EoTD: NOH8
On August 23 2010, I went to downtown Seattle for an open photo shoot in support of the NOH8 Campaign. I was minorly concerned, as 1) I haven’t done any photos other than my driver’s license since my senior-year school photos; 2) I’ve never done an open photoshoot before and couldn’t come up with intelligent creative pose ideas (until after the event, that is - of course); and 3) I’m generally about as dynamic as carpet lint. Still, this is important to me. While the central issue is to overturn Proposition 8 and to legalize same-sex marriage, to me it’s a simple basic matter of equal civil rights. I wasn’t born when people marched in Selma in support of civil rights. I also, by virtue of being older than the internet but still a young pup, missed out on most of the peaceful landmark protests for equal rights. I vote, and at one point I did get myself ordained; but I don’t have the legal right to officiate at legally binding marriage ceremonies nor do I have a massive influence on the laws that are passed. Women and many minorities haven’t had equal legal rights in this country for very long, only for a few generations…and it could all be taken away so easily if people don’t keep standing up for the overall principle of legal equality, not just equal rights for their own group. So whenever there’s a chance to show my support - especially this way, which does not require a whole lot of effort on my part (I didn’t have to march for miles and risk objects being thrown at me, for one) - I’ll do it.
