The Purple Beach Ball and the Computer Monitor
"See, the house used to be owned by a lesbian couple, and the one just up and left, and so this one's gotta take care of the house."
John kept scrolling through digital pictures of the house he might buy. All night long we had been back and forth with each other making little comments about the election, terrorism, or whatever it was we thought would push each other's buttons. John had worked on the Bush campaign up in the suburbs of Cleveland for some time during the summer.
I looked at Carly, and as we were standing there in the middle of a bank of computers, lit in an ugly way by fluorescent lights and smelling of old coffee, and decided to go for it.
"Oh my god, John, what if you move in and some of their gayness rubs off on you?!"
"I'm not some homophobe anything, I don't care what they do."
He started to say something else, and I started to get that gross feeling you get when you remember a bad relationship or cheating on a test in 7th grade. I changed my mind and decided I was too tired for this.
"Letting them get married is like calling that a purple beach ball," he pointed to the computer monitor next to us. I blinked, I think my mouth was open. I heard Carly suck in some air.
"Never mind," I said, "This is something I feel very strongly about and I don't think we want to talk about it right now." I was hoping that he would be more in the mood for fun and less in the mood for picking a fight with me.
"No seriously-"
"Do you think gay people don't fall in love?" I asked.
"Do you have to be in love to get married?" he retorted.
"No of course not, fortunately. But why wouldn't some people be allowed to have the choice and others do?"
"We're going to get in a fight," Carly said, and just like it started, the conversation was over.
I regret not ignoring Carly and challenging John more. I don't know if anything I said in the short time I was talking seeped into his big head or not, but I can only hope. Maybe one day people will stop making fallacies in their arguments against gay marriage. Maybe one day I won't have to worry that there is even an argument against it, let alone be dumbfounded by the way some people think.
John kept scrolling through digital pictures of the house he might buy. All night long we had been back and forth with each other making little comments about the election, terrorism, or whatever it was we thought would push each other's buttons. John had worked on the Bush campaign up in the suburbs of Cleveland for some time during the summer.
I looked at Carly, and as we were standing there in the middle of a bank of computers, lit in an ugly way by fluorescent lights and smelling of old coffee, and decided to go for it.
"Oh my god, John, what if you move in and some of their gayness rubs off on you?!"
"I'm not some homophobe anything, I don't care what they do."
He started to say something else, and I started to get that gross feeling you get when you remember a bad relationship or cheating on a test in 7th grade. I changed my mind and decided I was too tired for this.
"Letting them get married is like calling that a purple beach ball," he pointed to the computer monitor next to us. I blinked, I think my mouth was open. I heard Carly suck in some air.
"Never mind," I said, "This is something I feel very strongly about and I don't think we want to talk about it right now." I was hoping that he would be more in the mood for fun and less in the mood for picking a fight with me.
"No seriously-"
"Do you think gay people don't fall in love?" I asked.
"Do you have to be in love to get married?" he retorted.
"No of course not, fortunately. But why wouldn't some people be allowed to have the choice and others do?"
"We're going to get in a fight," Carly said, and just like it started, the conversation was over.
I regret not ignoring Carly and challenging John more. I don't know if anything I said in the short time I was talking seeped into his big head or not, but I can only hope. Maybe one day people will stop making fallacies in their arguments against gay marriage. Maybe one day I won't have to worry that there is even an argument against it, let alone be dumbfounded by the way some people think.
posted by Megan at
5:43 PM
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