More Letters to Margaret
Note: In the past two days, Margaret debated Jerry Falwell on MSNBC and read a piece on NPR’s Morning Edition both on the issue of Gay marriage. She received and responded to many letters. We’ve chosen the following two for today’s entry.
Letter #1
Subject: Morning Edition Commentary
>Dear Morning Edition,
Please, call me Margaret.
> I would like to respond to your commentary on
> Morning Edition, aired November 19th. You spoke of
> the sanctity of marriage and gave examples of
> marriages performed by Elvis impersonators,
> receptions in graveyards, herses used for
> transporting the wedding party, and others. These
> examples were used to “prove” there is no sanctity
> in marriage.
Yes, it is true. There is no sanctity in marriage, in that ’sanctity’ is relative and self defined. You define what sacred is fron the Bible. I define what is sacred from the truth. We both are right really, we just see things from a different point of view. You choose to live your life according to writings that are thousands of years old, which was told to the authors mostly second hand, in that the experiences therein were recorded by witnesses, rather than the participants, so who knows what kind of game of ‘telephone’ that may have caused, and if you really want to go there, they were written by men wearing sandals and long muslin dresses. I choose to live my life with an eye on the media, the right to question all authority, and the independence to make decisions based on what I believe is fair.
> The sanctity of marriage is not derived from the
> common (or not so common) practices of society but
> from Biblical mandates.
If the Biblical mandates you say are so important to society, why are they not practiced to the fullest extent of the evangelical law? Why do we not pass an amendment to cease masturbation? The Onan Initiative, to wipe out any chance that man’s seed might be spilled on the ground. Why is shellfish eaten willy nilly, as if the Bible didn’t clearly outline the dangers of it? What has happened to the world when we are unable to uphold these Biblical values. How right you are. These mandates must be upheld if we are to ban same sex relations. Let no seed be spilled and death to all who eat shrimp.
> To assume that man’s actions can remove the
> sanctity from marriage is faulty logic. It would
> be similar to saying that since I don’t turn on
> the same light everyone else does, that light
> does not exist. This is a ridiculous conclusion!
I am apologetic here, as I do not understand your faulty logic in the aforementioned statement. What does light have to do with it? How many bigots does it take to screw in a light bulb? Do you know? I have no idea.
> You might say that your comments are merely
> comedy.
No. They are truth, and absolutely correct. The statements made were good natured but they speak to the deeper issue of gays and lesbians being treated as second class citizens in a nation built on the foundation of religious freedom. The land we forged exists only because we sought our own God and the right to have our own God, and basically, for everyone to have their own God, as God has many names. Your God is not the only God out there. What you are saying denies the entire reason America exists in the first place, religious freedom. You say same sex union is against the Bible, not thinking for a moment that there are other religions that have no connection with your particular beliefs, because you are not allowing freedom of religion to those who do not follow your way of worship. Dude. You are being like so, un-American.
> It is apparent that your beliefs about marriage are
> presented in your comedy. Your opinions as stated
> in your commentary, whether intended as comedy or
> not, have an influence on the listeners.
Thank God for that. I prayed for that to happen and He listened. Prayer works! I am one of God’s favorites, incidentally.
> This influence should be carefully used and
> accompanied by thoughtful consideration of
> the truth of the content that is presented.
It was. It is. I am responsible and careful and thoughtful and truthful and thank you for recognizing that. So sweet of you.
> I encourage you to rethink your position on the
> sanctity of marriage and same sex marriage, which
> are inseparable issues.
I encourage you to let others live and love as they would wish. I encourage you to understand that all are welcome in the true house of God. I encourage you to love, above all, love. Remember that is all God asks us to do.
> I challenge you to read the first two chapters
> of Genesis as it relates to marriage of a man
> and a woman. - VCV
Ohhh, a challenge. When did it become challenging to read? Did you think that it might have been difficult for me? Well, I got through it, challenging as it was, all those words and everything, but I did, and if we are all sinners because Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge, frankly, she should have eaten more. Possibly baked a pie. You would have been offered a big slice.
Best,
Margaret Cho
Letter #2
Subject: Tonight’s “Abram’s Report” on MSNBC
> Homosexuality is perversion.
That is the opinion of a few people, which makes me sad that they feel they must control love, own love. Love is love. Love is not perversion.
> All of us are probably born with different
> susceptibilities to different sins.
Like you, to intolerance, ignorance and bigotry, but I don’t blame you at all for that. You were born that way. I choose to love you all the same, really. I mean it.
> But we still have a choice.
Yes. To choose to be ourselves or to live a lie.
> If I became an alcoholic and it was shown that I had
> genetic predisposition toward it, it does not absolve
> me from responsiblity for my actions.
True, but alcoholism is not a reasonable comparison to homosexuality. Alcoholism is a disease. The way that people use it to destroy themselves is sad and unfortunate. It can be overcome, by choice. Homosexuality is not a disease. People do not drive while gay and kill pedestrians. You cannot swallow enough cum in the world to poison your system. To equate homosexuality with alcoholism is to equate heterosexuality with cancer.
> Homosexuality is a choice.
Do you know very very many gays and lesbians? Are you friends with transexual, transgender and bisexual people? Do you ever have them over to watch the Emmys or football games and assign different dishes to people - like this drag queen brings soda, this Male to Female post operative transexual to bring KC Masterpiece Barbecue Potato Chips? If you did, then you would see, through friendship and compassion that homosexuality is really NOT A FUCKING CHOICE. Excuse my language. But even if they do decide to choose, they choose living a miserable, false identity which helps no one, for no one will truly know them and they will be ashamed to exist because they are not allowed to be naturally who they are. They deny themselves THEMSELVES, as opposed to making the choice to be gay, and therefore, true to themselves and true to how God made them.
> In many people it seems to develop so slowly
> that they weren’t aware that they were making
> a choice over years of growing up that led to it.
So it develops slowly like a degenerative disease, reaching chronic stages when feather boas and leather chaps become involved? How ridiculous. You are such a silly thing, aren’t you? I think you are so quaint in your prejudice and stupidity. Really, it’s adorable.
> And just as they made a choice gradually to
> embrace it, they can also make the choice to
> leave it behind, go cold turkey or whatever
> you want to call it.
Cold turkey. Hm. Is there a patch that would slowly release gayness into your system until you are no longer reliant on it? Like quitting smoking. Cock gum?
> There is zero scientific research to prove that
> homosexuality is beyond our control. Any
> pseudoscience that originally received praise
> in the press was later showed to be completely
> unscientific when it was reviewed by peers
> in the scientific community.
> I suggest the above article; it’s well written
> while sensitive to everyone’s feelings.
> (link deleted)
> Regards,
> RB
Thanks for the link. I really don’t give a shit about science in this matter. And I know lots of scientists who are gay! And they enjoy it! Labcoats are fun to wear!
I am sensitive to your feelings of hatred and self righteous idiocy, and I applaud you for making your stupid stand. God bless you, and all the people that you love, and all the people that love you, and all the people that think the way they do, and all the judgmental and angry homophobes (whom I honestly believe are gay themselves, for I do believe the lady doth protest too much). I love you, for God welcomes all in the true house of the Lord. May Jesus make you willing to be tolerant of others, and may we all find it within ourselves to be tolerant of you, although frankly, you do not deserve it.
Best,
Margaret Cho