Most recently, the Cranky Lesbian has also been directing her crankiness towards California’s Governor Schwarzenegger (most famous for his portrayl of a cyborg and pregnant man), because he mostly kept quiet about Proposition 8 and didn’t fight against it. As you all probably know, Proposition 8 was passed at the recent U.S elections to amend the constitution in California to ban same-sex marriage.
Proposition 8: Are Ellen and Portia still legally married?
Of course, this leaves in limbo land all those couples and celebrity pairings such as Ellen and Portia who got married after the Californian Supreme Court overturned the ban in May. (For all those law geeks out there, here's the judgement in full). What will happen now?
My Facebook has been flooded by friends since the elections with requests to join groups such as 1,000,000 Million Strong Against Newly Passed Prop 8. I cannot help but be a bit cynical about this digital activism.
What do you think about such Facebook groups? Do they bring about change? Or is it just a way for us to vent our frustration online? Whether it be about the success of Proposition 8 over in Calfornia or closer to home, the end of historically queer establishments such as the Newtown Hotel and the axing of The L Word on free-to-air Australian television.
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The main problem with digital activism is its global character. Many of these campaigns are on localised issues. There is little point in obtaining 1 million people against proposition 8 if most of them aren't from California.
ReplyDeleteOf course we can learn from other campaigns and issues arising in other jurisdictions - but in terms of effective activism - digital campaigns need to be more targeted to the relevant group. I am opposed to Prop 8 - but I have no power , or right, to determine what should be in California's constitution!
Friend raising is the first step in fundraising. Till out of state contributions are outlawed, out of state contributors have power to wield. Though less than 2% of the California population the Mormons contributed to robbing the right to equality from me. If these friends could be convinced to contribute during the next battle this site could be very helpful. Some link to accountability must be provided before anyone will use this venue to donate funds. When and if this happens, the self righteous cyberwarriors will attempt to hack the site. The first purchase should be security software! God save us from these blaspheming bigots! Meanwhile don't be shy, contribute, write letters, email, all this bears upon the future of eqaulity!
ReplyDeleteI don't think that the right wing will be able to get legislation passed to annul already-on-the-books gay marriages.
ReplyDeleteFacebook is a joke- you get groups like "If McCain Gets Elected, I Will Be in Mourning" or something like that that in the grand scheme of things don't affect anything at all. As a matter of fact, I found out about LOTL via an ad on Facebook. Is there a particular reason why I keep getting ads for lesbian dating sites? Is Facebook trying to send me a message? I'm bi, but maybe I need to do further examining lol.
What I think we need to do is take the activism to a federal level- we have a chance with Obama in office, and if we can get civil unions or even marriages legalized nationwide, indiv states won't be able to take away LGBT rights. It's going to take a lot of muscle and a lot of people power, but we can do it. Obama and Hill Clinton both support civil unions, and even legalizing civil unions on the national level will be a big leap forward.