A little more on Prop. 8
Lots of interesting discussion in the comments. A little circular, but that tends to happen when people are posting repeatedly on the same topic in the middle of the day when they should be more focused on work.
I am interested to see what people make of this story (via Rod), of a Mormon woman who gave $100 to the Proposition 8 campaign:
The tall, frail Christofferson stood in the center of the group. She appeared to be shaking during her prepared remarks which lasted about 3 minutes. Two young female family members flanked her to prevent her from fainting, according to a restaurant employee. At several points during her speech, Christofferson simply became too emotional to continue.
El Coyote has become the latest casualty in the local outburst against the passage of Proposition 8, an anti-marriage amendment to the California State Constitution. Dozens of e-mails and websites, including the popular online local guide, Yelp.com, have urged boycotting the legendary cafe in recent days.
Christofferson, who is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, insisted that her donation was personal, and reflected her religious faith.
“I’ve been a member of the Mormon Church all my life,” she said. “This was a personal donation. In like fashion, any employee here would be free to donate, worship or support anything of their personal choosing. Over the Coyote has financially supported many charities and thousands of dollars most particularly have been given to the gay interests and charities. The restaurant does not support any political group.” …
Moments later, the same group which had been invited for lunch and margaritas grew increasingly verbal, apparently reacting to the lack of a direct apology from Ms. Christofferson, and she left the building in tears. The group continued to meet for another 30 minutes, before dispersing for what appeared to be a looming boycott. One demonstrator was already shouting outside.
I’d recommend reading Rod’s take on events like this: he labels this a Stalinist show trial, and it has all the hallmarks…ritualized denunciations, tearful apologies, a threat to livelihood. What we have here is a woman who has donated to gay special interests and charity groups and operates in the middle of LA. I think it’s fair to say that she’s no bigot or homophobe. And yet some still think she should be shut down for voicing a difference of political opinion, one informed by her religious beliefs. I find this really, really disturbing. This is not a “live and let live” attitude. This is intimidation and an affront to frank and open political discussion, one of America’s strongest attributes.