However I want to express some feelings that I have long had about spirit day. I love the idea that spirit day has, of being a way of showing support to LGBTQ+ youth. That the idea that the world gets better, that suicide is really and truly as ridiculous as giving broccoli out on Halloween, and that there are all these people out here that support them is spread around is fantastic!... That is not what I want to criticize. What I want to criticize is both the lack of participation and the complete politicization of the occurrence. I recognize that there are people out there in the world that aren't fans of equality, that don't like the LGBTQ+ community and are most likely never going to adopt healthy attitudes to anything regardless of what we do. They're the people that I could care less about because they are not rational people and consider everything but corduroy couch cozies a sin they are not going to be convinced to change their opinion by people such as myself. Who I'm talking about are the people at the margins of the debate. The people whose support could really magnify the inherent need for equality under the law that is lacking for the LGBTQ+ community that really should be there. These are people like parents of LGBTQ+ youth; like the elderly who are our ardent supporters; like teachers, professors, faculty and staff at schools, colleges and universities across the country; these are our healthcare providers and emergency services staff like first responders and; we need people from every cultural background to reach deep into the depths of their closets and pull out whatever hideous [or lovely] shade of purple that they have and wear it. Because in all reality we can wear purple, and see all the same people who just as ardently support LGBTQ+ equality wear purple, but that is not going to help anyone because there is no progress, no economic growth within our struggle because our labor market is staying the same. We need these people at the margins to create change because these are the people who can make the most change. These are the people who aren't ardent supporters of equality, but their support is just as passionate and just as meaningful. These are the people in both mainstream political parties working for LGBTQ+ rights [even though I think both are ridiculous and unhelpful] and that are on the lines with people that can most benefit from the slow osmosis of equality.
On that stream of thought I would like to break to my other qualm with what I saw today in the media and through my experience. There is this conception that the fight for LGBTQ+ equality is single sided. That the Democratic party is the party that has our best interest at heart and that we need to vote for President Obama because he is a democrat. There is this idea that people in the Republican party are misogynistic, that they hate equality of any kind, that they are beyond reason and that they are greedy beyond belief. We think that because we see a perception in the media of such hatred towards Women, Hispanics/Latinos/Chicanos, African American/Blacks*, LGBTQ+, First Nation People, the poor, etc... that it must be true of all people in the party. But I have met so many people that prescribe to the Republican party that don't believe in the same way. I have met some very eloquent persons who seek to create environments that foster the growth of our nation into the Isles of the Blessed. So I don't think we should harp on our Republican allies because of the choice of their party. If we are truly fighting for equality then we should harp on them for their policies regarding our brothers and sisters in the fight. We should ask for them to end racist policies regarding immigration and we should demand an end to class within our society. Because no one has rights while others lie in the chains of slavery; the more injustice we let pass the closer we get to having injustice committed against ourselves. And yes these are things that need to be seen in our community - a stronger tie being built with our allies in the fight for equality and apologize for the wrongs we have committed against them (from racism, sexism, cultural appropriation, religious bigotry, and all other forms of insensitivity) - and a political community of communal respect and communalism that has a House, Senate, Governmental Agencies, and all public works awash in clouds of purple.
We are a nation of people that believe strongly in the greatness that we can create. We know that any challenge can be overcome through our work. But it is time that we recognize that we are no longer the stream that fought injustices in the 1900s - that it is time to create a true nation, a nation that does not simply value equality, but HAS equality.
Happy Spirit Day
-Ehahlil
* I've included the term "Black" because I was told that for some the term "African American" does not capture their experience because of various reasons including 'African Diaspora' and inherent racisms structurally within our systems of government. I apologize if it happens to offend anyone, but it will remain.
No comments:
Post a Comment