You’ve seen what can happen when someone gets a great idea and runs with it. This website is a testiment to that. We get so many emails about exciting things that people are putting into action. You’ve probably heard about the brilliant idea that came out of Princeton, and there are many more actions being planned all over the country to increase visibility to the injustices against the LGBTQI community. Anything that can keep the conversation going in a positive way can make a difference.
For me one of the most exciting things emerging in the movement for equality is that young people are taking the lead. One protest coming up which is a great example of grassroots activism is a national student walkout planned for Dec. 3. Students For Equality is organizing a protest directed at increasing awareness on your campus. They’re almost making me want to go back to college just so I can walk out of class at 9am on Dec. 3 and leave a note behind that says “SCHOOL TAUGHT ME NOT TO DISCRIMINATE. SAY NO TO H8. SAY YES TO EQUALITY” Keep those creative ideas flowing! If you have a great idea the beauty of the internet is that you CAN make it happen.
8 Responses
i think this is GREAT! i guess we learned A LOT from the Obama campaign in organizing at a grassroots level! Too bad we did not do this b4 the election. Yet, better late than never! Thanks for the updates!
EP
Posted on December 1st, 2008 at 1:42 pm
REMEMBER: This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing
with new meaning:
My country ’tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the Pilgrim’s pride,
From every mountainside
Let freedom ring!
So let freedom ring
from the prodigious hilltops
of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains
of New York.
Let freedom ring from the
heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania,
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain
of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain
of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill
in Mississippi.
From every mountainside,
let freedom ring!
Posted on December 1st, 2008 at 9:56 pm
I am no longer a college student. But I will participate in not shopping on Dec. 10th. By the way, I will go to see the movie Milk, however, I will not see it at a Cinemark theatre, afterall, they supported passage of Prop 8.
Posted on December 2nd, 2008 at 4:49 am
I am a college student, but today was my last day of class, and exams don’t start till Thursday. Dec. 3rd is our “buffer day.” And even if I had class, my first class ends at 8:55 and the next starts at 9:15! I just can’t win.
Great idea, though.
Posted on December 2nd, 2008 at 5:47 pm
If I were still in college I’d totally do this. Maybe I’ll walk out of my house or something in solidarity. (That’s a big deal–I’m a Floridian living in Alaska, and I go out of my way not to go out too much.)
Posted on December 2nd, 2008 at 8:22 pm
[...] Students for Equality- Student Walkout TOMORROW (tags: gay) [...]
Posted on December 3rd, 2008 at 9:30 am
I have a small proposal which I hope, properly publicized, would be a rallying cry for straight couples to join the movement for marital equality. I ask that you consider it, and, if you think it might be valuable, use your media presence to spread the word. Basically I call for all married, heterosexual couples to get a divorce (symbolically, for one week) to reject the Institution of Marriage as now defined and limited.
I am a middle-aged, straight guy with a wife I adore, a life long commitment to equal rights and a sudden conversion to radicalism on the issue of equal marital rights. Call it Obama Derangement Syndrome or Prop. 8 Deflation, but I have had it with the American Taliban and their lurid fascination with controlling Americans’ private lives. Their recent triumph in California, not just preemptively erecting barriers to equality, but rolling back established rights, was the one step too far. I am no longer satisfied with the gradualism approach espoused by Obama/Biden.
I have discussed this with my wife, and she agrees that true morality dictates that we divorce. We would not eat in a restaurant that banned customers on the basis of race. We would not join clubs that excluded one gender from membership. How can we ethically accept the far richer legal, financial and social benefits of marriage when its sanction is denied to our fellow citizens? Clearly, we can not. The only responsible action is to reject the Institution of Marriage so long as the government defines it in accord with Taliban dictates. Our commitment to each other and to the core principals of fidelity and monogamy are not premised on legalisms, but on our mutual love and respect. We have the capability to determine how to share any financial success either of us may have, and, if we came to the end of this relationship, we would deal fairly with each other. We’re even sensible (and, both lawyers) competent to put the last part in writing to anticipate uneven emotions at a later date.
