There was some talk in a Yahoo Group about gay marriage the other day and it reminded me of some quotes that I looked up from Quentin Crisp, who wrote the fabulous autobiography, “The Naked Civil Servant” back in 1968. He lived openly as an effeminate gay man in the UK starting way back in the 1920s, suffering numerous assaults along the way. I’ve always loved his books and his television interviews. There’s also a terrific TV movie on his life starring John Hurt, made in the 70s.

Here are some humorous quotes that seem particularly fitting at the moment:

“In an expanding universe, time is on the side of the outcast. Those who once inhabited the suburbs of human contempt find that without changing their address they eventually live in the metropolis.”

and,

“It is not the simple statement of facts that ushers in freedom; it is the constant repetition of them that has this liberating effect. Tolerance is the result not of enlightenment, but of boredom.”

It does seem to me that the only logical outcoming to the gay marriage debate is that eventually gay marriage will be legal in all 50 states. And it may take a hell of a long time, but until that happens it just means that the debate is still ongoing. There’s really no other outcome, as those who are pushing for it will continue to push and as time passes acceptance grows.

You can just look at the increasing tolerance for homosexuality in, say, just the last twenty or thirty years. I remember as a kid when the Time Magazine issue came out that said “I Am a Homosexual” on its cover and how absolutely shocking it was. Then time passed, and I remember how just over ten years ago it still felt like kind of a big deal when Ellen DeGeneres came out on her sitcom – not shocking anymore but notable – and now she’s on the cover of magazines with Portia de Rossi and no one thinks anything of it. Of course, attractive lesbians are much less threatening than gay men, but still it’s a big change in a relatively short amount of time. It just seems that the people who are trying to hold back gay marriage are fighting a losing battle. To hold something back is to operate from a position of weakness to begin with, as the tide continually moves forward.