Friday, November 18, 2011

Breaking Open the Conversation

Still behind in pretty much everything (school, life, blogging) but sticking this here for a wider audience.  I posted a link to this HuffPo article about the Kardashian debacle on my facebook page, and an old high school friend of mine commented, "Why rejoice in anyone's failed marriage?"

It was a fair question, and here is what I wrote in response (his name has been changed to protect the innocent):

John, I don't rejoice in anyone's failed marriage. I do lament what I see as a grave injustice, that someone who has such obvious disrespect for marriage is nevertheless legally allowed to keep making a mockery of marriage (and to make a crapload of money ON her mockery of it), while my LGBT brothers and sisters are (in most places) legally denied the ability to marry, and so must fight and scrape and go to great personal expense to pull together a very fragile system of support and protection and acknowledgment of their relationship. At its best this is still a fraction of the kind of support and protection and acknowledgment that Ms. Kardashian is granted by default. . .sacred relationship, support, protection, and acknowledgment which she has - twice now - casually thrown away.

I do not rejoice in the failure of her marriages. But I will rejoice if her continued mockery of marriage breaks open the conversation about what is just, and what respect for marriage truly looks like, and I will rejoice if breaking open that conversation ultimately helps secure justice, support, and protection for those who DO hold marriage sacred but are categorically denied participation in that gift.

Peace to you, brother. And thanks for pushing back with your question.


2 comments:

Cat's Staff said...

You're into Star Trek now too? Good, it's much more humanistic and civilized... Oh...her. I've been hearing that name floating around lately, but have no idea who she is...and I'm afraid to try to find out.

I was once thinking of doing what this guy did. Put an ad in the paper or troll the streets looking for people crazy enough to marry me (with an ironclad pre-nup), just to make the point that I could marry whomever I wanted (as long as they have different anatomy in certain places that the law says we can't show anyone in public...so how would anyone know) at the drop of a ski mask (plus 5 days in Minnesnowta). We could get divorced shorty thereafter on the grounds that I refused to have marital relations...and then I could go looking again. It would help make the point this NY Senator was making, or if nothing else I could try for a record.

Catrina Ciccone said...

Cat's Staff, my apologies for the tardiness of posting and replying to this comment. That NY Senator's speech is FANTASTIC, thanks for bringing it to my attention!

And no, not much of a Trekkie, I'm afraid. A bout with The Next Generation in my college days, but that's about it. :)