I have tried over and over again to let this go. I have been nearly in tears, fuming over the injustice of it all. I have written this and deleted it several time. It infuriates me that my position on this will more than likely illicit unkind, and hurtful comments. I have been afraid to write this out for fear of online retribution, but I still live in a country where I can say what I want, and where I can stand for the things that I believe in. I just can't hold it in any longer.
Friday was a historic day for many in this country. A cause that they had fought long and hard for was won. Frankly I am relieved it is over. I don't agree with gay marriage, I will not be teaching my children that I'm okay with it, but I will not stand in the way of other people living their lives according to their own beliefs, and I would hope that these brothers and sisters of mine will afford me the same. I love and respect all of them, and the choices that they make that I disagree with will never affect my decisions to love and respect them.
That being said there IS a new trend in this country that I find very distasteful. The trend of bullying people who do not support Gay Marriage. The most recent example that comes to mind is a post that I read on Friday. A photographer openly supported Gay marriage on his Facebook page and a client messaged him on Facebook to tell him that they wish to change photographers, because they do not support gay marriage, and to inquire as to how they could get the money they gave him as a deposit back. The client said nothing disrespectful just that they didn't want to support something that they don't believe in. Unfortunately for them they signed an agreement and could not get their money back. Rather than handling this professionally, by politely informing the client that they could not get their deposit back, he proceeded to write them a message that basically told them that he was glad they were going somewhere else because he doesn't want to take pictures for horrible people. He informed them that they could not get their money back, and that he was going to donate it to an organization that supports gay marriage. After this he posted it on Facebook. He didn't use their names which I guess justifies it to some people. Then the masses applauded. They applauded his "daring". They applauded him "putting horrible people in their place". I personally felt sick to my stomach.
What if it had been the other way around? More and more stories pop up in the news about gay couples suing florists, bakers, photographers, and providers of wedding venues for not providing services. According to the media, and a lot of people who support gay rights, a gay couple who were declined service by a photographer would have then had the "right" to sue the photographer, take away his livelihood, and smear his name and reputation across the Internet. That is bullying, and we are letting them get away with it.
These people, the victims of the bullies, are having their lives torn apart. Why is this okay? If I saw someone being deliberately unkind to someone because they were gay I would stop it. Why does no one step in to stop the bullying when it is the other way around? People like me, who try, are often labeled as bigots, as haters. The people who assign these labels really need to take a look in the mirror. The golden rule is treat others as you would want to be treated. It is not treat only the people who agree with you as you would want to be treated. It does not mean that we treat everyone exactly the same. It means that we accept all people as themselves, with their imperfections, mistakes, beliefs, and values. It means that we value each person for their right to lead their lives according to their own conscience. It means that we do not judge them for living true to their own beliefs. Every person is precious. Every person has value. If people who want "equality" remembered that, this bullying behavior would not be acceptable in the slightest.
No matter the bully, no matter the victim bullying is always wrong. Let us stand together as a human family and put a stop to it.
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