Why we march

A guest post by Tara Nicole Golden

Lately I have heard a lot of people ask why we march after the court ruled against us in California, Arizona and Florida. The question is: “why can’t you just accept the will of the people — the majority vote?”  Why do we march?  There are so many reasons, but it all boils down to: “because we must.” We march because our fundamental rights, the rights that we as Americans are owed, such as the self-evident rights to happiness and self-definition. Contrary to what some may think and say to belittle us and deny us our rights, we did not choose to be who we are — we all fought long and hard in our own personal battles to accept who we are, who we were born to be, despite the fact that we knew that it would open us up to numerous difficulties in life, and all too often even to the loss of our own lives.

We did not choose to be who we are; we chose to accept it, we chose to walk away from self-hatred, self-denial, the accepting of abuse and the depression that self-denial brings. The only choice we made is the only choice we could make, and therefore not a choice at all. We march because that is the American way. Here in America rights come to those who, rather than sitting back and passively accepting defeat and oppression, stand up and make their voices heard. We march because those who came before us showed us how to stand up for ourselves. Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Cesar Chavez, and all the other brave warriors for justice in America showed us the way. Yes, our fight is different in ways, but in many ways it is the same. When the civil rights movement was happening in the sixties so much was accomplished by so few. A few people, who had no choice in the color of their skin or their heritage of discrimination, hatred, abuse and slavery, stood up against the incredible odds of overwhelming majorities, threats and intimidation to secure a better tomorrow for all those who followed: a future where we now see that those with dark skin can achieve wonderful things — even the presidency of our great nation. We too are outnumbered, threatened and face those who wish to intimidate us and shut us up. It is possible we will even face fire-hoses, dogs and abusive police, but that will not stop us. Just as so many gays and lesbians marched with and supported the civil rights movements of the past, we will have, in our numbers, people who have faced discrimination because of their skin color.

Because we are, like the rainbow flag that we carry with pride, composed of all races, ethnicities and cultures, and we honor the struggles against racial, national and religious discrimination that some of us have faced. But there are also differences. Where the Civil Rights movement of the sixties marched from churches, we march against the forces of bigotry that have taken over churches. We march against the bible being used against us as a weapon, we march against a religion that professes peace and love that has chosen to define itself by its intolerance and hatred. But we know that not all Christians are defined by this hatred; some of them even march amongst us and support us as allies. We know that this wonderful religion has been hijacked and corrupted into something that little resembles the teachings of Christ. We come from all religions, but all of us know that our God(s) are Gods of love, not hatred; of acceptance, not bigotry; of forgiveness, not rejection. But when churches are used as bully pulpits of hatred and intolerance, they prove themselves to be against not only the main tenets of their religions, but also against the freedoms that we as Americans enjoy of the separation of Church and State. When they insert themselves into politics to deny us our basic rights, we have a right to repudiate them and assert ourselves in this secular society where religion is not meant to have any sway in our laws.

We march because our past demands it. This is our time, this is when the winds of change and the winds of our past meet into a gale-storm that pushes us forward. Our ancestors fought in their own way, whether it was the underground movements of WWII or the riots of Stonewall. We have a wonderful history of activism and standing up for rights that we cannot deny at this crucial time-period of history. We march because those who have been silenced demand it. Scores upon scores of GLBT individuals have been sacrificed because of who they are. Whether that be on wind-swept plains of Wyoming, in California or New York cities, or deep in the sultry south — the list of those brave enough to give all in order to simply be who they are is long, grows daily and will not let us forget them.

We must stand up for those who have been laid low. We must speak up for those who have been silenced. We must fight for those who had that ability cruelly taken away from them. We must, or we bear responsibility for the victims of the future. We march because here in America the ballot should never be used as a tool for the tyranny of the majority. We march because our constitution, our bill of rights and our courts have promised to be a bulwark against those who would oppress us. We march because we have been slandered, lied about and abused by those who attempt to silence us and deny us our rights.

We march because we have a right to experience love, commitment and families. We march because we understand that families come in a wide-variety of different forms, and we have love to give and need to receive love in return. We march because we are denied the commitment of marriage, and then are castigated for our love outside of marriage. We march because our children depend on us to provide them loving, stable homes.

We march because too many of our GLBT children find suicide preferable to a life of discrimination and hatred.

We march because our rights do not infringe on anyone else’s. Our marriages will invalidate no one else’s commitments of love. We believe that hetero relationships are formed on love just like ours are, and all relationships of love between consenting adults should be honored in the same way and have access to the same rights and the same pride in love. We march because we have seen, experienced and treasured love and believe it to be a beautiful thing worth living and fighting for. We march because passivity and silence have never brought about positive social change. That choice has been taken away from us.

We march because we believe in love, America, and the promise of a better future for all, regardless of personal particulars. We march because we must. And we will keep marching and protesting until we achieve the basic human rights promised us: the right to equal protection under the law, the right to define ourselves and live in peace and happiness, the right to live without discrimination and bigotry in our homes, our jobs, and the democratic experiment that is America. We will never surrender without these rights, and we will never be silenced by force or the tyranny of the majority. We‚re here, we‚re queer and we have been driven out of the shadows and we are learning again to use our voices to counter the loud and pervasive voices that seek to shout us down.

May tomorrow be a better day when we find that we no longer need to march because we have made a better world.

— Tara Nicole Golden