KarMel Scholarship 2005

 

 “Pink Pather’”

By Anonymous

 

 

Desciption of Submission: “On Gay Marriage.” - Anonymouse

 

 

Before physics begins a girl with whom I had discussed little more than rotational equilibrium says to me in a synthetic, consoling tone befitting a Lifetime made-for-T.V. funeral, “I support gay marriage.” The entropy of this statement destabilizes my equilibrium, until an origin presents itself in the remembrance of stating weeks ago in a conversation not involving her that I would let Mr. Nilsson, a Clements’ cheerleading coach and ex-physics teacher, be my derivative anytime so he’d be tangent to all my curves.  Despite the refreshing image of Mr. Nilsson giving me a lesson in applied mechanics, I am left with a vertiginous nausea.  With every intention of bringing some electricity and magnetism into this room of friends and acquaintances who I, completely apolitical, have long thought lie left just as fashionable dissention, I flip back some imaginary hair and flip out with the statement that I do not.  The curiosity of a gay person who doesn’t support gay marriage demands explanation, and a discourse that borders on a self-revelatory rant ensues. 

 

I reject gay marriage not because I hate gay culture, but instead because I love it.  I find the presumption from the left that we would enjoy being assimilated into hetero culture more inflammatory than the attempt from the right to prevent it from happening. Most people live in a world so heterocentric that they don’t recognize that self-deprecating gay men with Judeo-Christian upbringings do not speak for the multi-dimensional gay community.  I find the imposition of this issue by external heterosexual pundits duly irritating. From my -- albeit limited --experience, most gay people don’t even care about the issue of gay marriage partly because most recognize heterosexuals don’t care about the issue either, but instead use it as a P.C. subterfuge to show their approval or disapproval of homosexuals.  In fact, the only place I ever see homosexuals concerned with gay marriage is on cable news-ertainment where they rarely seriously consider the merits of marriage but rather seek validation through force-fed acceptance.  Though, I concede that in my idea of a perfect world gay people who somehow felt comforted  by being legally allowed to accept the customs of a culture that rejects them would be able to do so.  Others bring up the more compelling argument that in logistical terms gays not being able to marry discriminates against them fiscally.  Though, in a Dostoevskian sense, an idea is only worth being entertained if it has the ability to be realized, and being a realist I can’t help but think that rather than supporting politicians who likely care less about gay people and more about gay people’s money, one would do better to just hire a good accountant.  In the long run it would be much less time consuming and far cheaper.

 

Later during our lecture about work and power I reflect on the origin of this tangent, and why it has me so worked up.  I realize it’s the assumption of self-importance, the centripetal assumption on the part of others that I need or want the approval of people I don’t know.  Moreover it’s the belief of heterosexuals that dangling their approval over my head holds some kind of power over my life.  Straight people can keep marriage, they deserve it. 

 

 

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