Counter Productive And Just Damn Wrong

A-men

this is reprehensible behavior.  There are so many better ways to confront this sort of thing than to vandalize someone's home.

I'm only a click away.

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by: JulieWaters @ Tue Oct 28, 2008 at 07:45:12 AM CDT

I'll agree, but advise you to remember Ashley

I no longer take at face value anything that these people say.  I agree that vandalism is wrong, but until they get it on tape I just won't accept that it was an opponent of Prop 8.  After the backwards "B" recently, I have a much healthier dose of scepticiscm.

That being said, there are maroons out there on botht the left and the right, and so far the only one's that have proof of illegal activities against them are the no side, as evidenced by the video's from right here on this site.

You are right to condemn this type of behavior, but you would be wise to have a bit of scepticism.  

The trollish sounding blogger formerly known as BURNSEY

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by: R.K. Wright @ Tue Oct 28, 2008 at 07:51:54 AM CDT

Agreed.

"You are right to condemn this type of behavior, but you would be wise to have a bit of scepticism."

I SO agree with you on this.  

If there's one thing the Reichstag Fire, republicans, and "christians" have in common, it's EVERYTHING.  

If a "No" supporter did in fact vandalize their property, you can bet it was from somebody these neighbors know well.  Why would anyone else target these 2 buddy-buddy neighbors in specific?  They probably pissed off a "Yes" supporter, from their little drinking buddies circle or whatever.

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by: bluegrassfool @ Tue Oct 28, 2008 at 17:39:49 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

typo

* probably pissed off a "No" supporter, I meant to say LOL

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by: bluegrassfool @ Tue Oct 28, 2008 at 17:41:24 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

I am going to guess this is self inflicted.

  Just from the point that if you are going to paint something on someones garage door, it would be mor intimidating.  Something like Bigot or Homophobe lives here.

 This seems like an attention getter to portray the no on 8 with bad publicity.

If I make sense? it was quite by accident.

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by: HappyCat @ Tue Oct 28, 2008 at 08:02:09 AM CDT

On the other hand

On the other hand, acting as cheerleaders and apologists and throwing GLBT under the bus whenever evil rears it's ugly head don't do us well either.

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by: NG @ Tue Oct 28, 2008 at 08:22:39 AM CDT

Possibly

all the hysteria is because they think they're becoming marginalized and they might lose. Their hysteria can easily turn into violence, as the latest FBI stats for 2007 show. Although hate crimes as a whole are down significantly hate crimes against LGBT folks are up over 6% because of the bigotry generated by the campaign.

The situation is not helped by the bigoted remarks of Biden and Chairman Obama who agree with McCain and Paleo that we're second class citizens. They all say that we have no right to be married because "god's in the mix". Bigots always drape themselves in the flag and hold up a cross.

Nor was the situation helped by the disgusting decision of the Democrats, gleefully backed by the Republicans to ditch the Matthew Shepard hate crimes bill.

The looter rich much prefer working with Democrats like Obama and the Clintons - they're greedier, they fool more people and they're able to get away with a lot more than Republicans.  

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by: donal1944 @ Tue Oct 28, 2008 at 08:46:39 AM CDT

It's clearly wrong...

but I understand the anger. This happened in our old neighborhood in South San Jose. What's really disturbing is the way these women casually refer to Prop 8 as just like any other ballot proposition. When do I get to vote on THEIR marriage? WTF?

One of the "victims" has a blog post up on blogger.com: http://kabobskorner.blogspot.c...

Steve

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by: Stevious @ Tue Oct 28, 2008 at 09:32:44 AM CDT

Can you substantiate your claim

that it is counter productive ?

I know people say that, but personally I wish that MORE people would take action like this.

It lets people know that we take our lives seriously and are not "just another opinion" - that what they are doing is attacking OUR families.

If we don't take such attacks seriously, why should anyone else ?

Martin Luther King would not have made the progress that he did if Malcolm X and the Panthers were not declaring they would use "any means necessary" - it made MLK the "moderate compromise".

And I don't think that we are going to make progress without more ACT-Up tactics.

Unlike other countries, the US doesn't respect you unless you are willing to use violence to respect yourself.

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by: tiponeill @ Tue Oct 28, 2008 at 10:37:41 AM CDT

When I was in High School

There was someone who would pass me on my way to English class during my junior year, and would yell out "Faggot!" as he passed me. I never saw who it was. But it would occour everyday like clockwork. One day I just got so sick of hearing it that when he yelled it at me I threw my books to the floor and screamed, "Yeah! And you wanna f*cking make something of it?" That was the last time it ever happened.  

watashi no yomeiri wa doko desu ka

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by: belfrieboi @ Tue Oct 28, 2008 at 11:18:57 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Not right, but not necessarily counterproductive.

