Hey, remember how we were all making fun of Keith Olbermann and his kitten, Ms. Precious Perfect last week? Well, Keith-O pulled out one of his patented “Special Comments” tonight to talk about Prop. 8. and you may want to grab a hankie before watching. “This is about the human heart”, he says before asking of Prop 8. supporters, “Why does this matter to you? What is it to you? In a time of impermanence and fly-by-night relationships these people over here want the same chance at permanence and happiness that is your option.” He then recounts America’s terrible history of marriage rights, comparing slave marriages to gay marriages– and actually pulling it off.
His voice trembling, Keith looks into the camera and says “You are asked now to stand on a question of love. All you need to do is stand and let the tiny ember of love meet its own fate. You don’t have to help it. You don’t have to applaud it. You don’t have to fight for it. Just don’t put it out. Just don’t extinguish it. Because while at first it may look like that love is between two people you don’t know and you don’t understand and maybe you don’t even want to know, that love is, in fact, the ember of your love for your fellow person. Just because this is the only world we have and the other guy counts too.”
I’m emailing this to everyone I know.
mark
Thank you,
Keith
Knew we could count you as a friend
burton21
We need more people like Keith Olbermann. Truly the definition of an ally.
Michael
Wow. That was very nice.
getreal
I’m crying that was so moving and so true to the spirit of America’s ideals. Signed Another Straight Black Christian Californian Who Supports Equal Rights For Gays And ALL American (and we are many don’t let the haters in our community stand for all of us)
The Gay Numbers
It was sappy, but I wish more people would show emotions like this about this issue. Rather than intellectualizing it, show why it matters. This is why I had the biggest problem with the No on 8. Ironically, I emailed the writers of the blog, Towleroad, asking them why isn’t the No on 8 campaign focused on doing something like a Harry and Louise ad for gays who want to get married. Just a simple ad sitting around the table with a couple talking about how this will affect their lives. How it will hurt them. Why this matters. No gimmicks. No abstract ideas about equality. Just simply telling our story in as clear a terms as possible. To me the greatest weapon against the right is to be human more than they can be inhuman.
fredo777
Beautiful.
Zach
…i cried.
alot.
Nitesurf
A person would have to be an emotionless shell to not know in their hearts how true Keith’s words are.
Tim
I loved it,
yet I cant help wonder, where was this a week or a month ago when we needed it?
lyssa
I am not impressed. Duanna Johnson was murdered yesterday.
I could give two shits less if two nontrans homos can assimilate or not. I could give a rat’s ass if two middle class nontrans queers can pretend to be a “family.”
I want to see the slaughter end. I want to see trans marriages be exempt from annullment.
Gay special rights have left transfolk behind. Call me when trans women stop dying.
ChristopherJ
COOL! THANKS for this very good sentiment ONE WEEK LATER THAN IT MATTERS!
fredo777
@ChristopherJ:
Statements like this always matter.
LolaCabana
One of the most moving, beautiful things I’ve ever heard in my life. Right on, Keith!
ven.a.papi
It may be a week late in coming, but I’m glad it has come. Thank you Keith.
James in BCN
Maybe it took Prop 8 passing to shock Olbermann into action. Hell, I’ll bet a bunch of us gay people didn’t realize the terms exactly before we lost. Anyway, kudos, Mr. Olbermann, well said and well done.
David Dust
I cried like a baby last night while watching this. EVERY SINGLE CALIFORNIAN who voted for Prop H8 should watch this.
Mark
Yes Keith, that’s precisely what their religion tells them to do. That’s why they’re evil and must be reviled at all times. Religious values are the values of hatred. Proven at the ballot box. Proven in the pulpit. Proven when Matthew Shepard was strung up on a fence in the freezing night by two religious punks in WY.
Yes, their RELIGION tells them to hate. Otherwise, this issue would be moot.
rick
i love keith. i love rachel.
Rock
I LOVE this guy! Keith tells it like it is.
Darth Paul
I love Keith!! He always made me crack a fat.
