Our Strange World

You ever wonder why people are so afraid of love?

I used to think when there were so many beatings and killings in our community that they hated us because they saw us as being so different.

They never saw us as their equals. They never saw us as people.

They had a whole set of terms they used, just for us. On a good day, we were “them”. On a bad day, we were less than “them”.

Now, they hate us for trying to be like them. They hate us for trying to be with them. They hate us for wanting inclusion. They hate us for trying to claim our love in marriage.

They never saw us as their equals. They never saw us as people.

It’s a strange world we live in.

Tennessee Gay Marriage Ban Heads To Voters
The Tennessee House on Thursday approved the wording of a ballot question asking voters to approve a an amendment to the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage.

The Senate had given its approval in February.

The House voted 88 - 7 to put the question on the ballot in next November’s gubernatorial election.

Georgia Senate protects clubs’ right to ban gays
ATLANTA - Private clubs that ban gays from membership would get extra legal protection under a bill approved Thursday by the state Senate.

The plan, which already passed in the House, is aimed at a fight in Atlanta between the city government and Druid Hills Golf Club. [...]

Some Democrats argued the bill is simply an effort by Republicans to score political points by bashing gays.

“In 2005, the idea we would use division to appeal to the worst in us - use division to achieve and maintain political power - seems worse than what happened in a prior generation,” said Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta.

The plan passed 37-11. It now goes to Gov. Sonny Perdue to be signed.

7:15am - March 18, 2005
Today is another day. Sometimes I feel exhausted and wonder if it is my own exhaustion that contributes to my overall feeling of despair concerning our civilization. But, I woke up this morning feeling the same way. Perhaps what I feel does not have it’s roots in exhaustion, but in reality.

I was moved by what another blogger said about this entry. I read this over at the Republic of T:

A strange world indeed. Stranger every day, in fact. In fact, it’s almost as if we’re witnessing the paroxysms of a deep and abiding sickness in American culture and communities, and that all the hate must finally be vomited out before the entire body can begin to heal. At least that’s what I tell myself today, because I want to believe that healing will follow. In some ways, I have to.

That’s the reality that I was afraid of coming face to face with today; the reality that our lives don’t matter to a great many people, some of them even in our own families or communities. All I can say is that I came face to face with it today, and managed to move on.