A couple of months ago, I borrowed Michael Moore’s “The Awful Truth” from a friend. One of the episodes involved packing a large pink bus dubbed “The Sodomobile” full of flamboyant homosexuals and driving across country through all of the states which prohibit homosexuality. They would stop at the state capitols and get out and sing and dance and make-out… Whatever. They were making quite a scene and actually had protests break out upon their arrival. The bus had large signs painted on it exclaiming “Honk if you like gay sex,” “butt-rumping on-board,” etc… Throughout the entire fiasco, there were no arrests made, or even police harassment despite the fact that they were breaking laws at the capitol (yes, they were).
My question is this:
Could I get a big green bus called the “WeedMobile” packed full of my friends and drive from state capitol to state capitol smoking pot? Why do I have the feeling I’d be arrested? How can I become ‘above the law’ like Michael Moore and friends?
Initially, I thought WTF – How can you make a comparison? But you do have a point. “Consensual crime” is consensual crime. Unfortunate, ass-backwards confusion of morality and legality. The only difference that I can see is that it is possible that a gay person is “existentially” gay, where as I don’t think you’ll find anyone arguing that some people are congenital potheads. (Though I’ve met a few I have my suspicions about.) Since people who smoke pot make the choice to do so, while homosexuals simply are who they are,sup[/sup] it’s an obvious violation of their basic human rights to legistlate against it.
It probably comes down to GLAAD having better organizational skills than NORML. sup I am aware that this is a controversial issue for some people with rectocranial obtrusion conditions.[/sup]
“it’s an obvious violation of their basic human rights to legistlate against it.”
Not where they were. WAYYY down south. Anyway, they were all breaking laws on purpose to point out how silly the laws were and nothing happened. I believe that marijuana laws are just as insane. My point is why can’t I do the same thing and get off Scott-Free as well?
Granted, it’s been a few years since I saw the movie which was great IMHO…
It is called parody, P.A.R.O.D.Y. Exactly what laws were actually broken? Not that Michael Moore is above getting arrested, I’m sure he is willing to go to jail to make a point.
No it was not a parody. Real life. He liked to blow things out of the water with huge exaggerations. “The Awful Truth” was a TV show he did after he became famous with “Roger & Me.” Great movie, by the way. In another stunt he got a bunch of people with throat cancer to go caroling in front of the R.J. Renolds (or Phillip Morris… I can’t remember) mansion. I think he was arrested for that one.
Yeah, I remember the segment. No matter how red the necks appear to be, I think that Cracker lawmakers are aware on some level that they their states have made a class of people into outlaws. There ain’t much difference between “Queer? We don’t allow that around these parts.” and “Black? Keep movin’” Michael Moore is a personal hero, though he seems to be getting angrier and less funny. There’s plenty to be angry about.
A few states have weird sex laws on the books that are never really prosecuted, IIRC. Which state is it that classifies oral sex as “sodomy”, again? What bizzaro world is it where cunnilingus is legal grounds for divorce as an “abusive and demeaning act”? The backward states ought to just repeal the nonsensical laws and be done with it.
I hate to split hairs, (lie) but the piece wasn’t a parody. A parody is a lampoon of an existing work.
Ah, there’s Marky’s post. Thought ya’d gone to bed. God knows I should.
First off:
Thanks for being the only other person in the world who has seen “The Awful Truth,” Larry. You can go to bed now.
I agree that the ‘necks’ have made a class of ppl into outlaws, but they don’t seem too sorry about it. Furthermore, isn’t that the same thing Marijuana laws do? Boom, suddenly millions of otherwise law-abiding citizens are turned into criminals. I’ll tell you what, I feel a lot less like doing anything criminal when I’m melted into my couch with a bag of chips than when I’m boozin’ it up at a bar.
Drug laws need reform.
This is seemingly leaving the general questions format.
Websters take on
Parody: a feeble or ridiculous imitation.
I still would like to know exactly what laws you feel were broken. To my recollection, everything we saw was completly in jest.
I don’t disagree with you re: outlandish drug laws, but I would think that actually smoking dope would get you as busted as nearly everone else who has who has pushed the issue.
Now if you want to drive around in a green bus “simulating” smoking weed, then the comparison to Moores’ piece would be similar.
Thanks bare, for explaining what you meant by ‘parody.’ I see what you mean now.
The laws which were broken were the laws which state that homosexuality is a crime. Here’s an example of how badly those states track homosexuals (this is true. I only wish I could remember which state this happened in):
A gay man walks into a bar which is frequented by homosexuals. After some light conversation, he agrees to leave the bar with someone. As soon as he left the bar, he was arrested. It was a setup.
They actually have sting operations on gay men!! Can you believe it? That’s what prompted Michael Moore to do his Sodomobile stunt.
Michael Moore pressed the issue and escaped, why can’t I? I doubt I’d make it to the freeway in my WeedMobile before I’d be pulled over - actually having grass or not!
I think the difference would be the level of enforcement and the ability of the laws to stand up to review by the Supreme Court.
As far as I know, no state prohibits homosexuality per se, but various homosexual acts, such as sodomy. Mainly, this is in the South, but I know Massachusetts also prohibits sodomy, and Arizona just legalised it a year or so ago. I think the definition of sodomy anywhere would include oral as well as anal sex.
Even assuming that the people involved actually did something to break the law, it would most likely not have been a law that was enforced. Again, I can think of Massachusetts, which doesn’t enforce its sodomy laws at all (I can just imagine about a hundred police buses pulling into Provincetown and carting most of the population off). Even if the laws are occasionally enforced, there is no comparison to the enforcement of drug laws.
Another problem is that a well-publicised and financed trial of a busload of homosexuals would become a media circus that would embarrass the state in question, and would raise several Constitutional issues that might prove difficult to overcome. The legality and popularity of drug laws has been well established.
Um, yeah, second that. They weren’t stopping the bus and having gay sex, they were just stopping the bus and basically walking around in public saying “I’m gay”. That’s not illegal, AFAIK. It’s not illegal to “be gay”, to “have a homosexual orientation”–just to “have gay sex”.
Whereas a busload of people all smoking dope would manifestly be breaking the law. But the Weedmobile people could drive around and talk about smoking dope all they wanted, with posters and placards and everything, and it wouldn’t be illegal. AFAIK.
At one point, I perused California’s Penal Code to see what kinds of sex acts were legally prohibited to engage in with a minor. Good old-fashioned penis-vagina intercourse is illegal with a minor. Anal sex, either on the “pitching” end or the “catching” end, is illegal with a minor. Fellatio, again on either the giving or receiving end, is illegal with a minor. But nowhere in the California Penal Code could I find any law prohibiting cunnilingus with a minor!
So I guess if you want to engage in sex with underage “jail bait,” you can get away with it if your partner is female and you only use your tongue.
