[tymejumper]

Originally Posted by Zerbie

Just a march or quiet protest would not have the effect of changing anything long-term. But I question whether major disruptions would have any desirable effect. Wouldn't obstructing traffic only create backlash? Or, fair question perhaps, would it perhaps only raise to the surface the backlash that is already present from the few gains the LGBT community has made in the past decade? I don't know. I do know that if a demonstration turned into a violent mob, I would leave. I have no desire to be part of violent action. And if we did have violent mobs, I think we would lose ground.

But it's still true that just standing there with candles or whatever would get nothing accomplished. Neither will we make progress by impeding peoples' access to church or wherever (which is illegal anyway, isn't it?) Retaliation won't get us the result we want, however justified the retaliation might seem to be.

IF the decision in CA goes down badly, then something needs to happen that will be an effective public demonstration - but not just of anger! That would be ineffective. What needs to be demonstrated is the REASON for the anger. We need to convey to people the nature of the wrong that was done, we would need to express accurately and succinctly that an injustice was done and be able to explain exactly why it's wrong in a short, quotable statement. Whatever demonstrations happen need to be geared not just towards the venting of personal feelings (in fact, I would say public demonstrations are precisely the place NOT to vent personal feelings,) but towards conveying a message that generates desired results - such as more allies.

I'm not sure what that demonstration would look like. But I do have an idea. What I say we need, and I've said this since November, is we need people marching in the streets by the hundreds EVERY week until we have the equal justice under law that America promises. We need to be out marching not just on March 4th or May whatever, but every single week. Every day if we could get folks to do it. The demonstrations need to be absolutely ongoing and we need to be utterly relentless.

Why did we stop marching after November? That's the problem. We need to Keep It Up.

I would not want to see it become a rock throwing contest, or overturn cars or push down people, but a good solid anger may help people to understand that we are serious.

As for blocking streets and such....We had a Latin protest here and it was suppost to be a peacefull march about letting Mexicans and such into the US. Well, so many showed up that they overflowed the sidewalks, backed up traffic and blocked access to churches, store etc. They were so big that all the police could do was try to direct traffic around them and encourage them to stay on the sidewalks. They chanted and got so loud you could hear them for blocks! It got news crews out there and the whole city got talking about it and ya know what? Laws and rules got passed also. It worked for them so why not us?

I do agree with you that I would not want to be part of violence to harm a person. And I do agree that we need to let them know we are angry and why. I think the right expects it to pass and us to crawl back into the closets and accept, we need to drive it home that we are not going to.

So, yes, out of the closets and onto the streets, shake things up a bit. And we need to keep it up not give it up after a while, protest after protest after protests.