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Loading ...Report from California: Protesting the Mormons
Realizing that you’ve been boxed in by the LAPD, all of whom have just swung down their riot visors, really adds a jolt of perspective to your day. I began to wonder how crazy things were about to get, and if I’d be a wuss about tear gas.
As it turned out, today was not the day when I find out whether I’m the sort who pulls her shirt up over her nose and marches bravely forward or the kind who’s found curled up on the sidewalk trying to claw her own eyeballs out. The front-liners moved through the crowd to let us know that the police were going ahead to clear traffic, and then they’d move their cars. We got some more chanting going “Gay, straight! Black, white! Marriage is a civil right!” and before too long, we were on the move.We marched up to Wilshire Boulevard, and sat down again. It was getting toward rush hour in Los Angeles, and we were essentially an unscheduled parade on a major traffic artery. It was sort of like walking up to O’Hare airport on Thanksgiving and mentioning that we’d be taking over a couple of runways for the weekend. Were we really going to do this?
Yup.
We moved east on Wilshire, full of inspiration, grinning at each other with the amazing power of numbers and giddy with the weird, naughty thrill of knowing that we were, collectively, a complete pain in the ass.
One more roadblock and then they just let us have the boulevard. The police rode ahead on motorcycles and then lined up to block traffic on cross streets so we could pass. Initial jolt of adrenaline aside, I have to hand it to the police. We handed them a pisser of a day. Whether they blocked us or let us pass, they were guaranteed to make a lot of people very angry just for doing their jobs, and I never saw any of them treat us with anything but Stoicism. A few of us on the edges tried to call out thanks to the ones who were blocking the side streets for us. Some took it as sincere and but a lot seemed to take it as sarcasm. I kind of get why.
We marched past hotels and apartment buildings, past people who came out to cheer, people who came out to watch, and people who came out to stare laser holes through us with their eyeballs. Cars going the other way honked in support and were rewarded with wild cheers.
And still we kept going. And kept chanting. A good, long march gives you a lot of time to think about the nature of chanting. Specifically, how some people have the charisma or magic or whatever it is that’s required to start a good chant and keep it going and some people don’t. If someone hasn’t already done a paper on this, please do.
More importantly, if repeated attempts seem to be indicating that you’re in the second category, please, for the love of God, accept it and move on. Or at least don’t keep trying every 12 feet. It really is OK to let the drummers take over for a while. I know: It would be really, really cool to be the lone man or woman who does the “What do we want?” part. But sheer bloodyminded screaming won’t make it happen. Have you thought about making an amusing sign instead?
We marched from Westwood all the way to Beverly Hills, then hit Santa Monica again and marched back toward the Temple. It was dark. Fresh marchers had been joining as they got off from work or school or received one of the eleventy billion text messages that were sent back and forth during the protest, and our numbers seemed to be huge.
Cars going the other way on Santa Monica honked with even more gusto than those on Wilshire, and we cheered back. A few people ran over to give high-fives. I looked up to see the silhouettes of people pressed against their office windows, wondered why my arms weren’t falling off from holding up my (non-witty) sign, and took another moment to savor walking down the middle of a car-less street.
.NEXT PAGE: Back at the Temple
i was proud to see all the protestors on the news and always wonder what the secret text message code is to be notified of these things. but i couldn’t help but wonder why we didn’t march and protest like this _before_ the election. it’s great for raising awareness, but it’s over and will do nothing to change the outcome. ask Al Gore about how election results work.
i was emailed an online petition which is basically an open letter to Schwarzenegger asking him to reopen prop 8. having known the guy personally from his gym days, i feel pretty confident his response will be to just ignore us until we go away, or to simply say ‘collect enough signatures and put it back on the ballot and win this time.’ as a governor who has vetoed gay marriage legislation before, it’s unrealistic to think he’d stick his neck out even farther by overturning the vote of the people. that’s not his style.
though some are afraid to admit it, there’s more guilty parties here than just the mormons, including poor organization from our own leaders. bottom line though, we lost. protesting is healthy, but true to the gay clock, we’re a little late to the party.
anyway, thanks for sharing the experience. i did get married and am hopeful it remains legally intact, but i don’t want the right taken away for anyone either. it’s a shame, but prop 8 is a reality… for now.
And so it begins……..
Bravo and Good Luck and remember, our brothers and sisters are always welcome here.
Ali, thanks for sharing your experience.
Your mention of the chant “Just One Wife!” made me realize that this may be one of the first times that the LDS church has encouraged such a bizarre (to them) exception. I started picturing hundreds of colorful GLBT characters descending on certain parts of Arizona and Utah, requiring a Prop 8-style law be followed there. What’s good for the goose, is good for the Elder, hm?
Good job. Its time to get organized. Its time to get mad……..I am. Im not going to take it any more. Personally, the mormons I know, living in a mormon state, are the meanest cheating people to be found. They’d abuse non mormons in any situation and are sanctimonious together. How about a constitutional ban of mormons.
I wouldn’t give the religious entities the time of day.SUE em! One reader stated they were in violation of non-profit status laws. I am not an attorney and that is beyomd me. We ask for calm in the LGBT population for now. Civil Rights is on the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and it won’t be a debate or a study. The violations here are astounding and come from the most un ruliest State in this country. We wont ask for a vote or submit a petition for rights. We will demand it nationwide and our hopes are that they will have no choice at that point but to grant. Be patient. it still make take some time as the wheels of government turn slow but they turn just the same.We needed this election to turn out the way it did and if you remember, President Obama did address the equality of gay and straight. There is a reason he said that.It’s on and he knows it. Have a great day!!! we will here in Mississippi.
http://www.mormonsstoleourrights.com/#petition – Petition to tax the Mormon Church
The numbers of this protest were great, but watch the hate, folks. One should indeed cringe at signs reading “Mormon SCUM”. We’re all angry, but spreading more hate isn’t the way to solve problems.
