My Response to Courage Campaign

I sent a question to the Courage Campaign asking them what steps are being taken to endorse Mayor Gavin Newsom as Governor of California. I was asking this, not only to see if they were going to publicly speak about him and the importance of voting for him, but to also volunteer. This is the response I received:

Dear Patricia,

Thank you for your support of the Courage Campaign!

Whereas we certainly hope that our members would research and actively support the candidates they believe best able to bring progressive change, the Courage Campaign does not endorse candidates or their committees.

We believe our strength comes in holding our elected officials accountable on the issues, and that our efficacy is greatest when we stand up, courageously, in support for what is best for our state and country.

Andy

--

Andy Kelley

Courage Campaign

andy@couragecampaign.org

http://www.twitter.com/andekelley

I was disappointed to say the least, especially when they state that our efficacy is greatest when we stand up, courageously, in support for what is best for our state and country. Isn't this a paradox?

Last year in November I was angry and I felt like a second hand citizen. I went to every protest possible. While protesting along side of us were heterosexual couples and people telling us that if they knew how we would be affected in that campaign they would have voted no. They were also surprised in the number of us. I remember at one protest, in front of City Hall. I had to move my car, the people that worked in the buildings came out and they were saying "good for them". Some were saying, "I didn't know they were so many". I also attended town hall meetings and received information as to what went wrong. They said we didn't contribute our money from the onset, we were not visible from the onset, and we did not get involved from the onset. I made those mistakes. I don't want to make them again.

I look at my twitter and the re-tweets are all the same, a cause happening in another country, someone getting hurt in another state and the past politics that are already being covered by the media. This is all good, to keep informed, but what about starting to educate our brothers and sisters as to why we need to unite and make a difference in California.

Let's begin with the CEO of Ebay running against the Mayor. Are we aware how much money she contributed to Proposition 8? Have we in fact forgotten who contributed to Proposition 8? They weren't just people that lived in California. Now is the time to unite and get others outside of California to contribute. To start signing up to volunteer. To start publicly speaking FOR the Mayor and to start mobilizing for next year. They already have stated he is behind. They are already talking about his private life and they are already mentioning that he supported us in equality.

Basic political science is that all the small states look at us for progression and for hope in their state. Let's make a difference. I will end with a quote from Harvey Milk:

It's not my victory, it's yours and yours and yours. If a gay can win, it means there is hope that the system can work for all minorities if we fight. We've given them hope.

Homosexuals vs. Heterosexulas

I was on my personal blog and found a blog with this:

As a result, in some ways, homosexuals may be responsible for the position they find themselves in. (Not that homosexual people are responsible for instigating their ostrazation, but that they don’t do much to help the case against their aggressors.) Sexuality, contrary to popular opinion, is only one aspect of being human, but many members of the homosexual community wear their sexuality on their sleeves instead of incorporating it into the rest of their personality (this is, of course, assuming that sexuality does not define personality). Like I said when I began, these are thoughts from the outside, but it seems to me that gay-pride parades, flamboyant clothing, and drag shows are not necessary parts of a homosexual lifestyle. Why must being homosexual include participation in these activities when they only serve to perpetuate and reinforce the negative stereotypes some people have about them? Granted, not all homosexual individuals participate in drag shows and parades, but those who do affect the way those who are more moderate are perceived.

I just came from a comedy club. One of the comediennes made a comment about how much fun our community can make a protest. When she said that, I remembered one of the protest I had attended, I happened to turn around and a guy was spraying this huge bottle of cologne on, I remember he smiled at me sheepishly, I laughed and he said, "grrl, you know I can't stink under this sun". I remember another protest, I was walking in front of two girls, and I overheard, "Cathy" (yes) "if we do all the protests, we can actually lose weight" (the answer was a mumble) Laughter erupted, including me as I turned around to tell them I had just been thinking about that.

No matter what, people will never understand where we come from. Let me give a few examples. Look up Jerry Lewis and homosexuals. What about the stories of getting beat-up in school? We either were the laughing stock of school or the punching bag. We have been hated, condemned to hell, sometimes even by those that are supposed to love us unconditionally. We have endured a lot. This is common amongst us. The majority of times, it might be one person out of a hundred that will do something, and somehow the whole hundred did it. I can sit here and tell you that the media and the religious zealots have a lot to do with what follows us, but why? That is a losing battle.

We have learned to enjoy our life. We have learned to laugh together. We have learned to laugh at ourselves. We don't walk around stiff. We find solace with our friends. We find love and "family" with those that understand what we feel deep down inside. Most importantly, we all accept each other. When we come together, as in gay-prides, we all let lose, meaning our guards are left at the entrance. We laugh, we smile and we enjoy our company. Those on the outside can say whatever they say, because they will say it anyway, they have their own agenda: to smear us.

Now let's consider the "heterosexual" world. How many times do we hear about rape? How many times do we hear about crazy ass parties and what happens there? Look at the Craigslist.org personal ads under men seeking women and women seeking men. Even under women seeking women (looking for threesomes). The heterosexual world has their deviance's too. We are all the same. I don't understand why we are pin pointed as differently, oh wait, I do know, follow the person that is doing the pointing.

We are not different then straights, it is just that the straights forget that.