Savannah. Oh my poor Savannah. This whole thing has gone from a triggering video to an international news story.
I can no longer simply choose a side. I'm more just stressed about how terrible and divisive this situation is becoming. I'll admit, at first, I was triggered, and I was all about protecting Savannah.
Now I'm just stressed.
Now I'm thinking, "Goodness, the stake presidency counselor who shut off her microphone is probably hiding away, and could be staving off death threats...who knows?"
This is all just awful. Personally, nothing makes me more stressed about finding my way through my own intersectionality of being LDS and LGBT than hearing the common refrains of "Just leave the church!" from the left or "You can't be in a relationship!" from the right, which are the only things that pop up when a situation like this occurs. As soon as these attitudes start creeping up, I start to not be able to sleep.
So I'm going to write it all down. Here are some links to various coverages of the story:
FairMormon
The Advocate
El Pais
CNN
The Independent
The Independent is an international news outlet. That's how big this 1.5 minute video is becoming.
Side note: I thought the 'FairMormon' article was very judgmental and negative.
Here's my final thoughts on this whole event that transpired:
1. Savannah is super duper brave. I hope she has a whole army of support by her. I'm pretty sure she does.
2. I do not envy the position of the stake presidency counselor. As mentioned previously, he probably feels stressed, confused, defensive, and like people are out on a witch hunt. I hope, for his own sake, that he has a whole army of support by him as well.
3. Blaming is not effective. Trying to defend one position is getting us nowhere, as Ben Schilaty so excellently puts in his latest blog post about this whole thing.
Ben already outlines in his blog that the "conversation we should be having" is about how we can do better in the future. I will not reproduce his article here. Instead, I focus on something else:
What are going to be the ultimatae results of this whole debacle?
I will point to my favorite quote, purportedly said by Savannah herself, as mentioned in the CNN article above:
Heather remembers Savannah's rationale. "I want to be a voice for those that might be positive," she recalls Savannah saying. "I want them to know that I'm an ally. That they're safe with me. I want them to know that it's OK to be Mormon and be gay."
What a profoundly compassionate thought. You know what's interesting about that?
The more media coverage she gets, the stronger her voice becomes.
The more coverage she gets, the more her story is told, and her central message and example of bravery will cross international boundaries. I am reminded of the story of Anne Frank. Anne wanted to be a writer, to share stories, and had no idea what her diary would become. She had many messages to share, but I believe her most quoted is: "...in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart."
I see a profound similarity between Savannah's wishes and Anne's inspiring declaration of faith in the inherent righteousness of the human soul. Now, please don't mistake. I do not put Savannah on Anne's level. Anne and 11 million other individuals were systematically hunted down, captured and murdered through some of the most heinous crimes against humanity we have record of. I know we in the LGBT LDS community HATE having our experiences invalidated by comparing us to other things that are not the same. So I recognize and respect that. But please bear with me.
It is a sad, but apparently necessary thing, that oftentimes, the only way for a message to stick is to suffer or die for the cause: Anne Frank, Joan of Arc, Joseph Smith, St. Peter, the Anti-Nephi-Lehies that were slaughtered as they prayed; finally, Jesus Christ Himself. We find inspiration in the level of conviction one has in their beliefs. We in the Mormon world may call this 'sealing our testimony with our blood.'
Savannah's experience did not result in her ultimate death, and so the scale of rejection in her case is far less than any of the aforementioned individuals. Nevertheless, I can guarantee you that, in spite of the feeling of a small martyr that she felt in that moment which has now been reaching international news outlets, she is still convinced of the things she believes in. She still believes her loving family, her loving friends, and in a loving God, .
The stories of martyrs, such as Anne Frank's memoir or Christ Himself, have reached and inspired millions or billions. Similarly, all I can hope for this whole experience with Savannah is exactly the same thing. I hope that, whatever controversy her words created, the honest, candid, heartfelt, earnest desires for a happy life with God that Savannah wants can inspire others in the church that are not sure what to do. All I hope for is that some young, closeted LDS kid in some far-off country hears her story from some media outlet and thinks, "She can do it. She's so brave. I can be too." I hope that other lonely, closeted, depressed, suicidal youth or adults can be inspired by her bravery, and feel supported, even though she's not there physically to buoy them up.
