6.26.15

i got the courage

to log onto instagram

and post a picture of

my girlfriend and i

captioned

"meet my gf!!"

beside the hashtag

#lovewins

and it was absolutely

nerve-racking.

i went to bed

and woke up to

support-

support from the girl

i barely talked to at school,

support from the girl

who played the flute in eighth-grade band,

support from the popular girl

i used to sit by in yearbook,

support from my best friend's

other best friends.

forty-five likes

so far,

and i feel like

others will like me

as well,

even though

i'm different

than them,

even though my friend

of eleven years

will see it

and never want

to talk to me again.

It means that

A lesbian couple who have

Loved each other for quite

Some time now

Can finally

Get married

Because their state allows it.

It means that

A lonely boy

Who has his eyes another boy

Can work up the courage to

Talk to him

And say

"Would you like to

Go to the movies?"

And that other boy

Can be unafraid

Of saying

"Yes"

It means that

A girl, who has

Been secretly in love

With her best friend

Can look her in the eyes

Say

"I love you"

And kiss her.

And her best friend

Can smile

And whisper

"I love you too"

It means that

Finally

People will be allowed to love

Who they were born loving

And they don't have to shy away

That they can

Finally

Just love

Freely.

It just goes to show that hate can always be conquered.

Demi Lovato (oh don't sigh, you knew she was coming) joined up with "HRC's (Human Rights Campaign) Americans For Marriage Equality". In her advertisement, she said, "I believe that love comes in all different shapes, sizes, and colors. So whether you're LGBT or straight, your love is valid, beautiful, and an incredible gift." *sigh* isn't she just lovely?

While gay marriage has been legalized, we've still got a LONG way to go to learning to be more accepting and loving toward LGBT individuals. The states may recognize your marriage, but some shit head out there won't because he thinks some magical sky man will smite him if he does. There will still be murders against this group of people and giving them the right to marry isn't going to magically stop them. We've still got a long way to go with that, but today, we've made one hell of a step closer.

(I was going to close out with another Demi Lovato quote, but I found THIS instead from MotherJones.com) "… Lovato sticking it to Russian president Vladimir Putin (and his anti-gay policies) during her New York City gay pride performance this summer. During the show, two of Lovato's male backup dancers shared a kiss; one of them appeared to be naked and was holding a picture of Putin's face over his crotch." HAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHA THAT RIGHT THERE IS MY BABY.

Be sure to check out her newest single named "Cool For the Summer" THIS JULY 1ST!!!

"Love Wins" means that, literally, love has triumphed.

It means that we can love freely, we can love whoever and whatever we want.

It means that I'm allowed to love boys, girls, people of any gender.

It means that, after so many obstacles, we have finally given thought to those who don't go with the majority.

It means that I can come out as straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, or even aromantic.

It means to me that we can be free with whom we love.

It means that love doesn't have to be restricted to one gender, or even genders at all.

It means that we've finally realised that maybe the cursed, strange ones aren't so strange at all.

They're like us.

It's like favorite ice cream flavors.

Do you love boys, or girls? Or both?

Do you love one person? Two? Three?

"Love Wins" means that nothing can bar our way to true love.

______________________________________________________________

I don't know who the picture's by.

Pairing- USUK: America and England from APH, credit Himaruya Hidekaz.

When we feel love

for anything or anyone

it's not a choice we make

but a sensation that takes

what it is to be happy

multiplied by infinity

and imploded inside

the light of life.

We FEEL this epic reaction

to that color, or this contraption,

to a landscape, or flower,

a certain day, or hour,

an expression,

or person;

we don't choose it,

we loose it,

under our skin

and deep within.

So, when one person's ignorance

becomes another's oppression,

we must all stand against it,

speak-up and educate them.

The law is about statements,

and love is about connections-

they make acknowledgements

so we won't forget them;

more importantly,

this synchronicity

means love wins,

where once

it was sin.

It's important to me

because it's life for them.

- M.E.

Words mean things, yet many times, especially when crafted for marketing or political reasons, words can be bent to mean something completely different or masked to cover up the reality (if you are lucky enough to be talking about marketing, you usually get a lot of legalese fine-print to explain what is really meant.)

So, in the Supreme Court decision of 'OBERGEFELL v. HODGES', the court ruled 5-4 that same-sex marriage was constitutional (per the 14th amendment's Due Process Clause, for those that care about such things.) and there was joy in the streets. Shortly thereafter, anyone that lives even briefly in the social media realm, was bombarded with #LoveWins. I cringed instantly. Words mean things, and I felt that didn't mean what everyone believed it meant.

Now I did not cringe because same-sex marriages are now allowed in all 50 states. I would have cringed just as much if the ruling went 4-5 and we were subjected with #LoveLoses instead.

So I will start my deconstruction of the term 'Love Wins' as such. Did love suddenly blossom to life because of what 5 people out of a group of 9 decided? To make it even a bit more stark, if you look at it from a differential, what technically just one person decided?

