Last November, voters in California went to the polls and passed Proposition 8, which rescinded the right of same-sex couples to marry in that state. Keith Olbermann, in probably his most powerful "Special Comment", asked WHY those people who voted for the proposition could be so cold-hearted and uncaring.
Now in Maine... looks like, at best, this is gonna go to a recount. Maybe we’ll win in the end, maybe we won’t. But what’s clear is that about half the voters in Maine couldn’t care less about the pain they cause for same-sex couples.
So I think it’s time we watched Keith again. And if you’re like me, you’ll cry again, just like the first time we saw it.
(Update: Hey MB, or any other FPer out there. I doubt this diary is gonna make the Rec List, but I think the video is really important to get out there for anyone who hasn't seen it. So would you consider putting the video, not this diary, just the video, on the front page? Maybe not tonight, but in the morning or whenever? We can all talk for hours on end about how terrible this vote was, but I don't think any of us will come close to the power of KO's words. Thanks.)
Here’s a partial transcript of just a little of the comment, but please watch the video if you have the time, especially if you've never seen it before. And especially if you know anyone who opposes gay marriage, PLEASE point them to this video and ask them, "What is WRONG with you?!"
I don't have a personal investment in this: I'm not gay, I had to strain to think of one member of even my very extended family who is, I have no personal stories of close friends or colleagues fighting the prejudice that still pervades their lives.
And yet to me this vote is horrible. Horrible! Because this isn't about yelling, and this isn't about politics. This is about the human heart, and if that sounds corny, so be it.
If you voted for this Proposition or support those who did or the sentiment they expressed, I have some questions, because, truly, I do not understand. Why does this matter to you? What is it to you? In a time of impermanence and fly-by-night relationships, these people over here want the same chance at permanence and happiness that is your option. They don't want to deny you yours. They don't want to take anything away from you. They want what you want—a chance to be a little less alone in the world.
Only now you are saying to them—no.
.........
What is this, to you? Nobody is asking you to embrace their expression of love. But don't you, as human beings, have to embrace... that love? The world is barren enough.
It is stacked against love, and against hope, and against those very few and precious emotions that enable us to go forward. Your marriage only stands a 50-50 chance of lasting, no matter how much you feel and how hard you work.
And here are people overjoyed at the prospect of just that chance, and that work, just for the hope of having that feeling. With so much hate in the world, with so much meaningless division, and people pitted against people for no good reason, this is what your religion tells you to do? With your experience of life and this world and all its sadnesses, this is what your conscience tells you to do?