=

[v]

mattj eight lines just means im four times more equal than you

 

[Oglemi]

eh....i think they are intended as more of a show of support than as something that will actually do anything...the act is not necessarily slacktivism if it makes someone feel better. personally, the sentiment of "you guys are ridiculous! i'm keeping this prof pic of me masturbating on top of the himalayas out of principle" to be just as annoying as the onslaught of red equals signs. i don't mind criticizing the practice, but it just seems counter-intuitive to brag about how much you don't care

This paragraph speaks the truth

 

[tehy]

So first off I'd like to say that yeah I support marriage equality, I'm not even sure what the argument against it is any more. Most of the arguments are probably those that were applied to different race marriages and such and we all know how that turned out/works.

But also I'd like to ask: If there's a counter-movement against gay marriage, what would the symbol be? My money's on absolute value signs.

As for the equal signs thing, I don't know. What it reminds me of was that whole 'change your profile pic to stop child abuse' thing, but this is way less stupid than that. So it's cool, I guess. Maybe we on Smogon ought to do the same to our avatars

The funny part though is that the deciding body isn't really democratically based (Well the president appoints them but that's it), so it won't influence the decision.

Actually I just remembered, today i met a new girl in my class (Mildly pretty, not that I care), and she was cool. And she called YOLO a (BAN ME PLEASE)y thing to say. I was thinking of saying something but I wanted to be cool. So yeah, I won't make that mistake again.

Edit: Stellar not even homophobes are dumb enough to make that their symbol. They don't want to come out and say fuck equality, that would be a terrible idea and would make them look even worse (Is that even possible? Only one way to find out...)

 

[Stellar]

But also I'd like to ask: If there's a counter-movement against gay marriage, what would the symbol be? My money's on absolute value signs.

Look at the first image in this thread... I hope the sarcasm of mattj's opening message isn't completely lost on everyone.

 

[shade]

Edit: Stellar not even homophobes are dumb enough to make that their symbol. They don't want to come out and say fuck equality, that would be a terrible idea and would make them look even worse (Is that even possible? Only one way to find out...)

oh tehy, looks like you don't know mattj!

 

[Steamroll]

Edit: Stellar not even homophobes are dumb enough to make that their symbol. They don't want to come out and say fuck equality, that would be a terrible idea and would make them look even worse (Is that even possible? Only one way to find out...)

 

[Glen]

hey shut up you it took me a whole like 60 seconds of hard work to craft that in mspaint this could seriously change things

it could seriously happen

you are seriously fucking retarded

i agree that in regards to shit like kony, facebook activism is bullshit because it allows people to feel comfortable with themselves despite an egregious societal/environmental/whatever ill, and distracts them from the real issues at hand. this extends beyond the realm of the internet, and i am a staunch proponent of zizec in that regard; when you go to starbucks and spend five dollars on a latte and recycle your cup, you can leave the establishment feeling like you've done your part.

but this is different. while facebookers seemed to mistakenly think that if enough people admonished kony he would suddenly give up or get captured or die, in this case if enough people show their support for gay rights then it will actually cease to be an issue. gay rights and gay freedom can only come from acceptance and understanding, no matter how incremental. there is no illusion in this; if you are showing your support, you are doing your part.

i wouldn't be so hard on you for deriding this whole thing were you just some asshole neutral party, but as you're a vocal opponent of gay marriage, to mock something like this is pretty inexcusable.

 

[tehy]

Actually I got the joke. I was just seriously pointing out that actual homophobes not making easily detected sarcastic jokes wouldn't be dumb enough to do that.

Also yeah Glen, this was kind of my thought process. I didn't think it nearly so well. (Wait, he's not a supporter of gay marriage? Maybe i DID miss the joke...) Thought it was pretty obvious, but then again I felt like it was coming from a vocal supporter of equality, so...fuck.

 

[jrp]

In all seriousness, could you elaborate on that? I literally know nothing about them. When I saw HRC the first thing that sprung to mind was the FRC (Family Research Counsel).