The love between people who were hoping for the ruling that occurred existed well before the ruling. The love would have still existed if the ruling was such that it was kicked back to being a states-right issue. Love didn't win, for it was already there. The only thing that 'won' was to have that love allowed to be legally celebrated in the form of a marriage across the country, and to have all of the trappings and restrictions that a marriage brings with it.

I will further argue, that 'Love was winning' way before the court got involved. By the time of the ruling, only 14 of the 50 states still did not recognize same-sex marriage. Further, the 36 that did all did so in nearly the last 10 years. That is an amazing change if you think about it. It is actually a testament to how wonderful a system based on liberty can change. Can right a wrong. Can adapt.

If the ruling would have gone 4-5 instead, I would have personally been surprised if more than 5 states were still left 10 years from now as not allowing same-sex marriages. The hearts and minds of Americans, on the whole, have slowly shifted on the issue. But, for every state where a vote was cast to allow same-sex marriage, you could more easily argue that 'love was winning' in those states. Because it took a majority of people, many that were not gay, to make same-sex marriage a reality there. The movement, regardless of the side of the argument you were/are on, was already, in my humble opinion, practically a fait accompli. It really was only a matter of time. So, looking at it in this prism, the movement was cheated a bit. Yes, the slow slog of changing the populous' hearts and minds is slow, and requires patience. However, the victory is deeper that way. I would rather win any argument by changing the hearts and minds of many, instead of the argument being won just on the difference of one person.

If 'Love Wins', what lost? Hate? Hardly. I have seen enough passion and hate spewed on both sides of the argument over the last few days to make demons envious. Hate hardly lost, if anything, the ruling only inflamed some of it. Are the 4 judges that voted against it in the 'anti-love-wins' camp? If you read their dissents, you might be surprised that is not the case. Many times, only one or two dissents are written. This time 4 were and each were quite insightful for anyone that wishes to read them. I read the words across my screen, 'Scalia is a hateful bigit' more than once. I could almost see how that could be the case, if you took what he wrote in his dissent out of context. You would be hard pressed to feel that way if you read the whole thing though. (And for those that are afraid to read the ruling or dissenting opinions, they are written to be understood by all, not just to be understood by lawyers.)

Does a legal marriage even equate to love? Again, hardly. I know quite a few people that are legally married, yet love is not part of the equation. Either in a yet way (because the marriages were arranged) or because the couple now hate each other's guts and for whatever reason, have not had their marriage contract nullified yet. Love and civil marriage do not explicitly go hand in hand, and they never did.

So what does 'Love Wins' mean to me? It is to me, just political patter, clever political patter, but political patter all the same. It now joins in the annals of my mind, other clever, yet cringe-worthy political patter terms like 'homeland security', 'undocumented worker', 'red state', 'blue state', 'purple state'.

I am happy that more people now feel like they get to brave the institution of marriage; but as I expressed earlier, love won a long time ago, way before what the majority of nine people wearing robes decided. For me, that matters much more.

It means I can watch friends and strangers be happy when they finally say the words in the future to marry their husband or wife. It means instead of having no genuine and educated rebuttal to those people online who just can't stop hating, we can say, "love won." No one can argue. No one can shut down love. Take as long as you want to revel in glory from this. Have a party, paint the crosswalks rainbow, light something on fire, take a picture of you and your newlywed for the world to see! But the other side still exists. Many people and many more will be against you, but I'm here for y'all. Use love to your advantage, okay?

Along a rocky coast of a distant land, there was, surprisingly, a dandelion. All lonesome, between some grey-blue pebbles. If one might look from above, so peaceful he might think they coexist. Yet, the pebbles were forbidding the dandelion to seek for a ray of sun.

Pebbles do not think, they have been there for how many years, in those unchangeable positions- unless they were forcefully put in some other place. On the other hand, dandelions are not static. They are full of life, they seek the sun; they create their own blossom, and how majestically they glow like golden medallions.

For how long has the poor dandelion been waiting for a wave to come nearer and move those pebbles so she can direct herself to the sun. Yet, no wave was coming, not that near. Even if it did, it could very easily end the life of the dandelion that hadn't really lived yet. But, where is the point of dandelions being there if they cannot look at the one they so love and desire?

Many days passed, and the dandelion was still deprived of warmth. Until one day, a little girl discovered it while walking with naked foot along the seashore of that distant land. She took the dandelion and planted it on the nearest sunniest hill. What a magical bright light it emitted. Then, she moved away and let the dandelion glow.

She had never seen a prettier dandelion, of that she was very much convinced.

Sometimes we wait for a wave to change something we ourselves cannot, but what we often forget is that a single person can also cast the brightest light.

Everyone can express that feeling in their stomach, the fluttery one, letting them know that they love someone. Instead of that man over there shying away from the other man he loves, he can walk up to him and say, "I love you," and they can proudly walk down the street together. Instead of that woman down the block hiding under her covers because she wasn't allowed to marry the person she loves, she can go and head right on down to her love and tell her " I love you," and they can be happy and live a life together. Legalizing gay and lesbian marriage wasn't just a happy day, it was a day that freed those souls who needed to be free, and let them know it was going to be ok.