An Other Greek
I
L
O
V
E
KEITH OLBERMANN ! ! ! ! ! ! !
He (and Jon Sewart, and Colbert) really helped me get through these last few catastrophic years.
Really an antidote to the poisonous opposite-world spin of the typical corporate MSM.
Thank you Keith (yet again)!
—————————————————-
Alan down in Florida
Why not a week ago? Maybe, in the sentimental heart that he displays in this piece, Keith honestly believed that the people of California would do the right thing when it came to Prop 8.
If the success of Prop 8 has galvanized the grass roots of the gay rights movement and makes them wrest control from the self-important, self-aggrandizing, fat cat current leadership of most major gay rights organizations then perhaps, in the long run, it will be the clarion call to
a new generation of gay leadership to understand that the rights they didn’t have to fight for and took for granted CAN be taken away if they don’t fight to protect them.
seitan-on-a-stick
After 8 years of Witchunts of Gays, has the liberal cavalry finally arrived? Will it be 8 more years before a Federal Amendment to Allow Civil Marriage? Keith is great at pulling on the heartstrings on our behalf and hope we can learn from this. The “other” result of this election means that adopted children with Gay parents in Arkansas can be yanked from a loving, stable home, the California marriages of Ellen, Portia, Rosie and Kelli have been revoked and the rest of us endure more second class citizenship, this time from the party we helped to put into power. It’s not like we didn’t have something…we had our hearts ripped out of our chest yet again when the incumbent Gay Marriage laws were made criminal.
http://jointheimpact.com
Mauricio
Muchas gracias Keith por tus palabras de entedimiento y apoyo. No lo olvidare. Mil gracias.
(How can I link this video to my Facebook?)
Chuck
Keith is the best.
And so right. I think people like Tony Perkins (ironic name, huh?) and hate mongers of that ilk must have been been denied admission to some gay bar in the ’70s because they were too ugly. I mean if that wasn’t why this is so important to them, then I guess the only explanation is tiny members or that they’re barely able to keep their own gay feelings under wraps and, self loathing as they are, they need to punish themselves in order to keep themselves from putting on eye shadow and marching in a parade.
Either way, the undoubtedly sad wives of these “men” need to ask themselves and their spouse, why is your man so concerned with gay sex? I think we all know that late at night, when she’s asleep, he’s ogling those picts on his PC and getting off privately.
CitizenGeek
Keith Olbermann really is incredible!
Chris
I would have cried myself if I wasn’t at work. He put it in such beautiful words. He said everything that we were all thinking, but without the anger and name calling. He is my new personal hero. My favorite line: “What’s it to you?” That sums it all up. And I love how he dismisses the bible bangers at the same time. Incredible.
GranDiva
@seitan-on-a-stick:
While as a gay man I can appreciate the sentiment, a would be so constitutionally problematic as to be completely unpracticable. That would be the federal government asserting a right that it doesn’t have now and has never had previously. Marriages are licensed by individual states and recognized reciprocally (well, straight marriages, anyway) by other states, and federal-level legislation to allow gay marriage would be overstepping federal authority just as much as a federal amendment banning gay marriage would be, if we’re playing by the letter of the law.
But yeah, Olbermann’s is precisely the tactic that No on 8 should have been using from the outset of the campaign. Whoever the media consultants are should have been smacked upside the head.
Tim
That was really, really… gay.
Juliet
Thank you, Keith.
This is amazing.
bobito
An other Greek: I hear you, man! Don’t know how I would have gotten through these past few horrible years without those guys.
Heather
I think nobody said anything a week ago because there was a lack of awareness. I am a straight lady in NYC, and I was really only paying attention to the presidential election. I think the nation was shocked that this happened and didn’t realize something needed to be said, especially not in California.
