The Last Word

I rarely if ever get political on here. I think that opens the door to a lot of negativity, and really, my blog is mostly about pretty pictures and remembering what I do on a daily basis. But something that REALLY strikes a nerve with me is gay rights. And if you think that gay people make the choice to be gay, if you think they shouldn't be married, if you think they should hide their orientation in the military, you're just plain wrong. It's not my opinion, it's what I know to be factual. I am not a very "black and white" person, you can easily change my opinion by providing me with facts and a good argument. I'm really not stubborn about my beliefs, I'm open to changing my mind. I respect almost every world religion, I'm pretty neutral when it comes to politics, I'm not extreme about much. But if you try to tell me your opinion on why gay people shouldn't have certain rights, I will not listen to you because you are fundamentally wrong. 

I vote, but that's about the extent of my political activity. I don't get into political debates and arguments because 1) I don't like conflict and 2) I don't follow politics enough to argue without making myself look stupid. It confuses me and I'd rather spend my time on Pinterest and People.com. I probably shouldn't say that out loud, ha. But I DO feel strongly about some things, and that's basic human rights. The right to love who you want to and practice your religion freely and without persecution. I think anyone who hates an entire religious group or any "group" of people for that matter, are sadly ignorant. 

I would love to see a woman president in my lifetime. But I think that the specific women who are in the running are setting us back light years. It scares the shit out of me that Sarah Palin made it as far as she did. It actually shocks me that she made it as far as high school graduation. And now Michele Bachmann? I don't care if you can single handedly fix the economy and debt with the snap of your fingers, if you are violating a person's basic rights, I won't even hold a door for you. I keep thinking that John Quinones is going to pop up and tell us all that we're on an episode of "What would you do", and that this isn't real life. 

I'm a supporter of the Human Rights Campaign and I'm on their email chain so I get news from them. Today I got a petition asking GOP Candidates to reject Bachman's support of reparative therapy. Here's a quote:

Michele Bachmann and her husband, Marcus, hold some of the most extreme and disturbing anti-LGBT views of any presidential candidate and spouse. Marcus Bachmann once said gay people were "barbarians" who "needed to be disciplined." But the Bachmanns' homophobia goes well beyond words alone: They've both publicly supported the dangerous theory of "ex-gay," which says homosexuality can be cured or even prayed away.

I'm not naive and I know that this is coming from a biased group who does everything to politically support gay rights. But it's all over the news. Her husband practices "psychological therapy" without a license (in Minnesota, one of the few states that allows this), a faith-based therapy which is not recognized by the American Psychiatric Association. It's basically the "pray away the gay" stuff you hear about. And Michele is totally on board with all this. This is very dangerous, because if we have influential political leaders supporting this stuff, it could influence the rules of the APA and how people receive therapy.

I'm not gay and I don't have any family or close friends who are gay (I did in high school, my best friend came out to me. When she came out she was sobbing because she wished she could be straight but couldn't be. She knew how much difficult it was going to make her life). I just happen to believe in human rights and living your life they way you want to, as long as it's not hurting anyone else. I am able to imagine what if, what if I were gay? What if I had a child who was gay? What if my best friend came out as gay? Some people cannot see the world from anyone's perspective but their own.

Anyway, this post isn't meant to start a debate, it's just to get my thoughts out. Negative comments won't be published, because this just isn't the place. If you're interested in signing that petition I was talking about, it's here.