this muthah is getting ready to blow wide open...

...and when it does, we're going to see some crazy stuff in the streets (especially considering that this weekend is "pride weekend" in d.c.)

to wit, the comments from articles being vomited right and left online.

this is but one example. this same sort of animosity is taking place in comment sections of articles throughout the internet (even in such progressive bastions as Daily Kos, where there is a fiercely loyal group of "fierce advocate" supporters that are even more "fierce" in their "advocacy" of O than I AM in my advocacy for glbt rights.)

from the atlantic "Obama Admin Hearts DOMA (For Now):

Now, in a legal brief submitted to a federal judge, Obama's Department of Justice, writing in the name of the United States government, whose CEO is Barack Obama, argues that the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act is appropriate, carefully balanced and justified by reason, and not by animus toward gay people. A lot of the same rhetoric used to justify actual discrimination agaisnt gays is cited in the brief as a reason why DOMA is necessary. (Child abuse precedents, all of that.) The brief even resorts to the argument that DOMA doesn't deny gays anything because they're still entitled to all the benefits that heterosexuals get -- if they act heterosexually. The brief also suggest that gays accessing federal benefits will be free riders.

Vanessa June 12, 2009 6:06 PM

It seems the Gay community expects Obama to just sign something and give them the word "marriage" and lose the next election because it's the right thing to do. Obama losing the next election and every Democrat losing their seat would only lead to a Jim Crow situation and then WE ALL LOSE The onus is on the gay community to seek and gain their rights. I mean i don't want to lose the best president we've had in awhile because gay people expect their rights to be handed to them while blacks and women had to fight consistently for like a century. GET A MOVEMENT ALREADY!! Change hearts and minds. Perhaps if the gay community was able to get more public figures to come out of the closet and get folks out of the clubs and onto the streets, the president would be able to stick his neck out. But if the Gay community is not going to organize and have a consistent presence on the television, striking, marching, protesting, then it seems the president is just forcing gay marriage on to people. It's time the gay community grow up and change their image in the public and show America that there is solidarity on this issue because at the moment, it doesn't seem like their is much consensus even amongst gays. Sorry guys but I'm just being honest

Reply

Bridge June 12, 2009 7:38 PM

While I always feel people can be doing more, and yes it can be frustrating to be out in the streets protesting while others are at the gym, or the clubs, or whatever stereotypical place you want to assume we are in .. I find the "work harder" retort offensive on several levels.
a) yes, i do expect obama to do the right thing - im not sure why that is wrong to expect?
b) yes, others have fought their rights, and perhaps you have not seen the protests, canvassing and organizing i have of late, but we are too - nonetheless your argument is kind of offensive - why should someone have to fight for a right? are you saying gays are too lazy to be equal?
c) TV is incredibly expensive and a low converter. A general TV campaign is really not the way to go (election specific ad spots are another story). Door to door canvassing (which EQCA is doing right now) and conversations with our families and colleagues is more effective ..
d) there were several protests throughout california in the past few weeks. perhaps you missed them. and if you want to see how else we are working hard enough to gain approval, go to the web sites for NCLR, EQCA, and HRC - a tremendous amount of effort has gone towards the gains we have had
e) time for us to grow up? where is that coming from? there are millions of adults in the gay community. adults who teach, parent, doctor, fly planes, work for newspapers etc. There always have been. Maybe its time for the people that kill us, beat us up, verbally abuse us, and make jokes about us to grow up. But i suppose we should not be allowed to dance -because then we are not "grown up" - maybe if we just stopped having fun we could have rights too? is that what you are proposing?
f) there are lots of resources for you to look up the difference between civil unions and marriage (immigration rights and social security being two of them) so go ahead and "work harder" to learn the difference ... educating yourself, not making sweeping statements, and not assuming something doesnt exist because you didnt see it, is part of being grown up ...
g) consider this reply an example of gay protes

oh snap, bridge, that's gonna leave a mark!