Dave
Thanks Keith finally someone took a Public stand still waiting on the Democrats the Silence is Astounding Not one sound! I don’t Expect the President Elect to but common Wheres my congress Womans outrage Mrs Castor Where are you you Certainly new who I was to get reelected here in tampa nothing but the but Crickets and Madame Speaker, Senator Boxer,Senator Feinstein, Chairman Dean opps forget him he’s Being sued for Discrimination againts the gay liason to the DNC where are they all of sudden no where to seen or heard!
fredo777
@Dave: Didn’t Boxer + Feinstein both speak out against Prop 8?
I’m pretty sure at least one of the two did.
latebrosus
You know that “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” often has the unspoken clause “…as long as I consider them equal to me.”
Rachel Pitt
This is a beautiful and poignant speech. God is Love. Love should never be denied. I stand behind you Keith. Thank you for opening my eyes.
concretepinata
Magnificent.
eric blair
Keith Olbermann is possibly one of the last great journalists in America… and possibly one of it’s greatest patriots.
I recommend anyone who reads this to youtube ‘Keith Olbermann Special Comment’ and watch any bit of his far-reaching and brilliant political commentary, his penetrating historical contexts, his journalistic genius.
It will make you a better American if you do.
Tammie
@lyssa: Lyssa, I’m sorry I disagree with you totally, you are falling on the side of those against us. I am a Transsexual, and I am proud of it, I do not hide in the closet, I will fight along side of my gay and lesbian brothers and sisters. We need to stick together.
There are NO special rights for gays, just as we are not looking for special rights, we all want the same and Equal Rights.
And yes it is very sad that Duanna Johnson was mrdered, but no more than when our gay and lesian brothers and sisters are murdered.
Hate is hate, no matter where it comes from.
Tammie
Yeah, I really believed that California was going to vote Prop 8 down. All night long, as I watched the returns, I kept hoping that maybe, just maybe the pro LGBT people were voting late and their votes would come in mass and defeat Prop 8.
Taking a step backwards is very hard, but hopefully it will have a positive influence in the long run.
I think more will step forward now, unfortunately the religious right pushes back every time we gain a little.
Any way, Thank you Keith Olbermann
PJ
Well said Keith.
On another note, I hope Democrats understand that NOT all Republicans (and/or Republican Christians) are against Gay marriage. I am a Republican and support Gay marriage. Watch any video of a gay couple at the moment of marriage and see the happiness they share. Gays should be able to enjoy that right too.
Ed
WE LOVE YOUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jack
@Heather:
I’ll tell you why he didn’t do this BEFORE the election – he admitted on his recent appearance on The View that HE DOESN’T VOTE. HE DIDN’T VOTE!!!! This is not a joke.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU4deJyNrAM – look at about 6:15.
I’ve lost ALL respect for him.
B David Ferrel
@The Gay Numbers: This is in direct regard to No. 5 · The Gay Numbers:
Your point is great, but do understand… We need THIS type of sentiment and compassionate regard to mirror the others have been battling and “intellectualizing it.” Actually, this needs to happen FIRST, before any audience will pay any attention.
Actually, in this nation, what needs to happen is persuasion. Get a celebrity or some form of media idol that will influence the media. I say this because simple-minded citizens (voters), along with those Christians and other devout religious followers, “follow the herd.” Here’s what I mean.
I was at a wedding last Sunday, and I had a friend make the comment, “Yeah… And you probably voted ‘No’ on proposition 8, huh? You fucking fag!” And then OTHERS joined in and started in on the joke, defending their own sexuality by bashing that of others and making comments like, “That was the FIRST thing I voted for on my ballot — YES! On prop 8!” I tried to cut in and tell them to THINK for themselves after I pointed out some of the exact things that Keith pointed out (GREAT presentation by the way, Keith!).
But then I soon backed away the moment I realized that I had a group of people who were laughing and speaking from a defensive (emotional) edge of oppression rather than logic.
