And so it begins

After a much delayed start due to a oh-so-beautiful Minneapolis snow storm, Equality Ride training is up and running full steam ahead. We've been training for two days and I don't even know where to begin. We are accomplishing so much so quickly that it all seems like one big blur. I wonder what it will all look like in a few months when I look back with perspective.

Today was eye-opening in a lot of ways. Peterson Toscano spoke about his 17-years in the ex-gay movement. It was moving to have a personal story to hear in contrast to the personal stories of the ex-gay leaders. He challenged us/they to find one person who has been out of the movement for over five years who isn't a leader, staff, or volunteer. He's never met one.

The latter half of the day was spent with non-violence training. Rev Phil Lawson spoke to us about his experiences as a leader during the civil rights movement and biblical basis for non-violent ministry and social justice action. Having an outsider, a heterosexual, an adult, a civil rights leader, a minister speak to me about the Equality Ride and of its importance will be reassuring to remember when we are being attacked on campuses and told that we aren't "real" Christians.

We also spent substantial time dealing about the realities of confrontation that we will face on these campuses. While we come to engage in dialogue, there is always a possibility that we will be met with violence; be it physical or verbal. We had to simulate verbal attacks on our fellow riders (and be the recipients of it as well). Growing up in Washington, DC and going to school in Los Angeles I have been sheltered from any sort of real personal attacks so it was especially unnerving to hear such awful things being said to and about people I already care so much about. What is worse is that there are people in this world who hear those things all of the time.

Emotions were running as people struggled to hear themselves being the perpatrators of such verbal violence but at the same time, I think we now have a more human perspective of our "adversaries" and can understand what they must be going through a little better.

There's so much to absorb and digest and out of respect for all of the riders, I think I'm going to have to make that a personal process. Our task is weighty, but so important.