pride and prejudice

saturday, november 15
a protest, a gathering, a movement
at new york's city hall

in response to the passing of
proposition 8 in california
which aims to effectively ban gay marriage

as i skipped down the street looking for my friends
i was amazed by the thousands and thousands of people
standing, chanting, moving en masse

people of every age, race, sexual orientation and size
many with unimaginably witty or moving posters

"shame on h8! equality for everyone"
"give, live, love"
"straight... but not straight up stupid"
"shall we vote on YOUR marriage now?"
"love thy gay-bor!"
"1/2 citizen"
"gay is the new black"
"i'm here to meet my husband"
"please let my son marry"
"no more mr. nice gay"
"REALLY?"

each and every one of these people empowered
and finally angry for a change

there was hope and pride and joy and glee
all the emotions one would expect from a gathering of "gays"

but mixed with that was the sobering reality
that history is repeating itself yet again
and that if any of us expect REAL change
then that'll take a little bit more than glitter & a dance beat

it will take strategic, organized political action

all in all, i think it was important for so many of us
to know that in some small way
we were participating, contributing

i'm not too sure what a bunch of fired-up gays in new york
will do for a law that WAS voted on
by the tax paying citizens of california
but every crack in that ceiling helps

and at any rate (because to some degree most stereotypes are true)
the 8 of us who gathered and made our voices heard
ended up having a fantastic late afternoon brunch in brooklyn
once all the megaphones and posters had been put away

now THAT'S a movement we can all get behind...