I'm buying the first round of drinks!

Okay, okay, okay. I know folks are dejected about the California Supreme Court upholding a bigoted initiative. Who the fuck are they to decide Prop 8 was consitutional? Well... they are California's supreme court, but still! And I know that some people have doubts about the difference a protest makes. There's no tangible result from holding a rally. On the other hand, there's no tangible result from writing, blogging, reading and creating progressive media, symbolic legislation, and lots of other tactics that have advanced every progressive movement that's ever moved.

Folks had the same doubts about the civil-rights marches, women's-rights marches, bus boycotts, gay pride parades, the anti-war protests... Some of them made no difference; some of them were little components of huge movements. You don't always know which actions are the conduits for change. But virtually every successful civil rights movement has, in part, been bolstered by marches and rallies. It's incorrect to discount their value just because we can't determine a direct causality between the protesting and changing the law. The only direct causalities in law are votes and rulings. But no one would say that political and social forces don't shape those votes and decisions. So get your ass to Westlake. The event starts at 5:30 p.m. You'll at least see me and Savage there.

Also, if you want a correlation between marches and laws, here's one: After Prop 8 passed, we marched and rallied. Boy were we pissed. A few months later, Senator Murray and Representative Jamie Pedersen decided to push through a final domestic-partnership bill, one that contained all the remaining rights of marriage—several years earlier than expected. And now we have a new organization beating down the bigots behind Referendum 71. It's a slow trudge, but it's fun. And there are drinks afterward.