Outspoken rocker and LGBT advocate (and HOT) Henry Rollins recently wrote about how there the progress of the current civil rights movement. Rollins has long been a supporter of equal rights. Even though he states that he doesn’t know everything, he does know the Constitution and by doing so has given him an greater understanding of how flawed the system is because it doesn’t follow the laws that govern us. When Rollins approached the subject of marriage equality, he reflected on how added titles of differentiation won’t matter in time, it will be recognized as a whole and no longer derisive:
There is still a long way to go. Marriage equality is a term so ridiculous on its face that when you hear it mentioned, you would think you were in Riyadh. Years from now, perhaps we can lose the equality part, the same-sex part and call it what it is — marriage. As much as the homophobes, an ever-thinning herd, whines and screeches, the earth is shifting underneath their feet and things are getting better all the time. This is going to be an incredible century. Didn’t get off to a very good start but we are making some bold and exciting strides forward.
Rollins’ advocacy and acceptance is partly a result of his environment, as growing up in an LGBT accepting and welcoming community of Washington D.C. helped foster acceptance. And the music scene was the same way. The differences in sexuality blended together to create great music:
“When we all got into punk rock, we learned that we had all kinds of people in our scene; gay was part of it. I thought it was really cool. We were a crew of social misfits of all stripes and it was the music that brought us together. The fact that there were so many gay people in punk bands, I think, really gave the music an incredible dynamic. Frustration and emotion were expressed without orientation clauses; all you needed was to be was alive to be a part of it.”
Gotta love his honesty.