A good move from the Piano Man, as reported by The New York Times:
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — He walked on stage in sunglasses, an earring glittering in one ear. The days of jumping on piano benches were presumably behind him. Still, in 16 songs that lasted more than 90 minutes Wednesday night, Sir Elton John offered a robust private concert to a relatively intimate audience gathered under a tent on an estate in the Hollywood Hills on a cool California evening.
The cause for this fundraiser — extravagant even when measured against Hollywood events — was the legal fight to overturn Proposition 8, the California voter initiative that banned gay marriage. At the end of the night, as the crowd headed to a long line of waiting limousines and shuttle vans, Rob Reiner, the director and a leader of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, announced that the event had raised million.
KEEP READING: Elton John Plays Calif. Benefit to Back Gay Marriage [New York Times]
(H/t: Towle)
It’s of course great that we’re raising these funds. But once again, we can’t help but be astounded by the ever-escalating zeroes that are so indelibly written on marital bias’ price tag. mil here, a couple more million there — it’s craziness! We’re talking about something that should be as free as it is fair!
The mental expenditures, the ancillaries that come with having to protect our families through alternate means, the opportunity cost of putting other things on hold to fight this fight, and of course the literal monetary asking price. That’s a lot of toll for a “culture war” so bereft of purpose.
