I am not gay, I am not black, and I am not an island.

[bain_sidhe]

I'm also not a man, but still, John Donne said it best:

No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

I have skipped most of the Prop 8 threads, because I didn't feel I have the right to say anything about it. But... just as the death of anyone diminishes me, so too does the oppression of any one. And I just had to say that.

(You can let this post sink, because I realize it's the 57thbazillion thread on the subject, but I just had to say it.)

[JustFiveMoreMinutes]

1. Sweet!

[BrklynLiberal]

2. Truth...and I agree as you can see by my sigline..

:thumbsup:

[bain_sidhe]

5. Great sig!!

Although, I kinda like the grandeur of the whole thing... too long for a sig, though.

There's another one I like that I was trying to remember too, but I couldn't get enough of the words right (or in the right order) for google to find it. Something about as long as anyone is oppressed, none are free.

[MercutioATC]

3. Good!

I was worried about having to find you on a map.

[bain_sidhe]

4. LOL!

Google Earth doesn't have me either! (Well, not so's you'd notice...)

[eowyn_of_rohan]

6. Very appropriate

glad you posted it. It speaks for me as well.

[LWolf]

7. I'm sorry.

Not that you are not an island; I love the poem, the sentiment, and really appreciate you posting it.

I'm sorry that my first reaction was this:

<snip>

I am a rock,
I am an island.

I have my books
And my poetry to protect me;
I am shielded in my armor,
Hiding in my room, safe within my womb.
I touch no one and no one touches me.
I am a rock,
I am an island.

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/s/simon+and+garfunkel/i+am+a+rock_20124809.html

That's me.

Still, from my island, I can join you in saying, "just as the death of anyone diminishes me, so too does the oppression of any one."

[bain_sidhe]

9. And an island never cries

That's another reason I'm not an island. Or a rock. Even though I have many books, and spent many years shielded in my armor, somehow the pain always got through. Especially the pain of others, for some reason. I say this not to imply that I'm some sort of saint, just that I was much better at denial of my own pain than of others' pain. I was a Green Knight, "it's just a flesh wound" type of person for the longest time, but show me somebody else in pain and I fell apart.

[LWolf]

10. I think that people

with a high degree of empathy for others often find ways to shield themselves. You could easily be describing me, except that I'm fully aware of my own pain, and after years of effort, have simply accepted that I don't know what else to do to ease it, so I just live with it. And cushion myself from the rest of the world when possible, to avoid aggravating old, poorly healed, or unhealed, wounds.

[bain_sidhe]

14. I didn't think of it as shielding...

It was more of a pro-active denial... if it didn't hurt, then I didn't have to curl up in a fetal ball and suck my thumb. I could just go on with life. Like you, after years of effort, I've accepted that yes, in fact, it did hurt. A lot. But that I could go on anyway.

[breakingnewz]

8. Gays should be given equal rights

No less.

[ColbertWatcher]

11. Doesn't look like it's going to "sink" Kick and rec, n/t

[bain_sidhe]

13. Wow. I'm honored

I didn't think people would be interested in yet another thread. I'm glad my post touched some of you enough to rec. Thank you!

[ColbertWatcher]

17. Everyone wants to find a concensus.

But, no one wants to see themselves to blame.

Your post allows people to agree without blaming anyone else, including themselves.

[bain_sidhe]

19. True, dat

but I'm not sure what you mean about "including themselves." I think that most people aren't inclined to blame themselves for something they're not directly responsible for. Although, I also think it's common for people to feel a little guilty if they think they could have done something to prevent a bad thing from happening (i.e. a "sin of omission") but I don't think that's the same thing as "blaming themselves." Is that what you meant?

[Bucky]

12. One of my best friends is a black gay island. And I thank you.

[Quantess]

15. Tintin is not gay, as far as we know. His dog might be.

[ColbertWatcher]

16. So, that explains why the fundies deny global warming is effected by mankind.

They want to drown all the black, gay islands.

[NorthCarolina]

18. The Fundies would most certainly want to ban that Tintin book from the Library.

A dog backed up to what appears to be a boy in a skirt with the front pulled up, and headed full speed towards a large phallic object in the distance.... I can almost smell the outrage. :hide: