Slog
News & ArtsMonday, March 15, 2010
2
It will change more minds than just ignoring the issue. Sunlight on bigots, homophobes and all those kinds of losers is the best way to get rid of them. Like cockroaches, they avoid the light for good reason- they are truly ugly.
3
I'm more interested to know if anyone is digging into the lives of the school board members. Normally sexual orientation and proclivities are private matters, but for these public figures we need to know that they and all their family members practice monogamous, marital and missionary sex (mmm?).
Based on recent history with public figures who stridently oppose gays, I'm assuming there's at least one cross-dressing, pansexual, crush-porn fan among them.
Based on recent history with public figures who stridently oppose gays, I'm assuming there's at least one cross-dressing, pansexual, crush-porn fan among them.
4
I suggest that everyone who is now a friend send a single dollar bill to Ms McMillen...have her set up a solid college fund somewhere far far away from Mississippi..and spend a healthy amount on an inclusive prom for everyone...
5
My thoughts exactly, @4. 250,000 people who took 10 seconds out of their day to sign up is one thing; 250,000 people who are willing to put some money behind it is something very different.
6
@1: Let's suppose some petty school board took a girl, singled her out and told her it was all her fault and tried to ostracize and isolate her from her peers...
7
On the FaceBook page
"Let Constance Take Her Girlfriend to Prom!"
is there a picture of Constance's Girlfriend?
Do any of the 250,000 friends of Constance know if she actually Has a girlfriend?
Perhaps there is a cart/horse problem here...
Perhaps we need a
"Find Constance A Girlfriend to Take to the Prom!"
FaceBook page....
"Let Constance Take Her Girlfriend to Prom!"
is there a picture of Constance's Girlfriend?
Do any of the 250,000 friends of Constance know if she actually Has a girlfriend?
Perhaps there is a cart/horse problem here...
Perhaps we need a
"Find Constance A Girlfriend to Take to the Prom!"
FaceBook page....
8
@2: But how will it get rid of them?
Obviously, these cockroaches liked the light enough to risk being covered by the media, knowing full well how this same situation happened last year in — where was it? oh right — Alabama. They knew what they wrre getting into by de facto banning Constance by killing prom. These people have lived in the South since time immemorial, and they'd rather be called insects than give up their deeply sacrosanct value system on what they think their society should be.
Obviously, these cockroaches liked the light enough to risk being covered by the media, knowing full well how this same situation happened last year in — where was it? oh right — Alabama. They knew what they wrre getting into by de facto banning Constance by killing prom. These people have lived in the South since time immemorial, and they'd rather be called insects than give up their deeply sacrosanct value system on what they think their society should be.
9
@6: Been there, did that. They held onto their belief they were correct, even after it went to the state supreme court (which, incidentally, struck down human rights legislation in order to back up said party).
Where belief holds that something shouldn't change on account of sexuality, people can and do fight to bitter ends to prevent a queer from being treated no differently than anyone else.
I'm wondering whether you've done growing up time in the South. I suspect not.
Where belief holds that something shouldn't change on account of sexuality, people can and do fight to bitter ends to prevent a queer from being treated no differently than anyone else.
I'm wondering whether you've done growing up time in the South. I suspect not.
10
@ 3 Foolish-rain, I looked at the F'b page for for one of the school board members and noticed that he works for Allstate. I wonder how Allstate feels about his board member being ok with hating? Someone took me to task for saying that this is about hating, but I think I'm being accurate. This school board needs to be put in a VERY strong spotlight. After all, mistakes can only be discovered if they're uncovered. Then they can be fixed!
11
8
And the mere fact that the ACLU is for it is reason enough for half the people to be against it.
You'd get more sympathy if you hired Lucifer to represent you in court.
And the mere fact that the ACLU is for it is reason enough for half the people to be against it.
You'd get more sympathy if you hired Lucifer to represent you in court.
12
@1, changing minds is important, but I think that this serves another really important purpose, which is showing gay teens, many still in the closet, that they are loved and accepted.
Not everyone is as brave as Constance or has such a supportive family. There must be a lot of closeted teens in small homophobia-laden towns who think everyone in the world thinks they're disgusting. This sort of thing shows those kids that outside their backwater communities there's a wide world willing to embrace them with open arms. It also doesn't hurt that Constance is being hailed and embraced while being plus-sized with a southern accent, because most of the gays (and straights, for that matter) on TV are coastal with perfect bodies.
