John Kasich, totally memorable Republican presidential candidate and Ohio governor, recently spoke words that really resonated with me as a queer person. Kasich appeared on CNN’s State of the Union in a completely reasonable discourse followed regarding anti-LGBTQIA laws. When asked, “Is there something you would do to stop states from passing [anti-LGBTQIA] laws?” Kasich eloquently responded, “No, I wouldn’t. I haven’t even been asked that or thought about it.”
His thoughtful, considerate remarks progressed, “If you feel as though somebody is doing something wrong against you, can you just, for a second, get over it, you know, because this thing will settle down.” It was in this moment that I realized had been taking things too personally.
Image from WBTV
Why should I be angry? It’s not as if the queer community has been the target of obstructive and socially violent laws. It’s not as if there aren’t laws that protect us from discrimination based on our sexual or gender identities. Kasich is absolutely right, everyone just needs to “take a breath and calm down, because, you see, trying to figure out how to legislate [the balance between religious freedom and social justice] is complicated, and you keep doing do-overs, because nobody gets it right.”
Nobody gets it right, besides you, Kasich. You totally get me. Forget the marginalization of the queer community. Take a deep breath and relax, nothing needs to be done about the mass murders of trans people and homophobic hate crimes. You want to walk down the aisle with someone of the same gender? Hold hands in public? You want to pee in a bathroom? Just know there’s a balance between your human rights and making religious zealots comfortable. Let’s take a do-over on the whole Stonewall thing, we didn’t get that right. Heteros rejoice, us queers are going to be much more chill.
Image from Flickr
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