[edit]

Oh yeah, and this one's going to sway SCOTUS:

I fucking can't

 

[moonbound]

Actually I just remembered, today i met a new girl in my class (Mildly pretty, not that I care), and she was cool. And she called YOLO a (BAN ME PLEASE)y thing to say. I was thinking of saying something but I wanted to be cool. So yeah, I won't make that mistake again.

I know linking to Cracked is one of the cardinal sins of the internet, but this is pretty interesting. Ultimately, the meanings of words change through misuse to the point where their original meanings are irrelevant. "Gay" and "(BAN ME PLEASE)" are as correct as "retarded" or "Jewish," and it hardly matters to most people how those words are used any more. I understand their frustration, but I guess it would be nice if people would recognize that homosexuals aren't the only group that is treated this way.

 

[mattj]

i wouldn't be so hard on you for deriding this whole thing were you just some asshole neutral party, but as you're a vocal opponent of gay marriage, to mock something like this is pretty inexcusable.

yo

i have never opposed gay marriage

back in '04 when Missouri put it's own DOMA on the ballot I voted against it

marriage is a human right

there is no logical non-religious reason to legally oppose it in this free, secular nation

 

[Glen]

yo

i have never opposed gay marriage

back in '04 when Missouri put it's own DOMA on the ballot I voted against it

marriage is a human right

there is no logical non-religious reason to legally oppose it in this free, secular nation

sorry for misrepresenting you, i was mistaken. you still think gays are icky though, right?

the 'joke' is that you clearly still don't understand the purpose of this movement

 

[mattj]

Gays are people just like anyone else. I have family who is gay and friends who are gay. They're decent people. I just can't agree with them spiritually. They're free to make whatever decisions they want, religiously and secularly. And the fact that they're not allowed to legally live their lives however they wish goes right up against the most famous portion of our Declaration of Independence, "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness".

But c/ping a red = isn't going to change crap. Might as well be kony.

Actually talking to your friends about the issue? That might do something.

 

[THE_IRON_...KENYAN?]

 

[tehy]

Isn't the point that by posting it, you're kind of saying "Hi I support gay marriage"? I agree that it could and maybe should be more overt but still.

*Restates Glen's excellent argument*

Iron you missed the intercepting player in that picture but otherwise accurate.

Edit: You ARE aware that not everyone you are facebook friends with is your close friend right? This way you can let everyone know, and also remind people if they have shoved it in the back of their mind.

 

[mattj]

I seriously had no clue any of my friends who are sporting a red = supported gay marriage. It's just never come up before.

 

[Glen]

Gays are people just like anyone else. I have family who is gay and friends who are gay. They're decent people. I just can't agree with them spiritually. They're free to make whatever decisions they want, religiously and secularly. And the fact that they're not allowed to legally live their lives however they wish goes right up against the most famous portion of our Declaration of Independence, "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness".

But c/ping a red = isn't going to change crap. Might as well be kony.

Actually talking to your friends about the issue? That might do something.

ok

i know i'm a little bit mad right now, but if you are going to continue to ignore my argument and just restate your 'its not going to make a difference' horseshit i am going to keep calling you fucking retarded

 

[shade]

sorry the iron kenyan. i mean, american football fans are just like everyone else. i have family who are american football fans and friends who are american football fans. they're decent people. i just can't agree with american football fans spiritually.

 

[THE_IRON_...KENYAN?]

youre a (BAN ME PLEASE) shade

 

[Glen]

kinda looks like geromy from sweet bro and hella jeff

wait was that racist

 

[Jebus McAzn]

hello all i agree with glen

http://deadknell.wordpress.com/2013/03/27/why-visibility-matters/

Here’s the thing with gay rights though: it is not about red vs. blue or which pop star is the best or even who used the latest meme incorrectly. No, rather,

When one group is the oppressor and another group is the oppressed, we’re not dealing with a difference of opinion. We’re dealing with a system of discrimination.

also a post that one of my friends made last night regarding people who are annoyed by the profile changes:

It is a landmark of the fact that the gay rights movement is *gasp* successful and mainstream, which is something that people literally died for just decades ago (and in some places still today).

