http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2008/11/17/snow_job Comments On: Snow Job by Dan Savage en-us Copyright 2009 The Stranger. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, The Stranger readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:01 -0800 Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0800 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss The whole Savage meltdown is a big plus for Romney 2012, like a month long ad campaign to Cultural Conservatives screaming "vote for a Mormon".
thanks
(any businesses that sink because Homosexuals didn't patronize them won't be missed)
Posted by TarBaby]]> Sun, 23 Nov 2008 18:00:08 -0800 The Stranger What about 5 million Californians who voted for Prop 8?
Why aren't you boycotting California?
Are you a coward or an idiot?
Do you think any Mormon cares if Homosexuals from Seattle don't come to Utah?
I don't think so.
Enjoy your tantrum.
Did you lose your pacifier?
Posted by Get Real]]> Sun, 23 Nov 2008 17:51:36 -0800 The Stranger Posted by libhomo]]> Sat, 22 Nov 2008 14:07:04 -0800 The Stranger Posted by poopy pants]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:13:44 -0800 The Stranger
BTW, my boyfriend and I are heterosexual, but we are boycotting marriage until gay people can have it, too. Besides, I want to be in a civil union and get the benefits of that without having to enter into the crusty institution of heterosexual marriage. All I want is what gay people in California have!
Posted by arighteusbabe]]> Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:02:15 -0800 The Stranger
Speaking for myself (Sean speaks for himself quite well), I'm just frustrated and sad. The November 7th rally was electric - Obama had just won, Utah wasn't the reddest state on Election Day for once, and 3000 Utahns who were full of passion descended on Mormon headquarters to tell them we're not going to take it anymore. And within a week, one of the most influential gay icons in the country advocates throwing us out with the Mormon bathwater.

Obviously I can't actually speak for gays, being straight and all. But I am a right-thinking ex-Mo (ex-Mormon, duh) who sees gay rights as a civil rights issue.

By the way Dan, I do totally adore you. I've read you every week for years and I think you're fabulous.
Posted by Sean's wife]]> Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:05:04 -0800 The Stranger
Holy crap!!! You mean it WASN'T just the Mormons?!?!? Say it ain't so!

Focus on the Family spent so much freakin' money that they have to lay off 200 of their own employees. Seems to me they are even more anti-gay marriage than Mormon folks if they can't even take care of fellow employees after their spending spree.
Posted by candice.]]> Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:09:02 -0800 The Stranger Posted by jerry]]> Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:55:54 -0800 The Stranger
My biggest reservation had been people like Sean, good people who don't agree with the majority from where they live being inadvertently hurt by such a boycott. But you know what I kept coming back to? SOUTH AFRICA.

I'm sure there were white people in South Africa back in the day who hated their gov't's racist apartheid policies. Hated the oppression and persecution of black people. But their disagreement (whether vocal or not) was not enough to change the system.

It took a concerted boycott from all over the world, not only to cause economic hardship to that gov't and the people (and you can bet black people were also economically impacted by the boycott, but they supported it still), but it also forced them to be the center of attention every day. And the attention was embarrassing. And they didn't like it. And it WORKED. Is racism still a problem there? Sure. But racism legislated by the state? Nope.

The parallels are pretty strong. Here's where I think a boycott of Utah and anything owned by the Mormon Church needs to go if it is to be successful. IT CAN'T JUST BE A BOYCOTT BY GAY PEOPLE. If this has any chance of genuinely effecting the Mormon Church and the state of Utah, this needs to be all people, gay and straight, who oppose what the church did with Prop. 8. If we have good organizers, this could have a real impact, rather than just being a gesture. Will the Mormon Church go away? No, but we can scare the heck out of it!
Posted by Jennifer]]> Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:38:17 -0800 The Stranger
I'm gay, donated generously to Prop 8, lobbied CA friends to vote against it, and was crushed when it passed. I also grew up in Salt Lake City (now living in Seattle), in a liberal, non-mormon household, and have always had very mixed feelings (that's putting it charitably) towards the LDS church.

I know that it's painful to see our rights taken away as happened in CA. It's painful to have what would otherwise be a celebratory election night marred by such a hateful amendment. It's painful to think of friends whose marriages may be torn apart. And that pain brings anger-- someone hurt us, and we want to hurt them back.

The LDS church deserves a lot of the blame-- clearly, without their support, Prop 8 would have failed. But I'm not sure blaming the entire state of Utah really makes sense in retribution. Contrary to many of the comments above, there ARE many people in Utah who are actively campaigning for gay rights. People like my parents and many others who have spent decades fighting to convince their very conservative neighbors to show some humanity and equality. People like gay and lesbian Mormons who face criticism and hate from both their church and from their gay peers. These people HAVE been telling the LDS church how they feel, they HAVE been trying to fight for gay rights, despite a very unfriendly audience in a very conservative state. To simply condemn the entire state as bigoted and backward is a slap in the face to our strongest advocates.

