Knox County Fair: Day 2

Well, I hate to admit it, but I am not feeling quite as pumped as I felt yesterday. It has been a long and interesting day. . . . When I arrived at 10 am, Tony had already set up the booth (it looked fabulous, as always!). Tony had many positive things to report from last night after I had left for the night. We had over 20 FIRED cards signed and ready to mail to legislators, and almost ten new e-mail addresses to add to our mailing list.

Unfortunately, a little later this morning we encountered our first combative individual. A lady walking by looked at our signs, paused, and then asked us "How can you have a cross and 'gay' on the same sign?" Tony replied, "You can be gay and Christian." She said, "No, you can't." This went on for a bit--she started talking about Adam and Eve and at one point said, "Men don't fit with men." (Clearly she does not understand that there are more things that go into a meaningful relationship besides how body parts physically fit together or not, and that too is debatable!) Tony rebutted with some questions dealing with genetics: "What race were Adam and Eve? What color were their eyes? Were they right- or left-handed?" to which the lady replied, "That doesn't matter." And Tony responded, "Neither does a person's orientation, which is a genetic trait." And the discussion continued, getting a bit more tense and heated. . . . At one point the woman said "I'm a Christian" to which Tony replied, "I am too." She then said, "No, you're not." The entire interaction was unproductive and disappointing. She was really awful to us, and the whole thing made me angry. She was with maybe ten kids and another lady who was also really unkind to us--she smirked and rolled her eyes and told us to go ask the Jehovah's Witnesses why people can't be gay and Christian.

I must admit the exchange depressed me. The last thing I want is for combative people to chew us out. We are here to provide information and answer questions, to bring visibility to the GLBT folks in this area and the issues that affect us most. We are not here to take verbal abuse from ignorant and belligerent people. A bit after this incident, another passer by read our sign aloud "Gay-Straight Alliance. . . . oh my." At that point I was starting to wonder if having a fair booth was the right thing to do after all. Tony asked me afterward how I would have responded to the combative woman (he had done all the talking; I remained silent in disbelief). And honestly, I have no idea how I would have responded. I am not at all confrontational, and I don't think I possess the emotional energy to deal with those kinds of attitudes.

So after a rough morning, things got better, and we had a splendid afternoon. Larry and Penny joined us in the afternoon and Kate took over in the evening after Penny had left. Here are some stories and quotations from the visitors we had this afternoon:

"What's this all about? Oh, OK. Yeah, God loves everybody." This visitor asked us all about the significance of rainbow flags and the upside-down triangle. After our five-minute exchange she thanked us, replied genuinely, "Oh very interesting!" and went on her way. The positive experience was just what I needed to lift my spirits after dealing with the lunatics earlier.

A little after 1 pm, we noticed a teenage girl who stopped at our booth, dropped her jaw, and said enthusiastically, "I love it!" Also during the one-o-clock hour, the Deputy Sheriff came by asking who we were and wanting more information.

A lady came by and said, "My lesbian friend has a t-shirt that says 'some of my best friends are straight'." We got a good laugh out of that one!

Another reacting to our materials on the equal housing and employment act: "It is legal [to fire someone because they are gay]? I did not know that."

Another visitor came by and said, "I'm curious. . . . What is this about?" After we explained about our organizations, we got into a conversation about the equal housing and employment act. She said, "It does not matter whether you are gay or straight. All that matters is whether or not you can do your job." (Amen!)

Two teenagers came by. One said, "My mom is gay. I'm adopted, and my dad is gay too. Some people can't understand that." She also talked about the GSA being denied by the principal at the local high school.

At one point we had a very skeptical visitor. She asked, in disbelief, "And you're for gays? I'm confused." This woman could not fathom why we would be in support of GLBT folks and equal rights. Although I had braced myself for the worst, we had a nice conversation. She really seemed to listen to what we had to say, and I would like to think we planted a seed for her to grow and understand GLBT issues and people a bit better. She asked early on if we all were gay. (She could not understand why straight people would be at a booth that believes in equal rights for GLBT people. We tried to help her understand.) Larry and I were silent, but Penny and Tony spoke about how they are straight allies who believe that gay people are treated unfairly. Penny was especially effective here. She said, "I have two daughters. One is gay and one is straight. Both have great jobs, have devoted life partners, and pay taxes. Do you think I am going to love one daughter more than the other just because she is straight?" This seemed to really make an impact with the visitor. She left our booth, still admittedly confused, but she took our literature and agreed with us that people should not judge other people regardless.

Then we heard more supportive comments from other passers by throughout the rest of the afternoon:

"I saw you guys in the Gay Pride Parade."

"My partner and I have been together 24 years."

"I like this booth--don't tell anybody (no one knows)."

So I guess, all in all, it wasn't a bad day. But I am emotionally exhausted. This kind of work is very important, but difficult. Still, I am glad to be a part of this wonderful organization and to hopefully be making a difference in the hearts and minds of my neighbors in Knox County. And we have had many more positive interactions than negative, so that is definitely good!