While the “adults” are having a Twitter war and calling for boycotts, there’s this:
Lettera a Dolce e Gabbana da sei figli cresciuti da coppie gay: «Grazie per il vostro coraggio»
The English translation is here: Dear Dolce & Gabbana- a letter of support from children of gays and lesbians
We want to praise your courage and thank you for your inspiration. We also implore you not to surrender when the backlash grows in intensity. If you back down from what you said and apologize, it will leave the children of gay homes even more vulnerable and discredited. It is important for our sake, for the sake of Italian children as well, that you not apologize or capitulate. Please support the idea that all children need to be bonded with their mothers and fathers. It is a human right.
This is an important part of the conversation that should not be ignored or silenced. In all the anger and noise and talking over each other, could we please not forget about the children?
I find boycotts a bit annoying, but mostly funny and ridiculous. Is this really how we have conversations now? I buy something because of quality, purpose, beauty: because it adds some kind of value to my or my family’s life. There used to be a time we patronized manufacturers because we believed in the quality of their products. Now we’re supposed to buy/stay away from certain brands because the maker’s beliefs don’t match ours? I want to rail about the politicization of everything, and therefore the connection to money and lobbies and activism, but all that will have to wait for another post.
I fully support Dolce and Gabbana’s original statement, because I believe in traditional families, and I believe that every child is a GIFT from God, not things to be bought and sold.
But I don’t have a single D&G item (don’t even know where to purchase them) and I’m not going to suddenly start buying their items because of this. AND I love Elton John’s music, always have, and I won’t stop listening to it. Because doing that would just be SILLY.
But I will say something about children, because it’s THEIR VOICE that needs to be heard here, and unfortunately not enough people are speaking up for them, and the ones that are are being told to shut up.
Children are not designer items we pick up from a shelf, though many seem to think of them that way now. They don’t exist simply to become the muse for our songs. The commodification of human life is a dangerous thing. The same thinking that says I can have the child I want, when I want it, however way I want it, is the same thinking that says, if a child is imperfect, or comes at “the wrong time”, it doesn’t deserve to live. See how our concept of “love” can be very skewed sometimes?
Elton John himself said about his child:
It’s going to be heartbreaking for him to grow up and realize he hasn’t got a mummy.
I hope that one of these days he’s able to take some time and listen to his heart and what it’s saying, because he KNOWS the truth. And I hope he remembers singing these words from his song Blessed:
And you, you’ll be blessed
You’ll have the best, I promise you that
I’ll pick a star from the sky, pull your name from my hat
I promise you that, promise you that
Promise you that, you’ll be blessedI need you before I’m too old
To have and to hold
To walk with you and watch you grow
And know that you’re blessed
“I need you before I’m too old.”
Yes, we all have needs. But because we are imperfect people we don’t always know for certain what our loved ones need or what’s best for them. Real love is about sacrifice, and desiring and doing everything for the good of our loved one, even if it sometimes means giving up a dream. Prayer and discernment are essential, to be able to see someone’s needs, especially those that go beyond the material, beyond what’s visible. If we all really cared about the children, then our first question shouldn’t be “Who’s the best IVF doctor out there?” or “What color should we paint the nursery?” The question we should be asking is, “What do the children need?”
Recommended Reading:
Nature vs. Synthetics: What’s at Stake in the Dolce and Gabbana Controversy
We Are ‘Synthetic Children’ And We Agree With Dolce & Gabbana
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