Now, I am heterosexual, and have been all of my life, but that issue does not matter in the least here. My sexuality does not in the least bit influence my regard for humanity (and complete DISREGARD for this cultish bullying). The issue is solely that of HUMANITY and treating others as you want to be treated yourself. And EVERY SINGLE THING that Keith pointed out here. People don’t understand that when they cease to THINK, but instead be emotionally coerced by the logic of any group, they single-out and display prejudice. The social GROUP they are surrounded by matters more than what their personal LOGIC dictates. This is a matter of blatant DISCRIMINATION here!
Getting back to my point, though, even though “No. 5 · The Gay Numbers” did have many brilliant points listed, points which I could not agree any more, I must point out that the process of “intellectualizing it” is necessary up front, before anyone will openly listen to emotional and empathasize with any human concerns. MOST U.S. citizens, sad to say, need to be influenced to think outside of their safety zones and the rationale of their group settings (it’s so ironic that these people have the right to vote, isn’t it? — just as much of a right as ANY OF US! Individual rationale, you’d think, should be a pre-requisite).
Brilliant closing here, in No. 5, by the way: “To me the greatest weapon against the right is to be human more than they can be inhuman.”
(I believe I’ll use this quote to emphasize my point, too!)
No. 5 · The Gay Numbers
It was sappy, but I wish more people would show emotions like this about this issue. Rather than intellectualizing it, show why it matters. This is why I had the biggest problem with the No on 8. Ironically, I emailed the writers of the blog, Towleroad, asking them why isn’t the No on 8 campaign focused on doing something like a Harry and Louise ad for gays who want to get married. Just a simple ad sitting around the table with a couple talking about how this will affect their lives. How it will hurt them. Why this matters. No gimmicks. No abstract ideas about equality. Just simply telling our story in as clear a terms as possible. To me the greatest weapon against the right is to be human more than they can be inhuman.
StephanieInCA
I just hope KO will take a stand against the epidemic of terrifying gay glitter sieges in America’s churches: http://urbzen.com/2008/11/12/glitter-oh-the-humanity/
Oh, the horror, the horror!
Ana NCM
Let there be love :). wise words
Adam
@lyssa: wow, your fawking retarded
antym
@Mark:
While I agree that people who call themselves “religious” and “Christian” have been haters, it is not religion that causes or tells them to do so. It is their misinterpretation of religion and Scriptures. Jesus said “Love one another” and I believe would certainly be opposed to the hate and discrimination that people are demonstrating. What a distortion of what Jesus taught!
Aviva
From a religiously Jewish straight married transracially adoptive parent (just FYI) – I believe this has implications both for gay marriage and beyond this one issue, and parents should bookmark this video and show it to their children at an appropriate time. In the modern world with the lessons we learned when we were FOUR on Sesame Street, we can all get over our sexual mindsets and realize that Love Makes A Family. Period. And that should be recognized.
Bravo, Keith.
technicolornina
@lyssa: I am not trans, but I feel for the trans community and have several trans friends. (Also, being genderqueer, I’m kind of stuck in a no-man’s-land myself.)
The sad truth is this: we will have to fight for each right we get, both as individuals and as a community, one bloody battle at a time (metaphorically). I am all for trans rights – they’re not called “trans people” because they’re not human beings – but the problem is, not enough people are willing to speak up. Most of my trans friends don’t want to discuss it because they feel it keeps them from being a “real” man or woman post-op. Those few who will are exactly that – a few.
Be grateful that we are making at least a little progress, and keep pushing for more in the future. That’s how this country has always worked.
Buzzzz57
@seitan-on-a-stick:
Now you can join us smokers who are now second class citizens.
Buzzzz57
@PJ:
Like women should enjoy and have their rights.
Maggie
Keith Olbermann, gay? Hmmm, he’s 50, never married, no kids, he dyes and overly grooms his eyebrows, wears Sarah Palin glasses… was there ever any doubt???
Olbermann is the liberal version of Rush Limbaugh. Can’t stand either of them….
Grand Fantasia Gold
its great, finally found it here, good job!!
Mel Otter
Olbermann was also recently seen purchasing a Man Groomer at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Maybe waxing his backal hair was getting too painful.