I was driving home today and all the traffic was slowing down - I came up to the intersection to see a bunch of people in top hats and foolish clothes in 95 degree weather, waving big signs say “Honk if you are in favor of traditional marriage” and “One man one woman”.
We were slowed down anyway, so I looked right in the eye of one guy and flipped him the bird. I don’t often do this, I fancy myself a lady, but I didn’t want to just drive by.
He saw me, and smiled and waved, “Thank you!” Asshole. As if it makes the tiniest bit of difference whether gays get married and WOULD YOU NOT FUCKING BLOCK UP TRAFFIC AT RUSH HOUR.
I’m somewhat conflicted on how I should respond to protestors of who I disapprove of their cause.
I don’t like flipping people off but occasional do to some protesters but I tend to feel bad about it afterwords, flipping off the 60 y/o in front of planned parenthood doesn’t further my cause nor do I feel shouting at them is very effective either.
I’ve opted to just thumbs down people but I don’t think its the best of gestures. We need a better way of expressing our disapproval from vehicles in my opinion. Lazy counter protesters like myself just don’t have a good option. I really don’t have time to go home and write up a sign to counter-protest every stupid anti-gay protest. I always wonder where those fuckers can find the time that they do to protest my rights.
Unfortunately, there is no way to disagree with a “honk if you support blah, blah blah”. What’s the opposite of a honk? What you need is a ‘cone of silence’. When you disagree with their cause, you push the button and the whole street goes quiet.
I suppose you could just not honk, but that isn’t disagreeable enough for me.
Naw, I’m sure that’s what they’ve been trained to do if they got bad responses. I’m not entirely surprised. I only heard one weak honk as we went by, and as I said, it was traffic time. So he wasn’t doing that well to start with.
Anyway, this is upstate NY, and while there is still some opposition to same-sex marriage here, it really doesn’t make a difference. We are probably not the best in the country, but we have excellent domestic partnership benefits*; we cannot perform same sex marriages yet but I believe it’s coming. It’s got majority support according to polls and we recognize other states’ same-sex marriage.
It was rejected in the Senate in 2009 but the Assembly has passed it multiple times. As soon as the old fuddy duddies in the Assembly kick off or whatever it will pass. Every Republican said no; eight Democrats said no, so I think even if those Dems change their mind they’ll get it. AND the Comptroller’s office issued a statement that the NY economy could stand to gain an additional $210 million within the first three years of legalization of same-sex marriage. I think if nothing else the money will sway them. So the demonstration is the desperate flailing of people who know the inevitable is coming.
But in the end, I should have run him over.
And no, I would not have flipped off a gay couple blocking traffic, not even if they were demonstrating. I mean, I’d still be irritated and surly, but it was the combination of blocking traffic + supporting such an odious thing which is totally wasting my time anyway - could we maybe worry about the Health Insurance Exchange, or the increasing cost of living in NYS, or even the homeless in Albany, or ANYTHING REMOTELY IMPORTANT? Nope, we gotta worry about the gays marrying.
*Which I benefit from, even though I am not gay, but am in a LTR and unmarried.
