liz_marcs | Look, if you're really for equal rights for all...

Current Mood: annoyed

Look, if you're really for equal rights for all...

...then stop it with the meme.

Seriously.

It's nice some of you are standing up to be counted an' all, but a meme on LiveJournal is really kind of useless.

Not to mention it's annoying.

You want to really stand up and be counted? You really want to show you support equal rights for all?

Here's a few organizations that would love to have your support (financial, volunteer, supporting action alerts, whatever) and to hear from you:

The American Civil Liberties Union Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project

The Center for Lesbian and Gay Rights

Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)

The Human Rights Campaign

Human Rights Watch Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Rights

Lambda Legal Defense Fund

Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)

This message has been brought to you by one crabby individual and proud resident of the People's Republic of Massachusetts where we actually vote legislators out of office if they don't support Equality Marriage.

If you have any questions, please refer to this post's accompanying icon.

Thank you for your attention.

ETA:

entrenous88 has a few more links.

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Oh, lord, I saw Lambda, and my brain read NAMBLA and I about had a coronary. Ahahahaha! WHEW.

Dun support NAMBLA, Liz. *memes all about it, zomg* :D

Wheeeeee! Thanks a lot for reminding me why I debated putting Lambda on the list because, damn... :-)

Seriously, I think it's the Foley thing on the brain. If I hear one more time that of course he liked his boys young because he was ZOMG! a closted gay, I will fucking reach through the computer screen and strangle the asshole that says it.

Gay =/= pedophilia.

Gay =/= pedophilia

*eyerolls at the WORLD* I KNOW!! Did you see The Daily Show on Monday? He made that same observation. Nice back-peddle, GOP. Oh, and that's NOT WORKING, so suck it.

:D and :*

I always have to pause over those two because ... it's the damn "AMB" in the middle of both of them. Really unfortunate. :\

::wonders how many other folks get temporarily confuzzled::

Your icon - and your state - make me a happy, happy lover of both men and women.

*bows*

We aims to please. In all seriousness, every time a legislator who's against Equality Marriage is up for election, the almost always lose. That's why the legislature ended up refusing to put Equality Marriage to the popular vote because they know they'd face a bunch of pissed-off voters who'd throw their asses out.

It'll be interesting to see how the legislature votes on constitutional amendment on November 9th. Even then, it'll still have to come to the populace for popular vote.

I won't get into the *grrrrr* I feel over the very idea that it's okay to vote whether another human being should have civil rights.

It's the "if you don't support gay rights then don't post this" part of that meme that really annoys me. I won't be guilt-tripped into sending chain letters along, and I won't be guilt-tripped into posting memes!

Yes, yes, yes. That's the thing that's really pissing me off is the whole subtle peer-pressure thing. It reminds me of high school.

If the meme was actually useful...like: a list of organizations support equal rights or a list of companies support equal rights or a list of legislators' stances on equal rights I wouldn't mind so much. It's just the endless reposting of a statement without a call to action that strikes me as pretty meaningless.

I have been resisting the urge to put just such a gripe on my LJ (minus the actual links in all likelihood), but kept telling myself that my lack of tolerance of inane and pointless activist memes was just a sign of old age.

That's what annoys me is that it is a pointless activist meme. How is posting a meme supporting equal rights again? Oh. Wait. It doesn't.

I wouldn't be so annoyed if more than one or two people stated how they planned to or were supporting equal rights. I wouldn't be so annoyed if people posted useful links where people could take action. But noooo.

Right. I'll stop ranting now.

[quote] That's what annoys me is that it is a pointless activist meme. How is posting a meme supporting equal rights again? Oh. Wait. It doesn't. [/quote]

It's like those damn yellow ribbon magnets on people's cars. Send some fucking cookies / books / movies on DVD overseas or something, don't buy crap to decorate your car and brag to *me* that you support our soldiers, spend your money supporting *them!*

Appears we were posting similar thoughts at the same time. From my f-list, the same bloke, much better quote:

Words mean nothing. Action is the only thing. Doing. That's the only thing.

I need to prove nothing. My MP knows my opinion. And shares it.

Heee! I saw we posted at the same time just about.

The problem I had with it is that aside from one or two people stating what they planned to do or were doing to support equal rights, everyone else just posted the meme itself. No action points. No links to larger organizations that actually support equal rights for all. Nothing. That, even more than the meme itself has been driving me batshit.

Plus the wording of the damn thing. If you don't support than don't post? Wha? What the hell does that mean? I've got shit-all to prove on this point and I resent the fact that I'm supposed to somehow "prove" I support equal rights by reposting that useless meme?

Sorry. My annoyance level is very high at the moment.

Don't apologise; I've been following the Foley thing in a mixed state of rage, horror, outrage and suppressed hilarity. Can't quite believe the GOP are that stupid, and the whole pedophilia thing gets to me (part of my job is child protection, three of my most useful "families" are gay couples who like having kids about).

I'm hoping for meltdown in November, but I'm not putting any money on it.

But I like eating babies...

Er, sorry. Wrong meme.

Aside from the very good point you make, about a meme on LJ having zero effect, there's also that fact that most people don't respond well to being guilted into doing something.

Especially when that something is a pointless meme.

There are better ways of telling whether someone is homophobic than whether they participate in a meme.

A-fucking-men.

And I support the baking, broiling, and boiling of babies. :-)

I think the "stop posting the meme" has become a meme. In fact, no one on my friends list has posted the original meme, but about five of them have posted about how they support gay rights but not the current meme.

The original meme has been all over my FList. At first I was going to ignore it, but when I start scrolling past post after post about supporting equal rights...but no action points to take if you do...it's time to pull your hair out.

