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VIC BASILE
Friday, September 05, 2008
IT
IS
HARD
to
imagine
an
election
more
important
to
the
future
of
our
community
than
the
one
we
face
in
November.
That
is
why
we
must
do
all
that
we
can
to
prevent
our
families
and
friends
from
voting
for
candidates
who
oppose
our
equality.
They
must
be
made
to
understand
that
how
they
vote
affects
our
lives
in
the
most
fundamental
ways
possible;
that
when
they
vote
for
homophobes,
they
damage
our
shared
bonds
of
love,
trust
and
friendship.
The
reality
is
that
they
can’t
truly
love
or
respect
us,
and
knowingly
vote
for
candidates
who
would
deny
us
the
same
equality
and
freedoms
they
enjoy.
The
two
concepts
are
simply
incompatible.
While
they
may
be
unaware
of
their
candidates’
positions
on
these
most
basic
human
rights
issues
and
are
supporting
them
for
completely
unrelated
reasons,
they
are
nevertheless
complicit
in
a
political
struggle
that
seeks
to
deny
us
our
full
equality.
Those
who
see
themselves
as
our
friends
and
yet
vote
for
opponents
of
our
equality
need
to
understand
that
friends
treat
each
other
with
respect
and
dignity,
and
as
equals.
They
need
to
know
this
is
not
an
act
of
friendship
and
certainly
not
one
of
love.
The
same
is
true
for
family
members.
Friends
and
family
can
disagree
about
the
economy,
national
security,
taxes
and
the
environment,
and
still
genuinely
care
about
each
other.
Can
the
same
be
said
when
one
participates,
however
passively,
in
the
oppression
of
the
other?
It
doesn’t
really
matter
whether
the
issue
is
race,
gender,
religion,
sexual
orientation
or
gender
identity.
The
behavior
is
shameful
and
excruciatingly
painful.
To
paraphrase
Rev.
Martin
Luther
King
Jr.,
the
greatest
injustice
“is
not
the
strident
clamor
of
bad
people,
but
the
appalling
silence
of
good
people.”
MOST
AMERICANS
TODAY
would
not
knowingly
vote
for
someone
they
thought
to
be
racist,
anti-Semitic
or
misogynistic,
yet
they
don’t
think
twice
about
voting
for
homophobes.
They
just
don’t
make
the
connection
and
we
let
their
actions
go
unchallenged.
Shame
on
us!
Friends
tell
me
about
their
Bush/McCain-supporting
Republican
parents,
but
go
on
to
say
how
accepting
they
are
of
them.
When
I
ask
how
that
is
possible,
how
loving
parents
could
support
someone
who
wants
to
hurt
their
child,
I
get
a
blank
look
or
a
glib
comment
about
how
“that’s
just
the
way
they
are.”
It
isn’t
the
way
they
are
—
they
just
don’t
know
any
better
and
it
is
our
job
to
teach
them.
Sometimes
I
hear
(and
sadly,
this
often
comes
from
gay
people)
“they
aren’t
single
issue
voters
and
consider
many
issues
when
deciding
how
to
vote.”
What
does
it
say
about
our
sense
of
self
worth
when
we
accept
from
our
parents
the
explanation
that
taxes
are
more
important
than
our
dignity,
safety
and
equality?
Why
are
we
are
so
reluctant
to
challenge
them
when
their
behavior
so
adversely
affects
our
lives?
Ending
our
silence
is
the
only
way
to
educate
the
people
we
cherish
most
that
our
equality
is
important
and
that
it
requires
respect.
Love
and
friendship
demand
nothing
less.
Imagine
our
electoral
power
when
we,
our
families,
friends
and
us,
vote
as
a
bloc.
The
2008
election
promises
to
be
a
cliffhanger,
providing
us
with
the
opportunity
to
determine
the
outcome.
Never
have
the
stakes
been
higher
or
the
issues
clearer.
If
we
fail
to
put
a
friend
in
the
White
House,
if
we
fail
to
elect
a
more
gay-friendly
Congress,
if
we
allow
the
far
right
to
select
the
next
Supreme
Court
justices,
our
long
battle
for
equality
will
be
stalled
for
decades.
This
threat
is
horrifyingly
real.
We
have
come
too
far
at
too
great
a
cost
to
be
silent
now.
Let’s
do
our
part
to
make
certain
that
our
families
and
friends
have
our
equality
in
mind
when
they
enter
the
voting
booth.
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