I may not agree with Mormonism or Catholisism, but I’ll die for their right to practice it. But the bottom line is that they can’t legislate their religion. They can believe what they want and teach their children what they want, but putting their religious beliefs into law to discriminate against a particular group is against the constitution.
Oh, and Prop 8 not going through is a stiff blow to our community, but what about all the states where there aren’t even hate crime or work discrimination laws yet? March on Pennsylvania anyone?
BEAUTIFUL piece!! I love your style
I wish i could have been there.
I applaud the protestors! The Mormon Church should be called to account for thier religious bigotry! But I am beginning to sense a tendancy to shy away from addressing the other group whose votes were pivotal in the passage of Prop 8 and the denial of our equality. As most know by now, 70% of the African American community and 75% of Black females voted Yes on Prop 8. Posted below is a link to a video showing a prominent African American “Yes on Prop 8″ advocate preaching to an enthusiastic crowd and implying that gay people are pedophiles and are targeting children. Spewing filth like “Gays can’t reproduce, so they Recruit”. This is the exact kind of open anti-gay bigotry that was used to pass Prop 8 and is sadly quite common within much of the Black church in America. Ignoring this blatant bigotry will not make it go away.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrwj7SVWBMA&feature=related
And so it has come to pass. Did religious extremists, specifically the Mormons in this instance, really believe that the Gay Community was going to take all this inequality lying down? This is only the beginning. When will these people learn that equality means just that: equality for all.
I wish that our community was more organized, that mass emailings telling of these events would go out – I would have gladly flown into CA to attent, to protest. The passing of Prop 8 impacted us all, not just those in CA and I see/feel the palpable anger that is out there and know that more of us want to do more – as Sodomight stated – lets march on the White House!!!!
Special thanks to blacksteel for the posting and web link. Many of you may not know that the Mormon church has a history of discrimination. They refused in the 70’s to allow Blacks membership into their church until the federal government threatened to revoke their tax-exempt status. If everyone reading this blog would pass the IRS petition to their friends and family, maybe we can bring back separation of church and state and keep the religious tax-empters from violating the law by contributing financially to the political process!!!!
Here is the previous post for ease of ref.: blacksteel Said: November 7th, 2008 at 11:53 am
http://www.mormonsstoleourrights.com/#petition – Petition to tax the Mormon Church
The Mormons contributed substantially to the Yes on 8 campaign, by their own tracking contributing $14,919,850.71 from donors of $1,000 or more.
http://mormonsfor8.com/
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pe2023SzWXxE8wYX5qWeoIw
I have been depressed since Tuesday night. A friend sent me this quote, and I think I’m coming back to my happy self.
“The probability that we may fall in the struggle ought not deter us from the support of the cause we believe to be just; it shall not deter me.”–Abraham Lincoln 12-26-1839
Great. Now go protest the black churches, too. Call them what they are: a bunch of biggoted homophobes. I’m much less likely to take a proactive stand for black civil rights then I was on Monday.
I am a straight woman who is not only NOT homophobic but believes that Gay people should have the same rights as their straight counterparts. However, I voted Yes on 8. Why, because we have different views on how to get where we both want to go. I also want to mention that I am African American, which as you know was one of the groups to help pass Prop 8.
Since it passed, I’ve read a lot of comments where people are surprised that Blacks and Latinos overwhelmingly supported the ban. People want to know how we could support the ban. I can answer this for you. I don’t think this is a civil rights issue and neither does anyone I know. Why? Because NO ONE is disputing the fact that you guys should have the same rights, this very long and drawn out fight is over one thing and one thing only, the word “marriage”. I will never see this as anything other than that. As someone who has many gay friends some of whom agree with me (most don’t) I know that this is a very emotional issue. However, it’s because of this, that neither side is hearing what the other is saying.
There are 2 facts here: 1. Marriage is a religious ceremony and has been for thousands of years. Anyone who believes in God, has to believe that he doesn’t make mistakes so when he says that it’s a union between a man and a woman then that’s what it is. To say that God is wrong that it should be redefined, is extremely offensive. So as someone who believes in God, I have every right to vote to protect my beliefs.
2. Same Sex couples are not afforded the same rights as straight couples and the laws need to be changed so that Gay couples are equally protected.
Here’s where the argument begins. The State providing rights to the institution of marriage does not mean that the institution is no longer a religious one. The State has no rights to legislate Religion. The only thing the State should do is create something that mirrors the rights of marriage that will provide equal protection for Gay couples. Is this separate but equal, kind of, but there are many practices of Religious groups that are not practiced by non religious groups. It’s so funny to me that I keep hearing that the Church has no right to keep Gays from being protected under the law and you’re right. But the Gay community has no right to challenge our God, by saying he’s wrong by defining Marriage as between a man and a woman.
I ask the Gay community to ask itself, what’s more important, your rights or the desire to call yourself married. If you decide to fight for your rights, you would find that the Christians, Jews, Blacks, Whites, Asians and Latinos would proudly march with you. But as long as you are trying to undermine our beliefs by redefing Marriage. The conflict will continue.
I also ask you to stop protesting a church (which I find unbelieveable because that’s the same as protesting God). Get the two sides together and work this thing out. Truthfully speaking, if you remove the word marriage, you get rid of the church and this issue would’ve been resolved 10 years ago.
I just want you to realize that we are not bigots, we do not hate Gay people and do not think you are second class ctizens. Just respect our beliefs.