Bristol Palin, do us all a favour and sit the fuck down.
Why? Because there are several things wrong with your statement.
Firstly, she's bringing his daughters into the political mix, and making assumptions concerning their lives. YOU DON'T KNOW THEM SO SHUT UP AND LEAVE THE KIDS ALONE.
Secondly, she's claiming that the political views of an American president can be swayed by one of the worst shows on television. THINK ABOUT THAT FOR A SEC, BRISTOL. THINK ABOUT YOUR LIFE, YOUR CHOICES.
Thirdly, she's talking as if Glee invented gayness. NEWSFLASH BRISTOL, it didn't. People and animals and breathing species for that matter were gay loooooonnng before Glee came around, trust me. And if you don't believe that, then you don't know humanity's history, and I suggest you start reading up on it. Or better yet, go out and talk to people and LEARN SOMETHING.
Fourthly, she's claiming that Obama had some sort of change of heart. Even the dumbest dung beetle knows that Obama has always supported equality for all people of all sexual orientations (this can be traced back over a decade before he actually became president).
He just never fessed up about it because:
a) He never had the full support of his cabinet members on this issue.
b) He would lose a lot of the vote.
c) It was and still is a very divided issue in the United States. Obama sat on the fence by saying yes to civil unions and no to same-sex marriage because this was the safest route to go in terms of making everyone somewhat happy.
But Obama doesn't have room to sit on the fence and expect to win the next election with a boom. There are too many swing states that could make the difference in who gets elected president come November, and Obama had to make sure to grab every political strategy to win as many states as he can. When you think about it, his public declaration of his pro-marriage stance (which I believe he has always had in him), comes at a time when he most needs it. So really, Bristol, this is political smarts working its way into this declaration of same-sex marriage support.
Let's take a look at possible reasons as to why Obama chose this specific time to publicly back marriage equality:
a) His VP, Joe Biden, recently expressed his support, as well as his educational secretary Arne Duncan.
b) Most Americans, according to polls, support marriage equality.
c) These people in question, are the people Obama needs in order to win this year's election.
d) From a financial perspective, Obama can get funding from gay equality organizations for his 2012 campaign. In other words, many LGBT people and allies from states such as New York and California have what we like to call MONEY. Obama can get a lot of dough from the gay community, and this can't be a bad thing.
e) Finally, North Carolina's ban on marriage equality which happened hours before was likely one of the tip-offs, as there was no way Obama couldn't say nothing about it and look foolish. The Democrats' 2012 convention will be there and it would have been risky for Obama to stay silent.
So Bristol, as you can see, there are many other factors involved in Obama's decision to endorse same-sex marriage. There was the fact of timing, money, his cabinet, those swing states, the simple fact of the location of his party's convention.
It wasn't fucking Glee.
Risky political strategy on Obama's part? Yes. Smart political strategy on Obama's part? Hell, yes. To be the first president to express same-sex marriage endorsement while still in office is something for the future generation's history books. It may not be so special for us living in the Netherlands or Canada or Spain, but for the United States, it's a hell of a big deal.
We know for sure though that it just made the 2012 elections a lot more interesting. I could go from the emotional viewpoint and say that Obama is incredible and all Americans should just go vote for him now - but I can't exactly do that because it is very true that this is first and foremost a political strategy, and we need to be aware of that. There is a reason Obama expresses it now but refused to voice it before.
Obama said yes before, then said no, then said maybe, then said that his views were "evolving," before finally saying yes again. He's swung the marriage equality question almost as much as anyone else.
Also, it's important to think of how this will eventually progress in the future. So ok, Obama says yes to marriage equality. If he is re-elected, what happens then? What happens to Maryland? To the North Carolina ban? To California's Prop 8? Say that yes, we do have support on the federal level, but how will that spread amongst all the states? Obama confirmed that it is still up to the individual states to decide whether they will allow it. I almost see Obama's declaration as a personal and emotional plea to get at the voters that will help him win this year. He personally supports marriage equality - this hits at the emotional heartstrings that will better his campaign - but this does not necessarily mean that there will be marriage equality across all states if and should he be re-elected into office.
Despite this, it is definitely historic and important for Americans who identify as LGBT. Even if you don't plan on ever getting married, it's still awesome to have your president say that you're worth it, that you have the right to have the choice. It's one step towards recognizing LGBT people as, well, people. This is monumental for the next generation.
I'm not even American but man, this is crazy stuff that we Canadians really do get invested in. From a Canadian perspective, it just seems ridiculous. I admit that Canada isn't perfect. There are many of us who are vocally homophobic and hate crimes do happen here as they do in any other country. Our transgender laws are still in the process of evolving. We've had political powers oppose marriage equality, including our current prime minister (he doesn't now. He didn't really have a choice as he got elected a year after same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide, and he constantly reiterates the fact that he will never re-visit the issue and repeal it. Ever). From our perspective, it's insane how confused Americans are with this subject of human rights. When you think about it, human rights shouldn't even need to be debated upon. As those who are born human, we should be born with these rights and they should be inherently ours, not something that is decided upon us by white heterosexual Christian men in suits.
The American human rights campaign is moving as slowly as this
Our generation will totally shame our future kids, who will look back on our time and tell us we were all a bunch of dumb, hate-corrupted, dipshit assholes. When you think of it, this is no different than African-American rights, women's rights. These issues of the past that we all struggled with are just being repeated again. You would think that after all these years of being human on this Earth, we would understand what human rights really mean, but apparently, we do not. But as long as it's progressing, I guess I can't really complain. Just make it a little faster, America. Us Canadians are kind of sick of being held at a higher standard than you just because we let our people love one another. We don't want to be seen as better just because we have marriage equality. Why? Because human rights shouldn't be seen as something revolutionary, it should be seen as something that is naturally established from the moment you were born. It is already there, we just need to learn to confirm it and celebrate it and recognize it for what it is. So for those who say that having same-sex marriage or being homosexual is unnatural, you are sorely mistaken. It isn't human nature that is unnatural, it is your treatment of human nature that is unnatural.
And as for you, Bristol, your ex-fiancé and father of your child wants to name his second child after a gun. I think you've got other things to worry about besides what Obama lets his daughters watch on TV.
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