Bill Clinton came out against Amendment One in North Carolina last week. While I found this declaration to be a little late in coming, I was thrilled to find out that he had decided to use his considerable name recognition and power to help us out. Then I heard his statement and was, frankly, annoyed.
The text of Bill Clinton's robocall:
"Hello, this is President Bill Clinton. I’m calling to urge you to vote against Amendment One on Tuesday May 8. If it passes, it won’t change North Carolina’s law on marriage. What it will change is North Carolina’s ability to keep good businesses, attract new jobs, and attract and keep talented entrepreneurs. If it passes, your ability to keep those businesses, get those jobs, and get those talented entrepreneurs will be weakened. And losing even one job to Amendment One is too big of a risk. Its passage will also take away health insurance from children and could even take away domestic violence protections from women. So the real effect of the law is not to keep the traditional definition of marriage, you’ve already done that. The real effect of the law will be to hurt families and drive away jobs. North Carolina can do better. Again, this is Bill Clinton asking you to please vote against Amendment One. Thanks."
Am I the only person who finds this statement disturbing? I realize that this is politics and I realize we're fighting an uphill battle in North Carolina. I realize a lot of things ~ like I should probably not look a gift horse in the mouth ~ like I should just be happy that he's decided to speak out about this.
But I'm not.
"So the real effect of the law is not to keep the traditional definition of marriage, you’ve already done that. The real effect of the law will be to hurt families and drive away jobs."
To my ears, this makes it seem like it's ok to discriminate against the LGBT community as long as no straight families are hurt in the process. As if to say ~ It's ok, y'all. No harm, no foul. Discriminating against the gays is fine. The real trouble comes when the laws get so paranoid and overblown that even straight people become affected. The real trouble comes when the laws hurt families!
Guess what, Bill? The laws already hurt families! They hurt gay families!
I don't know. Maybe I'm asking too much. Maybe I'm just not understanding that mentioning equal rights for everyone would be a losing argument. Maybe I live in New York and I don't understand the South or religion or the depth of the bigotry and ignorance regarding LGBT issues. Maybe a lot of things. But the wording of this statement made my skin crawl.
To hear the robocall, click here.
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1 comment:
I feel your frustration Roger. While grateful that he's helping the cause it's just sad they wrote the script in such a demeaning way. I understand that winning politics is playing one's hand well but it's hard to listen to sometimes. This ad was clearly aimed at those that intend to vote 'yes' for one reason only… they hate gays. By repeating that a 'yes' will not change anything about same-sex marriages, the goal here is to get them to switch their vote because of the other factors you've mentioned or to get them to simply stay home and not vote at all. But still the first time I heard it I got the same sad/degrading/creepy feeling you got.
FYI: Being bi I was able to slip through the cracks growing up. I never was bullied or was made fun of because no one knew. (We fence sitters blend in well I guess.) Although I never joined in when someone would say demeaning things about gays I also I regret that I never felt the sting that those comments made. I now keep and ear out for even the slightest dig (like the slant of this ad) and I take that pain to heart. I want to feel how wrong that is down to my sole to help me become a stronger person and vocal advocate.
BTW: although you don't write often to this blog I love what you say when you do. Also very curious to see where FuckYou40 takes you. Good luck.
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