Thursday, October 23, 2008

Blackmail?

The race just gets crazier and crazier. In addition to all the sign stealing (on both sides), now comes this. Apparently, the Yes on 8 campaign in San Diego sent as many as 30 letters to area businesses that had donated to No on 8, threatening that if they didn't make an equivalent donation to Yes on 8, they would publicize the companies' support of same-sex marriage rights. The Yes on 8 campaign admits sending the letters.

Not sure what they thought they were going to get, but I don't think publicity is what they were after.

11 comments:

Amanda said...

And then there are companies like Apple, who today came out with a news report saying they are publically backing the No On 8 campaign and have given them $100,000. I love that they refuse to be intimidated. That blackmail is despicable and it should be illegal.

Tom said...

It's as petty as the sign-stealing. But both sides have engaged in that. Only the Yes on 8 side, feeling they are on God's mission, has stooped to this.

But what's almost funnier is that for blackmail to work, the threat has to have teeth. And their "threat" is, "if you don't do what we say, we'll tell people you pal around with homosexuals and support their cause." Has the McDonald's boycott (over their $25K donation to the GLBT Chambers of Commerce) accomplished anything?

Anonymous said...

You know, althought No on 8 hasn't stooped to blackmail (and there really is no excuse for that, those individuals are complete idiots and should be prosecuted) people on the No side have made threats, and engaged in plenty of illegal activity, and put out adds claiming that homosexuality won't be taught in schools when it actually is being taught in schools right now.

Prop 8 may not pass, and people will be happy with their "equality" for while. Eventually this will cause us to lose our first amendment rights. Down the road historians will look back and identify this choice as a catalyst to societal degradation and familial destruction. You will one day look back on this and realize you were wrong.

Tom said...

"put out adds claiming that homosexuality won't be taught in schools when it actually is being taught in schools right now"

Not true. Homosexuality isn't "taught" in schools right now. But it is DISCUSSED in schools right now because it is part of life. It can come up in biology, it can come up in sociology, in history, in literature.

What we ARE saying is that there is nothing about Prop 8 that is going to change how or when homosexuality is discussed in a school setting. Win or lose, Prop 8 will change nothing, except maybe a history book.

"Down the road historians will look back and identify this choice as a catalyst to societal degradation and familial destruction. You will one day look back on this and realize you were wrong."

Name ONE civil right that has been extended that we have gone back and taken away because it was a mistake.

Amanda said...

I agree sign-stealing is awful, and stupid. In fact, I just had someone leave a comment on my blog about Prop 8 saying that sign-stealing on the anti-prop 8 side is "proof" that homosexual families lead to a breakdown in law and morals. yeah. I had to politely tell that person how ridiculous that argument is.

Anonymous said...

You say, "Win or lose, Prop 8 will change nothing, except maybe a history book."
Then why do you care and stop finding other's blogs and posting negatively on them!

Tom said...

"You say, "Win or lose, Prop 8 will change nothing, except maybe a history book."
Then why do you care and stop finding other's blogs and posting negatively on them!"

Nothing about EDUCATION will change. Plenty will change if Prop 8 passes.

Anonymous said...

Other civil rights that have been fought for have been about the right to vote, equality for blacks, ending segregation etc, etc. This "civil right" that you fight for goes so far beyond those other civil rights. This affects Gods plan. I know that you are no longer LDS and clearly don't agree with mormon doctrine, but at one time you did. I'm assuming at one point you had a good understanding of the Book of Mormon? Can you deny the similarities between the civilizations then and the world now? The people were blessed with happiness, wealth and riches, then that led to pride. Pride led to wickedness. The wicked people mocked those that still believed in God and God's church. The pride and wickedness eventually led to the descruction of those people. You know in your heart that God's plan for all of us was to come to earth and be tested. You know that in the end there will be more evilness than there ever was at any time in the history of the world. You know that God will judge each of us according to our actions. You have some how deluded yourself into thinking that your lifestyle is ok in God's eyes and that fighting for this cause is the right thing. You frequently mock yes on 8 for thinking that God is on their side. Well, whether prop 8 passes or not, God is on the side of people who believe in his name and live his gospel. They will not just be rewarded in this life, but they will have eternal life.

If you ever had a testimony then you cannot completely deny what I have said. I'm sure the you have gone through many struggles in your life. I won't say that I can understand, because I don't. I'm sure dealing with homosexuality, especially while being mormon is an incredible struggle and I feel for you. But like I said before, you will one day realize that you are wrong. You have become just as those people in Lehi's dream that mocks the people partaking of the fruit of tree of life. You have become just as the Nephites written about in Helaman. You and your blog readers may mock me so saying this and mock me for believing it, but deep down, you know it's true.

Tom said...

Anon -

You have to get over these appeals to religion and faith. They have no place in a discussion of civil law. I'm certain that your faith is important to you, and I would fight to defend your right to believe and worship as you choose. (Except the military won't have me, and not just because I'm too old. But that's a completely different debate.)

But people have different ideas of what God wants. If the LDS church could dictate civil law, people who enjoy a beer after work wouldn't be able to legally imbibe. Folks who get their day started with a cup of coffee would be violating the law. Certain Baptist sects would prohibit dancing. Orthodox Jews would require that we all keep kosher. And we all know what Islamic theocracies are capable of.

Fortunately, we don't live in a theocracy. You are allowed to practice your faith as you like, but you are not allowed to have YOUR views of what God wants trump MY views of what God wants.

One other point: you may not know, but when states were arguing that interracial couples should not be allowed to marry, they used religious arguments to support their position. In the Loving v. Virginia case (the one that finally overturned all miscegenation laws), lawyers for the Commonwealth of Virginia stated: "Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix."

You can believe what you like about God's plan, as can I. But as far as civil rights go, we must defend our positions using reason and logic. And so far, there are NO logical reasons to deny civil marriage equality.

Anonymous said...

I feel for you Tom. You have all the proof that the world can give you, but you don't have the spirit of the Lord with you. All the rights you have in this world won't gain you happiness in the eternities.

Tom said...

This IS our eternity, this brief flickering of consciousness. So I will fight to keep the rights I have in this world.

Best to you and your family.