i'm not trying to be an asshole... it comes naturally

[rone]

A Yes on 8 sign has appeared on our neighbors' lawn.  My first reaction was to try to get a hold of a No on 8 sign and put it on our lawn.  Note that we like our neighbors and that, despite being really Jesusy, they're not pushy in the least about it beyond offering to pray for us in our endeavors (like when i mentioned i was going for a job interview) and wishing that God bless us, which fifteen years ago would have had me seething, but now i don't mind at all because i'm not that much of an asshole anymore.

[Poll #1273930]

The way things are going, it looks like Ecuador will have same-sex marriage before the US will.  Who saw that coming?

Comments

but on the bright side:

[lara7.livejournal.com]

>>The way things are going, it looks like Ecuador will have same-sex marriage before the US will.

yes, but only if you're willing to marry Abdala Bucaram.

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

I've heard yard signs are pretty much useless as a campaign tactic, except for obscure races where name recognition needs boosting.

I'm not sure whether that applies here, but I've always thought signs and bumper stickers that say things like "NO on 8" without elaboration do little to enlighten people about what you're on about.

[palecur.livejournal.com]

except for obscure races

Because my brain hates me, this immediately made me think of "NO ON EQUAL RIGHTS FOR HALF-GOLIATHS" signs.

[en-ki.livejournal.com]

We have it over here. Unfortunately, the structure of our society is collapsing. If only we had listened to Fr*d Ph*lps.

[wisn.livejournal.com]

Our state's constitution was amended to forbid not only gay marriage but any recognition of partnership between same-sex couples, and a coalition of nutbag right-wingers with deep pockets (cough Tom Monahan cough) have been funding law firms to go after every attempt to recognize same-sex couplehood in any way.

Upside: The state is rapidly becoming a bastion of hetero righteousness in a desolate amoral landscape of American buggery. Downside: Pretty nearly anybody with an interest in starting a business that doesn't cater to the Christian Right has even less reason to plant an office here, since they're as likely as not going to be dragged to court if they provide employee benefits similar to what they provide elsewhere. So, yeah, it's about the opposite of what the state with the worst unemployment rates and highest depopulation rates in the nation ought to be doing.

[en-ki.livejournal.com]

Don't worry: when Detroit reverts to the wilderness and there are neither laws nor Craigslist, everyone will have equal rights by default.

[kawgirl.livejournal.com]

You could get signs supporting election issues you care about, including Prop 8...That way a counter sign goes up and it doesn't look like you're just reacting to your neighbor.

[erikred.livejournal.com]

You could go over and talk to your neighbor about _why_ you'd like them to remove their sign. If that doesn't work, sure, post your own "Vote No on 8; ask me why!" signs.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

I definitely do not want them to remove their sign. Hmm, that was going to be one of the options in the poll, "A *real* asshole would just steal their sign."

[erikred.livejournal.com]

If you don't want them to remove their sign (and more democratic power to you) but you feel strongly enough about the issue, then yes, put up your own sign.

No on Prop 8

[butterflygenius.livejournal.com]

I agree, but I also feel that all of the pre-election propaganda means nothing compared to getting off your ass & actually voting, so I also think that getting your own sign would be offensive only for the fact that they are usually printed with glossy ink that makes them un-recyclable.

So I say, help save the environment, forget the sign & just be sure to vote & enlighten everyone you know about why they too should vote no on prop 8. Signs don't mean shit if the time is not taken to explain the issue anyway.

[dpk.livejournal.com]

They presumably think that somehow allowing gay people to marry affects heterosexual marriage. I say, call them on it: Ask them exactly what will change about their marriage, or their lives in general, if gay people can marry?

[solipsistnation.livejournal.com]

You know, I was walking through lovely Santa Cruz the other day and saw that not only are there "No on 8" signs in front of most of the houses, but even the churches are all out for "No on 8" and have lots of nice things on the signs out front and so on. So I was thinking "I haven't even seen a Yes on 8 sign anywhere. What kind of asshole would put up a Yes on 8 sign?" I guess it's possible to not be a total asshole and still not want same-sex marriages to happen, but, dang. It's hard to hold that in my head. The cognitive dissonance sets up a distressing mental clamor.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

That's pretty much where i was back when Prop 22 passed with over 60% of the vote.

[deirdremoon.livejournal.com]

That's a seriously tough one. On the one hand, I get really cranky when people assume I must hold a view because I'm American/white/fill in blank, and I feel like silence is assent in many of those cases. On the other hand, I haven't yet put a "Born-again Pagan" bumper sticker on my car because I feel like I'll just make as many people mad as their "No Jesus, No Peace" ones do, and why increase badwill in the world? Especially when I can't actually argue in anything but soundbites? I guess that's what it comes down to. You're not going to change minds with three words, so I wouldn't bother if I were in your place. (Happily, neither will they.)

Tell them you did it for the Savage Love rights

[skippy-fluff.livejournal.com]

Dan Savage of "Savage Love" is currently running a promotion where donating to Equality California's "No on 8" campaign and mentioning him in the drop-box will get you a personal response to an emailed question; he's also planning to give public answers to the questions from the highest donors (see his column, reprinted all over (http://www.avclub.com/content/node/8766) for details). Get the sign, put it up and then, if they ask, tell them that you had a question for Dan and got this as a perk. Then you can sit back and let them head over to Dan's column for a vision of the world they likely don't get often. Bonus: they get to imagine what your question was! Day after day, week after week, their ears will strain for the sounds of perversion....