I want them to know that I echo Savannah, that in spite of everything: it's okay to be Mormon and gay.
I can no longer simply choose a side. I'm more just stressed about how terrible and divisive this situation is becoming. I'll admit, at first, I was triggered, and I was all about protecting Savannah.
Now I'm just stressed.
Now I'm thinking, "Goodness, the stake presidency counselor who shut off her microphone is probably hiding away, and could be staving off death threats...who knows?"
This is all just awful. Personally, nothing makes me more stressed about finding my way through my own intersectionality of being LDS and LGBT than hearing the common refrains of "Just leave the church!" from the left or "You can't be in a relationship!" from the right, which are the only things that pop up when a situation like this occurs. As soon as these attitudes start creeping up, I start to not be able to sleep.
So I'm going to write it all down. Here are some links to various coverages of the story:
FairMormon
The Advocate
El Pais
CNN
The Independent
The Independent is an international news outlet. That's how big this 1.5 minute video is becoming.
Side note: I thought the 'FairMormon' article was very judgmental and negative.
Here's my final thoughts on this whole event that transpired:
1. Savannah is super duper brave. I hope she has a whole army of support by her. I'm pretty sure she does.
2. I do not envy the position of the stake presidency counselor. As mentioned previously, he probably feels stressed, confused, defensive, and like people are out on a witch hunt. I hope, for his own sake, that he has a whole army of support by him as well.
3. Blaming is not effective. Trying to defend one position is getting us nowhere, as Ben Schilaty so excellently puts in his latest blog post about this whole thing.
Ben already outlines in his blog that the "conversation we should be having" is about how we can do better in the future. I will not reproduce his article here. Instead, I focus on something else:
What are going to be the ultimatae results of this whole debacle?
I will point to my favorite quote, purportedly said by Savannah herself, as mentioned in the CNN article above:
Heather remembers Savannah's rationale. "I want to be a voice for those that might be positive," she recalls Savannah saying. "I want them to know that I'm an ally. That they're safe with me. I want them to know that it's OK to be Mormon and be gay."
What a profoundly compassionate thought. You know what's interesting about that?
The more media coverage she gets, the stronger her voice becomes.
The more coverage she gets, the more her story is told, and her central message and example of bravery will cross international boundaries. I am reminded of the story of Anne Frank. Anne wanted to be a writer, to share stories, and had no idea what her diary would become. She had many messages to share, but I believe her most quoted is: "...in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart."
I see a profound similarity between Savannah's wishes and Anne's inspiring declaration of faith in the inherent righteousness of the human soul. Now, please don't mistake. I do not put Savannah on Anne's level. Anne and 11 million other individuals were systematically hunted down, captured and murdered through some of the most heinous crimes against humanity we have record of. I know we in the LGBT LDS community HATE having our experiences invalidated by comparing us to other things that are not the same. So I recognize and respect that. But please bear with me.
It is a sad, but apparently necessary thing, that oftentimes, the only way for a message to stick is to suffer or die for the cause: Anne Frank, Joan of Arc, Joseph Smith, St. Peter, the Anti-Nephi-Lehies that were slaughtered as they prayed; finally, Jesus Christ Himself. We find inspiration in the level of conviction one has in their beliefs. We in the Mormon world may call this 'sealing our testimony with our blood.'
Savannah's experience did not result in her ultimate death, and so the scale of rejection in her case is far less than any of the aforementioned individuals. Nevertheless, I can guarantee you that, in spite of the feeling of a small martyr that she felt in that moment which has now been reaching international news outlets, she is still convinced of the things she believes in. She still believes her loving family, her loving friends, and in a loving God, .
The stories of martyrs, such as Anne Frank's memoir or Christ Himself, have reached and inspired millions or billions. Similarly, all I can hope for this whole experience with Savannah is exactly the same thing. I hope that, whatever controversy her words created, the honest, candid, heartfelt, earnest desires for a happy life with God that Savannah wants can inspire others in the church that are not sure what to do. All I hope for is that some young, closeted LDS kid in some far-off country hears her story from some media outlet and thinks, "She can do it. She's so brave. I can be too." I hope that other lonely, closeted, depressed, suicidal youth or adults can be inspired by her bravery, and feel supported, even though she's not there physically to buoy them up.
I want them to know that I echo Savannah, that in spite of everything: it's okay to be Mormon and gay.
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