I Quit

This morning I was finishing a comedy piece about a date I recently had...and about 1/3 into it...this just poured out of me. When my writing comes this quickly, I figure it needs to get out, so I'll post the comedy piece tomorrow.

I know that there are those of you who are voting for President Bush based on his economic policies, or for his welfare policies, or for his policies on terrorism, but his rhetoric over the last few days have been very attacking. Only about 10% of the U.S. population is extremely conservative, yet this is the group he is most courting. I'm not asking anyone to change their votes (I never would), but I am asking that you let your viewpoint be known to your candidate. I've honestly let mine be known. Politicians fear voters more than anything. Have you told them how you feel?

To contact President Bush:
George W. Bush

To contact Senator Kerry:
John Kerry

Dear President Bush,
Over the past 34 years I have been called an outcast, a pariah, socially unacceptable, a threat to children, a sexual predator, and most recently a threat to the Institution of Marriage.

I woke up this morning listening to your words voiced over my radio, and I felt ill. You've portrayed me to be a monster, something that children should fear. Those same children will believe that because of me, their mother and father are divorcing. I have ended their marriage.

I love politics, always have, and understand more about how it works (I've never mentioned on this site before, but three of my family members from my father's side were successful politicians) than most people. I also understand that when politics becomes personal, it takes a nasty turn.

You've made it personal. I'm sitting here today, physically ill, thinking about how 2 - 10% of the population's desire to get married has become an election year strategy.

I lived in Colorado when amendment 2 was narrowly passed by the voters. This amendment stated that any discrimination protections for GLBT persons are nullified. It became legal to fire someone for being gay. The state changed over night, and a cultural war began. Any friends who identified as Christian were pushed away, and I refused to attend any event sponsored by a church. Other gay people I knew did the same, as we identified ourselves to each other, but completely shunned those with opposing viewpoints. Restaurants who displayed what we called "the Jesus Fish" never received our dollars, and I know that any business that displayed a rainbow flag would never receive the business of a Christian. This amendment created a division that the state has yet to heal. Focus on the Family, Colorado for Family Values, Promise Keepers, and The Pentecostal "Hell House" were all born from this division in the state, and all pushed us even further away.

So here I am, nearly 10 years later, seeing the exact same thing happen on the national level, and it sickens me. This sickens me enough that I've made my decision. I quit. You don't want me married...fine...I personally didn't want to get married. I've seen too many divorces to want to go through that.

You win. Feel Better? I do too.

Illegalize sodomy, make it legal to fire me for being gay, force me to live in separate communities where children don't live, go back to raiding the gay bars and entrapping men for inopportuning (asking men out), and force me to wear a pink triangle. You can have everything on your agenda, and you can strip away every single one of my rights. I've been living as a second class citizen for 34 years now...it doesn't hurt anymore, and I've come to the conclusion that it will never change in my lifetime.

The Christians went through the same thing when being persecuted by the Romans, and we both know that the Roman Empire eventually fell. I won't be around to see my any of the rights I deserve, but I will live in the comfort of knowing that eventually...this society will fall, and those that you persecuted will rise up into power next.

You can take my rights, you can take my ability to get a job, you can destroy my dreams...but you will never take my dignity.

Sincerely
Patrick James Doyle
Cleveland, Ohio