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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsLetter from Gay Son to Romney-Supporting Dad
"My Dad Was Going to Vote for Romney, Until I Wrote Him This Letter" from [link:http://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/xyag8/letter_from_gay_son_to_romneysupporting_dad_my/|Reddit
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Dad,
I saw your recent post on Facebook liking Mitt Romney and had to write. (Admittedly, Im still getting used to my 66 year-old father using Facebook, but given what Im about to write, I assure you Im quite supportive of it.)
Though your public support for Romney doesnt surprise me, given how open youve been about your dislike of President Obama, it does bother me. Since coming out to you and mom nineteen years ago, Ive watched you vote for the Republican candidates in every major race. Save for the occasional mealtime argument or sarcastic Fox News barb, Ive held my tongue, despite the hurt and anger that came from watching you vote for a party that has made a sport out of demonizing gay and lesbian people, like me, for political gain. I did so because I never had a solid enough argument that the Democratic Party was wholly different. They often stopped short of institutionalizing discrimination of gays, but were sadly lax on standing on principle and advocating for its eradication. Until now.
For the first time in our nations history, a U.S. President and his party have publicly stated that gays and lesbians are equal citizens and should be such under the law. I know youre aware that Obama believes gays and lesbians, like me, should have the rights and responsibilities of marriage and that the 2012 Democratic Party Platform will include marriage equality as one of its tenets. You will never know what it is to be gay in this world at this moment, but Id bet at some point in your life youve known how it felt to have your essential worth validated by someone with authority. I cant overstate the power of having my president and his party say to me, and the nation, that I am not less than, but equal to, and validate my inherent right to pursue my life with liberty and unimpeded happiness. Never before has this happened. So, never before have I made the argument that you should vote for the Democrat. But, todays a new day.
Four months ago, I sat at my younger brothers wedding and watched you well up, speaking publicly with pride for the man hes become and the woman he chose. His life, though certain to have unexpected turns ahead, has a clear path, one available to him simply because of his sexual orientation at birth. Mine has never been so clear. Oftentimes, being gay feels like being a salmon swimming upstream. Our relationships arent supported by tradition or institution, any models we may have remain hidden, as openness invites derision, and the pressures to carve a life out with another person, minimally as equally affected by the ever-present fear, instilled in us from our earliest memories that were different and unlovable and bad, can often be too much to bear. And yet, not always. The resiliency of my community, in the face of such misunderstanding and hate, is astonishing and inspiring. Theyve taught me to think twice before underestimating the will of the human spirit in its slow march toward progress, whatever the circumstances.
___________
Read the rest......
Raster
(20,998 posts)Because it might be nice to one day have my father stand up at my wedding, realizing he helped make it happen.
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,638 posts)I would be so damn proud to have a son like him.
And how wonderful that he was able to convince his Dad...
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)for a minute. How are you today, Peggy?
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,638 posts)I hope that today finds you well too...
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)From the age of 17 to 26. Dilantin kills teeth. I have been losing the uppers for a while now. I got the last six removed today. Then, because of the shape of my upper jaw, they had to cut and file the bone for proper denture fit. I am mentally exhausted. Thanks for the hug
ohheckyeah
(9,314 posts)(but I hope you will) here is an edit:
EDIT: My dad's reply, in part: "I will honor your request because you are my son and I love you. I do support the democratic position on gay marriage...I hope this is a position that they really stand for and not just a political statement for votes."
I'm not a very emotional person but the letter and his dad's reply really got to me.
I have no idea how hard it must be to be gay in the hateful atmosphere that prevails throughout so much of our country but I know it has to hurt to be rejected and treated as less than. It sucks and I'm so sorry it is still happening.
pnwmom
(108,980 posts)awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)but thanks for including it. Many don't follow the links. K&R
dimbear
(6,271 posts)Nor is it too late to spread the word around the clubhouse. Nothing like a little brush with reality to point people toward the Democratic Party.
AnotherDreamWeaver
(2,850 posts)SunsetDreams
(8,571 posts)Volaris
(10,272 posts)as a means to enhance vote totals, rather than because the Party really WILL take action on this thing, is legitimate from someone who has spent his whole adult political life being told that Democratic politicians (specifically) and Government (generally) are simply NOT to be trusted. I believe that President Obama's statement earlier in the year, however, has hit the Party like a hammer-stroke, and the relentless, unyielding pressure that the GBLT community in this nation will NOT BE IGNORED, has had the desired effect. I think the Dem's are not fucking around with this anymore, (that's why this is going into the party platform at the Convention), and I think for the first time, maybe in his life, this Father will be truly PROUD of the politician he voted for, and for the policy that that politician represents.
Thank you President Obama.
Thank you Party Leadership.
Thank you Democratic Party.
We believed in you, and you have not let us down.