=

i actually mostly agree with all of that, and i too think our culture moves really quickly, but i just don't think that's a reason to discredit brief pockets of positive activity ( i also don't think petitions.gov will accomplish anything, but that's another story )

idk

like jumpluff said

why do straight people have to know what's best for gay people all the time

why is the constant sarcasm and derision towards teenagers necessary

why is playing steam and masturbating any better than changing your profile picture to look rll gud

why is it crazy that a gay person might take pleasure in all of the support

am i unreasonable to agree with the frustration at our spasmodic cultural cone of caring but still take offense at the reddit-y tone of heterosexuality that seems to denounce the entire rest of society

uh, finally,the tumblr-sentiment of "#so done with straight people" seems to apply here....no wonder there was that scandal about the guy playing the my little pony theme song during the congressional hearing several months ago....aint nothing wrong with a little sensitivity, o plugged-in silicon pirates of the future.

i'm confused about the civil rights point....who says we aren't having as much of a national consciousness about this? you realize that gay rights has not been swept under the rug as much as the sequester has in the past, it's just blooming rn because of the supreme court hearing? i think it has the potentially to drastically embiggen over the course of the next few whiles.
 

Imanalt

I'm the coolest girl you'll ever meet
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
I still prefer the one's that are == not =. I mean come on this is equality not assignment.

.equals(all) is also acceptable

Seriously thiugh a large portion of the problem gays face is not legal but social discrimination, and this helps fight that which is good
 

Adamant Zoroark

catchy catchphrase
is a Contributor Alumnus
Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, people are making their profile pics those pink-on-red equal signs...

Who cares? Personally, I don't care if this does or doesn't accomplish something. Let them express their opinions. I've seen some of my friends with this red equals sign, but it really doesn't annoy me. I mean, it's just a red equals sign. It might annoy some people, but it doesn't annoy me.

That's all I really have to say about this. This thread is incredibly stupid.
 
>implying your interpretation of how to improve rights of a community you do not belong to is better than others'
>implying feelings are insignificant
>implying people who do this aren't doing anything else
>implying you are da great white straight savior of da gays
What the FUCK smogon. Why has no one made fun of this guy for using 4chan green text shit?

 
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.
"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.
and it hardly matters to most people how those words are used any more.
hardly matters to most people
most people
Able-bodied straight white men, everybody! Isn't it just a lovely coincidence that that group has the least amount of shitty offensive slurs associated with them, and are (in general) the ones deciding for everyone else what is and isn't offensive anymore? Taking offense means you're a tiny baby who just likes to cry about nothing. ABSWM never gets offended when a hypothetical person calls him a cracker, why should you?
 


Some friends and I started a sort of movement on Facebook in our sphere of it to change all out profiles to this. Thankfully no one is the wiser that its a subliminal message to poke fun at guys and change their brains!
 
Able-bodied straight white men, everybody! Isn't it just a lovely coincidence that that group has the least amount of shitty offensive slurs associated with them, and are (in general) the ones deciding for everyone else what is and isn't offensive anymore? Taking offense means you're a tiny baby who just likes to cry about nothing. ABSWM never gets offended when a hypothetical person calls him a cracker, why should you?
Yeah, seriously. 'Most people'. I don't think it matters what 'most people' think about slurs, since they aren't the ones targeted by them, even if they're being called one. The meaning of (BAN ME PLEASE) and words of that ilk hasn't changed in the slightest and regardless of whatever people want to think as they throw them around, the fact of the matter is there are still a lot of people who are hurt by them. So if you want to use them (and let's be real, you want to use '(BAN ME PLEASE)' because it's a slur), at least don't pretend they aren't slurs.

Also, 'retarded' is a very different word to 'Jewish', and regardless of the medical definition, many disabled people and communities reject it.

The straightness in this thread hit a new level.



Also, the struggles of other groups don't take away from the struggles of LGBT people, and they can even coincide. The fact that I get shit on as a disabled person doesn't mean I want to get shit on even more as an LGBT person either. Yes, homophobia gets a lot of attention -- not enough, even. No, it shouldn't get less. I would like it if people cared more about ableism, for example, or transphobia, and too many people think racism is over, and I wish more people cared about LGBT rights beyond marriage (for example, the alarming proportion of homeless youth being LGBT...), but taking away from the fight for LGBT rights isn't the way to do that.
 

Crux

Banned deucer.
I seriously had no clue any of my friends who are sporting a red = supported gay marriage. It's just never come up before.
I think it's really telling that you hit upon the entire purpose of the = movement in your attempt to be derisive.



And then missed the fact that you'd hit it.
 

tehy

Banned deucer.
Eh, I suppose I could weigh in on this.

