Equal rights.

So just the other day I was watching watching Remember the Titans in history class and there was a scene where an unsegregated football team got off their bus and there was a huge crowd of angry people waiting for them with signs saying derogatory things about black people. The were all yelling and screaming hateful things and protesting the idea of black and white individuals playing on the same football team.

Well not too long ago, something similar happened where I lived. An essay written by a girl in the 4th or 5th grade about Ellen Degeneres and why she was this girl's idol won a rather large scale writing contest. Somehow, though, a group of individuals from Kansas or something found out about her winning this rather big contest and protested her winning because her essay was about Ellen Degeneres. Sound ridiculous? It was. Why would someone care if this girl from a completely different state won an essay which happened to be about a comedian? Well, the answer to that was because Ellen Degerenes is a lesbian, and apparently these people thought it was wrong that a lesbian should be idolized by a middle school girl.
So, when I watching this scene from Remember the Titans, I couldn't help but think about the protest that these people from Kansas put on outside the middle school, and how they had big signs about how "God hates Fags" and how they were screaming derogatory things about homosexuals and whatnot- and it all got me thinking. It got me thinking about gay rights, the role the government plays in marriage, history repeating itself, and how hate truly can consume people's lives.

I first started pondering the idea of gay rights. Personally, I have been a supporter of gay marriage and happen to have a few good friends who happen to be gay. I sometimes look at these friends of mine and wonder about if someone just saw them walking down the street, or buying a bag of chips at the store, or sitting in a movie theatre watching a movie, how they probably wouldn't have any idea that they were homosexual. I even have a good feeling, knowing my friends as well as I do, that if anyone began talking to them they would probably consider them a pretty nice people and still probably wouldnt suspect their homosexuality. I'm willing to bet though, that a few of those people would have an immediate problem with any one of my friend's homosexality. One of the things I really dont understand is how someone can immediately turn their cordiality toward another person into hatred all because of their orientation. I don't understand why it makes a difference what sexual preference someone has, especially when it's possible that the people who have a problem with it usually have no idea whether someone is straight or not until said otherwise. Plus, even if they do have an idea, I dont understand why certain people can't look at a person as they are- a shopper at a store, someone at the movies, another person walking alongside the sidewalk, simply a human being- and respect that everyone leads different lifestyles.

Another thing I don't particularly understand is when people say that being gay or bisexual is a choice. I bet if you asked any one of the people who claim this if they just woke up one day and said "I'm deciding here and now to be straight for the rest of my life", they'd say no. So why is it any different with being gay or bisexual? I'd ponder that question.

Now, as far as the government denying gay's the right to get married...well, since when did marriage become a privilege? It has always been to my understanding that marriage is a union between two people who love each other. So, considering that a man and a man or a woman and a woman are more than capable of loving each other, why is it that the government should be able to put restrictions on them getting married? I've heard individuals say that gay marriage is destroying the sanctity of marriage and that this is why the government and churches ban it. Well, I'm sorry, but I didnt get the memo that said two people who deeply care about each other joined in matrimony was destroying the sanctity of marriage. And, who is the government to say what does and what does not hold sanctitude? I'd say that they're not really in that position. To me, love is love.

The last thing I wanted to touch upon here was people who say things like "God hates homosexuals," etc like those people that I mentioned in the beginning of this blog. I think it's honestly a sad day when people are using God to promote the word of hate. Even if you are a religious person who believe's that being gay is wrong for some reason, do you really think Jesus, who was supposedly persecuted for being different and for being who he was, would want you to hate others? Would he truly want you to go around with your signs, and your words, and your self-righteousness and carry the message of abhorrence? Think about that.

I think it's honestly important that we all start accepting people for who they are. It seems that as a society we're always trying to pick out a specific group to try to bring down, just like African Americans in the time that Remember the Titans was supposed to take place. Have we not learned from our past experiences as a culture that everyone is different and that hatred never gets us anywhere? Have we not yet learned to accept people for who they are? Or do we still want to hold on to the belief that love is cannot be applied to certain types of unions and to the hatred that so many harbor towards those of mere indifference? I really hope at least one person reads this blog and can think about that.