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So this weekend is the annual GLBT Pride Festival in Minneapolis. I'm actually a bit torn about the whole thing. On the one hand, I work for a company that has a rather strong Pride presence and has gifted me with benefits for my partner for several years now. I've gotten a bit complacent about the whole thing. On the other hand, would we have these rights and these benefits if not for those who fought for so long to grant equal rights to domestic partners?
I asked my partner if, at this point in our lives with me working for a relatively GLBT-friendly company and her working for a co-op that's all about equal rights, if we were attending the parade (with our children) in memory of those who came before or for the candy. As she said, "I don't eat candy." So Pride, for me, is less about fighting for equal rights, and more about remembering the times in which we did not have them and those who suffered because of it.
I am strongly of the opinion that it should not matter if you are gay or straight or bi, black or white or any other color, Christian or Pagan or Jewish or Muslim or any other of the hundreds of religions out there. Everyone deserves common and basic respect. Judge someone based on their actions and who they truly are at heart, not on their appearances and assumptions made because of them.
I wrote a story that I put up for last year's Pride that really speaks to how I feel abut the issue. In a sense, you could say this is shameless self-promotion on my part, but I really do think that Family says everything I want to say on this issue. Assumptions are dangerous. No one is more or less deserving of anything, be it a beat down or your assistance, just because you think they fit some category you don't understand.
And that's all I really have to say.
I asked my partner if, at this point in our lives with me working for a relatively GLBT-friendly company and her working for a co-op that's all about equal rights, if we were attending the parade (with our children) in memory of those who came before or for the candy. As she said, "I don't eat candy." So Pride, for me, is less about fighting for equal rights, and more about remembering the times in which we did not have them and those who suffered because of it.
I am strongly of the opinion that it should not matter if you are gay or straight or bi, black or white or any other color, Christian or Pagan or Jewish or Muslim or any other of the hundreds of religions out there. Everyone deserves common and basic respect. Judge someone based on their actions and who they truly are at heart, not on their appearances and assumptions made because of them.
I wrote a story that I put up for last year's Pride that really speaks to how I feel abut the issue. In a sense, you could say this is shameless self-promotion on my part, but I really do think that Family says everything I want to say on this issue. Assumptions are dangerous. No one is more or less deserving of anything, be it a beat down or your assistance, just because you think they fit some category you don't understand.
And that's all I really have to say.
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