Sunday Surprises

A couple surprises today.

The good one... an interview with Annie Proulx in the L.A. Times. Proulx is the author of the short story which is the basis of the film Brokeback Mountain. Very good interview, with some surprising insights into life in Wyoming and life as a writer. I've written about Proulx and her writing on this blog before.

The bad surprise... I went to my neighborhood park to run this afternoon. Lots of cars, red t-shirts, and people gathered. I figured it was one of the weekly festivals or yard sales they hold. It was a Yes for Prop 8 rally.

For those of you not from California, Prop 8 is seeking to write in the state constitution the definition of marriage. It seeks to take the right of marriage away from gay and lesbian couples who would like to get married.

A YES vote would define marriage as between one man and one woman, and write it into the state constitution. A NO vote would not write a definition of marriage into the state constitution, meaning that people could marry the one person they want if they choose to marry.

I was surprised that 1) my town park gave a permit for a group to host a Yes on 8 event, and 2) that this event was clearly targeting the Asian Pacific Islander community as the group of choice to deliver the discriminatory message, based on who was present and the languages and symbols on t-shirts and signs.

For the record, I am voting NO on Prop 8 in California. I believe that anyone who chooses to marry another person should have the right to do so. Taking away rights, and writing such measures in the state constitution, isn't fair.

But back to Annie Proulx... here's a list of her books available on Amazon. Definitely some work not to be missed.
fs