I really did not care either way about the California Gay Marriage/Prop 8 debate, mostly because it did not interest me. But the bullying and spiteful antics and tactics of the pro gay marriage people since their defeat at the ballot box are  starting to wear on me, especially this one, where a documentary chronicling the supposed antics of supposedly gay Republicans.

Still, the purported outings that take center stage in "Outrage" have sparked a firestorm of controversy about the fairness and appropriateness of the tactic - and whether it signals a willingness of increasingly militant activists to make private lives fair game for political strategy.

"I don't see it as outing, I see it as equalizing," said Geoff Kors of Equality California, a gay civil rights organization that unveiled two new ads and a statewide grassroots mobilization campaign to support marriage equality this week. "When a member of Congress goes on vacation and is on the beach holding hands with his partner, they're out in public.

"And if they want to get married, we'd love them to be a part of our campaign," he said.

Terry Hamilton, chairman of the board of California's Log Cabin Republicans - the gay GOP group - said Thursday that his organization "recognizes the individual and very personal decision to come out - and does not support third-party outing."

Jo Kenney, a lesbian activist who heads Kenney Consulting, a San Jose organizational development business, also cautions that sensitivity is needed regarding the fear of outing that still exists among many in the gay community.

"Not too long ago, you could go to jail for congregating in a bar, and for some people it's still very real," she said. "I'm not going to condemn those people," she said, "unless they use their power as a public official to hurt their own community."

But Republican officials - noting that the film's targets are limited mostly to Republican politicians - question whether "Outrage" is merely a veiled partisan effort.

"When a (movie) like this only highlights Republicans, it causes you to immediately question the motives of the people putting it out," said Jon Fleischman, the conservative vice chairman of the state GOP and publisher of the Flashreport.com, a California Republican Web site.

"If people have made lifestyle decisions they've kept private, then the makers of this video are showing the utmost contempt for the people who have made the sacrifice of being in public office," he said. "This flies in the face of an American tradition - that is, that people's personal lives are supposed to be just that."

Seriously,  WHY CAN'T YOU JUST FUCKING DEBATE THE ISSUE AND TRY TO PERSUADE PEOPLE THAT WAY? WHAT DO YOU FUCKING THINK YOU ARE GOING TO ACCOMPLISH BY THIS SHIT? DO YOU SUDDENLY THINK THAT THE PEOPLE YOU ARE CALLING HATEFUL HYPOCRITES WILL SUDDENLY CHANGE THEIR MINDS AND SWITCH TO YOUR SIDE?

But I guess debate and persuasion take a back seat to thuggery and intimidation, all of which will harden the divisions between the two sides.

Posted by: eddiebear at 10:42 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 520 words, total size 3 kb.