Same Love Skeletons

Same Love by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis

When I was in the third grade I thought that I was gay,
'Cause I could draw, my uncle was, and I kept my room straight.
I told my mom, tears rushing down my face
She's like "Ben you've loved girls since before pre-k, trippin' "
Yeah, I guess she had a point, didn't she?
Bunch of stereotypes all in my head.
I remember doing the math like, "Yeah, I'm good at little league"
A preconceived idea of what it all meant
For those that liked the same sex
Had the characteristics
The right wing conservatives think it's a decision
And you can be cured with some treatment and religion
Man-made rewiring of a predisposition
Playing God, aw nah here we go
America the brave still fears what we don't know
And God loves all his children, is somehow forgotten
But we paraphrase a book written thirty-five-hundred years ago
I don't know

And I can't change
Even if I tried
Even if I wanted to
And I can't change
Even if I tried
Even if I wanted to
My love
My love
My love
She keeps me warm
She keeps me warm
She keeps me warm
She keeps me warm

If I was gay, I would think hip-hop hates me
Have you read the YouTube comments lately?
"Man, that's gay" gets dropped on the daily
We become so numb to what we're saying
A culture founded from oppression
Yet we don't have acceptance for 'em
Call each other faggots behind the keys of a message board
A word rooted in hate, yet our genre still ignores it
Gay is synonymous with the lesser
It's the same hate that's caused wars from religion
Gender to skin color, the complexion of your pigment
The same fight that led people to walk outs and sit ins
It's human rights for everybody, there is no difference!
Live on and be yourself
When I was at church they taught me something else
If you preach hate at the service those words aren't anointed
That holy water that you soak in has been poisoned
When everyone else is more comfortable remaining voiceless
Rather than fighting for humans that have had their rights stolen
I might not be the same, but that's not important
No freedom till we're equal, damn right I support it

(I don't know)

CHORUS

We press play, don't press pause
Progress, march on
With the veil over our eyes
We turn our back on the cause
Till the day that my uncles can be united by law
When kids are walking 'round the hallway plagued by pain in their heart
A world so hateful some would rather die than be who they are
And a certificate on paper isn't gonna solve it all
But it's a damn good place to start
No law is gonna change us
We have to change us
Whatever God you believe in
We come from the same one
Strip away the fear
Underneath it's all the same love
About time that we raised up... sex

CHORUS

(Love is patient
Love is kind) X5

 

I am reading two different pieces that are going to be tied together in the end. The first piece I am reading is Same Love by Ryan Lewis and Mackelmore. This song came out within the past few years and became quite popular. The lyrics to this song are so true, and I abide by them.

Bunch of stereotypes all in my head: I feel that this is the hardest thing that gays have to deal with: the stereotypes and the rude people that follow them. Everywhere a gay goes, someone will always judge them. They are still not accepted into society today. There are some states that even fire people for being gay (http://www.upworthy.com/29-states-can-fire-you-for-being-gay-is-your-state-one-of-them) ! I feel sorry for these people; they have had to go through a much harder life than the average American has experienced.

The right wing conservatives think it's a decision
And you can be cured with some treatment and religion
Man-made rewiring of a predisposition: Not everybody knows that it is not the fault of the gay person for being gay. It is within their genes and how their brain and cells are oriented. They cannot decide to be gay or straight; they might be able to but they never will truly be that way. According to this article, they can agree with that: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/23/homosexuality--choice-born-science_n_2003361.html. People need to be understanding that not nurture nor nature will change the way a person feels, and neither will rewiring the genes of a person.

And God loves all his children, is somehow forgotten: Yes, I feel that gays are forgotten to be loved by others. They see them as being different and not normal, therefore they don’t show the same respect and kindness towards them. Even though gay people are different mentally, they are still the same physically and are still human beings that should be treated equally.

And I can't change
Even if I tried
Even if I wanted to: I feel that people don’t understand this about gays. They cannot simply change the way they feel. It is impossible. They need to be accepted as is.

Have you read the YouTube comments lately?
"Man, that's gay" gets dropped on the daily

Yet we don't have acceptance for 'em
Call each other faggots behind the keys of a message board
A word rooted in hate, yet our genre still ignores it: It disgusts me how rude people are to each other, especially to gays. It is so rude how people can throw out derogatory words to make a certain person feel bad. I just don’t understand why people cannot watch what they say, and treat others the same way.

The same fight that led people to walk outs and sit ins
It's human rights for everybody, there is no difference!
Live on and be yourself:
 When everyone else is more comfortable remaining voiceless
Rather than fighting for humans that have had their rights stolen

No freedom till we're equal, damn right I support it: I believe that everyone deserves equal rights. Women and African Americans went through the exact same things that the gays are now experiencing. A gay revolution has already begun. States are legalizing gay marriages, gays are fighting for their rights, etc. this only makes me happy to see that people are fighting for their rights. Not only are the lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender fighting for their rights, but questionings, intersexes and allies are also fighting for the freedom of gays. According to this new york times article, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/10/fashion/generation-lgbtqia.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&, not only is it important for gays to fight for their freedom, it is also important that their allies help them out along the way. Gays will not have equal rights unless they have some people who are already accepting of them, their allies.

A world so hateful some would rather die than be who they are
And a certificate on paper isn't gonna solve it all
But it's a damn good place to start
No law is gonna change us
We have to change us

Underneath it's all the same love
About time that we raised up... sex: I agree completely with these lyrics. Gays will not be treated equal unless we change that! A law or piece of paper will not change how they are treated; only the human race can. People need to change how they view gays; they are the same as everybody else, just differing in their sexuality. Like what Macklemore said, underneath it is all the same love. Underneath their clothes, skin, cells, etc. Love is love. Society needs to understand this! Gays, lesbians, transgenders, and bisexuals are all human beings that love someone the same way a heterosexual would love their significant other. In order to change how they are treated, society first needs to change their views and understanding of their lifestyle and sexuality.

This song ties into the picture of two skeletons kissing. It is asked if it is two men, two women, or if it is a man and a women kissing. It doesn’t matter who it is. It only matters that it is love and that they are sharing a connection between each other. Both the song and the picture are trying to say that love is the same whether it is between a man and a woman, a woman and a woman, or a man and a man. Love is a beautiful thing that can be shared between anybody. This needs to be understood by society and acted upon in a positive way. Even though the gender identity and sexual orientation of some people differ against the community norms, they are still human. Yes sexuality is a phenomenon, but how you perceive it is only inscriptive and can be changed for the better. Society needs to change as a whole to address the phenomenal sexuality dilemma. Yes, they can see that people who are gay typically have a certain tone to their voice, dress differently, or even behave differently (which are all inscriptive devices signifying that someone is gay), but, society needs to overcome these discursive practices and try to abolish the stereotypes and criticism towards gays.