LOVE Will Conquer ALL

I’ve spoken about being pro-equal rights. I’m a huge advocate for same-sex marriage. I’m a huge advocate for equal rights for all people…and animals. I’ve been very upset and angered by the hate I hear being preached during this very important time. On the 26th and 27th of this month the Supreme Court is hearing arguments for same-sex marriage. There is only one argument that I feel is worthy, and that is: people have an inalienable right to marry the person they love no matter of the gender.

It’s been hard for me to have a positive attitude during this time because I am so angered by the blatent ignorance and hate. But then I read this article by the NY Daily News:

“Jenna Wolfe and Stephanie Gosk of NBC come out as couple; reveal engagement and baby on the way”

NBC newscaster Jenna Wolfe is The Today show’s Sunday anchor. Wolfe said she and partner Gosk, a foreign correspondent at NBC, have been together three years, plan to wed and will have a baby by December. Here are some choice quotes from Wolfe’s blog and her appearance with Gosk on the Today show Wednesday morning:

“My girlfriend, Stephanie Gosk, and I are expecting a baby girl the end of August,” Wolfe, 39, wrote in the debut post for her new pregnancy blog.

“We felt like we wanted to share our adventures with a wide-eyed, little person,” she blogged. “The more we talked about it, the better the idea seemed.”

“We were constantly on the road, juggling a thousand balls at once,” she told the mag. “It’s a miracle we got it all together.”

“This is the most exciting thing that has ever happened to us,”

“But I don’t want to bring my daughter into a world where I’m not comfortable telling everyone who I am and who her mother is.”

“The beauty is that we live in a time where there’s no need for secrecy.

“For a long time I had feared I would never have a child”.

“This baby doesn’t care that I was in phenomenal shape before getting pregnant. She doesn’t care that I had a near perfect diet. She made the first four months brutal for me … B-R-U-T-A-L.”

“There were days when all I could eat were Saltine crackers, Apple Jacks dry cereal and plain pasta,”

“As a kid, I would have chosen raising my adrenaline over raising children any day of the week. But then a funny thing happened on my way to adulthood … I grew up. I ran smack into the old nursery rhyme: “First comes love. Then comes marriage. Then comes Jenna pushing a baby carriage”

I didn’t attribute names to the quotes because they could be the words of any couple. These two are in love, they want to make a lifetime commitment to each other and share that with the world, and they want to raise their child together. It’s beautiful.

As I said before I’ve been down and angry about what I’ve heard as a result of the same-sex marriage hearing. But then I heard this…and I was reminded the love is beautiful, family is what matters, and people can scream hate at the top of their lungs, they can twist the word of God to work for them, they can try as hard as they possibly can to stop it…but LOVE will win. LOVE always finds a way.

In the darkness it’s hard to see the light…but light will come. Hate is dark…love is light. I have faith that LOVE will win, maybe not today…maybe not even in my lifetime…but LOVE will continue to grow, you can try and stop it but you will never stop people from finding each other—from loving each other—from supporting each other…LOVE will win.



You Might Also Like ...

This Dad Wins The Internet

I’m a HUGE equal rights activist. Obviously, I want equal rights for women but it doesn’t just stop there, I think all human beings deserve equal rights. If you are alive you deserve certain unalienable rights. Marriage equality and gay rights are very near and dear to my heart. I post endlessly on my social media accounts about it. I loved when Buzzfeed posted all the pictures from the first day that same-sex marriage was passed. Love is love, people. I live by that principle and when I see that principle come to life nothing makes me happier.

This story…ugh I love this. A man overheard a conversation his son was having and wrote him this letter:

In case you can’t read it is says:

Nate,

I overheard your phone conversation with Mike last night about your plans to come out to me. The only thing I need you to plan is to bring home OJ and bread after class. We are out, like you now.

I’ve known you were gay since you were six, I’ve loved you since you were born.

- Dad

P.S. Your mom and I think you and Mike make a cute couple.

 

I love that he made an “out” joke and I love that he gave him chores. A dad is a dad no matter who his son is and this letter illustrates that perfectly. Love should be unconditional I’m glad to see other people feel the same way.



You Might Also Like ...

Volleyball Fans Ban Together to Support Gay Player

photo of volleyball players net pictures sports photos

Sports fans are crazy. We’ve seen fans boo the anthem of the opposing team, threaten other fans, and then destroy towns in what they would call celebration. I think many people have come to expect that when it comes to supporting a sports team, logical behaviour goes out the window.

Let’s hope that was the case in Brazil earlier last week, when Sada Cruzeiro fans began shouting ‘Bicha’ (the English translation being ‘faggot’) at Sada Volei Futuro player Michael. You can watch …

… the upsetting video here.

While this was happening, Michael and his teammates ignored the chants, and continued to play the game. From Vollywood:

Michael shared that he could not believe what was happening and that he tried to pretend he wasn’t hearing any of the chants. He said that he could’ve fought back by swearing at them after the match, but instead he took the highest route and left the court without saying a word. Inside the locker room, his teammates came up to him to make sure he was okay.

This incident has prompted Michael to admit to the media that he’s gay.”I’m gay. Everyone knows who I am. My team fully respects my sexuality. I have been playing for 10 years and everyone has treated me well and fair. I do not feel the need to let everyone know about my sexuality,” says Michael.

However disgusting the actions of the fans, this story does have a somewhat happy ending. Michael’s teammates wore pink warm up suits before their next game in support of their friend, the crowd unleashed a massive banner that read “Volei Futuro Against Prejudice“, and fans banged together pink thundersticks with Michael’s name on them in support.

A couple of weeks ago, Toronto baseball fans booed a 12 year old boy who was singing the American anthem, and I was ready for blood. I was so disgusted that anyone would do such a thing, and that we would generally accept it as part of the game. I cannot even picture being in the arena when these fans began to shout such offensive things. I’m not sure if I would have left, or started a fight. But it is outright inspiring to see fans of Volei Futuro reacting not in anger, but in support of one of their players.

Last week, basketball player Kobe Bryant used similar hate speech against one of the referees during a game. The NBA fined him a hefty fee, but then said that just because Bryant used a homophobic slur doesn’t mean he actually had any issue with gay people. Bryant insisted that his words shouldn’t be taken literally. Except that these words are obviously not meaningless; if they were, then initiatives like the ‘It Gets Better‘ Campaign wouldn’t be needed. NBA officials should punish Bryant as a means of showing young fans that these sorts of words are absolutely unacceptable, regardless of the heat of the moment. Homophobic slurs are not meaningless, and they are not to be taken lightly.

I hope the story of Vôlei Futuro gets picked up by major sports stations so that young sports fans see what it actually means to support a team. We should be sending out the message that it is better to band together to support one another than to flight hateful words at the opposition.



You Might Also Like ...

“Parent One” and “Parent Two” On Passports … So What?

Photo of Two Fathers and Their Son

There are lots of legal things in this world that people have a moral compunction with. Abortion, gun control, capital punishment, and realistic sex education in schools are some of the more common examples, although gay marriage has become quite an ignited spark these days.

And now, with “mother” and “father” being removed from United States passport applications in …

Continue reading



You Might Also Like ...