renaissance poisson

i watched the whole thing on CSPAN (thank you CSPAN, btw, for regularly being the best source for information, unfiltered and undistorted by talking heads who're all too often not thinking heads).

now, i don't really think much of marches, unless they can bring incredible numbers, and this one was unlikely to do that. but i think now that i was wrong. i had forgotten the incredible energy a good rally that connects you with many like-minded people can provide, and that energy goes back home with you, and provides you with more oomph to continue the fight.

there were some really excellent speeches, and i wrote down a lot of quotes from people who impressed me specifically.

it started with the invocation, in which transgendered people were mentioned right along with gay, lesbian, and bisexual ones as people who have made important contributions to the fight for equality.

one very important speaker was julian bond, chairman of the NAACP, especially in light of the acrimony between gays and blacks post proposition 8.

black people of all people should not oppose gay equality.
rights for gays and lesbians are not 'special' in any way.
good things don't come to those who wait, but they come to those who agitate.

lt. dan choi, combat veteran, pending discharge via DADT:

love is worth it.
asking is over, we will TELL.
in the face of discrimination silence is not a strategy.

stuart applebaum, jewish labor committee president:

it's been 40 years since stonewall, how much longer are we supposed to wait?

michelle clunie, actor:

we're gathered not because we are different, but because we are the same.
today we stand on the right side of history, on the side of love and compassion.

staceyann chin, poet, activist:

what makes us human is the acknowledgment of our common humanity.
equality has to be more than a word, equality has to be a way of living.

maxim thorne, senior VP of the NAACP:

the martin luther king of the gay rights movement is martin luther king.

kate clinton, comedian:

homophobia is a choice.

jarrett barrios, president of GLAAD:

'we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal' -- doesn't 'all people' mean us too?

one of the most amazing speeches for me was by urvashi vaid, GLBT activist. i can't quote anything specific from it because it was a condensed message of so much i believe about equal rights and a fair and just society; i'm hoping i'll be able to find a transcript. she's written a book i'm gonna get ahold of, "Virtual Equality: The Mainstreaming of Gay and Lesbian Liberation".


what struck me most poignantly is the contrast between this rally and the teaparty event last month. for one, this was an incredibly racially diverse crowd, not just whites. and these people have suffered throughout their lives tremendously more than the teapartiers; they have every reason to be seriously pissed off -- and yet the rally wasn't filled with hatred; the signs weren't crude, insulting, nor disgusting; the atmosphere was positive, focussed on working together despite the obstacles.

if "by their fruits you shall know them" it was pretty obvious to me whose fruit is spoiled and rotted, and whose is wholesome.