Look at the two same-sex couples in the photo, one of each, kissing in front of a group of anti-gay-marriage activists (or traditional marriage supporters). Couples sucking face in public? A bearded guy kissing another guy just underlines the ick-factor for me -- being straight. Yeah, uhh, WROOONG. To me -- and I know plenty of others -- this kind of stuff can, at least in certain settings, be just plain wrong.
Same sex couples kiss in front of anti-gay protesters at the Supreme Court. (Karen Bleier, AFP/Getty Images)
In context, I find such flamboyance-in-activism to be the wrong way -- the ineffective way -- to sell your idea since, in this case, all I see form the couples is, well, sexual-activity-light.
The oh, pleeeease! factor is less than some guys prancing down the street in tight little yellow shorts with nothing else on but rainbow suspenders and shiny white sneakers. But, not really getting the best points across. Some people want to believe that seeking rights isn't about middle-fingering the world, but about, well, RIGHTS. Legitimacy, not acting out.
So when I looked at this and read the caption on USAToday.com, I thought, "kinda rude."
At first.
Then, my sense of the context changed dramatically. I sorted out some text and graphics on some signs held up behind the couples. MUCH MORE WRONGER.
One sign clearly has "Fag" in all-caps. Another one appears to have that term, too. A few have male stick figures bent over. One of those clearly shows another male behind him in a, y'know, rearend bonking position, on top of a wedding cake. Huh?!
Then it struck me: Westboro Baptist Church -- the family that hates together grates on society together. If you didn't know, this is not a church, but family of mean people that claims to be a Christian church. They are but a repugnant excuse for the least of liberals and other numbskulls to hate all conservatives and Christians, representing neither in truth.
So I have to congratulate the gay couples for their good behavior.
The might not be from Westboro Baptist Church. I don't think they're any different from them, though, whoever they are. They should be in straightjackets, not at the front of a group of conservative activists!
Despicable.
Sadly, there was a pretty big fail in the caption by USA Today, and perhaps the photographer (pro photographers provide captions with their images, but publications typically are free to change the captions). The activists with the horrible signage were not well-identifed. (See the caption above, it's the caption USAToday.com included.)
VIEW the full-size image HERE. See the series, "Demonstrators rally outside the Supreme Court," on USAToday.com, here.
- jR, aka AirFarceOne (follow me on Twitter!)
No comments:
Post a Comment