Skulls and Angels

Yay! The Supreme Court legalized gay marriage! I felt like I could've floated right out of my body hearing that. Just when I was about to give up hope for my neck of the woods to ever get out of the dark ages of discrimination, this happened. There is hope!!!

On a side note, has anyone made the switch over to Windows 10? Do you lose your programs, or do you keep your stuff? The reason I ask is because I use MicrosoftWord Starter 2010 that came installed on my system when writing fic, and I would hate to lose that just for an upgrade. Or any of my other programs for that matter. Is anyone on my flist tech-savvy enough to advise about whether I should upgrade or not? Share your thoughts please. I'd like someone else's input here. I don't trust myself not to fuck something up somewhere if I go through with this.

I just wanted to say that my heart breaks for this poor girl. Her parents were absolutely, mindfuckingly disgusting. Conversion therapy just because your child is transgendered? No. Isolating her from the only true source of support she had? No.

I pity the fact that her parents were so deeply ingrained in upholding the tenets of their religion that they failed to recognize a person in need of love, care, and acceptance. Even after death, they are still misgendering her. Just, no. No. It's not right.

I'm sorry she was in so much pain that she felt suicide was the only out. I'm sorry for her parents, who lost an amazing daughter because of their incredibly vast ignorance and transphobia.

I'm not debating anyone's right to their beliefs. Just, please remember that your beliefs can and do affect other people, so always treat others the way you would want to be treated.

I hope with all my heart that Leelah is at peace now. She deserves that.

Gay marriage is not a punch line. It is not a joke, it is not comical. It's nothing to be laughed at. It is just as real and just as valid as any heterosexual marriage ever was, and I find it disappointing that my grandmother finds the idea of gay marriage comical. I find it hurtful and disgusting that ANYONE could have that attitude, but even more so when it's someone I love as I love my grandmother. Because yes, I do love her, despite the fact that her opinions on some things sicken me and make me want to disappear from existence. I can disagree all I want, but her opinion won't change, because "homosexuality is against the Bible". So is eating shrimp, but she sure as hell does that. Grr. One thing I can can be grateful for is that I don't believe that narrow-minded bullshit. How am I related to these people? How?

Anyway, end of rant. I'm going to go read something slashy and make myself feel better. Love is love, no matter who it's between. I wish everyone could see that. The world would be a better place.

Well, if I had any hope left of ever being honest with my family about my orientation, that has now officially died a swift and very painful death.

My grandmother was talking about the demonstrations that have been on the news in support of gay marriage and called it "revolting" and "disgusting".

She said that people were not meant to live that way.

I couldn't keep my mouth shut at that.

I spoke up.

I said that as long as they weren't hurting anyone else, it doesn't matter how people choose to live their lives, and to live and let live.

And then, I got out of there as fast as I could, before I let fly something I shouldn't.

I don't know if she knows why I disagree with her opinions, but she knows I disagree.

This is kind of scary and painful, but I'm proud of myself for saying something, even if it wasn't what I wanted to say.

It hurts to realize my grandmother, who is the person I'm closet to in the world, is so closed-minded.

But as much as it hurts, it also makes me mad.

People should be free to live and love the way they want to, regardless of gender.

Being gay, bisexual, lesbian , transgendered, polyamorous, pansexual or whatever you are should not in any way negate the human right to love and be loved in return.

Heterosexual people should not be the only ones with the right to love openly and without censure.

We are people. Everyone is different, but that doesn't mean one gender, race, or orientation is any better or worse. We are all human beings. We deserve the same rights.

Love is beautiful, no matter the form, and it should be protected and cherished, regardless of the gender of the party or parties involved.

And that's my opinion. My homophobic family is entitled to theirs, but may I say, they can bite me.

Sometimes my family really makes me want to blow out my brains from sheer and utter frustration. I feel that way quite frequently. Today, my grandmother was telling me about something that happened on "The View" this morning. She was telling me that they'd had a gay couple on there, and one man was serenading his husband. She went on to mention that the couple was interracial. She then went on to say that it was disgusting, and that if that was the best they could do, "The View" needed to be taken off the air. I don't know whether she was more disgusted by the mixing of two races, the homosexuality of the couple or something else entirely, but I found her attitude on this disgusting and intolerable. I didn't offer a word in response because I didn't want to start a fight, but  it really made me steaming fucking mad, in addition to hurting me.

It hurts me that someone I care about so much could be that closed-minded. It makes me scared to be open or share anything at all with her. The bad part is, she's the person I spend the overwhelming majority of my time with. She's the one who takes care of me most often, and the rest of my family is hardly any better. Having to deal with their attitudes is akin to swallowing poison, and I can't stand it. How the hell did I come from them? And how can I keep from going crazy? God, I hate this so much.

Edit: Having just watched what my grandmother termed "disgusting", I have to say that I found the two of them incredibly cute. They've been together as a couple for twenty-one years. How many hetero couples can claim that in this day and age? My grandmother's assessment makes me incredibly sad. An expression of love is never disgusting, regardless  of differences in gender or race. These homophobic, bigoted relatives of mine are going to drive me insane, I swear. I wish I didn't have to be around them. I just feel like crying.

Things like this are precisely why I have such respect for Dan Radcliffe. I thought his speech here and his delivery were very inspiring. I'm posting it to my LJ so that I can listen to it as often as I need to, because it just made me feel good. He helps restore my faith in human kind.

I was watching a YouTube video posted by Chris Crocker this morning. Anyone who watches his videos or has heard of him knows: HE. IS. GAY!  And I happen to find him adorable, too, but that's not the point I want to make with this entry. Every video of his I watch, there is always some comment calling him a faggot or a homo. Ditto with Tyler Oakley, who is so mega-cute and funny he should come with his own warning label. I am so not into homophobia.  Hell, reading slash is one of favorite pastimes ever, and Harry/Draco is my OTP.

My rant is about how extremely ignorant it is is to use those words as insults when someone acknowledges their homosexuality. It's all I can do not to tell those stupid insulting asshats to get better material. Hello, yes, these people know their own orientation, and by choosing to insult them in such a way, those who participate in that behavior are merely showing their own limited intellectual capabilities. There is nothing original in saying those things. Such terms are merely a derogatory method of restating what the people you insult freely admit to. For heaven's sake, would it kill them to employ a dictionary or thesaurus? Homophobia on its own is a blasphemy to me, but the sheer and utter lack of originality present in homophobes somehow makes it hurt worse.

I consider myself of open orientation. I also come from a family that is in many ways very homophobic. Now, don't get me wrong. I love my family, but the homophobic, racist garbage is what I can't stand. and a lot of it is just as unoriginal tripe. Sometimes I have to stop myself screaming: "God, save me, I'm related to judgmental homophobes!"  I suppose it's quite a talent to be both boring and hurtful, but somehow this particular subset of people manage that rather well. Sad to say that my relatives, whom I love, have something in common with the net trollers I can't stand, but it's the truth. Not only is it boring, but it leaves me wanting to hide even more. Homophobia sucks. Love is love, no matter what. God bless anyone who doesn't agree, because obviously their brains malfunctioned somewhere. That is all. Please leave those of us with working brains alone, or at least find insults that are more creative, because the ones you use lack entertainment value. *Snort*