On the one hand, I'm a guy, pretty white, so on. So I can't really know how these slurs would affect me. Right? But wait, I'm Jewish! And I played on SC for a while, where Jew was a standard insult. Didn't bother me much.

I'm exceptionally thick-skinned about that stuff though, I think it's kind of a retarded insult. If someone insults me personally it always hurts, but when someone uses such a ridiculous insult, I'm just like "whatever".

The thing about Gay that separates it from Jew and shit like that is that it has an actual root. Sure, Jews generally share some characteristics, but it's not always. Gay People (Side note:Is Gays offensive?), on the other hand, without exception, all love their own sex. Making fun of you for that is like making fun of you for being tall-it's something you can't control and is a part of you.

Edit: Lol crux, good point, but like I responded to that:FB isn't just for your friends. For some people, it's business associates. Maybe your wife's extended family. Maybe you just have like 500 FB friends. With that picture you let them all know (If they know about the movement, granted.) Even if you posted a large amount of status updates or something, a lot of them still might miss it. This way, it'll be impossible to ignore(Or at least hard.)

Double edit: I wasn't saying people should say it, I was just saying how I feel about such insults personally.
 
Tehy it's not just about whether you personally offend someone though. I'm not offended by the use of gay/(BAN ME PLEASE)/homo/fudgepacker/shirtlifter/whatever, even if someone is trying to insult me with it... but I still think it's fucking stupid to use and that people should avoid it. Why? Because it creates a hostile environment for gay people, regardless of the intentions of whoever is using it. Referring to things you don't like as "gay" basically says that gayness is something bad, even if you're technically someone who is like 'fuck yeah gay marriage/people.'

It's also important to remember that while something might not be offensive to you nowadays, it can definitely have a pretty huge affect on you when you're younger and more likely to care about what other people think. Gay kids get a hell of a lot of mixed messages, you see regular gay characters in TV shows or movies being cool guys or ladies, but you also get shit where gay people are depraved villains due to their sexuality, or just gay-coded dudes being foppish evilbadguys. Then you get other people who are like "YOU'RE A COCKMUNCHING (BAN ME PLEASE)" online, followed by them putting these red = signs on their Facebooks. It's confusing, and it makes it harder for these kids to come out. It's better than it used to be, but it's still not good enough.

PS: Jew is still a fucking terrible insult that shouldn't be used.
 
Making fun of you for that is like making fun of you for being tall-it's something you can't control and is a part of you.

which is kind of a shitty habit i got over around middle school here? I mean I wish I could attribute "shaming biological differences" to juvenility but I guess that attitude just rebounds back at you in the form of unteachable manchildren...




Also, going to the jcp here for the first in almost a year's time the other day reminded me of that bleak and dystopic sense of physical uniformity creeping behind society.
 
Clearly the majority of the LGBT representation in this thread (Jumpluff) and presumably the majority of the LGBT community in the States. This isn't an issue for people in other countries but it's a hot topic. Jumpluff and Elcheeso have hit the nail on the head. This isn't just about equality for gays or just LGBT. There is still a ton of bigotry, prejudice and all the -isms you can think of. It's an issue that people care about because people who's rights aren't the same as yours deserve them to be.
 
the LGBT community faces a ridiculous amount of bigotry and marginalisation from religious organisations, political movements and quite a large proportion of society in general. if an organisation in support of something like gay marriage is capitalising on the opportunity to attempt to alleviate some of this by starting a so far very successful campaign as the United States Supreme Court debates this exact issue, go for it. if people wish to express their support by changing their social media website display picture to something one and the same that is relevant for the issue, there is nothing wrong with that; it in fact boosts the credibility / exposure of the campaign. people will wonder what the hell the red equals sign means and read about the campaign - they may even decide to participate themselves. at any rate, it's good to see that a campaign promoting marriage equality (and possibly further bolstering of LGBT rights) has taken off on such a high note.
 
Still

>>snip
You know what's a less effective show of support than changing your profile picture?

Complaining about people who change their profile picture.

Aimed at basically everyone, apologies if you are a person whom the show of support is intended for. People complaining about actual issues (like the fact it's the HRC logo), by all means, go ahead. =D Slacktivism is bad, but it does not apply to everything. There are a couple of bones to pick with the RED MENACE, but I'm the only one who's brought any of them up. Overall good sentiment though, and if it makes people feel welcome, I'm not complaining about that part.
 

nyttyn

From Now On, We'll...
is a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a CAP Contributor Alumnus
What people need to realize is this isn't kony 2012 (which in itself was filled with a wealth of issues but let's just let that horse die), but instead a way of showing where you stand to those 'close' to you. What you support. This isn't trying to force the hand of international politics, this is about equality with the people near you.

