February 28th, 2012
Over the past few days, a picture has taken the world by storm: a marine just home from Afghanistan kissing the man waiting for him. Cute boys, genuine bliss, it really is a sweet picture.
But the story is sweeter. Friends for four years, Sgt. Brandon Morgan and Dalan Wells – each aware of their own feelings, but unsure about the other’s – slowly discovered that they were in love. And what can be better? To find that the person you like, the one you admire, who you secretly desire actually feels the same about you – it doesn’t get much better.
It’s a very simple story. A thousand tales and books and movies have been created based on little more than this premise.
So it should be no surprise that a picture posted on facebook, and reposted on a gay marine website, should find appeal and be reposted and passed on until hundreds of thousands had seen it. Love is beautiful and everyone wants to share in it.
But while the simplicity of this tale is something that any child could understand, some adults find it impossible to believe. Convinced that homosexuals cannot love and that it’s all about sex and a never ending search for who will be their next sex partner, there just aren’t any hooks on which to hang this story.
So they’ll just dismiss it as a sordid mockery of real true love, the kind between a man and a woman. And surely there were more noble kisses. Kisses of love, not of lovers. Kisses of family partners, not sex partners. But there is still one piece of the story that nasty-minded cynics can’t mock away, one bit of sweetness that can’t be marred.
This is no ordinary kiss. By some lucky quirk, due to ship arrival time and rushed schedules, one friend just happened – unknown to Brandon and Dalan – to catch a picture of their very first kiss.
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Darina
February 28th, 2012
Haters gotta hate, and in the meantime the two sweet guys are gaining Bulgarian fans too. :)
JesterKatz
February 28th, 2012
It is rather pathetic that homophobes say that love between two wo/men are fake, just because they dislike the idea of two people of the same-sex kissing. There’s just no reason why gender should be a barrier for emotions & relationships.
*sigh* I can actually hear the slipper slope: “If you don’t think gender should be a barrier, then you don’t mind pedophilia/bestiality/polygamy/inscest/etc.”
On a side note, I don’t mean to make light of this kiss, I really don’t. But as an internet-maniac, I am compelled to post the meme:
Still a better love story then Twilight.
Rob in San Diego
February 29th, 2012
This isn’t the pic I saw on yahoo news. In that pic they showed the marine straddling the guy and kissing. They made the marine much more effeminate that way.
MCB
February 29th, 2012
@Rob
I saw the same photo, but my first thought was to be impressed at the upper-body strength necessary to pull that pose off.
Hunter
February 29th, 2012
@Rob:
I saw it, too, and my first thought was “Man, that guy is *huge*!”
Snowman
February 29th, 2012
Well good luck to them…
It’s disrespectful to say much else or much more, some moments speak for themselves.
Jessamine
February 29th, 2012
Whether by happenstance or by choice, the HUGE American flag in the background makes the image(s) iconic, imo, and that’s what offends the opposition all the more. Hee. Love it!
My best to the happy couple and kudos to the photographer!
Richard Rush
February 29th, 2012
That photo is beautiful! But there are always those who have to throw a wet blanket on everything:
Word is leaking out that Elaine Donnelly, founder of the prestigious Center for Military Readiness, is now experiencing frequent bouts of bed-wetting.
Hunter
March 1st, 2012
@ Richard Rush:
You made my day.
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