tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758366808296271507.post4930946316964109478..comments2014-05-01T23:02:15.839-07:00Comments on A Lil' Somethin' Somethin': Proud Mary Keep on Turnin'!JMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06213398327481660682noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758366808296271507.post-40813846089465672752011-07-01T07:14:51.696-07:002011-07-01T07:14:51.696-07:00dear baby arms mama...
i hear what you are sayin...dear baby arms mama... <br /><br />i hear what you are saying loud and clear and also know this to be true in the community.. i think NY State validating our relationships is a game changer.<br /><br />i've heard friends say "i wonder if i'm the marrying type?" and i've witnessed couples breaking up as NY got closer and closer to making same-sex marriage legal because those couples all of sudden realized they wouldn't want to marry their current significant other.<br /><br />not everyone wants to get married.. i mean what's a piece of paper anyways? for those that don't want to marry - good for you i agree.. for those people that have families, children, sick partners or other things where the legal world comes into play.. congratulations.. the state now recognizes you!!! (insert tearing up here)<br /><br />so i came out around.. 1993ish maybe.. and since then.. i've picked girls up at the gay bar.. gay bar.. gggg.. gay bar.. (see link for reference - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw7EJ_mTmdM)<br />where else was i supposed to go to hookup? since then i've heard various friends complain that the bars were the only place where you could find another gay (softball too hehe) .. i think this is where the culture was pushed.. we were pushed into the corner.. into the corner gay bars.. where we could dance and kiss and grind.. people hooked up.. maybe they stayed together for decades maybe they had kids.. but mostly from my experience.. it was kind of a party scene.. and i never imagined i would think of getting married or that my friends that had been together for decades would get married.. wha? marriage? same sex marriage? <br /><br />my thoughts are a lot sporadic.. hard to even wrap my head around the right that has been given to me.. i think that the parade will morph into a higher level of gay culture, a reason to be proud and to remember all of the people that are not here to experience this event.. the friends and family that were beat to death or raped.. the gay couples that lost children, houses, everything after their partner left or passed away.. the huge number of people that couldn't visit their partners while suffereing from AIDS .. these people.. the ones that didn't have the freedom i have.. these people should be thought of and honored at each parade everywhere around the world.. <br /><br />the change has already started.. this year at the parade.. did anyone notice what the press covered? does anyone remember an image in a paper showing the most fantastic and outrageous drag queen or other fabulous extremes? i can't remember seeing any.. this year the papers covered the parade.. and they showed pictures of you and me and families.. <br /><br />we all breathe the same air.. i'm happy to see the NY State Senate agrees.. it's about time..Tami Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11367539923543071531noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758366808296271507.post-30101808474067532142011-06-28T19:31:13.714-07:002011-06-28T19:31:13.714-07:00p.s. - I NEED to see The Normal Heart before it cl...p.s. - I NEED to see The Normal Heart before it closes! It is eerie how it can still have such intense meaning - with an uneasy twist these days.JMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06213398327481660682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758366808296271507.post-74168354353638894372011-06-28T19:30:03.998-07:002011-06-28T19:30:03.998-07:00Thanks again Mark - for reading this - and for und...Thanks again Mark - for reading this - and for understanding where I am coming from. I am still a little scared some of "my gays" may read this and be hurt or offended - but it has been on my mind for a long time now and it is so great to know you understand my point. Thank you thank you!!!!!JMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06213398327481660682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4758366808296271507.post-15690604042801342922011-06-28T19:09:28.484-07:002011-06-28T19:09:28.484-07:00You echoed a lot of thoughts I've had about th...You echoed a lot of thoughts I've had about the culture, the parade (I used to go w/some lesbian & gay friends, too), the younger generation who didn't know anyone who's died. Being a theater geek, I knew too many (I'm dating myself here) who died at 21, 24. I still have a friend who's somehow survived from 1990 infection. <br /><br />But everyone today, w/the meds and such, continues the "party must go on" mentality while not addressing the real issues or even caring to take care of themselves or their fellow participants. I saw "Normal Heart" and it brought it all back to me so vividly and sadly. The people I knew one day and who were gone the next. I worked at a hospital as a supervisor and one of my floors was the AIDS floor. I'd see people come in, leave, come in worse, leave - they'd say they'd be the first to beat it - then come back and die. It's why I had to leave that job.<br /><br />And the people like the ones in the article you cited had no idea because it's not popular to educate kids about HIV/AIDS (or birth control or condoms or any practical truth in life) and the abhorrent treatment it got for the first 8 years of it's existence. And they perpetuate the myth that it's somehow manageable illness when, in the end, if it doesn't kill you, drug effects or things the drugs can't handle, will. And Ronnie Reagan was a "hero," after all. Revisionist history keeps all that truth from being known or exposed. It's sad. I'm glad some of those kids are seeing/understanding part of their history. And at the same time, there will always be those in ALL cultures who will live the "lah-lah, lah-lah-lah, let's live for today" mentality and can't be bothered with anything real. Chosen ignorance, chosen "bliss." The people who watch reality TV and never the news... Etc.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11970868282453594338noreply@blogger.com