day 044: same-sex marriage vigil

Wednesday nights are usually reserved for my run with Nike at the Grove followed by LOST. It was cold and sprinkling tonight, and instead of running in the rain, I was marching downtown in support of overturning Proposition 8. Tomorrow the California Supreme Court prepares to hear legal arguments against the ballot measure banning same-sex marriage, and a ruling will be decided in 90 days.

Why do I march? Other than the fact that it's a basic fundamental right and is protected by the Declaration of Independence...yeah other than those two minor details... let's see, I try to speak out against discrimination. In my twenty-five random things, I told the story of a lady telling me, “You f-ing Navajo. Go back to the reservation.” because I tripped over her little kid. She did not give me a chance to say anything. She judged me by the color of my skin. She probably has no recollection of that incident, but it stayed with me. It's a strange thing when people judge you for being yourself.

November 5 was supposed to be a glorious day, but I could see in my friends' eyes that they were hurt by the voters of California. They expressed that they had not been subjected to blatant discrimination, and I thought how wonderful that must have been: To live most of your life without the thought that people are not judging you or think that you should be a second class citizen. Wow. If you haven't been the subject of discrimination, you are very fortunate.

I hope in 90 days we will "hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"