So, cruising WAVY’s website this afternoon, I saw story about how an activist group, Virginia is for Haters is urging a boycott of my beloved Commonwealth because of the laws passed by the General Assembly regarding gay marriage.
I left a comment for them (it’s at the bottom, because he top posts) and got a response back. Yeah, we’ve got a bunch of Nazis at Richmond. Ummhmm. Decide for yourself.
But as far as I’m concerned, none of this affects me, so until they stop attacking me, I’m not going to help them one bit. I will keep on people about the sodomy laws (those don’t affect me either, considering my long-time celibate status), but gay marriage? It’s a non-issue.
From: love@virginiaisforhaters.org
Subject: RE: [Virginia is for Haters] New Comment Posted to ‘Are you from Virginia?’
Date: June 11, 2004 8:12:22 PM EDT
To: hurdboy@757.org
Hi Sean–
Thanks for the thoughtful comment.
I used to hate the idea of boycotts too. They do a lot of damage, especially to the economically vulnerable. But so will this law– you should read some of the stories of gay couples who didn’t have contracts and wills, and hear the horrible things that happened to them when one partner died.
To me, this went so far, that it really scared me, even all the way across the country in Seattle. When the second straight person told me it reminded him of the Nuremburg laws in 1930s Germany (slowly stripping rights away from Jews, making things harder) I realized something had to be done.
The sad fact is, boycotts work because most Americans are better consumers than we are citizens. We think about our shopping choices more than we think about who our Representative is.
So am I breaking eggs? Sure. But there’s an omelet that needs making, and there’s no other way.
Again, thanks for your post.
jp
—–Original Message—–
From: hurdboy@757.org [mailto:hurdboy@757.org]
Sent: Friday, June 11, 2004 12:30 PM
To: jay@nonfamous.com
Subject: [Virginia is for Haters] New Comment Posted to ‘Are you from
Virginia?’
A new comment has been posted on your blog Virginia is for Haters, on entry
#500 (Are you from Virginia?).
http://www.nonfamous.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=500
IP Address: (snipped so you don’t root my box)
Name: Sean Bergeron
Email Address: hurdboy@757.org
URL:
Comments:
Hello everyone,
As a resident of the commonwealth, I’m saddened to see you’re taking such actions. It is well within your rights to do so, but I think it is misguided. I didn’t support the legislation, and have resolved not to support the people who did vote for it. That said, perhaps I should reconsider if you’re willing to harm my business, or other innocent businesses because of the actions of the majority. Boycotting J. Crew is amazingly stupid.
Remember, you catch more flys with honey than vinegar; ailenating the people in Virginia who agree with you and want to help you isn’t going to get you any closer to your goal. There is a way to have a dialogue — this isn’t it.