Unfortunately, we are also smart enough to realize divorce is as impossible for us as marriage is for Gays and Lesbians in most states, including this one. First of all, Virginia (where we live) does not allow couples to simply divorce because they want to reject the Rite and Institution of Marriage. The law allows us basically three options: adultery, abuse (real, for-sure, physical abuse) or going without sex (with each other) for six months. Neither of us wants to do any of those things. Nor are we eager to lose all the economic advantages, negate our estate plans, expose our property to liens, or suffer the indignities that go with having to explain one’s relationship. Basically we are unwilling to pay that big a price to support our views. I feel bad about admitting it, but it is true. Plus, Virginia might regard some of our most cherished mutual activities as crimes if we went through with this. It is absolutely clear that under the state Constitution our efforts to ameliorate the disadvantages of extra-marital commitment via contract would be void. So, the fact that it is legally impossible to divorce gives us a nice excuse for not standing up for our principles.
The point of a divorce for us, though, if possible, would not be merely be to put ourselves in more morally comfortable territory. Rather, we would hope to make a statement that might rally more concerned heterosexual couples to the cause of marital equality. The very fact of confronting what we would be sacrificing on the altar of moral purity, were we to divorce, has been educational, as has recognizing the irony that the Taliban has constructed a statutory regime in which they can deny some the benefits of marriage and others the benefits of divorce.
My proposal is that all married couples of similar mind set symbolically divorce by removing wedding rings, ceasing to refer to each other as “husband” or “wife” and, so far as possible, living together as a committed, but unmarried couple. I’m thinking that a button or the trendy ribbon with the acronym S.A.M.E., Straight Advocates for Marital Equality, would serve to demonstrate participants’ commitment to the basic premise: the Institution of Marriage is fatally flawed so long as the right and Rite of Marriage are denied to any loving couple. This will not be deeply profound to Gays and Lesbians, but it will be to many straight couples. It is also a way to demonstrate that there exists a cadre of straight voters who feel strongly that the current situation is as wrong as segregated lunch counters or any unequal access to governmental or societal benefits.
If we can get any significant participation during a single time frame, we might build momentum. I suggest February 6-13, which offers the sappy emotional hook that we can all remarry on the 14th. Please let me know if you think this is worthy of support.
Posted on December 3rd, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Straight Advocate,
I appreciate your support. The challenge you suggest would certainly underscore how the very language of marriage as a cultural institution adds value to a loving union. After all, the word “partner” does not due justice to the role my wife plays in my life. Perhaps you could leave your ring on but attempt to introduce your wife as your partner for one week, and/or use the term in your day to day life (i.e. “My partner will pick up the kids from school today”). CAUTION: This feels really icky.
S.A.M.E. sounds intriguing also. Personally, I have seen quite a bit of apathy from the straight people I know, including my in-laws. I really don’t know how to reach them without being branded “militant.” They are quite content with Obama, so the fight seems to be over for them. Not a single straight person I know is committed to supporting our fight. Perhaps S.A.M.E. would be a good jumping off point.
Okay, now I will rant a bit, so click away if you must…
Please be advised that my view on marriage may not be LGBT correct. I strongly feel that the word “marriage” is inherently religious and should be rejected by government altogether. I would not seek to change the “definition” of marriage, only the term itself. I think “civil unions” for ALL would guarantee equality for ALL. If a religious couple seeks to enter into “marriage,” they may do so in their place of worship following the acquisition of a “civil union certificate.”
Furthermore, we need to aggressively fight ALL faith-based initiatives and agendas. They are vehicles to introduce religious law into secular government. We have lost sight of myriad faith-based political issues that threaten secular government and if we are being totally honest, we have not been united in our fight for equality. We have separated the LGBT community by gender, race and economic status. Perhaps we have been lulled into a false sense of security with gay cruises and the myth of a suburban utopia. It is time to find a strategy that will work nationwide and long term. “No more Mr. Nice Gay” is cute, but what does that mean? We must stand in solidarity against the religious machine that slipped under the radar while we were in PTO meetings. We need every thinker on deck and some new coordinates. Straight Advocate for Marital Equality, welcome aboard.
Posted on December 4th, 2008 at 2:11 am
Add A Comment