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So I'm on Linked-In (please don't look me up there, I'm really keeping that only for professional associations) and some of my former co-wokers are members of the Mormon church. They gave thousands, yes you heard that right, not a measly $20, or $100 that regular people give, they gave thousands to the Yes on 8 cause.
One of my gay coworkers burned his bridges hard and wrote scathing letters to them bitching them out because of the betrayal he felt. I also want to send them a letter. I know that burning your professional bridges is pretty stupid, but somehow this is too important to let lie.
I have composed the following email. I'd like some opinions as well as structural and grammatical critique.
***********************
Dear _________,
As a former collegue, you probably do not know a lot about me outside of our professional relationship. I have been a civil rights activist all of my life.
I know you think I am exagerating, but I'm not. When I was five, I stood with my mother in front of grocery stores urging people to "boycott, lettuce, boycott grapes, boycott the wine that Gallo makes". I marched with my parents and Ceasar Chavez demanding fair wages and fair housing for farm workers. At ten I was going with my mother to protests for Leonard Peltier's freedom. As a teen, I got to see the inner workings of politics. I went with my father to meetings on re-apportionment and attended fundraisers for Chicano issues throughout Los Angeles. Once I was out on my own, in college, I joined Lamda Delta Lamda, a sorority at UCLA founded by lesbians because I thought that equality for all was more important than people thinking I was gay. In doing so, I became visible as part of one of the most controversial groups on campus.
Speaking against injustice is an almost daily issue in my life. When people say insulting things about Latinos or immigrants. I have to speak up and point out that I am a Latina and that my Grandmother was an illegal immigrant. When people speak against gays, I have to point out that despite the fact that I am married to a man, I am queer and I could just as easily have been married to a woman. Well, except for the married part, now that Prop 8 has passed.
By the merest slip of the heart, because I fell in love with a man and not a woman, I stand on this side of privelege, on this side of the law. What is different about this love, as opposed to the last long term relationship I was in? The only material difference is the gender of my partner. That is discrimination. That is injustice. That is a failure of this state and this nation, to reconcile itself to the founding father's belief that all men are created equal and are entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
If you are still reading, then you're probably wondering why I'm sending you this letter; or maybe you already know. I found your name on the list of donors in support of Prop. 8. I am not sending you this missive to shame or scold you, but to ask you to think. Did you really think stripping people of their right to marry, to pursue their life with the person that they love, was the right thing?
I understand that your faith is important to you. Mine is important to me. It's possible that I'm missing some crucial information, but Christ preached love. He did not preach judgement and he preached against hate. He dined with the sinners. He did not throw them out or condem them. He only required their faith and thusly their love. The book of Galations tells us that Jesus said the greatest commandment was "love thy neighbor as thyself". I cannot believe that Jesus would have approved of what has happened here.
I hope that you will continue to think and pray about how your neighbors, friends and former collegues are affected by your choices. Civil rights are, by definition, fundamental to all people. Martin Luther King Jr. said it best "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
I wish you all the best in your future endeavors and hope that some day you will stand with me for justice and equality.
****************************
Alternate last line: I wish you all the best in your future endeavors and hope that some day you will understand me.
One of my gay coworkers burned his bridges hard and wrote scathing letters to them bitching them out because of the betrayal he felt. I also want to send them a letter. I know that burning your professional bridges is pretty stupid, but somehow this is too important to let lie.
I have composed the following email. I'd like some opinions as well as structural and grammatical critique.
***********************
Dear _________,
As a former collegue, you probably do not know a lot about me outside of our professional relationship. I have been a civil rights activist all of my life.
I know you think I am exagerating, but I'm not. When I was five, I stood with my mother in front of grocery stores urging people to "boycott, lettuce, boycott grapes, boycott the wine that Gallo makes". I marched with my parents and Ceasar Chavez demanding fair wages and fair housing for farm workers. At ten I was going with my mother to protests for Leonard Peltier's freedom. As a teen, I got to see the inner workings of politics. I went with my father to meetings on re-apportionment and attended fundraisers for Chicano issues throughout Los Angeles. Once I was out on my own, in college, I joined Lamda Delta Lamda, a sorority at UCLA founded by lesbians because I thought that equality for all was more important than people thinking I was gay. In doing so, I became visible as part of one of the most controversial groups on campus.
Speaking against injustice is an almost daily issue in my life. When people say insulting things about Latinos or immigrants. I have to speak up and point out that I am a Latina and that my Grandmother was an illegal immigrant. When people speak against gays, I have to point out that despite the fact that I am married to a man, I am queer and I could just as easily have been married to a woman. Well, except for the married part, now that Prop 8 has passed.
By the merest slip of the heart, because I fell in love with a man and not a woman, I stand on this side of privelege, on this side of the law. What is different about this love, as opposed to the last long term relationship I was in? The only material difference is the gender of my partner. That is discrimination. That is injustice. That is a failure of this state and this nation, to reconcile itself to the founding father's belief that all men are created equal and are entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
If you are still reading, then you're probably wondering why I'm sending you this letter; or maybe you already know. I found your name on the list of donors in support of Prop. 8. I am not sending you this missive to shame or scold you, but to ask you to think. Did you really think stripping people of their right to marry, to pursue their life with the person that they love, was the right thing?
I understand that your faith is important to you. Mine is important to me. It's possible that I'm missing some crucial information, but Christ preached love. He did not preach judgement and he preached against hate. He dined with the sinners. He did not throw them out or condem them. He only required their faith and thusly their love. The book of Galations tells us that Jesus said the greatest commandment was "love thy neighbor as thyself". I cannot believe that Jesus would have approved of what has happened here.
I hope that you will continue to think and pray about how your neighbors, friends and former collegues are affected by your choices. Civil rights are, by definition, fundamental to all people. Martin Luther King Jr. said it best "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
I wish you all the best in your future endeavors and hope that some day you will stand with me for justice and equality.
****************************
Alternate last line: I wish you all the best in your future endeavors and hope that some day you will understand me.