Granted I liked the other San Jose area protest against a neighbor with a giant booblike yes on 8 sign.  Two women parked their car, legally for 3 days, in front of these peoples house and wrote on their own car windows "Bigots live here" with an arrow pointing to the house.

I found a follow up article about this incident in the SJ Mercury news yesterday.  Turns out the yes people had contributed a whooping $10,000 to the yes campaign.  No small change. The yes woman was quoted in the paper as saying she didn't feel anyone animus towards gay people, but just wanted the magic M word kept the exclusive domain of heteros.  She went on to say that it was a horrible ordeal having the car out in front of their house with that particular  message one it.  She then proceeded to comment, that she imagined that's how homosexuals must feel all the time with the comments aimed at them...

Productive for sure.

Don't think vandalizing someones house is a good idea, but the 'a bigot lives here' message is making some people think or rethink for a change.

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by: Karen in Kalifornia @ Tue Oct 28, 2008 at 11:37:05 AM CDT

Who says it was NO people who did this?

As others have already stated above, it's just as likely that 'Yes on Hate' people conveniently made themselves into martyrs by painting their own garage doors.  

Lurleen on Twitter

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by: Lurleen @ Tue Oct 28, 2008 at 13:08:49 PM CDT

As I said above

  If a gay person were to spray paint the garage doors, I am positive that they would not have painted NO ON 8 on the door.   BIGOT or HOMOPHOBE comes to mind.

 The martyrs couldn't bring themselves to paint either one of those two words on their doors, it would be too truthful.  They couldn't bring themselves to doing that.

If I make sense? it was quite by accident.

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by: HappyCat @ Tue Oct 28, 2008 at 13:32:53 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Wow, Senator Box came out against Prop 8

Sent an email around....the usual form email but still.  I'm surprised as her litany has been that California DPs are just fine.
 Found the link on pageoneq.

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by: Karen in Kalifornia @ Tue Oct 28, 2008 at 14:15:37 PM CDT

Self-inflicted or not

I'd like to see glbt people donate to clean this up.

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Claim to fame: Posted first PHB diary to be demoted

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by: cindik @ Tue Oct 28, 2008 at 15:19:46 PM CDT

not donate. paint.

the pink-shirt brigade should go over there and re-paint in person, rainbow flag a-flyin'.  if i lived there, i'd offer the homeowners to do the work for them not as an admission of guilt for anyone, but as a gesture of good faith.  

Lurleen on Twitter

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by: Lurleen @ Tue Oct 28, 2008 at 16:14:09 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Interestingly enough...

that was my first thought too. I even have an appropriate quote from the Bible - it's a great resource for dealing with fundamentalists, because it's often so easy to be a "better Christian" than them. They may not recognise why you act the way you do - but others may. After all, if you were on the outside looking in, who would you want to know the most - the intolerant & agressive person, or the patient, forgiving & generous one?

Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath...

Don't hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you've got it in you, get along with everybody. Don't insist on getting even; that's not for you to do. "I'll do the judging," says God. "I'll take care of it." Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he's thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don't let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.

Romans 12 vs. 14 & 17-21 (Message)

____________________________________
Cuius testiculos habes, habeas cardia et cerebellum.

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by: tavdy79 @ Tue Oct 28, 2008 at 16:45:36 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

it's fishy yes...but a teaching moment

  In spite of Christ's call to empathy for one's neighbors, few heterosexuals politically active in anti gay causes care to put themselves in the skins of gay people.

 The denials of the gay experience, the rush to judge gay people by millenium of defamation and isolation, rather than the contributions inspired IN SPITE of it, is the surest sign of cowardice.

 "Fear of the unknown' is a kind way of describing such cowardice.
What is 'unknown' is not as if there aren't millions of opportunities to know. Countless and inevitable encounters that could be productive and educational.

Instead, what happens?

  The perception of threat and victimization from gay people increase with those opportunities. The outrage that gay people dare to access the courts, rally peacefully and use due process of law, is part of that irrational perception.

 For once, the people whose garage was painted had an opportunity to be in someone else's shoes. Specifically what gay people are most often and most likely to suffer.
And the moment was lost on them.
There are FEW opportunities like that because by and large, gay people (and their supporters) don't physically threaten anyone or their property.
And THAT reality is underappreciated in the worst way.

   I don't condone what happened, but that it hardly EVER does shouldn't be lost on the people who received this treatment.
 Nor should they use it as an opportunity to condemn ALL gay people or opponents of Prop 8 as having this agenda all along.
To not only destroy families and marriage, but property too.

 I'd be hard pressed NOT to think they'd use this situation and exploit in exactly THAT way.

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by: Regan DuCasse @ Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 05:11:50 AM CDT