Revolution happens through accumulated moments of personal conviction, through small acts that coalesce into a movement, into a societal shift, into a new truth.
One such moment occurred this week in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where Antonio Darden – beloved hair stylist of New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez – refused to cut the governor's hair from this point forward due to her opposition to same-sex marriage.
The governor, it seems, is having some separation issues over the break up. How do we know? As Andrew Jones at Raw Story reports, Darden admitted that the governor's office didn't want to take no for an answer:
“The governor’s aides called not too long ago, wanting another appointment to come in,” [Darden] said. “Because of her stances and her views on this I told her aides no. They called the next day, asking if I’d changed my mind about taking the governor in and I said no again.”
Darden added: “I think it’s just equality, dignity for everyone. I think everybody should be allowed the right to be together. My partner and I have been together for 15 years.”
Darden, who runs
Antonio’s Hair Studio in Sante Fe, has responded to Martinez's "no" with a "no" of his own, a "no" which carries the weight of conviction, the weight of activism, the weight of one citizen standing up to a powerful political figure and saying,
I will not accept your conservative assault on my freedoms.
Last month, I wrote of a Tennessee restaurant owner who threw out a state senator for his anti-gay stances. I also wrote of how a community of military veterans rallied to fill and support a Iraqi restaurant in Lowell, Massachusetts after it was vandalized in an alleged hate crime.
These moments have power. These moments have weight. These moments have a coalescing force as we move toward a nation in which everyone's basic human rights are not just acknowledged, not just granted, but celebrated.
Vigorously.
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Follow me on Twitter @David_EHG
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Author's Note:
Here's Darden being interviewed on KOB-TV in Albuquerque: