Hypocrisy, author angst and blogging
I've never blogged in the past, but I wanted to rant about our Minnesota legislators and hey, Goodreads gave me a forum for that. So...
Here in the land of Minnesota-nice, the Republican legislators want to place a ballot motion in 2012 that would put a ban on gay marriage into our state constitution. I've seen one quote where they had the gall to say they are doing it to protect children, because a household with two opposite-sex parents is a better place to grow up. So they are going to force kids with a gay parent to grow up in single-parent households instead, without the benefit of the second same-sex parent, the health-care coverage, the death benefits,...? Right, really protecting those kids.
I assume not even Republicans can believe that if you forbid a queer parent to marry the person they love, they're going to go out and find an opposite-sex spouse instead. Or that gays and lesbians will stop taking care of kids if they can't get married (like all those hetero single parents do?). The general assumption is that they're trying to get their social-conservative (bigoted) voters to the polls in higher numbers next year by energizing them with this issue.
Now gay marriages aren't legal in Minnesota anyway (to our shame) so this bill is unnecessary to prevent them. It may make existing same-sex partner benefits illegal, depriving people of their current health care coverage and other shared rights. It will certainly generate legal challenges and tie up state money and resources. It's a really bad idea even if you don't support gay marriage per se. So if you live in Minnesota (or near Minnesota, or can spell the word Minnesota), write to our legislators and ask them not to waste your money trying to enshrine hatred and prejudice in our state constitution.
Bear in mind as you write that these are the same politicians who refuse to raise taxes for health, education or police services, but want to add a tax to help a wealthy private corporation build a football stadium. (Have I said the word hypocrisy yet?) Okay, rant over (for now).
On the topic of author anxieties, I've had my first two books come out in the last month. I've always written, painted, etc, but for fun and friends, not for money. I hadn't realized how offering my work to the public would cause paranoia - will they like it, will they feel that it was worth the money, will I get to put book 3 out there, will I go crazy spotting every error and infelicitous phrase I wish I could change now that I can't do anything about it??? It's a fun ride (and a big thank-you to everyone who liked a book and was kind enough to review it, and also those with constructive criticism for the next one.) But I'm really glad this isn't my day job depending on public acclaim. My hat is off to all full-time writers and entertainers.
- Kaje
Here in the land of Minnesota-nice, the Republican legislators want to place a ballot motion in 2012 that would put a ban on gay marriage into our state constitution. I've seen one quote where they had the gall to say they are doing it to protect children, because a household with two opposite-sex parents is a better place to grow up. So they are going to force kids with a gay parent to grow up in single-parent households instead, without the benefit of the second same-sex parent, the health-care coverage, the death benefits,...? Right, really protecting those kids.
I assume not even Republicans can believe that if you forbid a queer parent to marry the person they love, they're going to go out and find an opposite-sex spouse instead. Or that gays and lesbians will stop taking care of kids if they can't get married (like all those hetero single parents do?). The general assumption is that they're trying to get their social-conservative (bigoted) voters to the polls in higher numbers next year by energizing them with this issue.
Now gay marriages aren't legal in Minnesota anyway (to our shame) so this bill is unnecessary to prevent them. It may make existing same-sex partner benefits illegal, depriving people of their current health care coverage and other shared rights. It will certainly generate legal challenges and tie up state money and resources. It's a really bad idea even if you don't support gay marriage per se. So if you live in Minnesota (or near Minnesota, or can spell the word Minnesota), write to our legislators and ask them not to waste your money trying to enshrine hatred and prejudice in our state constitution.
Bear in mind as you write that these are the same politicians who refuse to raise taxes for health, education or police services, but want to add a tax to help a wealthy private corporation build a football stadium. (Have I said the word hypocrisy yet?) Okay, rant over (for now).
On the topic of author anxieties, I've had my first two books come out in the last month. I've always written, painted, etc, but for fun and friends, not for money. I hadn't realized how offering my work to the public would cause paranoia - will they like it, will they feel that it was worth the money, will I get to put book 3 out there, will I go crazy spotting every error and infelicitous phrase I wish I could change now that I can't do anything about it??? It's a fun ride (and a big thank-you to everyone who liked a book and was kind enough to review it, and also those with constructive criticism for the next one.) But I'm really glad this isn't my day job depending on public acclaim. My hat is off to all full-time writers and entertainers.
- Kaje
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