You know what's a more effective form of support? Certainly, most things. Who cares? Cut it out with the elitism, we aren't deluding ourselves with some fantasy warlord who we can't catch and who doesn't matter to forces we can't control, this is about social change, about showing what we believe is right, one step at a time.

So long as you realize that this isn't going to change the world over-night, by all means this is a good and fine way of support. Don't bitch just because someone doesn't (or can't) put in as much support as you do - thank them for their support, instead.

Also the HRC complaint isn't really valid. An equals sign stands for equality, and is extremely generic. There is absolutely no issue with two movements using the same logo if it's generic. If they had some sort of crazy double swan logo that we were using the complaint would be valid. That and the HRC kind of is a LGBT rights organization so... Unless they're harmful like PETA is to Animal Rights or Autism Speaks is to Autism, I don't see the issue (and if they are harmful like that I apologize, I haven't heard anything bad about them yet. Nothing good either though.).

I'm bisexual and I approve this message.

ps if you're seriously asking who the hell cares go around telling everyone you know you're gay or bisexual.

That should be a pleasant eye-opener for you.
 
Also the HRC complaint isn't really valid. An equals sign stands for equality, and is extremely generic. There is absolutely no issue with two movements using the same logo if it's generic. If they had some sort of crazy double swan logo that we were using the complaint would be valid. That and the HRC kind of is a LGBT rights organization so... Unless they're harmful like PETA is to Animal Rights or Autism Speaks is to Autism, I don't see the issue (and if they are harmful like that I apologize, I haven't heard anything bad about them yet. Nothing good either though.).
You're kind of completely ignoring the context here. It's a famous logo that already had certain connotations (just recoloured), it was launched as the HRC Facebook profile picture (i.e. this is coordinated by their social media/marketing team, lol), and it does, more or less, promote the HRC.

Also, yes, the problem is that HRC has a history of being a hit-and-miss organisation for LGBT individuals, and a lot of the queer community objects to them becoming synonymous with their cause. Which is kind of shitty when you're more or less a monolith, when your logo is becoming iconic. I doubt the majority of people in this thread gives a shit, since they don't even give a shit about the = sign, but summary of some of the issues: massive financial inefficiency (which sucks from the largest and most financially dominant LGBT rights organisation in the USA), continuously throwing transgender people under the bus, continuous bisexual erasure, using people's rights as bargaining chips and softening demands, apathy towards more marginalised LGBT people, etc. Would be happy to PM you some links. Any organisation of its stature is going to attract criticism from all sides, but some of these in particular are indefensible in my eyes, regardless of 'strategy'.

Full disclosure: I'm not American, and I'm sure they do plenty of good and useful lobbying, etc., but in context of all this, and what they're doing, I don't like that their logo is being used for such a purely idealistic acceptance-based message. It's hypocritical. Nevertheless, I'm sure most people don't really realise and I do stress the sentiment is appreciated by lots, but it's a little grating for many people who recognise it. I think people's feelings are valid. And education on these kinds of things is useful, no? =)
 

nyttyn

From Now On, We'll...
is a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a CAP Contributor Alumnus
You're kind of completely ignoring the context here. It's a famous logo that already had certain connotations (just recoloured), it was launched as the HRC Facebook profile picture (i.e. this is coordinated by their social media/marketing team, lol), and it does, more or less, promote the HRC.

Also, yes, the problem is that HRC has a history of being a hit-and-miss organisation for LGBT individuals, and a lot of the queer community objects to them becoming synonymous with their cause. Which is kind of shitty when you're more or less a monolith, when your logo is becoming iconic. I doubt the majority of people in this thread gives a shit, since they don't even give a shit about the = sign, but summary of some of the issues: massive financial inefficiency (which sucks from the largest and most financially dominant LGBT rights organisation in the USA), continuously throwing transgender people under the bus, continuous bisexual erasure, using people's rights as bargaining chips and softening demands, apathy towards more marginalised LGBT people, etc. Would be happy to PM you some links. Any organisation of its stature is going to attract criticism from all sides, but some of these in particular are indefensible in my eyes, regardless of 'strategy'.

Full disclosure: I'm not American, and I'm sure they do plenty of good and useful lobbying, etc., but in context of all this, and what they're doing, I don't like that their logo is being used for such a purely idealistic acceptance-based message. It's hypocritical. Nevertheless, I'm sure most people don't really realise and I do stress the sentiment is appreciated by lots, but it's a little grating for many people who recognise it. I think people's feelings are valid. And education on these kinds of things is useful, no? =)

Ah, my fault, I genuinely was unaware, and thought the issue was stealing their logo, not getting associated with them. I would enjoy it if you could PM me some of those links, actually - it would be interesting to read more. Thank you for going into detail about why they're shit.

And yes, agreed, Education is very useful. That's why you ask questions, and I applaud you for offering links Jumpluff.
 

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