Not everyone who changed their pro pic is bandwagoning. And even if they are, if that helps let my beautiful sister get married to a beautful girl so they can have beautiful babies and share beautiful custody and beautiful hospital visitation rights, I’m not going to go on every social media outlet I can and whine about how it’s not cool any more and how these people can’t possibly be as gay-rights-tastic as you are.

TL;DR You can’t tell us how to protest.

 

[Pernicious]

maybe a concrete way to think about it is, let's say i'm a gay male who feels kind of like, "okay, i'm aware that there's this huge popular liberal trend of acceptance for me and my life, but people irl will still kind of side-eye me if it's brought up, and i generally feel like even though legislation is being passed for me and my peeps, i still don't get the kind of social blending-qualities that i feel i deserve as a member of society?"

and then i see everyone with the equals signs...now, maybe, because i'm a teenage cynic who understands that trends are trends and that there's such a thing as social coercion and that things that are popular might not reflect internal values completely and so on, i'll have a little feeling of skepticism, like, "oh, you guys are just being kony lovers and jumping on the cockwagon, you don't really care." but it's also possible that i might simultaneously have the feeling of "hey, some of these people are expressing sentiments, saccharine and redundant as they may be, that make me feel more accepted. and now i know that i might be able to feel more comfortable around some of these people."

on the spectrum of changing-things-ness, is it going to universally make things better for all gays? no, of course not, and nobody said that. but the comparison to kony just makes no sense. acceptance is not only about doing things as glen said but about engendering a feeling. i'm an incredibly cynical guy. i hate community gestures, and friendship, and love, and etc, but even i can see some ways in which the red equals sign effort might have some effect on some homosexual people who are feeling maligned.

and, uh, in a conclusionary twist, i think the "why visibility is important" post gets a gold star!! but is kind of missing the dynamic, i think that the situation of reprimanding people who are all for gay marriage rights but have attitude about facebook shouldn't be "fuck you for not supporting me" because they do and are just being snarky dissasociants about it, it should really be "hey, i know this seems cheesy, but you need to sacrifice that feeling in order to potentially give someone else a good feeling". not that anything in that post was wrong, i just felt like it may have turned up the dial a little too much in regards to the particular offender it was responding to.

edit: VV lolz same argument

 

[inanimate blob]

I love people who are like "this won't change anything gays shouldn't marry cause it's in the Bible stop putting equal signs" and then pull this shit:

But this is my current one (I'm a slothfag I guess):

 

[Firestorm]

I'm going to post what I saw OmegaDonut post on Facebook:

By now you've surely noticed the Facebook trend of pink-on-red equal signs showing support for LGBTQ marriage equality, in response to the U.S. Supreme Court listening to arguments on Prop 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act. Some of you have expressed annoyance at this "slacktivism", noting that Facebook pictures won't do a damn thing to convince the Supreme Court to overturn them. Which is true.

But consider this: while you and I may be seeing red everywhere, there are LGBTQ people who are feeling scared and alone because their Facebook feeds are full of people telling them that they can't marry the ones they love. That they should even suffer for loving another of the same sex, or someone who doesn't fit the gender binary.

Maybe you're friends with one of these LGBTQ people. If you were hesitant about coming out as an ally before, now's a good time to fix that.

mattj: It's amazing how you still come off as a childish asshole even when you apparently support equal treatment under the law. You're a grown ass man with two children. Please act like it.

 

[Blue_Tornado]

But c/ping a red = isn't going to change crap. Might as well be kony.

Actually talking to your friends about the issue? That might do something.

This is where your argument falls flat. Most people won't be convinced by people having a talk with them and winning the argument, but they will be convinced by simple peer pressure. If everybody's for it, why the hell not?

This is exactly what simple worthless ='s aim to do.