Date: Sun, 4 Sep 1994 01:35:12 -0400 From: Robert Riley Subject: Sometimes it's worth it Good morning GLB-News readers: I am forwarding (with permission) this story which one of our fellow readers e-mailed to me. I think it is interesting and very well written....I thought y'all might enjoy it, also. Rob :-) >Return-Path: >Date: Thu, 1 Sep 1994 08:46:17 -0700 (PDT) >From: "Larry A. Bailey" >Subject: Re: Junk mail for you (fwd) >To: Robert Riley > >SOMETIMES IT'S WORTH IT > >by Larry A. Bailey, Edmonds, Washington > > > "More coffee?" The waitress asked, breaking me out of my >deep thoughts. > Glancing at my watch, "No thanks, I really have to get >going up to Vancouver." > Slowly getting up from the counter seat of the Mount Vernon >Denny's restaurant, I fumbled with the change in my pocket for >a tip, picked up my bill and headed for the cashier. Once >again I glanced at the headlines of The Bellingham Herald, >"Anti-gay Initiatives Fall Short! Backers consider filing >measure to Legislature; opponents will fight." > Sitting there drinking coffee on a sunny Saturday morning >had been my first chance to start putting all the pieces >together of the events that had taken place in the past six >months. Grabbing a bite to eat on the run, as I scurried off >to another meeting, speaking engagement or event, had been my >norm for sometime; and I was tired. > On Friday morning, just the day before, I had slowly >resolved within myself that the next four months would be >spent on the campaign trails trying to defeat the radical >right's anti-gay Initiative 608. If it made it to the ballot, >it would be voted on in the November election. I had spent >the previous nine months working in the 'Hands Off Washington' >campaign and more recently with the Bigot Busters to keep it >off the ballot. Around mid-morning I received a phone call >from my older daughter. "Hey dad," she excitedly explained, >"I think the people for 608 are getting signatures at the >Ferry Terminal again!" > Rushing off to the Terminal, I stopped only long enough to >give Bigot Busters a quick phone call to report the sighting >and let them know that I was on my way to check it out. >"Won't this ever stop?" I kept asking myself, even though I >knew that the proponents only had until 5:00 that afternoon to >turn the required number of signatures into the State of >Washington's Secretary of State. Previous news accounts >indicated they were very close to that figure. > When I got to the Edmonds Ferry dock, I saw there were at >least four signature gathers hustling through the vehicle >holding lanes. I knew that I would have to repeat the same >procedures that I had done many times before to try to >convince people not to sign the initiatives, the same hassle >with the traffic police, the same warding off of the >harassment from signature gathers, and the same rapid >departure of the signature gathers when more Bigot Busters >showed up. > Arriving home just after 2:30 in the afternoon and feeling >drained of energy, I flopped down into a lounge chair. The >events of that morning still spinning in my mind, the hateful >comments directed toward homosexuals still repeating >themselves. The work that I had planned to get accomplished >that day still lay on my desk, staring me in the face. The >stack of un-returned phone calls was a constant reminder of >how far behind in my life I felt myself slipping. > A little after three o'clock, the phone jarred me back into >reality. "Larry, this is Lowell." the voice excitedly >proclaimed. > I immediately thought to myself, "Oh shit, another sighting >of signature gathers!" > "It's over - It's over! They conceded that they don't have >the signatures!" > Lowell, from the Bigot Busters phone bank, was almost >shouting in the phone, "They just called the Secretary of >State's office to say they weren't bringing the signatures >in!" . > The rest of the afternoon was blurred with phone calls, >uncertainty if it was actually true, and shouts of joy. The >evening was spent with other Bigot Busters parading through >Seattle's Capitol Hill chanting and shouting victory slogans. >When I finally crawled into bed after 1:00 A.M., I remembered >that I had to get up at 5:00 in the morning to drive up to >Vancouver, B.C. to attend a board meeting of a horticultural >society. > Upon leaving Denny's Resturant into the clear, early >morning sun of July, I noticed a young married couple with a >small boy ahead of me. The boy had pointed to my 'Hands Off >Washington' bumper sticker, and the mother was explaining >something to him. > "Damn," I thought to myself, "another confrontation coming >up!" Images of the previous Saturday confrontations at the >Ferry Terminal came to mind. A very soured faced, heavyset >women screaming at me, "Get away from my van, you perverted >faggot! Get way!" Then, her son (about the same age of the >boy that was ahead of me now) started emulating his mother's >hate, "Yea, you get away from our car!" > I approached my Jeep and overheard some of the >conversation. "... the citizens of the State of Washington >didn't buy into their lies and deceptions ...", the mother was >carefully explaining to her son "... we are very fortunate to >live in a liberal state where people are concerned about >discrimination." > The sun felt warmer, seemed brighter, and the surroundings >started to sparkle as the tears formed. > > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ > > > > *************** > *************** **************************************** > * * * ** WE CANNOT AFFORD TO BE SILENT * > * Larry * * WE HAND THE OPPOSITION HIS MOST * > * * * ** POWERFUL WEAPON WITH OUR SILENCE * > * * * * **************************************** > * * * * > * * * > *