The Stories That Affect Us

I was at a meeting today and there was a man in his 40s - heterosexual, rational, and in control. He started to tell us a story about personal growth.

When he was a teenager, he and and his buddies used to beat up gay men and men who were effeminate. Where he grew up, it was one of those things you "just did," and he said he was actually afraid of gay people, a true homophobe.

When he went to college, he attended NYU, an excellent school smack dab in the middle of one of the largest gay meccas - the West Village. Arriving for the first time, he walked out of the subway and into Washington Square only to discover thousands of gay men walking around. He told himself he had two options - beat them (literally), or join them (figuratively). And he knew the only logical choice was to try to overcome his fears.

In time, he got to know them, and he came to have a very close group of gay friends. When AIDS hit, he lost many friends to the disease and it affected him deeply.

Then he said - "These people were so loving, so caring, and so accepting," and he stopped for a moment as he started to cry, "and the world hates them."

I was taken off-guard by his story and his emotion, and I stared at the floor to focus myself. I focused on hearing his words and feeling his sentiment. And I started to cry as well.

Not necessarily because the world does hate us, but because of the shame he seemed to have felt for having been loved by his enemy. At the complete injustice he feels for a group of people to which it appears he has nothing to gain from fighting for. And for the sheer beauty of the power that love has to transform people.

It's Rainin' Gays

While tax day has come and gone and is now just a brief, distant memory, I wanted to direct you to my friend Brenda's blog post about it, as she protested for "Equal Taxes, Equal Rights" at the post office during her lunch break. Since the official protest was canceled due to lack of support, she went by herself despite fears of being alone and possibly becoming an easy target for someone. Her story is both moving and inspirational and can be found here.

In response to the anti same-sex marriage video the "Gathering Storm," (a ridiculous ad that perpetuates fear and myths surrounding gay marriage) Funny or Die (the folks who brought us "Prop 8 the Musical") responded with their own video, "A Gaythering Storm," seen below.

A Gaythering Storm from Jane Lynch

HOLLYWOOD Land

Last week I did a small video shoot up in the hills near the Hollywood sign. It was an interview for Environment California, and we wanted a nice view of the trees and hills. While it's illegal to hike to the sign, you can get fairly close, and there's a nice view from the top.





Some interesting facts about the sign, compliments of wikipedia -

- Originally constructed in 1923 out of wood, it was so badly deteriorated by 1978 that all the letters were replaced with white-painted steel; at that time, each letter cost $27,777 to replace, which was half the amount of an average-priced house.

- Nine people donated money for the restoration, with each person being connected to a letter. Gene Autry is the second L, Hugh Hefner is the Y, Andy Williams is the W, Alice Cooper (in memory of Groucho Marx) is the third O.

-The original sign was put up for sale on eBay in 2005 (although I don't know what it sold for)

- A motion sensor and closed circuit cameras were installed in 2000, and notifies the police of any movement within 50 yards

- The shape of the hills give it its wavy appearance, but when observed at a comparable altitude, the letters appear straight-across

The Pursuit of Family

(billboard in West Hollywood)

As usual, it's been far too long since I last wrote. While I don't claim to be an up-to-date news blog, it is of course worth mentioning the great success we have recently had with the passage of same-sex marriage in Iowa and Vermont!

Vermont was the first state to do so with a legislative vote (as opposed to the court deciding), overriding Gov. Jim Douglas' veto of the same-sex marriage legislation. This happened nine years (has it already been nine years?) after they became the first state in the country to offer a civil unions law. Iowa and Vermont now join Massachusetts and Connecticut as the four states that allow same-sex marriage.

As for California, the word on the street is that experts believe the CA Supreme Court will not declare Prop 8 unconstitutional (i.e. no same-sex marriage), although we won't know for sure for another month or two. And the right wing is already planning a Prop 8-ish vote in Iowa.

While this will no doubt continue to be a tennis match for quite some time, there is still a lot to be proud of. This is only the beginning of the "post-closet" era, and we've already accomplished so much in such a short period of time. As they say, two steps forward and one step back...

Related posts:
Yay for Gay!
And the fight continues
I believe
The Right Side of History
The Eve of Justice