Zeus's Blog

Zeus Commented on Those Prop 8 Ads by Josh Marshall

2008-11-04T10:39:41Z

Compassionately put. Again the line from being able to freely express bigotry and the duty to resist its imposition. I am a supporter of the first (for in my experience redress cannot happen without room for these admittedly brutal thoughts to be expressed) while being committed to engaging the source and effects of these ideas, both from a compassionate perspective and an active one that will not countenance intolerance in any form. This example from Jean draws out how minds are indeed changed, by listening and by people coming to know the rightness of equality through their actual relations with others.

Zeus Commented on Those Prop 8 Ads by Josh Marshall

2008-11-04T10:32:32Z

I respect and honor this argument, and it brings up a good point about solidarity and the hazy line between citizenship, activism, and journalism. There is from a civil rights perspective almost a pornographic quality to these ads, so maybe one could take them down on the basis of obscenity? Practically, one could also inform both Google and the "Yes on 8" people that they are reaching the wrong people. I doubt they would resist taking their ads down.

Zeus Commented on Those Prop 8 Ads by Josh Marshall

2008-11-04T10:23:51Z

Two reasons for keeping the ads up on a base practical level. 1) As mentioned they help waste the money of Prop 8 proponents on a mistargeted demographic, and 2) it allows us to see what is out there and intelligently observe.

I'm not offended by the ad, nor do I believe it constitutes hate speech. It is simply and profoundly discriminatory and misguided.

I am a Bible-loving (mostly New Testament, admittedly) progressive Christian and I just today tangled with man with "Yes on 8" sign (during canvassing for Jerry McNerney out here in CA).

The argument is simply incoherent. Even a traditional marriage, from a spiritual standpoint is a covenant between loving, mutually honoring, growing, responsible, and caring couples. This is something anyone can attempt, maintain, and frankly fail at.

No need for moral judgement here. It would be self-defeating to limit the exercise of healthy, loving marriage both from a civic and religious standpoint. One would be encouraging by default the opposite of sacredness-- carelessness, abuse, superficiality, or perhaps mindless eroticism.

Traditionalists confuse the institution of marriage with the exercise of marriage, the same with piousness. We simply need, as progressives, to assert and act from healthy ideas of marriage in contrast to ads aimed to uphold worn out and self-defeating notions of relation.

Zeus Commented on Report: McCain Volunteer Who Claimed "Carved B" Attack Confesses To Making Up Story by Greg Sargent

2008-10-24T22:18:38Z

Don't you get. The darn girl used a mirror. In the mirror a backward "B" looks correct. I find it both alternately disgusting, hilarious, and hopeful-- disgusting as to how ugly the racism and manipulation has become by desperate Republican [fear apparently amplifies their worst tendencies], hilarious how incompetent, erratic, and opportunistic McCain and followers, and hopeful that this stuff is being debunked quickly and leading people to deepen their support of Obama.