Rabble Rousing.

I'll be honest. I am done with people being brushed aside because they are different. I was so excited that Detre and the Bias Incident Hotline put together a rally tonight to protest the recent rash of hate crimes here in Boulder. I spoke on behalf of Boulder Pride. Because to be queer is to come from all communities. Queer people are poor and wealthy. Queer people come from every race and religion. Queer people come from every geography. I spoke because I believe in the importance of unity.

There is a poem I am sure you have all heard, but I want to share it tonight.

When first they came for the criminals I did not speak

Then they began to take the Jews

When they fetched the people who were members of trade unions

I did not speak

When they took the bible students

Rounded up the homosexuals

Then they gathered up the immigrants and Gypsies

I did not speak

Eventually they came for me

And there was no one left to speak

I believe there is a power structure in America that fears the oppressed. I believe there are people who use our differences to divide us from one another, with the knowledge that if we stand together, we are unstoppable. I believe the recent hate crimes against minorites and women are expressions of that fear. And I believe that if we stand together and speak out, but also more importantly, act out, that we are unstoppable.

Tonight we marched and learned. But it cannot stop here. It cannot stop tonight. One night is not enough. You must do more than you think you are able. You must reach higher than you believe you can.  One step at a time, we will change the world we live in. Because together we are unstoppable.