Comments on: Your U.S. Tax Dollars at Work

By: Wiebes

Wiebes — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 18:50:58 +0000

I totally agree – I found it interesting that during the U.S. Federal election for example, parents were dragging their children to the TV and to the events claiming that “history was being made” and many young people kind of shrug their shoulder and say, “OK, the guy is black, it’s no big deal”. I’m not saying racism is over or all young people are open-minded and all old people are ancient backwards fire-n-brimstone religious fanattics, but there does seem to be a trend where younger people seem to be much more tolerant (or ambivalent) towards what everyone else does.

A great example are “Polish Jokes”. At family Xmas, Grandparents and older people tell “polish jokes” and everyone under 30 sits around and wonders why any of it is funny- maybe it will be like that in 30 years, people will wonder why anyone cared in 2009 whether someone was gay or not.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 18:03:01 +0000

I agree that there certainly is a lot of interplay going on between the government and the rest of us: After all the government couldn’t get away with sponsoring an ad campaign like this if most people thought it as wrong as us single activists think it is… So, I think one of our tasks is to keep educating people so that less and less folks think that you’re only a full human being if you’re married and God-fearing…

Although I am no longer sure how reliable the exit polls for the Prop 8 voting are, it was interesting to see the shift in voting pattern by age: The younger the voter, the more likely they supported the right for LGBT folks to get married. (There’s some other evidence that supports this trend).

By: Wiebes

Wiebes — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:41:23 +0000

This touches on one of the major problems in a democracy: people with differing views trying to promote them through government funding. As an atheist, I tend to look at all religion the same, whether it’s Muslim people or Christian people or whatever. So I know it’s a simplification to assume that the U.S. government is being pressured by lobbyists to run this campaign, but imagine for example if a single athiest ran for public office. The chances are pretty slim that they would be elected.

So the real finger-pointing should be at the government, but also the voters who tend to think that married, religious people are morally superior in some way to everyone else.

We are experiencing a major shift in this generation of people like my grandparents (religious, married their whole life) and a growing number of the modern generation of youth who are growing up without kids, without marriage and without religion. It will be an interesting next 20 years!

By: Heteronormatives On the Prowl: Reach out to your congress reps! « Onely.

Heteronormatives On the Prowl: Reach out to your congress reps! « Onely. — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 13:23:50 +0000

[...] to promote the hobby of marriage? Because they are Severely Duh-Impaired, that’s why: Rachel’s post alerted Onely to the federally funded campaign to encourage marriage, as described in this USA [...]

By: Onely

Onely — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 12:26:29 +0000

AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!!

” ‘These are people who are in the prime marrying age. A lot of them have not had good role models about how to have a successful marriage,’ says Amato, co-author of the 2007 book Alone Together: How Marriage in America Is Changing. ”

I don’t really care about marriage. But I do happen to have good marriage role models, my parents, who have been together happily for 36 years. So whatever could possibly explain *MY* unhealthy, deviant perspective??

AAAAARRRGGGHH. Oh this is so beyond the pale. I’ll try to rip out a post about it after I’m done with my thesis edits for the weekend.

–Christina