As part of the celebration of Queer History Month here at Plymouth State University, the internationally famous Gene Robinson, openly gay elected Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire, screened his recent film Love Free or Die. Afterwards, a talk was held in Heritage Commons led by Robinson himself describing his life, and where he believes the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) movement is headed.
Robinson’s hectic journey that began when he was elected in 2003, has brought him across the country, around the world, and now back to Plymouth, New Hampshire. Following the showing of the film, Robinson spoke about his life, his books, and the progressive movement to allow the same rights of love and happiness to those in the LGBT community.
The two people introducing Robinson were President of PSU, Sarah Jayne Steen, and Member of the University System of New Hampshire Board of Trustees and PSU Queer Council, Carol Shell Perkins. Steen remarked that to be the strong man Robinson is “takes a special kind of courage and a special sense of self.”
Robinson began with a serious look at where our country sits in terms of LGBT rights, “We’re in a funny place in the LGBT movement…on the one hand we’ve made enormous progress…but on the other hand we’ve got kids jumping off bridges.”
He illustrates his story of coming out as one that can be recognized across the board.
“What has happened in countless homes all across America…a kid comes home and says ‘Mom, Dad, I’m gay and the family is thrown into a bit of chaos about the nature of love. How big, how broad, how wide is [their] love for this child. In most cases, love wins.”
But Robinson cautioned that “It doesn’t always turn out so nicely…40% of all the teenagers living in the streets in our cities today, homeless, were thrown out of their homes for coming out as LGBT.”
Robinson fights against the judgment that has been casted upon himself, as well as the rest of the LGBT community. He uses this energy as a driving force behind his work as Bishop.
“My guess is that 90-95% of all of the discrimination that we’ve experienced as LGBT people has been at the hands of religious people or religious teachings. Even people who are not religious use the religious teachings against us.”
He went so far as to say that this discrimination is “literally in the air we breathe.”
But Robinson does not simply retort with anger when confronted with this discrimination.”When someone is coming at me with hateful stuff, I try to ask myself ‘what are they afraid of’, not ‘how can I counter their argument’…but ‘how can I understand them better and understand what makes them so fearful of this.”
Although the history of the LGBT movement has been full of extreme challenges and difficulty, Robinson has set his hopes high for the future. When a listener posed the worry that maybe this transition period has taken too long and isn’t working, Robinson asserted that he was not worried, and slowly but surely this “chaos” will result in full equality.
“Chaos isn’t always a bad thing. Confusion is a step forward when certainty that something is wrong is where you were before.”
Another thought shared by Robinson in the talk, as well as in his book, is one that is both comical and interesting to ponder. In the argument spread by many religious followers who assert that equal rights for marriage will undermine heterosexual marriage, Robinson has a sound defense.
“I’m looking for that couple-I’m looking for that couple whose marriage is undermined by my love for my husband Mark. Everybody talks about this couple, but I can’t find them. So if you know them, would you let me know?”
Robinson is an inspiration to those within and outside of the LGBT community, his determination to his cause and his faith are the qualities that have made him so successful. In the fight for equality in this country, one idea Gene Robinson proposes is one that is reverberating in ideologies across America and the world:
“Wouldn’t it be nice if we can just let each person be who they are?”