National Equality March

In nearly two weeks, a very important event will occur in the DC area. Thousands of people, gay and straight alike, will gather on the National Mall in DC and march for full equality.

For me, this is obviously a very important event. One of my friends is coming down from Jersey, we're going to make signs, probably paint ourselves, and march for our rights. But this event also raises questions and frustrations that inevitably come with being gay. First of all, the fact that we even have to march for our rights still makes me upset. I feel like Obama has let us down in a way; here we thought we were getting a progressive, equality friendly president, but we haven't had the type of progress we hoped we were getting with Obama in office. Change will never come overnight, and nor will it come without some sort of impetus, from our community as well as from our allies. It feels as if promises were made to our community, and here we are, still waiting for bills such as the Matthew Shepherd Hate Crimes Bill and the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" to pass. Understandably, our nation is in a difficult place right now; reforming our health care system and ensuring our country doesn't fall into another Great Depression clearly take priority. But in my mind, that is no reason why our nation can't keep the debate on these issues moving forward, instead of stuck in some sort of stalemate.

Another issue which worries me is apathy in the community in general. Warning: that which follows is a very lame example, and also is proof positive of what a real dork I am. I avidly follow Top Chef, not only because I enjoy cooking, but also because two lesbians (and a gay man!) are contestants on the show. A few weeks ago, the Elimination Challenge required the chefs to cook for a "His and Hers" Bachelor's Party (exactly what that is, I still don't understand...why have your parties TOGETHER? Anywhoo...) One of the lesbian contestants, Ashley, was fairly furious, to the point where she was filmed as stating (something to the effect of) "I think it's bogus that we have to cook for a bachelor's party when there's three of us who can't participate in the institute of marriage." Clearly furious. However, the other lesbian contestant, Preeti, stated, "I feel kind of lame that I'm not more fired up about it." Here we can see the anger and the apathy that permeates our community. On one hand, I know this event will be an amazing opportunity to meet activists from across the country. But there's also the bit of the skeptic in me, who thinks that this will also be an excuse for lots of gay people to converge on our nation's capitol and get drunk and party...basically a Pride in October as opposed to June. (I'm fine with it being a healthy combination of both, and let's face it, we know how to party!) I suppose my concern is that the less serious will drown out what we are actually converging on the Mall to accomplish. We WANT and NEED to be seen as equals to all Americans, regardless of race, class, sexuality, gender, gender expression, etc. It's our time to tell Americans we will stand up to the hate and bigotry that we live with, fear, and internalize every day. We will overcome.