L.A. Weekly‘s Patrick Range McDonald has a brief post up today about a conversation about Rev. Rick Warren he had with his Dad that he had on the way home from the airport and how the discussion led his Dad to take action. I’ve been blogging the last three days from my parent’s kitchen and while helping my Mom with the dishes I’ve been talking to her, too. Thanks to protests and civil actions, people are interested in gay rights in a new way. You marched, you emailed, but the most important thing you can do right now is talk to Mom and Dad, your sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles and Grandma too. That goes for you straight folks, too!
From McDonald’s post:
“I flew back to New Jersey yesterday and on the drive home from Newark International Airport, my Dad and I talked about the Rick Warren controversy and Prop. 8. My Dad is a political guy, but he still didn’t know everything about why people are so upset about the Prop. 8 loss and Obama’s choice of Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at the presidential inauguration.
So as we headed south on the New Jersey Turnpike, I went through the list–a popular vote for the first time in at least recent memory took away an existing right from people, the longtime intolerance of religious leaders like Warren against gays, the horrible and insensitive timing of Obama’s choice that shows a certain kind of tone deafness towards gays and lesbians, the my-way-or-the-highway attitude by Obama on the Warren controversy, which is something we’ve been dealing with as a country for the past 8 years under George Bush. I could see that my Dad was listening closely.
A few hours later, my Dad received some kind email from Michelle Obama since he gave a decent amount of money to the campaign. He immediately wrote back, and told Michelle, or whoever will read the email, that the Warren choice was unacceptable, and gave my reasons why it is unacceptable. He then asked the Obama administration to somehow get involved in the repeal of Prop. 8.
Soon after my Dad sent the email, he walked downstairs into our living room and proudly told me what he had done–a casual conversation about Prop. 8, Warren, and Obama had just turned into a one-man write-in movement. I thanked him, and we smiled. It was a good time to be home for the holidays.”
How about we take this to the next level?
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sdandy
Its interesting that speaking with my family about protests and rights. While its strange how little my siblings and I connect on the issue, they sympathize and support me/us. But the great part is the conversations I have with my parents about it. My mom and I have had very interesting conversations and connections back to when she participated in Vietnam war marches.
I have been seeing and hearing conversations about what and how we can learn from the first generation of gay rights activists. The truth is that we can learn from everyone. Everyone who has been involved with any cause. Even causes that we don’t agree with can be learned from. But it all just goes back to opening conversations. Sounds like a good new years’ resolution.
ggreen
Politician’s big big weakness is MONEY. It is like kryptonite to them and their families. So Good for McDonald’s dad for showing the Obamas who has the keys to the kryptonite box.