Not everyone is as brave as Constance or has such a supportive family. There must be a lot of closeted teens in small homophobia-laden towns who think everyone in the world thinks they're disgusting. This sort of thing shows those kids that outside their backwater communities there's a wide world willing to embrace them with open arms. It also doesn't hurt that Constance is being hailed and embraced while being plus-sized with a southern accent, because most of the gays (and straights, for that matter) on TV are coastal with perfect bodies.
14
I'd just like to point out that on Facebook Wanda Sykes has 95,000 thousand fans and the Wanda Sykes show has 5,718 fans.
This proves Facebook is an unreliable gauge of fandom. We all know far less than 5000 people watch that show.
This proves Facebook is an unreliable gauge of fandom. We all know far less than 5000 people watch that show.
15
@13: Hey, I'm from Texas too! I guess that makes us fellow invertebrates — or survivors of invertebrates.
(And that's where I came out. At 18. In 1991. Not as a cissexual homo, but as a transsexual homo. So I know where you're coming from, and where you came from.)
(And that's where I came out. At 18. In 1991. Not as a cissexual homo, but as a transsexual homo. So I know where you're coming from, and where you came from.)
16
@1 So we should say nothing? There is a tiny population of the country screaming about "socialism" and their voices are taken seriously, but our voices loud against injustice will not be heard? Stand up.
17
@16: Say whatever you want, however you want to.
But there are far, far more productive and strategic means to have your voice (solo or collective) heard than via silly pap like joining a goofy Facebook group or signing an online petition. And yet, when people are outraged, these are the ways they channel that frustration. They are also the two laziest, most ineffective ways to speak out.
Do you want effective? Go down there yourself and challenge the school board in person. Give donations to the Mississippi local queer chapters that do exist. Facilitate the start of new ones if they don't already exist.
But there are far, far more productive and strategic means to have your voice (solo or collective) heard than via silly pap like joining a goofy Facebook group or signing an online petition. And yet, when people are outraged, these are the ways they channel that frustration. They are also the two laziest, most ineffective ways to speak out.
Do you want effective? Go down there yourself and challenge the school board in person. Give donations to the Mississippi local queer chapters that do exist. Facilitate the start of new ones if they don't already exist.
18
@11: Please, explain to me why people might not like the ACLU. What are they there for apart from defending people's personal freedoms?
Do you hate freedom? Do you hate liberty?
Do you hate freedom? Do you hate liberty?
20
@18- People love to hate the ACLU, I can't figure out why either. Some gun nuts hate them because they don't duplicate the NRA's efforts all the time. I think everyone else who hates them is a just wants to live in a dictatorship.
22
20? gosh i thought 18 was being a dumbass just to get attention but maybe you girls really don't get it all real americans hate the aclu because it personifies all that is wrong with the left you probably don't remember the dukakais campaign but one of his (many) gaffes was to proudly proclaim himself a card carrying member which instantly told real americans all they needed to know trust me in the heartland aclu IS worse than satan
23
omg... surely this girl knows there's more to this country than the deep south?? Mississippi to Tennessee... honey, you might as well stay where you are.... and...
OMG I love *love* Wanda Sykes!
OMG I love *love* Wanda Sykes!
24
@22: Okay, I'll bite. First off, your grammar would make the most uneducated rednecks flinch. My count: 17 dropped capitalizations, 4 missing commas, 4 omitted periods, and one misspelling.
You claim that all real Americans hate the ACLU. That's funny: over 500,000 not only support it, but are members or regular donors. How many members do right-wing charities (presumably full of your "real americans" [sic] have?
So anyway, what exactly is wrong with the ACLU? You say it "personifies all that is wrong with the left" [sic], but since I can't read your mind, I have no idea what you consider to be wrong with the Left. Tell me, in excruciating detail if you must.
You claim that all real Americans hate the ACLU. That's funny: over 500,000 not only support it, but are members or regular donors. How many members do right-wing charities (presumably full of your "real americans" [sic] have?
So anyway, what exactly is wrong with the ACLU? You say it "personifies all that is wrong with the left" [sic], but since I can't read your mind, I have no idea what you consider to be wrong with the Left. Tell me, in excruciating detail if you must.
25
24 the nra has 4,000,000 members and that is just devotees of one amendment 28,000,000 americans are active teabaggers donating money or participating and pretty much everything no make that everything about the left is wrong for america
27
Meet The Tea Partiers: Male, Rich and College Educated
February 17, 2010
A new CNN poll sheds light on who makes up the Tea Party movement. According to the results, tea partiers are richer, more male and have more education than the general population.
Eleven percent of respondents to the poll said that they had in someway participated in the tea party movement, either by going to a rally, donating money, or "taking some other active step to support the movement." The demographics among that 11% are much different from the rest of the U.S. population.
