Denny's Free Grand Slam Breakfast Day Tuesday
Marina Yoga Studio Donates Old Mats for Haitian Relief
Prop 8 Trial Judge Is Gay; Should This Matter?
Muni Bus Nails a Fire Hydrant
Sarah Palin Calls Global Warming Studies 'Snake Oil' at NorCal Conference
Oh man. The debate over gay marriage is getting heated in the armpit of California. It seems the Sundstrom family, located somewhere in San Jose, placed a "Yes on 8" sign in their yard. Someone stole said sign. The Sundstrom klan then upgraded to an even larger sign. Then, to make things more interesting, two supporters of gay marriage pulled up in front of the Sundstrom's home, got out, and drew slogans like "bigots live here" on their own SUV. (Which, while accurate, is wrong.)
Anyway, mom is all kinds of angry now. Mother Michele Sundstrom even had to answer questions to her offspring about gay marriage and hate after her 11-year-old asked, "What's a bigot? Is that a bad word?" (CBS 5)
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
"Wrong"? These heroes should set up a paypal fund for the purchasing of rotten eggs and toilet paper.
I once saw an SUV with "SUV DEATH" carved into the paint with a key or knife. While we may agree with the people who attack others like this, it is pretty wrong to vandalize someone's personal property because of differing views. It actually makes it OK to ignore the message attempted by the vandals.
My first instinct is to ask: "Oh so they don't like being singled out and victimized because of their beliefs?"
Thinking about it rationally, though, this is wrong because actions like these are just going to escalate the game. Maybe these people will donate (more, if already donated)or volunteer for the YES campaign now.
I enjoy the ill fortune of a bigot as much as the next guy, but that energy would have been better spent at a No On 8 campaign office.
hahahhahahaha. yeah, a lot of people in ManJose are extremely conservative. got lots of your family-values types down there. LOTS of SUVs. a car is essential to live in ManJose - I lived there for a year using their public transit and couldn't leave my apartment most of the time unless my friends picked me up in their cars.
Re: Charlie:
They weren't damaging anyone else's property. The SUV belonged to them. The issue is whether it's harassment to park it outside the Bigot's house.
It's fucked up to be harassed for putting up a sign. sorry, but that's all there is to it. Yes, you're right, thank you trolls, that if they put up a sign saying Hey I'm going to shoot Obama because he's a gay black Muslim terrorist baby roaster, we might be in more queasy territory.
BUT! Anyone who complains that they had to explain something to their kid? Man, those people suck and should have their babies shoved back into their festering vaginas.
The sign is HUGE. I guess they are pretty passionate about the cause, but...it is a bit of overkill.
I think the SUV folks could have countered with "No on 8" messaging instead of attacking the people. Perhaps they could have hung out and asked how their family life and values, and those of their neighbors, have changed over the last few months since marriage became available to everyone. Oh, no affect you say? A little education could go a long way.
The idea of protest is a good one, the tactics, however, seem wrong to me.
Can we please stop this slow and frightening march into a totalitarian, fascist society?
Holy crap, people. They have the right to their opinions without being harassed--which is a crime, btw, if you haven't checked.
Don't like their opinions? Then get off your fat amerkin ass and voice your opinions without criminally infringing on the rights of others. Otherwise sit down and STFU.
Hey Travin,
They are not criminally infringing on anyone, or the police would have done something about the truck.
That family is bigotted. They are the fascist totalarians that want to control who can get married and who can't.
You can't put a giant sign like that in front of your house, espousing hatred and division, and not expect people to react to it. They are lucky that a sign on a truck is all that they got in return.
Mom..you can explain that the word bigot was written on your suv (not a good thing to do) the same way you explained why you think it's ok to deny some people in this country the same rights you enjoy. And keep the bedroom out of it unless they ask. And then try to be the adult teacher you set yourself up to be when you had a kid.
Tell them about hate and why it keeps going on because people like you think you should be able to walk the earth and never have to see, hear, or think about anything you don't like.
And be sure to tell the kids some of those people you are hoping to not have rights, are fighting in Iraq. maybe you might like to think about how much gas you are using at those fighters expense.
