she puts me under a microscope to question my value in society. How dare she or the majority decide my value? Her mentality is so dangerous and has lead to the destruction of many lives in our history such as the Native Americans, the blacks and the Japanese who were targeted not so long ago. And now it is my people’s turn.
Mrs. Bachmann seems to think it’s relevant that I “choose” my lifestyle and she uses that as one reason for why it’s wrong. I just don’t understand the relevantcy. Whether it is my choice or not that I choose to be lesbian doesn’t make sense how that should decide my rights in society. I don’t understand how that justifies anything. Was that the reason blacks were given “equal” rights finally because it was “proven” they were born that way? Is that how the majority was convinced to give them their freedom? I can just see that conversation between two upper class white citizens. “Well, Sam, the blacks are born that way, so they can’t help how they are. And since they can’t help it, then they deserve their freedom.” Again, the logic doesn’t make sense to me. Why should someone’s rights and freedoms be determined or justified by “if they were born that way?”
As absurd, ignorant and homophobic Mrs. Bachman is, I want to take a moment to point my finger at the gay community which I belong. We have to also take responsibility for how we are combatting the hatred. First and foremost I really am disheartened by our lack of cohesiveness. Where are the strong leaders like they had during the black civil rights movement to lead and guide? We seem to all be working for our own individual purposes which has made the gay fight for equality a somewhat discombobulated and unfocused one. Where are all of those gays and lesbians who attend their city gay prides? Can you imagine having those large number of people protesting on the doorsteps of city lawmakers when an anti gay comment is made like that of Mrs. Bechmann? How about those crowds showing up on the streets now to protest against not having equality which is our American right? It’s not reinventing the wheel. Protests work and have through out history. We must become the squeaky wheel if we want change. When you look at old tapes of Martin Luther King Jr. when he was giving his “I have a dream” speech. The number of people who attended sent a message to our president and our government. In those numbers (which as large as it was was not the majority) was strength and the ability to change the wrong that was happening. I’m sure it was frightening to many who attended. I’m sure many had lost their job because they stood up for equality. It wasn’t easy at all. However, those civil rights leaders and their supporters had enough of the oppression. They chose to stand up to the injustices as a person with self worth. Unfortunately, I don’t see the same drive and fight in the gay community. And unfortunately having a gay pride event does not count towards making change happen. It’s great to be proud and to celebrate but after all of these years I don’t see where they alone have helped make equality happen.
It saddens me tremendously when I see strong gay and lesbians in my community who have the political power and or money to stand up for our cause but refuse because of selfish reasons. Don’t get me wrong, I do feel those gays and lesbians who are in a position to help make change happen do get angry at the injustices but they choose to do it in the privacy of their own home. But that does nothing for the cause and certainly doesn’t help change anything. Then, there are the gay organizations. Each one claiming to fight for our equality but never do we hear how. Not long ago I challenged the popular Equality organization. I asked them how they were directly helping me in my town. One of their representatives told me with the help of contributions they are in Washington fighting for my rights. I challenged the Equality representative by asking him about where were the grassroots programs in cities like mine to work in tangent with those in Washington? I told him even the civil rights movement saw the importance of having a wide spread grassroots program because change can’t just happen from the top. The Equality representative couldn’t respond and he felt I was to just trust the organization’s efforts because it was better than nothing.
Part of my point here is I find over and over again gay organizations fighting from one direction. They seem to fight from a direction that is incredibly difficult to break through. It’s hard to move a brick wall or to chisel through it. It also takes lots of time. I do think it’s important to have someone at that brick wall but we need others to look to the left and right of the wall where there are openings already made to walk through. This was how changes were made historically. If you look at how president Obama got elected that’s exactly what he did. He sent out trained teams to many cities all over the US. I know this takes money but I am confident this can be done with who we have in the gay and lesbian community. I strongly believe with large support from the gay community the results would be “law altering”. That would require more gays and lesbians to step up to the plate to help our cause and unfortunately, I don’t see that happening.
Listen, I know what it is like to have had my property destroyed, to lose a job and to be rejected by my religious community for being honest about the bigotry that my family experienced. I have paid a price. But, I don’t see standing up to the injustices for my gay community as a choice. There are too many gay and lesbian children taking their own lives because of the hatred and as part of my community I have a responsibility whether I like it or not. It angers me tremendously to see other gays and lesbians in my community in positions to help on a variety of levels but they flat out refuse. How does one put blinders on and ignore what is happening to their own kind? TO me it’s inexcusable and shameful. As a minority group to begin with, it is crucial we get the gay and lesbian masses to stand up for the community in which they belong. This is our fight for our cause and yet the majority chooses to stand back expecting others to do it. It’s so interesting to see the gays and lesbians who are standing up to the adversities are actually the ones who have more to lose. And yet, they do it without any reservations and often without much help from their own community. I applaud those folks for their hard work and selflessness.
To those gays and lesbians who have chosen to stand back and let others fight your fight, I challenge you to think about your own self worth and that of our community. Then, ask yourself, “If we are not a (gay) community for ourselves then how can we ask others to be there for us? And if we are only for ourselves, then how can we change the homophobia that someone like Mrs. Bechmann spouts?” To be the change we want to see in our world, it will require more gays and lesbians to step forward to create the community that makes change happen. We as a “community” have that power.
bashert04 