Everyone has the right to boycott whatever they choose (although for the vast majority of you who have never been to a Mormon church, or visited Sundance, or skied in Utah, the boycott is symbolic rather than actual). But this argument that Utahns should ONLY be protesting the Mormon church rather than responding to the oversimplified condemnation/boycott of their state seems like the lazy way out; it shouldn't be an either/or question. Utahns SHOULD work-- and some have been doing so for many years-- to further advocate gay rights. But they also have every right and reason to inform you that not everyone in the state is the closed-minded bigot that they are being painted as.

Personally, I think a more effective course of action would be trying to get Obama to take a more active stand in defending gay rights. It would be politically risky of him to do so, but would ultimately be tremendously effective. Most of you probably never spend money in Utah anyway, so that boycott is purely symbolic-- why not make a real threat and tell Obama that he won't have your support in 2012 unless he makes gay rights a real priority? Hating a church you never particularly liked before isn't nearly as powerful a statement as confronting the candidate who (many of) you actively supported. Just a thought...

Apologies for the rant. Everyone is clearly free to make their own decisions. And it's your prerogative to enjoy the heavy, wet snow of BC-- it just means one fewer person on a fresh powder day at Alta :P
Posted by Andrew S.]]> Tue, 18 Nov 2008 10:59:51 -0800 The Stranger Posted by gay dad]]> Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:59:35 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Elmer McJimsey]]> Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:22:38 -0800 The Stranger Posted by KariMDinCanada]]> Tue, 18 Nov 2008 07:45:33 -0800 The Stranger Posted by g]]> Tue, 18 Nov 2008 06:00:27 -0800 The Stranger Posted by TperkinsIsaPsycho]]> Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:03:19 -0800 The Stranger
Besides, they have an Olympics to put on and can use your tourist dollars!

(shout out to all my peeps at Red Mountain in Rossland, BC, including my high school friend who's a music teacher at their high school)
Posted by Will in Seattle]]> Mon, 17 Nov 2008 23:42:29 -0800 The Stranger
And...keep up with the Utah boycotts. Yes to boycotting Sundance; there are plenty of places in this great world where people could showcase their art; must we travel to the mecca of modern bigotry in order to bow down to new art? ...and, Seattle already has a great Film Festival. Support SIFF. If Robert Redford wants to maintain his brand, then get to moving it elsewhere.

The "I'm a good mormon" argument is fallacious. You can't simultaneously support authoritarian pablum and individual gay rights. You're fighting two opposing battles.
Posted by Timothy]]> Mon, 17 Nov 2008 23:07:55 -0800 The Stranger May they burn for their support of a corrupt church full of hate.
http://www.boycottmormonbusiness.com/

Mormon trivia - One of the things they tell you in your first temple trip - is that in the lowest of the 3 levels of heaven (they believe hell is closed) all of us sinners have no gentalia... pretty funny eh...
Posted by tlee]]> Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:30:13 -0800 The Stranger
You're talking about people already predisposed to believing the earth was created in six days a mere 6,000 years ago by an old man in flowing robes with pi-polar disorder. It's really not that much more of a step from that to believing Joseph Smith was handed a set of golden tablets by a guy with wings on his back.

And yeah, it's too bad innocent people, even people supportive of GLBT civil rights are going to be negatively affected, but you know what? It's a fucking war, and sometimes, regrettably, innocent victims get caught in the cross-fire. It's called "collateral damage", and if any folks in Utah feel they're being unfairly lumped in with their CJCLDS neighbors, well, they do have options when it comes to dragging their asses out of harms way.
Posted by COMTE]]> Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:17:10 -0800 The Stranger
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_plat…
Posted by Tiffany]]> Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:15:21 -0800 The Stranger
Kicking Horse. Panarama. Lake Louise. Sunshine Village.

If all you know of BC snow is Whistler. You don't know the half....

Champagne powder was invented there.
Posted by dan's boyfriend]]> Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:05:10 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Abby]]> Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:59:40 -0800 The Stranger
Focus On The Family is suffering for its support of Prop 8:

http://coloradoindependent.com/15287/aft…

Here's hoping it spreads to Utah.


Posted by Ayden/VA]]> Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:37:52 -0800 The Stranger Posted by meg]]> Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:37:33 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Trolledo Stripper]]> Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:35:56 -0800 The Stranger