So on Saturday afternoon Patrice and I decided to head down to the Capitol Building to participate in the protest against Prop 8. What we had not predicted were the intense traffic baracades due to the G20 summit taking place this weekend. We wandered aimlessly trying to find an open cross walk only to stumble into the dead center of a Tibetan protest against the Chinese President. P and I were proud to lend our voices to "Shame on China" chants. We felt lucky to be able to witness their protest on the way to ours. Although, after 45 mins, and one broken up fight, we were over the whole 20 nation motorcade.

A few blocks down we found a large group obviously headed to the Prop 8 protest, now an hour underway. Just as we were finally starting to cross the street the beautiful skies turned deep purple and monsoon rains started coming down. At this point we were drenched but still determined. We eventually caught the group past the Washington Monument and walked to the back of the White House. It was incredibly moving to say the least - thousands of protestors - straight and gay - horns honking from passerbyers - families of all shapes. It was all of the good and all of the hard emotions wrapped up into one. I was glad Patrice was there holding my hand...for alot of reasons.

I forgot my camera (DOH!) so I tracked down a few photos via the web. The one straight couple with the sign was walking directly behind us. It was a memorable experience to say the least.

the thing i thought i'd never do here

im going to rant. seems strange to rant on a day that i believe brings the country so much joy - the day after the country voted Barack Obama into office. im relieved this actually happened and excited to see what the next steps will bring. i think this is an amazing new direction for our country to take, and i look forward to the changes.

however, someone's thrown a wrench in my totterin'. amongst all of this joy, im upset with the negative changes that are happening today across america. it looks like proposition 8 is going to pass in california. in june, same sex couples were granted the right to begin marrying in CA, to make their relationship official and to enjoy the rights of any two people in love who want to spend the rest of their lives together. although i dont live in CA, it gave us all so much hope that one day we too could enjoy the same. straight americans have no idea how powerful that is. all of the progress in CA is about to be erased, and i feel incredibly sad about that. anti-LGBT measures were also passed in florida, arkansas, and arizona. although i am overjoyed with Obama's victory, i am still disappointed on his stance as well. he's taking the safe road, which probably helped him get elected, but i hope in the future he chooses the higher road, which is equal rights in all areas. i can understand his opinion that marriage is a religious institution - if that is true though, why do we allow marriages to be performed in a courtroom instead of a church? why are so many rights tied to a marriage license and not a civil union? why can any man and woman apply for a marriage license even if they have never stepped foot in a church or synagogue? as p says, marriage has long been synonymously used as a contract between two people entering a life together. the logic is all very fuzzy and underattended. i think i just made that word up. thats what happens when you are fussy.

on a somewhat related note, ABC decided to fire actress Brooke Smith (Dr. Erica Hahn) from Grey's Anatomy because they didnt like where her lesbian storyline (which they wrote) was going with Dr. Callie Torrez. *slapping hand to forehead*. the only thing that was unfortunate about the storyline is that they chose to have Dr. Torrez getting explicit sex advice from a man (Dr. Eric Sloane), and having her cheat on Dr. Hahn to prove her sexuality one way or another. on a positive note, Grey's had done an incredibly realistic job of showing a variety of reactions, from "I'm so gay" to "I'm not sure where I fall on the spectrum", and how that plays out into a budding relationship that is ultimately about loving a specific person. if ABC was so uncomfortable, why couldnt they change their romantic storylines as they have done a million times with their heterosexual counterparts? or marginalize the importance of their relationship like they have done with all of the other minority characters on the show? oy vay people. dumb dumb dumb.

sometimes i feel like we could all learn a lesson from kids. kids who havent yet been filled with hate, but who are truly just getting to know the world and experience it as honestly as possible. there is so much potential, hope, and openness through those eyes, and i envy it.

lets hope over the next few years we see progress, even if in baby steps. obama has alot on his plate, and im ready to get started.