.
based on the stories i've told him, it's a fair question, but my answer surprises him. truth is, while my brother holds little but contempt for the family he came from, he's done pretty well by the one he created: a solid 27-year marriage, and two great kids who adore him.
"holy shit," i realize after hanging up the phone, "my little brother'll probably be a grandfather before long."
and then i thought about my own grandfathers, both of whom died, worn and weary in their mid-fifties, before i was born. i thought about how old and grandfatherly they had always looked to me in the faded snapshots, and that's when it hit me that these stolid, churchgoing men were the same age in those pictures as my drunken irresponsible boy-chasing ass is now.
and then i thought, and not for the first time, about all that these men--my brother, my grandfathers and countless others before and after--had given up in order to create stable homes and provide not only for their families, but for the generations to come. i thought about the commitment, the monogamy, the expense, the diapers, the drudgery, the school plays, the loans for college--you know, all that shit that, in small, sacrificial increments, weaves the fabric of society that the rest of us pretty much take for granted.
and then i asked myself, and not for the first time, if there was ever a point at which the fabulous mkf woulda been capable of such sacrifice--i.e., of living for a sustained period of time for anyone or anything other than himself.
[since the answer to that question is so obviously "no", i won't bother tryin to keep you in suspense.]
* * * * *
i watch the christians as they rage against gay marriage, and i totally feel their pain.
joe and ethel in toledo have trod the straight-and-narrow their entire lives, and now are forced to watch in horror as these promiscuous, hedonistic homosexuals co-opt and crap on their sacred traditions with their folsom street fairs and open relationships and god only knows what else.
homosexuality is an abomination! they cry, as they settle their fat asses onto their designer sofas in their calvin klein outfits to watch desperate housewives.
* * * * *
i watch my fellow gays as they rage against the evil, intolerant christians, and i feel their pain, too.
fuck the breeders! they cry, as they eagerly await the next generation of their offspring.
* * * * *
here's the truth, bitches: gays and straights of civilized societies from time immemorial have always existed in uneasy symbiosis--neither can truly flourish without the other.
i live for the day when joe and ethel wake up and understand how truly gray their world would be without the evil homosexuals.
but far more importantly, i live for the day when my fellow faggots wake up and respect the fact that, without the sacrifices of the joe-and-ethels who comprise the backbone of this country, our collective self-indulgent fabulousness would be impossible.
am i the only one who gets this?
1 comment:
The only problem with this post is that the gays you speak of have no problem with heteros in general. Just the ones who don't want them to get married, and specifically that quality in them. In fact, those gays want to BE joe-and-ethels. Fags don't hate heteros, we just want them to leave us alone. So... what waking up?
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