I Am Homo Hear Me Roar In Numbers Too Big To Ignore

I don't mean for this to become Luke's blog by constantly quoting him but he said something else in an e-mail message to me yesterday that really made me think. It actually got me to feeling a bit optimistic. We had gotten onto the topic of mass dissatisfaction in this country, particularly in regards to the dismal situation in Iraq. I mentioned that I'd seen a very small group of protesters here in Denton on an overpass on my way home from work last week. Luke then mentioned how there is like a constant protest outside the White House now and that occasionally the news people will mention them when doing their spots from there. He then went on...

We should all spend like three or four days a year protesting in front of the White House. There's 300 Million people in the US. If you even take it conservatively and claim that there is at least a solid 4% of the population that is gay, then that's like 12 Million people. 12 Million divided by 365 days a year is like over 32 Thousand people a day. What if 32 Thousand people a day started showing up at the White House. It's shit like that that toppled governments in places like Eastern Europe. (-Luke.)

I am inspired by those numbers. However, what is it going to take to get us up off our apathetic asses and into action? I'm just about as guilty as those I complain about. I do try to keep up with the news, so I hope that I'm at least informed but I'm personally not doing anything to make the world better.

On the other hand though I try to look at my life from a historical perspective. Using that view I guess it could be argued I am an activist. I'm openly gay, in a long-term relationship (despite what the "laws" say about its validity) and we've adopted a child, so we are directly influencing the next generation and, thus, the future.

Sidenote: I want to instill a sense of civil obligation in Emily. I'm also going to be very careful to try to help her from succumbing to the empty image-conscious obsessive behavior that our culture expects women (AND GAY MEN) to maintain and sustain. I think our nation's rampant narcissism is a way of controlling people, whether intentional or not, and keeping them from paying attention to greater matters. "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."

So back to what I was talking about initially. I am so not at a place in my life, either financially or schedule-wise, where I could participate in a White House protest. I am heartened to think that our numbers are so great though. Since I firmly believe that history is on our side I think things are going to get better faster and faster. I mean, for the most part the next generation totally doesn't care about the "gay thing" and think all the fuss is just stupid. Also, supporting our rights is a way to piss off the establishment, not to mention plenty of parents too. More and more queer folks and queer-sympathetic folks are going to be making their voices heard in the near future. I doubt if we'll be able to get 32,000 protesters a day camped outside the White House any time soon but something is going to happen.

(But Iraq? On that subject we're fucked for a while.)