Yesterday Schook skipped out of work and went to the No on 8 post-protest in front of the Mormon Temple of Los Angeles. He captured these photos and sent them forward. From what Schook estimates there was about 1000 people there. Mostly the protest was peaceful but he did say there were small pockets of angry, riotous people. Thanks Schooky.
I've been wondering what we in New York can do to show our support for the LA gays - maybe just holding an action here and encouraging other cities to do the same would bring this to a louder national attention...
LA Times article here
Friday, November 7, 2008
Yesterday's No on 8 Protest in Los Angeles
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7 comments:
what a scary looking building.
it looks like a mental institution in Oz.
What more can be done? Meliisa has the right idea: Withhold our taxes all over the USA!
HomoQuotable - Melissa Etheridge
"Okay. So Prop 8 passed. Alright, I get it. 51% of you think that I am a second class citizen. Alright then. So my wife, uh I mean, roommate? Girlfriend? Special lady friend? You are gonna have to help me here because I am not sure what to call her now. Anyways, she and I are not allowed the same right under the state constitution as any other citizen. Okay, so I am taking that to mean I do not have to pay my state taxes because I am not a full citizen. I mean that would just be wrong, to make someone pay taxes and not give them the same rights, sounds sort of like that taxation without representation thing from the history books.
"Okay, cool I don't mean to get too personal here but there is a lot I can do with the extra half a million dollars that I will be keeping instead of handing it over to the state of California. Oh, and I am sure Ellen will be a little excited to keep her bazillion bucks that she pays in taxes too. Wow, come to think of it, there are quite a few of us fortunate gay folks that will be having some extra cash this year. What recession? We're gay! I am sure there will be a little box on the tax forms now single, married, divorced, gay, check here if you are gay, yeah, that's not so bad. Of course all of the waiters and hairdressers and UPS workers and gym teachers and such, they won't have to pay their taxes either." -
Melissa Etheridge, writing on The Daily Beast.
You know,NOW is the time for President Elect Obama to comment on this...and yet...nothing?
Why is that?
YES WE CAN....except the gays?
The rally lasted well into the night here in LA. There were also simultaneous marches/rallies in the WeHo area.
It was amazing to see how many came out to support for equality for all. It was also very cute and reassuring when we encountered a few elder persons and children who were for our cause.
I'm glad i went, thanks Eric for the damn right aggressive push for me to go.
I too would be very interested in doing something here in New York...it's hard to be so angry and watch the protests from afar. Email if you have any ideas: gretchen.peterson@gmail.com
"I've been wondering what we in New York can do to show our support..."
Check out:
http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com
For information on protests across the country.
For NYC:
http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/page/New+York+City
or
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=33598248873
This isn't about "support for the LA gays" anymore. It's about civil rights for all of us based on equal protection guarantees in State Constitutions across the country.
In fact, it looks like New York will have marriage protections soon. Let's protest in support of something for a change!
The Parable of the Cheese
Once upon a time in Cheeseland there was a great traditional cheese called “Cheddar.” It was made with a very specific set of ingredients and time and chemistry. Cheddar cheese was an institution in Cheeseland. It was used by thousands in their recipes. It was named an official state cheese and was loved and enjoyed by the vast majority of the population.
There were several subcategories of Cheddar cheese, depending on the amount of time and effort that went into making the Cheddar cheese. Some batches were “mild.” Others were “medium” or “sharp.” But they all used the same very specific set of ingredients and chemistry that was uniquely Cheddar.
There were, of course, other kinds of cheese that were enjoyed by people in Cheeseland. Supporters of one cheese, called Gray cheese, became particularly vocal, encouraging people to adopt it as their primary cheese. Now, the ingredients in Gray cheese were very different from the ingredients in Cheddar or any of the other similar cheeses. In fact, some said it was not a real cheese at all. But, nevertheless, it became popular with a vocal minority of the people.
Lovers of Gray cheese wanted the same rights as Cheddar, so they petitioned the government to make Gray cheese an official state cheese with the same rights as Cheddar. The petition was granted and Gray cheese was given the same legal status as Cheddar cheese in Cheeseland.
However, the supporters of Gray Cheese were not satisfied with equal rights. They said they still felt like second class citizens because their cheese was not as widely accepted in recipes and social gatherings as was Cheddar cheese. So they decided they wanted their cheese to be called Cheddar too. They petitioned the government for equal access to the name Cheddar. Some found back alley factories that were willing to put the name “Cheddar” on their Gray cheese. Others tried to use Gray cheese in the popular Cheddar recipes of the day. Still others left Cheeseland and went to places where their Gray cheese could be labeled Cheddar and then returned triumphant with their newly named cheese.
This was very alarming to those who loved Cheddar cheese. They did not dispute anyone’s right to love Gray cheese, but they were opposed to giving it the same name as Cheddar. After all, the ingredients, the process, and the taste were very different from Cheddar. Proponents of Gray cheese, however, said there was little difference between Cheddar and Gray cheeses. They insisted that Gray cheese was a mere subcategory of Cheddar, rather than a completely different cheese and demanded that Gray cheese be given the name Cheddar so it could have the same status as Cheddar cheese and be used in Cheddar recipes and be considered Cheddar at social gatherings.
Those who loved Cheddar were shocked at the audacity of the Gray cheese lovers. They felt that the name Cheddar would be materially damaged if Gray cheese was allowed to use the name too. “How will anyone know what is in the package if the name is the same?” they asked. “If the Gray cheese proponents’ petition is granted,” Cheddar lover’s argued, “the name Cheddar would no longer mean anything.”
Cheddar lovers got together and drafted a constitutional amendment that officially defined Cheddar as cheese made with the specific ingredients and chemistry that it had traditionally contained. Gray cheese lovers cried fowl and accused the Cheddar lovers of being discriminatory and prejudiced. Cheddar lovers disagreed. Gray cheese had already been granted the same rights as Cheddar. They were not asking Gray cheese lovers to stop loving Gray cheese. They were not asking them to refrain from creating their own recipes, based on the flavor and texture of Gray cheese. They were simply trying to stop them from corrupting the time honored definition of Cheddar cheese by having it include Gray cheese as well. The simple fact is that Gray cheese is not Cheddar cheese. No matter how much the Gray cheese lovers might wish it were, it is not.
Rational heads prevailed, and the amendment was passed, preserving the time-honored integrity of Cheddar cheese without harming the lovers of Gray cheese in the least.
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