# Gay Dopers - Are you calling in sick on October 8th? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 27, 2004, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-dopers-are-you-calling-in-sick-on-october-8th/266227 "2004-09-27T01:21:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Survivor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/51bf81/32.png) [@Survivor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Survivor)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-dopers-are-you-calling-in-sick-on-october-8th/266227/1 "2004-09-27T01:21:16Z")
For those that don’t know, Friday, October 8th is the [Boycott for Equality](http://www.365gay.com/newscon04/08/082504boycott.htm) . The idea is that we’re not supposed to work, use cellphones, or spend money to show our clout. My husband and I are going to be home that day… I feel a cold coming on already 😃 Anybody else planning on participating? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-dopers-are-you-calling-in-sick-on-october-8th/266227/2 "2004-09-27T01:46:26Z")
This sort of thing reminds me of the one day gasoline boycotts that are supposed to show out clout with the oil companies. [Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/petition/gasout.htm) has already shown why this sort of protest is completely ineffective. Also, if you happen to work for a company that gives benefits to domestic partners and is generally gay friendly, why would you want to call in sick to a place like that? Why punish the good guys? Makes no sense to me. If you’re going to give up a day for Gay rights? Why not do it in a way that will actually do some good? Volunteer for a day at an AIDS hospice (not that AIDS is only a gay problem), give a day’s salary to your local Pride organization or spend a day manning a booth at a Pride event. Your heart is in the right place but sitting on your butt all day with your cell phone off and being sure to stock up on all of your food the day before so you won’t have to buy it on the 5th won’t accomplish squat. Haj ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-dopers-are-you-calling-in-sick-on-october-8th/266227/3 "2004-09-27T02:53:36Z")
While I am on the side of gay equality, this is a preposterous idea. It quite obviously will not work. Businesses generally do not measure profit and loss in 24-hour increments. Since you’re going to have to buy food and such either the day before or the day after (or whenever - you get the idea) it is quite unlikely that anyone will notice the economic impact of this “boycott.” You can’t boycott EVERYTHING. Boycotts work when a mass of people chooses to avoid to buy from X when there are alternatives to X. Go ahead and have a boycott. Nobody will notice. Far more effective would be boycotting actual companies or states that screw over gays. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Carter_of_Mars)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-dopers-are-you-calling-in-sick-on-october-8th/266227/4 "2004-09-27T03:20:28Z")
I’m all for equality, but calling in sick when you’re not sick is lying. It also hurts your co-workers who will have to take up your slack. There’s got to be a better way. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-dopers-are-you-calling-in-sick-on-october-8th/266227/5 "2004-09-27T03:33:09Z")
Isn’t that Dave Barry’s birthday? ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-dopers-are-you-calling-in-sick-on-october-8th/266227/6 "2004-09-27T04:51:01Z")
I won’t, for the same reasons given in this thread and others about it. It’s a poorly-planned idea that will have zero effect. Businesses look at trends, not what happens on a single day. And the company I work for isn’t even remotely anti-gay; why would I boycott them? Same with most of the places I shop at. If I find out that a company actively supports some anti-gay policy, _then_ I’ll boycott that company, and not just for one day, but forever until they change that policy. That website says the message intended by the boycott is to show how much purchasing power homosexuals have. Is that really even in question? As **RickJay** said, your time and money would be better spent doing something about it instead of not doing something about it. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-dopers-are-you-calling-in-sick-on-october-8th/266227/7 "2004-09-27T05:02:26Z")
In lieu of boycotting buying on one day, might I suggest something more powerful? Recent AFA email updates (keep your friends close and your enemies closer) reveal that Proctor & Gamble are walking the walk and talking the talk re: gay rights. Instead of boycotting, for one day, all businesses, see what business can’t be transferred to them. Perhaps write letters to them, and to the companies you have abandoned because of their stance on this issue. Purchasing power over one day is one thing; purchasing power over years is another, especially if it is a coordinated effort. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-dopers-are-you-calling-in-sick-on-october-8th/266227/8 "2004-09-27T06:35:42Z")
> [@vanilla](#): > > Isn’t that Dave Barry’s birthday? I believe it’s his son’s birthday. \ ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-dopers-are-you-calling-in-sick-on-october-8th/266227/9 "2004-09-27T07:34:48Z")
> [@Harimad-sol](#): > > I believe it’s his son’s birthday. \ Correct; it’s also the date of every important event in American history. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-dopers-are-you-calling-in-sick-on-october-8th/266227/10 "2004-09-27T07:48:07Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Correct; it’s also the date of every important event in American history. You read that book too? I am not participating. Friday is a work day I really cannot afford to miss. I probably won’t buy anything or talk on the cell phone, but that’s not because of a special effort. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-dopers-are-you-calling-in-sick-on-october-8th/266227/11 "2004-09-27T12:59:55Z")
