Get over it, already

Proposition 8 a.ka. the "gay marriage ban" was passed in California. A lot of people are pissed off. Perez Hilton won't stop talking about it. Keith Olbermann cried on national television. Anderson Cooper is squinting more than ever. Bill Maher has somehow managed to look even more smug than usual. The lads at Abercrombie/Express/Zara are all going "Oh my god, this is SOOO not fabulous". Protestors are taking to the streets in such vasts numbers that the rainbow colors can be seen from the moon. Alright, I'll stop - you get the idea.

Until recently, the white folk in tinsel town had to have black best friends, now the trend is to have gay ones. Gay black best friends for the gold. As a result, the cries bemoaning the decision are getting more and more shrill by the minute, almost bordering lunacy.

Now, I have nothing against gay folk. They deserve equal rights, should be able to marry, be the next of kin, adopt/raise kids and suffer like the rest of us do. What I can't understand about this whole prop 8 scene, is the reaction. Yes, it shouldn't have passed, it shows there are bigots even to this day, society still hasn't evolved in the most liberal country in the world etc. But the point is - that's how a democracy works, deal with it. Everything about this process was fair. An opportunity to think and reconsider, and a platform for a debate were provided. One side won - and legally at that. So stop finding scape goats (70% of blacks voted for this, oh noes!!!1), and protesting the decision and wasting public time and money by trying to find ways to contest prop 8. This battle is over - move on, pick your next fight.

The solution is not to tie this thing up in courts, but to start-over. To educate the suspect bigots, figure out what made them choose that way, and if there's a more compelling argument than an interpretation of the word of "god". Once the voting public is ready (they sure as shit won't change in 15 days), legislate again. That is the price of freedom and a side-effect of choice - the majority may not always have the best judgment.

There is massive disappointment, and that is understandable. This was a landmark decision, and it took way too long just to get here. But do not compare this battle to the one for African-American rights. Do not trivialize their battle to get basic human rights, to be seen as intelligent men and women and not dispensible slaves. I can't think of the last time a gay man was lynched in the open. There will be a day when we'll finally let gay people live as first class citizens, till then remember that no one's chasing them with pitchforks and nooses. That's the freedom they have, and as obvious as it sounds, it's a right that several of their kind still don't have in the countries American soldiers are dying in. Don't take these privileges lightly, use them well.

Talk, reach out. Educate. Preach acceptance - but accept the decision first.