Have a nice day
just to clarify, because i did not, the suv that was tagged was owned by the pro-gay marriage couple, then parked in front the Sundstrom's house.
Uh, grumblor, perhaps you're unfamiliar with these peskey things called laws against trespassing, malicious mischief, destruction of property and defacing private property.
But you're saying that's all ok because they're bigotted and they should just expect people to react, right?
I'm telling ya, folks. The screen writers of Idiocracy nailed that shit.
But, travin, I am not seeing any of those.
The SUV belongs to the people that parked it there. They are parking in public domain, not trespassing. Perhaps this is malicious mischief, but I doubt that one, too, as the people have a ginormous sign on their garage.
Again, the message could have been handled better, but if it were illegal, I think the police would have towed the car already.
Just to supplement the misleading blog entry, the "Bigots live here" is not all that is on the SUV. The SUV owners also wrote "No on 8, Stop the Hate" and posted a "No on 8" poster inside the car window.
So are you saying trespassing and theft aren't crimes, did you just not read the article you're commenting on or both?
Vandalism is not persuasion, it's a pathetic attempt at intimidation. It is a huge mistake to legitimize it, because you are not always going to be in the majority or on the winning side, and when it's your sign being torn down, your car being vandalized, your children being harassed, you can hardly cry foul. And the more zealously you argue that this feeble precursor to violence you have adopted is justified because you have a monopoly on wisdom and insight, the more likely that you are simply as deluded and violent as the worst religious zealots on the right.
"Nothing is more fun than righteous indignation. People enjoy that more than any other thing" -- Alan Watts
I have no problem with some zealot trying to take down my "No on 8" sign. Why, I expect they can't even spell "capsaicin."
Travin,
Read it again. The SUV is on the street; they are not trepassing. And what theft? They parked the SUV, exchanged words with the Sundstroms, and then wrote "No on 8" and "Bigots live here" on their own vehicle, and then they walked away.
The ginormous sign is still on the house.
Stealing sign = criminal
Writing something on your own car = not criminal
If it takes another 10 posts to iron this out, I'm going to be very disappointed.
TRAVIN,
NO ONE TRESPASSSED. SOMEONE WROTE ON THEIR OWN VEHICLE THAT THE FAMILY IS BIGGOTED AND PARKED IT IN FRONT OF THE BIGGOTTED FAMILY'S HOUSE.
AND NOWHERE DOES IT SAY THAT THE PEOPLE WHO PARKED THE SUV ALSO STOLE THE SIGN.
i can't hear you,what?
@what, I'm telling ya. We're in an Idiocracy now.
excuse me, we're a cheerocracy.
I'm about to go vote Yes on 8 just 'cause y'all pissing me off and I want to return the favor.
Someone *stole* the sign. They *trespassed* to do it. That person might not be the owner of the van.
Done? Done.
Now let's all go vote no on 8 because we respect all people's rights, including marriage, including free speech, so shut up.
I'm not wearing any panties.
i hate san jose. i want to move to SF.
"Mommy, what's a bigot?"
"That's what we are in this family, dear."
Who cares if somebody doesn't like gay people? Does everybody have to like everybody? Arrest the idiots for trespassing and writing on the mom's car.
The mom can tell her child that: "bigots are people like the individuals that wrote on our SUV. Those people don't value an individuals right to their own opinion...even if it's different from theirs."
no, farmerted, not everybody has to like everybody. but you can legislate that kind of hate.
also, there was no trespassing or defacing of the bigoted family's car. re-read please.
Yep...you're correct about the SUV. My mistake.
You know you're arguments are weak when all you can do is call people names like bigot. I think that association of pedophiles also calls people who disagree with their right to molest children "bigots."
Who are you talking to about...their argument being weak?
"Bigot - One who is strongly partial to one's own group, religion, race, or politics and is intolerant of those who differ." Who's the "bigot" here? Ironic, isn't it.
I love this drama...keep up the good work California, my life aint so boring...
------------------
T.T.S. site mgr
San Jose Portable Toilets.