this just (sinking) in

Because of the whole hullaballoooooo this weekend -- mega/super/mighty-rainy Manila, a threatening fraaaaaaak-not-again-almost-repeat of Marikina Ondoy flooding, an unsure northern exposure trip, and finally undergoing that trip with the whole rainy shebang (along with the other controversies of the Baguio pride festivities woooohoooooo), plus the almost-cancellation of the raison d'etre of that freaking trip (and also catching up with warmhearted welcoming queer kindred spirits in the city of pines whom I love love loooove so dearly and who love me back!!!) -- and the days following that -- facing classes amidst deadlines and covering/participating in the UP Diliman pride march and other pride-related activities -- and generally catching up with life as it "normalizes" (whatever the fuck that means) -- I was just able to catch up on the historic news from New York just about now, after reading the New York Times and other news sources about what transpired there Friday night (Saturday noontime here in Manila).

Yeah, legalizing queer marriage in NYC.

Can I just say wooooooooooooooooooooooooot!

But let me get that straight. In a manner of speaking.

I am one for equality, equity and all that jazz. Not that we queers are all after assimilation with the rest of straight society (as I believe society as a construct also needs major major reinvention), but I am not one to dis others who want to undergo this ritual. I still hold the position I've always held since I was 17 years old (one of two unbending principles of my life: that one, I won't get married ever and I'll fight to death anyone who forces me into it; and two, I won't get pregnant ever and hey, even if I get raped and accidentally get preggy, I'll abort it, no [moral] questions asked, man, so sue me) -- that marriage as an entity needs questioning, challenging and reconstruction, because it is quite a problematic structure for me (as I've personally seen it in my family), especially within the Catholic viewpoint in patriarchal Philippines. But I will support anyone in my queer community who would still want to undergo such a ceremony. Yes, there is diversity in our rainbow community and I uphold it. This is also the belief about marriage we've collectively shared and upheld in my defunct lesbian org UP Sappho before, and I've carried this opinion before and after its demise.

But hey, for all you know, I might also renege on this principle I've upheld if I meet someone whom I believe is worth it, worth popping that question, worth living with for the rest of my life/her life (whichever ends first) or 'til divorce do us part (but just the marriage one; the preggy principle still holds and will never fold). But still, it's good to know that there are places in the world where you could go to have your relationship solidified with such an imperfect love sealant. If not Spain, Denmark, Belgium, Argentina, Canada or Iceland, then hey, Nooyawk!

Gosh. What I'd give to be in Stonewall Inn at that very moment. Very historic. For all of us.

me in front of the legendary Stonewall Inn
along Christopher Street in NYC (March 2010)

Ang saya-saya!

I guess this means those who wanna get hitched na could already do that. Good for them.

As for the rest of us folks here in the third world, well... we still dream. I'm writing an article about this now. Will post when it gets published.

In the meantime, we cheer with NYC. In the end, love should always win, and always prevail, as this surprisingly touching quote sums it up from, all of people, one of the Republicans who voted for the bill, as quoted in that NYT artik above:

With his position still undeclared, Senator Mark J. Grisanti, a Republican from Buffalo who had sought office promising to oppose same-sex marriage, told his colleagues he had agonized for months before concluding he had been wrong.

“I apologize for those who feel offended,” Mr. Grisanti said, adding, “I cannot deny a person, a human being, a taxpayer, a worker, the people of my district and across this state, the State of New York, and those people who make this the great state that it is the same rights that I have with my wife.”

O di ba? Ikaw na, Gristanti, ang wagi! Chos.