Same Love

It's been fun talking to my brother in Germany for many reasons, but one of those is that we share similar tastes in music and I get to be a total hipster because he has heard about a few hot songs that he's passed along to me and weeks later they are making news in the US. For example he sent me a link to "Somebody That I Used to Know" about 3 weeks before it got national airplay in the US - I thought the song was alright, and I told him that it would never catch on in here. Another really great artist that he introduced me to is Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. You may not have heard of them, but if you're in Michigan, I'll bet you've heard of a South Lyon teacher who was suspended from work for playing their song "Same Love". Note: if you're a close-minded, bigoted ass you may not appreciate the lyrics, so click at your own risk. (I would say sorry if I've offended you, but I would only mean it if my use of profanity has offended you. If you're offended that I think you're an ass, well you probably are.)

I have listened to the song about a hundred times. I love it more every time I hear it, granted I appreciate this genre of music, but I recognize that it's not everyone's cup of tea. However, the message in the lyrics should be in every cup of tea, milk, juice, and what have you. I somehow forget that the rest of the country doesn't necessarily have the same views as we do in DC, a city that went 91% for Obama in the recent election. It's disheartening however that an 8th grader would complain about a song that promotes equality. It's not like the song is advocating gayness all around, simply that if you are gay you should have the same rights as everyone else and if you aren't gay (and are a decent person) you shouldn't stand up for discrimination and bullying.

Don't get me wrong, I realize that we have so many rights in this country that others can only dream of, but it just paints a dismal picture of the future when we have so many people who are vehemently against the LGBT community. Homosexuality isn't a virus or bacteria that you're going to catch if you brush past someone, and nothing about being a homosexual detracts from the life of their heterosexual neighbors. And I don't only support them because neither of my roommates are strictly straight, not because I play on a women's rugby team primarily composed of lesbians, I support them because I was raised to be a decent human being (shout out to mom & dad). 

Still anti-gay marriage? Here's some food for thought: Gay men will marry your girlfriends.