Well, I actually already have that day off, so perhaps I will do one of the things the people in this thread recommended. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-dopers-are-you-calling-in-sick-on-october-8th/266227/12 "2004-09-27T13:26:17Z")
I’m not sure whether this is part of it or anything, but I’m a little cynical about the picking of a Friday to make the “point” and I’ll tell you why. In college, FLAG (Fordham Lesbians and Gays) or whatever it was called, announced a huge movement to symbolize tolerance and unity, etc., etc. Their brilliant plan? “Wear Blue Jeans If You Support Tolerance Day.” Ummm… please. In college? Wear JEANS to show your tolerance? That’s like “Breathe If You Hate Women Day.” Wearing jeans is something that a college student does without even thinking about it. How many people are going to call in sick on Friday anyway? How much do you want to bet that those will be “counted” (however that will get done) in the total amount? It seems like an attempt to pad the count, if you ask me. If you want to make a statement, pull your stunt on a Tuesday. And, in order to make sure you’re getting noticed, the callers should say WHY they’re calling in sick, otherwise, who’s to notice. Of course, that might get you fired, and “martyrdom for the cause” doesn’t sound so cool under such lame circumstances. Of course, I could just be cynical. ---
**Author:** ![Iceland\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4bbf92/32.png) [@Iceland\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iceland_Blue)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-dopers-are-you-calling-in-sick-on-october-8th/266227/13 "2004-09-27T13:48:02Z")
That’s a pretty slippery way of getting plenty of implied ‘support’ for their cause-whatever your views about them,by wearing jeans people assume you support them. More worrying about the FLAG ‘event’ is the other implication-if you’re not wearing jeans for that day,then you don’t support tolerance. If they’d chosen something like ‘wear a large red badge to support it’ then the folks who DID support it would stand out.Everyone else would appear as they usually did. But by choosing jeans which everyone normally wears,it’s the folks who DON’T support it(or appear to) that stand out. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-dopers-are-you-calling-in-sick-on-october-8th/266227/14 "2004-09-27T14:12:02Z")
Thats NEOEA day here, all schools are closed. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-dopers-are-you-calling-in-sick-on-october-8th/266227/15 "2004-09-27T14:15:07Z")
Now that I recall, I believe its also **Esprix’s** birthday! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-dopers-are-you-calling-in-sick-on-october-8th/266227/16 "2004-09-27T14:18:51Z")
If for some reason I have to take the day off work (if I catch a cold, for example), I won’t turn gay will I? ---
**Author:** ![N.Sane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@N.Sane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N.Sane)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-dopers-are-you-calling-in-sick-on-october-8th/266227/17 "2004-09-27T14:19:11Z")
October 11th is National “Coming Out” Day. I’m responsible for doing the bulletin board at work, and am planning to use that theme. Fortunately, I work for the School of Social Work, so the more close-minded individuals are few and far between. The theme this year, by the way, is “Come Out. Speak Out. Vote.” Appropriate, no? If anyone’s interested in visiting the website, it’s [http://www.hrc.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Coming\_Out/Get\_Informed4/National\_Coming\_Out\_Day/Index.htm](http://www.hrc.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Coming_Out/Get_Informed4/National_Coming_Out_Day/Index.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Balle\_M](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/13edae/32.png) [@Balle\_M](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balle_M)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-dopers-are-you-calling-in-sick-on-october-8th/266227/18 "2004-09-27T15:05:51Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > If for some reason I have to take the day off work (if I catch a cold, for example), I won’t turn gay will I? Possibly. Be sure and check your mailbox for your Agenda. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-dopers-are-you-calling-in-sick-on-october-8th/266227/19 "2004-09-27T15:21:31Z")
The college Gay blue jeans day has a different purpose. They don’t “count” all of the people wearing jeans as supporters. They hope that people who inadvertently wear jeans and then come to school to realize it’s blue jeans pride day will feel uncomfortalbe and know what it’s like to have people speculate in a not so nice way about their sexuality. When I was in college over twenty years ago, the guys in LAGO wore their jeans with Pride T-shirts or a big pink triangle taped to their butts. It was pretty obvious. This Oct 8th stunt is something else entirely. Sticking it to The Man by blowing off work…there aren’t enough :rolleyes: on Earth. How does lying to your employer, fucking over your co-workers and shifting your shopping habits slightly on one day a year do anything to get domestic partnership legislation passed? It’s a classic case of getting to pretend you’re making a protest but accomplishing nothing. Haj ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-dopers-are-you-calling-in-sick-on-october-8th/266227/20 "2004-09-27T16:01:25Z")
> [@Survivor](#): > > My husband and I are going to be home that day… I feel a cold coming on already Calling sick when you’re not sick is theft. Why not simply take vacation? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-dopers-are-you-calling-in-sick-on-october-8th/266227.md?page=2)