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March 02, 2006
Marriage Equality Matters
Posted at March 2, 2006 07:00 AM in Gay & Lesbian Issues .
Historically, discrimination, at its core, has more to do with economics than what many would have us believe. Racism was economically viable for a time because it allowed businesses to take advantage of African Americans in the job sector. It was certainly useful during Jim Crow when White workers went out on strike; Black workers were brought in to cross picket lines only to receive lower wages than those whose picket lines they crossed. In essence, racism was a tool used by capitalists to muddy the waters and have people think in terms of the color of one’s skin and not focus on what was really going on.
Today, immigrants from South America are being used in similar fashion. As long as the American people continue their focus on these as “illegals” or “immigrants” who are “stealing our jobs,” in essence, continue viewing them as pariahs with labels meant to dehumanize or control, no one will see or focus on the “real deal” which is American companies are hiring them at slave wages, without benefits, and they are kept in debt to the company-owned stores where they live and shop. Again, capitalists are making out like fat rats while Americans are being trained to focus only on their nationality and not on their humanity.
The same is also true with regard to the outsourcing of American jobs to India, or any other country for that matter, to cause us to focus more on those who are “taking our jobs” and treat those individuals likewise with animosity instead of focusing on what the capitalists are in fact doing. As long as we continue to participate in the dumming down of American citizens, we’ll eventually discover our own bank accounts drained by the Republican Pirates in office.
And, so it is with marriage equality. By focusing our attentions on gays and lesbians, “gay marriage” and the "sins of homosexuality," folks are being given justification on a plate to hate and work diligently to deny gays and lesbians the right to marriage. Truth is though, single people pay the greatest in taxes than married couples and again, truth is, the coffers of government have already been raided by Republican Pirates and they need gays and lesbians, and other single folks to pay back what they have stolen – theft, as in the war in Iraq.
Domestic Partnership became yet another sheet of wool pulled over the eyes of folks. If one is to actually take advantage of domestic partnership benefits, i.e., health care on the job, these couples will pay a higher tax – many of us have started calling it the “gay tax” – disguised as a “gift tax” for providing your gay or lesbian partner the benefit of being on your health insurance at work. Yes, we are taxed for the benefit conferred to our partners.
Those who wish to deny our rights have become quite adept at pulling “fear strings” to cause Americans to vote their way. “Quotas” was one of many words used to overthrow affirmative action. Now, our administration, as evil as it is which is made evident in the fruits of their work thus far, is equally adept at throwing nice words around – particularly words like religion and faith – causing many to justify their prejudices, hatred, even to the point of burning churches, beating or battering gay people, or attacking any man wearing a “turban,” as patriotic.
For those who are a part of that group termed the “Young and the Newsless,” or just plain “useless and newsless,” they have no knowledge or understanding that America is now experiencing the same as one of our allies, Great Britan, back in the 1920s: they went into Iraq and posted flyers stating they came in not as “occupiers, but as liberators” from the years of tyranny experienced by the Iraqi people. The UK too experienced an insurgency against them. They too called these insurgents “terrorists” and they too said if they left Iraq then, there would be civil war. This was in the 1920s. I know this because I know history. Most Americans do not because they have been “dumbed down.” Corporate owned news agencies will never tell us about history because they need their advertising dollars from big business. Yes, we are in a time of the “dumbing down of Americans” for profit.
As Americans slowly realize, particularly in the Gulf states, that their government is not, or will not, come to their aid; as African Americans find themselves losing their homes or suffer predatory lending from big banks who have no problem with their high finance charges to those Black folk with excellent credit; as we see the Enron pirates are still walking around freely after stripping bare, old and young alike, across all nationalities, their bank accounts, pensions, and investment and/or retirement dollars; the elderly not affording the cost of their high-priced drugs; mainstream America not affording decent healthcare; maybe we will then realize Martin Luther King’s words are true – an injustice to one is an injustice to all. The pirates are using nice words to deflect attention from the truth but the truth still exists and is evident if only we would remove the blinders and equally remove the words used to separate us, one from the other.
But, then again, they know this. Divided, we cannot stand. If we should all unite in our fight, they would not stand.
So yes, Marriage Equality Matters. Immigrants were attacked, for economic reasons. Blacks were attacked, for economic reasons. Jews were attacked, for economic reasons. The Iraqis were attacked, for economic reasons. Gays and lesbians are being attacked, for economic reasons. Who is next?
Link
US gays denied lower tax rates