"Of this core group of Tea Party activists, 6 of 10 are male and half live in rural areas," CNN reports. "Nearly three quarters of Tea Party activists attended college, compared to 54 percent of all Americans, and more than three in four call themselves conservatives."
Sixty-six percent of the tea party activists reported an income higher than $50,000 per year. Among the overall sample in the poll, that figure was 42%. The group is 80% white, as opposed to 71% among all respondents to the poll.
Politically, the figures are not a surprise. Forty-four percent of tea partiers called themselves "Republican," while 52% said they were independent.
February 17, 2010
A new CNN poll sheds light on who makes up the Tea Party movement. According to the results, tea partiers are richer, more male and have more education than the general population.
Eleven percent of respondents to the poll said that they had in someway participated in the tea party movement, either by going to a rally, donating money, or "taking some other active step to support the movement." The demographics among that 11% are much different from the rest of the U.S. population.
"Of this core group of Tea Party activists, 6 of 10 are male and half live in rural areas," CNN reports. "Nearly three quarters of Tea Party activists attended college, compared to 54 percent of all Americans, and more than three in four call themselves conservatives."
Sixty-six percent of the tea party activists reported an income higher than $50,000 per year. Among the overall sample in the poll, that figure was 42%. The group is 80% white, as opposed to 71% among all respondents to the poll.
Politically, the figures are not a surprise. Forty-four percent of tea partiers called themselves "Republican," while 52% said they were independent.
28
@7: Wow, that's pretty cynical. I'm one of the ACLU folks working with Constance on this, and the reason her girlfriend's picture isn't on the Facebook page or anywhere else is because the girlfriend doesn't have the same kind of support at home that Constance does. Her parents let the girls date and will let their daughter go to prom with Constance if we manage to win our case and get the prom put back on, but they aren't comfortable with having her involved in the publicity. That's all. It's not some big conspiracy.
29
@7: Wow. I'm one of the ACLU folks working with Constance on this, and the reason her girlfriend's picture and name aren't on the Facebook page or anywhere else is because the girlfriend doesn't have the same kind of support at home that Constance does. Her parents let the girls date and will let their daughter go to prom with Constance if we manage to win our case and get the prom put back on, but they aren't comfortable with having her involved in the publicity. That's all. It's not some big conspiracy.
31
28
wow
29
double wow
what is the (exact) age difference, in months, between Constance and mystery girl?
wow
29
double wow
what is the (exact) age difference, in months, between Constance and mystery girl?
32
@25: The Tea Party Movement is not even a nonprofit. You still haven't told me one single thing that is wrong about the ACLU. Stop trying to distract from the topic at hand and give me a list (a partial list is okay) of what's wrong with the ACLU.
Since you have yet to give me any reasons so far, I'm getting this sneaking suspicion that you don't know what the hell you are talking about.
Since you have yet to give me any reasons so far, I'm getting this sneaking suspicion that you don't know what the hell you are talking about.
33
So, Alleged @27, the wackjobs are controlled by a core group of white conservative men with something to gain by controlling a group of wackjobs? A group of white conservative men who happen to have the money and knowledge necessary for controlling a group of wackjobs?
Sounds like right-wing politics as usual.
But indeed, what is wrong with the ACLU?
Sounds like right-wing politics as usual.
But indeed, what is wrong with the ACLU?
34
The only negative thing I heard brought up about the ACLU when I lived in the Deep South, was that they represented NAMBLA for some reason, some where, and that they hated Christmas for some reason (I'm guessing they had the audacity to represent an atheist or Wiccan).
I never heard the details, and I wonder if there were any to be had at all. Whatever the case, the ACLU carried with it the aura of pedophilia and atheism, whenever it was brought into conversation or debate.
I never heard the details, and I wonder if there were any to be had at all. Whatever the case, the ACLU carried with it the aura of pedophilia and atheism, whenever it was brought into conversation or debate.
35
@34: I looked it up. They defended NAMBLA from the following:
A guy who raped and murdered a kid had visited the NAMBLA website in the past. The victim's family sued the pervs for wrongful death.
Now, clearly NAMBLA was not directly responsible for the man's crimes, so the ACLU defended them, while making it clear that they did not in any way espouse its ideas.
A guy who raped and murdered a kid had visited the NAMBLA website in the past. The victim's family sued the pervs for wrongful death.
Now, clearly NAMBLA was not directly responsible for the man's crimes, so the ACLU defended them, while making it clear that they did not in any way espouse its ideas.
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