9/11, not only a day of terror, but a day of equality.

[foreigncorrespondent]

6 years ago today, after sitting up all night, my partner and I were getting ready to go to bed when the phone rang. She answered it, and I worked out very quickly that it was her sister in NYC, and that something very bad had happened.

My partner turns on the TV at the request of her sister, and all of a sudden I am hit with images of a plane flying into one of the twin towers. I still cry when I see those images, whether it is from the TV screen or still shots in a newspaper.

I come forward to today, and as I sit here writing this to you, I feel sorrow, but also anger. The sorrow is for those families the world over, who lost a loved one on this day. For the families who have since lost loved ones in the war of terror. My anger however, is directed at the people right here on DU who to this day do not look at me, my now ex partner, and the other members of DU who happen to be LGFBTIQQ as being equal to them. And there is a very good reason for this anger.

On this day six years ago, the terrorists did NOT discriminate against a persons skin color, eye shape, sex, sexual orientation, or any other thing that make so many people in this world a minority in the eyes of the law and/or the small minds of the countless bigots who walk this earth. No, they saw every person across the United States on that day as a potential target. To them, none of this mattered. We were all considered equal, because they wanted to kill the largest amount of people possible, to make the biggest impact they could. And they succeeded.

On this day, there were many gay people, and other minorities killed right along side of what some of you here would call "normal."

9/11 should have taught us one thing and that is, that just like in death, in life, we are all equal, and as such deserve all the same rights and privileges as the next person. But there are those here, who tell the LGBTIQQ members of DU now is not our time. That yet again, we need to give up our own "selfish" needs for the greater good, or them, so they can have the government they want, running a country. It doesn't matter if after they get their government, our needs are still forgotten, because they have what they want.

I have been told right here on DU, that once the Dem's take proper control my now ex partner will get a lot of rights awarded to her, and I am expected to believe that. Yet I can't. I come from a country where the left wing helped deliver discrimination into our constitution just a few short years ago, declaring that marriage is between one man and one woman, only. I am expected to believe that, even though under Clinton we saw DADT, and DoMA? I am expected to believe that, when only ONE of the potential candidates for the Dem Primary believes in full equality, and he isn't even the favorite?

You, the person telling us to continue sitting on the back of the bus, I have a question for you. Who really is the selfish person here? The one wanting to marry the person they love, or the one asking the person to wait, because now is not the time? I will give you a clue, it isn't the one wanting to marry.

We are told that one this day we should all come together and not forget the tragic events of just six short years ago, yet there are people who are not willing to come together and remember that one this day just six short years ago, for a few terrifying hours we were all equal in the eyes of someone.

So the next time you want to tell a queer to wait, or make sick jokes because someone has been caught trying to pick up in a bathroom, think back to this post, and how for one terrible day, we really were equal, and how it was man made terrorism that happened on that day, and not the wrath of God, because I was equal to you.

[peacebird]

1. I am sorry that we still have people who hate. I have long fought for equal rights for everyone.

I do not understand the position that we are not all equal, and I believe that everyone should be able to marry the one they love (as long as both people are adults that is)

I remember when interfaith marriage was going to be the end of civilization, and then when it wasn;t suddenly in the 60s it was interracial marriage that would be the end of civilization. And yet it wasn't and NOW the same sort of rigid frightened angry people claim same sex marriage will be the end of civlization. It won't be.

Again, I apologize for the so-called "christians" who spew such hatred at GLBT folk, please know that there are many straight folk like me that stand with you.