I know Prop 8 has been a popular subject around here lately, but I have to bring it up again because today I received a phone call from an old friend that broke my heart.
My friend is 19 and gay. He came out when he was 16 to a family who is traditionally moderate but, thankfully, most of his family and friends were very supportive. He is the sweetest, most genuine person you will ever meet. He was my date to my senior prom, and a better time a girl never had. He's a small-time stage actor (his greatest role perhaps a Nazi soldier in Cabaret--I have a picture of him in his costume and me, a Jewish girl, because we thought it was hilarious), he worked in a hat shop, and is an all-around great guy. I hate to stereotype, but the best way to describe him is as the kind of guy a girl would want to bring home to mom...but of course he's gay, right?
He called me tonight, after not having had much contact with me for way too long, to tell me that his older brother is voting YES on Prop 8. "I'm not even that mad," he said, "just...more hurt than anything else."
I love this kid, and even though it's been a couple hours since this call, I want to cry about it. It's reminded me all over again why I have to support same-sex rights...because sometimes the support is lacking where it shouldn't be. In the long run, it really doesn't affect the people voting yes. But it absolutely, positively DOES affect the people voting no, like my dear friend, the best prom date in the history of prom dates.
VOTE NO ON PROP 8
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After reading this, I found it very upsetting even though the battle with same-sex rights doesn't directly affect me. I would be exceptionally saddened if my brother or sister had said that to me and don't think I would ever be able to get over that upset that I would feel. Perhaps that's a bit harsh but if I were fighting for something I strongly believed in and one of my siblings told me that they were voting otherwise, I would be hurt beyond words. I would feel as though they were betraying me in a way and in order to get over that it would take a great deal of time. I am a big believer in equal rights for same-sex couples and from my standpoint, I found this to be very upsetting. I may not understand completely what it feels like, but I can only imagine what that level of betrayl is like.