I think only one or two even stated what they planned to do or what they were doing to support equal rights and that was it.

Thanks for the bracing dash of sanity.

You're welcome.

*shines ACLU card*

Also, for those in Colorado, we're trying to pass a Domestic Partnerships bill this November. I think it's the first in the country. Coloradans for Fairness and Equality is the organization responsible.

Just an FYI, if anyone else on your friendslist is in Colorado. Vote for Referendum I! Whee!

As a side note: Gay sex is very supportive! And fun! And I'm totally willing to voluteer. *waits patiently to see if that worked*

I wish there was a U.S. clearing house list of state-by-state organizations, but my Google-fu failed me.

In all seriousness, though, I think that states should just get the hell out of the marriage business. On the legal level, everyone should have "civil unions" or "civil contracts" and leave the loaded word "marriage" to the religions where it belongs.

It would save us all a lot of grief.

Good luck with the domestic partnership bill in your state.

Oh amen to that! State recognized civil unions for everyone. If you belong to a religion that holds marriage as sacred, get married in a church. One has to do with governmental rights, the other is a religious ceremony, they're two seperate things.

My parents were married by a JP because my mother couldn't get remarried in the Catholic Church (her first husband walked out on her, she changed the locks right afterwards).

They're still married by any measure...excapt as far as the Catholic Church is concerned. Go figure. *rolls eyes*

38-plus years and counting...

Yeah, getting divorced in the Catholic Church is tough. Getting remarried is even tougher.

[quote] They're still married by any measure...except as far as the Catholic Church is concerned. Go figure. *rolls eyes* [/quote]

According to Pope 'about to be canonized' Jean-Paul II, the only two *unforgiveable sins* are homosexuality and getting remarried.

Molesting children? Slavery? Murder? Rape? Genocide? Torture? Worshipping Satan? Eating babies? The 'deadliest sin' of *Pride?* Misquoting the Bible and perverting the word of God to support any of the above? Oh, that's all forgiveable. Pass the barbecue sauce, I spy me some succulent baby.

In all seriousness, though, I think that states should just get the hell out of the marriage business.

I agree. CFE is trying hard to push the "It's not marriage, it's basic legal rights" message. My roommate is the Hispanic outreach coordinator, and she's been kicking ass at getting a historically "traditional" community to support us. She's been on the radio, debating the guys from Focus on the Family, and even some right-wingers I know have commented on how crazy the FoF sounds. Maybe someday we can phase out federal marriage altogether.

Thanks for the well-wishes. According to the numbers, it looks like we might have a chance of passing it. *crosses fingers*

Really? Very cool. Though my ex-Coloradoan, former constituent of Marilyn Musgrave, inner-skeptic with memories of Amendment 2 says...really? Colorado? Um....good luck...

I wish for the best and all and even work in advocacy so know change can happen, but the cynicism does eat at me at times.

I hear ya. Though, I'm less cynical since we elected a Democratic state senate. We're a purple state now. *beams proudly* Also, CFE got several thousand more signatures than they needed to secure a place on the ballot (I canvassed with them for a while), while the anti-gay marriage guys only barely made the required amount. We may have a lot of right-leaning cowfolk, but our capital is hugely liberal.

Yeah...there's Boulder, Denver, and kinda Fort Collins, but yeegads the Springs! Cool on the canvassing front though.

And as for the whole purple state thing...grrrrr...In the 2004 election I had my choice of CO or MA and figured, meh, either way my vote's not making that much of a difference so decided to finally make the move to MA. Doh!

In a way, being in MA is good because there's safety in numbers (in a way).

In another way, being in MA is bad because you can get a little complacent about a few things.

Then there's always the issue of calling up your legislators on either a federal or state level to find out how they're voting on an issue, only to find out that they're voting your way anyway.

but maybe a cut and paste post in an LJ in addition to supporting individuals on a personal basis or as part of one of the fine organizations you mentioned isn't a bad thing. I'm not a sheep. I saw that one of my friends - and I know her partner as well posted it and I posted it out of solidarity for her. I didn't like the "silence = nonsupport" essence, but figured there was a point to it.

Not a sheep, not a hypocrite, just trying to be a good friend.

I can understand how the meme started from a good impulse, but it's seeing page after page after page of it with precious few people even personalizing it any way that just got to me. A few people did, and that was great. Most people didn't.

My intent was not to annoy or hurt anyone's feelings, in all honesty. I was annoyed by the whole peer-pressure aspect in that final line of the meme and the sense that more than a few people posted it without honestly thinking about what it means.

*hugs*

We all have to be good to each other or they win, you know?

The universe is so totally screwed up right now that everybody's getting a little weird. I know I am!

*hugs* back

Thank you. I don't do memes or chain letters just as a matter of my own policy and I hated feeling like I was saying I don't support gay rights because I wasn't posting the meme. You have done an excellent thing by assembling these links. Action always speaks loud than words.

The last line, I admit, was what really got up my nose. If it wasn't for that "if you don't post this than you're not for civil rights" line, I would've just ignored it because...hey...other RL things require my attention at the moment.

Thankfully, today was the last of it...I hope. *fingers crossed*

Word.

Thank you. :-)

Brava! Well said.

*bows*

The meme in its original form hasn't shown up on my F'List much, although there's been a lot of discussion of it.

Well done you with the link list, though.

I've missed seeing this meme to which you refer - and I can't say I'm too upset about it by the sounds of things!

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Look, if you're really for equal rights for all...

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*claps loudly*

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You know, my last intention is to stir up shit in your LJ

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*hugs*

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claps loudly

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hugs