By the time we left, about 150 people had showed up at the State House for the Prop 8 protest yesterday. We heard that even more came by later, and that a total of about 200 people protested, though not all at the same time. That was pretty good, considering the protest was thrown together in less than two days, and there were no speakers, no music, or anything.
Basically, we stood along Gervais Street in front of the State House with our signs, and tried to get passing drivers to honk in support of equality.
Considering all the talk in some circles about African-Americans supporting Prop 8, it was interesting to note how many of the people honking in support were African-American. I heard two white people comment on it:
(1) “Did you notice that most of the people honking are black?” and
(2) “I’m a little surprised at the demographic of the people people honking.”
That second remark made me laugh.
We had a lot of white people honking, too, of course, though I did notice three white men giving us the finger as they drove by. A lot of people averted their eyes and pretended not to see us at all.
Overall, we thought it went well. I was impressed at how many of our fellow protesters were young. The majority were probably college-age folks, and a number of them were straight. I couldn’t avoid the rather discouraging thought that the world will be a better place when my generation is dead.
Not too many people our age were out, and especially not too many male couples. I was disappointed about that, but then, the event was put together on short notice and there were probably a lot of people who didn’t hear about it in time. We only found out about it yesterday morning; we had been planning to go to the protest in Charlotte.
There were a few people our age, and even a few older than us. Harriet Hancock, the grande dame of gay rights in the Midlands, was of course in attendance. (For those who don’t know her, Harriet is a straight woman who has been a prominent supporter of gay rights for decades.)
Everybody’s “mother,” Bertha, came out for the protest, too, and managed to hold onto a protest sign with both hands even while clutching a Big Gulp in the right hand. “I’m sixty years old,” she said. “It’s time I took a stand for something.”
It was windy, and I was too busy trying to keep my sign under control to worry about taking pictures. Most of the time, I felt like I was trying to go parasailing. I did take one picture just before we left, of a lovely family of four:
One of the thing that really galls me about our opponents is their pretense that they’re trying to protect children, when in fact they go far out of their way to harm children. It’s not just the two moms in this picture who are being denied equal protection under the law, but the two children, as well. The Religious Right doesn’t give a damn about these children. I don’t think they really give a damn about children at all; the only thing they care about extending their own power and influence.
One of the good things about a protest thrown together on short notice was that no counter-protesters showed up. No Anabaptists — no churches of any kind — came out to shout hateful slogans or pass out tracts. It was the first time in my life I had ever been to a gay event where there were no Christian haters in attendance, and it was nice. Maybe we should have more events on short notice.
Why are so many of Jebus’ friends so fucking stupid?