On a more serious note, please do get the yard sign if you do care. As someone who has now had to have 3 wedding ceremonies as recognition has appeared and disappeared, I'd like to avoid the additional expense of further nuptials. Support my being cheap: stop the constitutional amendment!

Re: Tell them you did it for the Savage Love rights

[roseembolism.livejournal.com]

I would go and plant on the neighbor's lawn, right next to the "Yes on 8" sign, a bigger sign saying "THE GUN IS GOOD! THE PENIS IS EVIL!". Or maybe paint it on the sidewalk.

Or, you could justget a "No on 8" sign. A big one, with Christmas tree lights around it.

Re: Tell them you did it for the Savage Love rights

[sunburn.livejournal.com]

..and a couple of RealDolls...

Re: Tell them you did it for the Savage Love rights

[sanspoof.livejournal.com]

... in tiny red briefs and fake moustaches. Killing other realdolls in suits.


Maybe just get a big honking rainbow flag and display prominently?

Re: Tell them you did it for the Savage Love rights

[butterflygenius.livejournal.com]

I LOVE the rainbow flag idea! You guys even have a flag holder out in front, that would such a much more awesome statement that a boring old sign! Partnered with the sign, it would totally overshadow the neighbors & ppl would be more likely to ask about the flag w/the sign I think. Then you can tell them all about your gay step-daughter & how it would mean so much to her if she could enjoy all of the marriage benefits that heterosexual couples have. I find ppl have a harder time denying the rights of someone they actually know, rather than an idea.

[ratphooey.livejournal.com]

Drive your car across their lawn and knock the sign down.

[dagon.net (from livejournal.com)]

I wouldn't care about your neighbor's sign specifically. HOWEVER, having some number of "no on 8" signs visible in an area can signal to other neighbors that they won't be the only person in the neighborhood who thinks it's a bad idea.

Having hundreds of signs on every available plot of grass is not helpful. Having a few signs in the area to show that local real people will vote no is probably a good thing.

Bumper stickers likewise. If lots of cars have one, the marginal value of another is very low, possibly negative. If they're rare, then it's a valuable signal that some real person thinks it's ok to believe that.

[nyar.livejournal.com]

your sign will cancel out their sign, and the world will be in balance. I hate signs, but I think in your position I would be forced to put one up, as I believe strongly enough to give the No on 8 people money.

[haloumi.livejournal.com]

Put up another 'Yes on 8' sign next to the existing one, connected with a rainbow-flag lei, then put a sign up on your lawn that says 'God hates Same Sign Marriage! Leviticus 8:12'.

More seriously, if you don't put up a sign, you will appear complicit. If you feel strongly about it, put up a sign to say what you think is right and show passers by that not everyone in your neighbourhood has a problem with same-sex marriage. Something neutral like 'Religious intolerance not practised here' or 'Shrimp, homosexuals, people in two different fabrics and menstruating women welcome here. Not so fast, proposition 8!'

(Possibly that is slightly contentious...)

[butterflygenius.livejournal.com]

slightly contentious perhaps, but....roflmao in any case

[askesis.livejournal.com]

How about a "Whose rights do we vote on next?" sign? Because this thing is a direct assault on our Constitution.

[matrushkaka.livejournal.com]

I'd just like to step in here and vent that it pisses me off to no end that with all the problems we're having with the economy, the environment, and foreigh policy, people are wasting time worrying about GAYS GETTING MARRIED.

[mdyesowitch.livejournal.com]

My defend marriage as the union of two (or more?) people who love each other and commit to carrying about each other forever (or until they don't want to anymore?) stance is warring with my anti-proselytizing stance, therefore canceling out my opinion and rendering it useless.

Can you hang a rainbow flag or something?

You insensitive asshole!

[h-postmortemus.livejournal.com]

1) If you cared about Prop 8 before your neighbor's sign up, why didn't you put a sign-up?
2) Such signs, especially in neighborhoods, are about signifying allegiance and a form of vanity: "*I* support xyz! Look at me supporting xyz!! Me me me!"
3) You should put-up a sign that says "Maybe on 8". Or even "Prop 8... Meh..."

And as for having Jesus Crispy neighbors, I have them too. I get along fine with them. I never get offended when someone says God Bless to me because as an atheist, it's like someone saying "May santa bring you lots of presents!": It's a friendly sentiment based on mythos. Atheists who get pissed off about this sort of thing and offended by displays of religion fail to recognize that religious belief is about choice, like any freedom... And you have to deal with choices opposite of yours.

(And yes, I *do* get pissed about people who preach to me. The vast majority of Christians seem to have learned that it's pretty rude and offensive to just preach at people randomly).

Talk to Them?

[rotojeff.livejournal.com]

They know you well enough to know when you're going for an interview, and they think highly enough of you to wish you well - whether it's a format you believe in or not.

Perhaps you should talk to them. Tell them why you disagree/think it's offensive. Who knows, maybe you'll change their minds about the sign, if not their point of view. After all, the goal is to persuade, right?

Otherwise, put me in the: "If you care so much, why didn't you get one in the first place?" camp.

[joepro.livejournal.com]

Funniest ronebofh post eva!

For the record, my vote would have been "get really drunk one night, and stumble into their yard at 3am and rip down the sign."

[mrbadjudgment.livejournal.com]

perhaps you could put up a bigger sign supporting Lord Zod for president!
.