CB Conwy

Click here to edit.

  CB Conwy
  • Home
  • Books and reading order
    • A Russian Bear
    • Of Russian Myth and Lore
    • Happily Ever After
    • How to Domesticate a Russian Bear
    • Alphabet Soup
    • I Like You
    • Himiko: Bonding
    • Himiko: Warrior
    • Going Home
    • An Accountant into Kink (Fifty Gays of Shade)
  • Free stories
    • Who You Are
    • New Year's Resolution
    • His Something
    • Malaria, Cholera, and Bubonic Plague
    • Of Russian Myth and Lore
    • Saturday Night, Live
    • Leather and Newfound Land
    • Knowing it by Hart
  • About the author
  • Coming up
  • Links
  • Contact
  • Blog

About footballers, freedom of speech, and awesomeness 

9/9/2012

 
Picture
So, everybody knows that footballers are big lumps of bigoted muscle, completely devoid of any kind of brain, right? Right?

Well, I hate to disappoint you, but that's not the truth (as a matter of fact, I love to disappoint you in this case; having my own prejudices crushed is a very favorite thing of mine, and I want to share!).

It all started with the guy in the middle, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo. Apart from being an athlete (and a very good-looking one at that; do go and google him for images - you won't be disappointed), he's advocated for the passage of the FIT Kids Act, federal legislation that give youngsters health and nutritional information. And he's advocated legalizing same-sex marriage. Two great things, right?

Well, no. Not if you ask Maryland state delegate Emmett C. Burns Jr. (the guy on the right. Just if anybody couldn't tell who the not-footballer is). Last week, Burns wrote to Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, urging him to "inhibit such expressions from your employee". And if you were in doubt, it wasn't Ayanbadejo's work for healthier children that got him into trouble; it was the fact that he dared speak up in favor of same-sex marriage.

The whole thing could have ended here, but this is when the awesomeness begins. With Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe's (that's the guy on the left) response to Burns. A couple of my favorite quotes are:

    "It baffles me that a man such as yourself, a man who relies on that same First Amendment to pursue your own     religious studies without fear of persecution from the state, could somehow justify stifling another person's             right to speech. To call that hypocritical would be to do a disservice to the word. Mindfucking obscenely                 hypocritical starts to approach it a little bit."

Or how about this:

    "I can assure you that gay people getting married will have zero effect on your life. They won't come into your       house and steal your children. They won't magically turn you into a lustful cockmonster. They won't even             overthrow the government in an orgy of hedonistic debauchery because all of a sudden they have the same         legal rights as the other 90 percent of our population"

Yeah, that pretty much killed all of those prejudices about stupid athletes, didn't it? Go here to read the whole amazing letter.

More important, it underlines something I feel very strongly about: Other's people's lives and how they want to live them is not any of my damn business. It's not my business who they worship, who they vote for, or who they kiss. It is my business, though, that they're allowed to have any religion they want, vote for whomever they feel like, and kiss whomever they feel like. Because the true sign of a free society is that some members of that society do things you do not agree with. It's called civilization. It's called democracy.

That's why banning same-sex marriage isn't just something which concerns gay people in my opinion. Banning something concerning other people because it isn't right for you is an attack on (sorry for getting pompous here) what humanity has strived for thousands of years to create: a civilized society where we accept that we're different and work toward a better life for everybody. Even those we disagree with. Because we consider them to be as worthy as we are ourselves to benefit from the advantages of our civilized society.

This is why same-sex marriage is worth fighting for - even if you aren't gay.

Kristi P
9/9/2012 11:04:42

Absolutely! Well, said...I love when jocks use their brains.

CB Conwy
9/9/2012 15:24:19

And boy, did he use his brain! Did you read the letter? I'm envious, very envious. Such exquisite insults;).


Comments are closed.

    CB Conwy

    I read and I write - everything from corporate to kink. My naughty fictional friends are always there to make my life interesting. And pester me, of course. Pesky creatures.

    Archives

    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    January 2017
    December 2014
    May 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010

    Categories

    All
    Alphabet Soup
    Andy And Ck
    A Russian Bear
    Awards
    Baker's Dozen
    Bella Leone
    Chris Owen And Jodi Payne
    Christmas
    Contest
    Covers
    Dark Horse
    Dr. Fell
    Editing
    Favorite Authors
    Free Stories
    Going Home
    Goodreads
    Happily Ever After
    Himiko: Bonding
    Himiko: Warrior
    How To Domesticate A Russian Bear
    I Like You
    Jane Davitt
    Jay Lygon
    Jeff
    Jessewave
    Julia Talbot
    Just Like Cats And Dogs
    Kate Sherwood
    Knowing It By Hart
    Lee Benoit
    Malaria Cholera And Bubonic Plague
    New Year's Resolutions
    Noel Blue
    Of Russian Myth And Lore
    Procrastination
    Reading
    Reviews
    Romance For The Rest Of Us
    Sale
    Saturday Night Live
    Scavenger Hunt
    Sigh-fi
    Syd Mcginley
    The Administration
    The Gaucho Code
    The Groupie
    Tom And Mischa
    Torquere Anniversary
    Whining
    Who You Are
    Writing

    RSS Feed

  • Home
  • Books and reading order
    • A Russian Bear
    • Of Russian Myth and Lore
    • Happily Ever After
    • How to Domesticate a Russian Bear
    • Alphabet Soup
    • I Like You
    • Himiko: Bonding
    • Himiko: Warrior
    • Going Home
    • An Accountant into Kink (Fifty Gays of Shade)
  • Free stories
    • Who You Are
    • New Year's Resolution
    • His Something
    • Malaria, Cholera, and Bubonic Plague
    • Of Russian Myth and Lore
    • Saturday Night, Live
    • Leather and Newfound Land
    • Knowing it by Hart
  • About the author
  • Coming up
  • Links
  • Contact
  • Blog