Letter: Shame on you. Shame on US all.
Editor's note: This letter is in response to the protest Tuesday against American Family Association of Michigan President Gary Glenn.
We are all blind.
We are all silly.
We are invested too strongly.
Life does not rest on Dennis Lennox's back.
OR a rainbow flag.
Our bodies were there! Remember that.
Our voices were heard! Remember that.
And they WERE afraid of us.
Afraid of change. Afraid of justice.
Afraid of the shifting ground under their feet.
We WON last night. Despite all they say.
Despite what THEY call us. We broke down the
fences constructed around us. We jumped over the walls
built to contain us, to keep us in and against each other.
Walls written with the words "SHAME ON YOU" calling us "SICK" and "SINNERS"
We tore through these fences and walls and found the beauty that has been denied to us.
We found each other.
We showed, not to those who oppose us, but to each other
that we are here.
That we have grown hands to finally raise up in defiance.
We have grown hands to hold the newly grown hand next to us.
For all those who were there last night ... remember what ACTUALLY happened. And let go of the anger you feel from reading things that DIDN'T.
Remember the laughter, the fun, the hugs, the handshakes.
The police watching the Tigers game sitting side by side with OUR organizers.
With OUR protesters.
Remember the one cop playing Rock, Paper, Scissors with one of our protesters and LOSING.
Remember what it was like to be PART OF SOMETHING.
REMEMBER THAT, AND WE WILL NEVER LOSE THIS FIGHT.
Remember what it felt like when we stood in two lines and held hands.
Remember what it felt like to sit together and exchange stories.
REMEMBER THAT, AND WE WILL NEVER LOSE THIS FIGHT.
Remember what it sounds like when our voices mingle in the air.
Remember what it feels like when we all stand together instead of apart.
Remember every honk from every passing car.
Remember that, now, every eye is upon us.
REMEMBER THAT, AND WE WILL NEVER LOSE THIS FIGHT.
But above all,
Remember each other's names, and know that you are loved somewhere on this campus tonight.
One Queer's Voice,
Vanessa Spitzer
Midland senior
