Aspiration Toward Inspiration

Before reading the body of this post, please refer to the Editor’s Note of [x]press magazine which it rebutts.

Dearest Editor-in-Chief,

First of all, here you go: I live in San Francisco and was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Second of all, I in no way supported Prop 8. I proudly display a No on 8 bumper sticker, a sign in my window, and contributed funds toward the No On 8 campaign. I showed up on Nov. 4th to vote no and I feel I did my part in contributing to the campaign and raising the subject in conversation via my vocal chords and the internet. What did you do prior to November 4th?

Thirdly, is an editor’s note really the correct forum to relay such partisan politics? Yes, San Francisco is notoriously liberal, but do you really want to give your magazine such an astonishing bias? Your “slippery slope” argument is the same one that the religious right uses when it frames gay marriage as the gateway to marrying one’s dog and legalizing pedophilia.

Fourthly (and here’s my biggest problem with your article), your harsh use of language toward the religious element involved in the campaign only goes to show your ignorance. LDS congregants (as well as many others) DID contribute an astonishing amount of money to this campaign, as is their right. While the Yes On 8 campaign often used slimy antics and presented their issues in ways that were not even in line with the language of the proposition itself, to use such hateful language in reference to religious adherents goes to show YOUR intolerance. As a student of Comparative Religious Studies, I can tell you that the Mormons are by no means a minority in their position on homosexual marriage. I can tell you that Mormons are also generally not “psychopathic” nor are religious conservatives “crazy.” The adoption of a different paradigm on the subject of marriage is quite common outside of our dear city. How many friends do you have who are Mormon or religiously conservative? Do you consider them all profoundly illogical or lacking the ability to make reasonable decisions? The reality is that a large portion of this country’s citizens believe that marriage is a sacred union between man and woman, though they may not necessarily think it just to enforce their religious views on the rest of their country. While members of the LDS church might have contributed a disproportionate amount of funds toward this political endeavor, to place the blame on them is short-sighted. After all, where were the religious liberals in this campaign? They were too scared to cross lines between church and state, too scared to say something un-pc, even when in meant bringing up issues of fundamental human rights before their congregations or protecting the integrity of human choice.

And can we take a look at the No On 8 campaign? No On 8 waited until far too late in the campaign to frame the argument as one about RIGHTS. Far too much was focused on “look how happy we are as a gay couple” instead of saying it’s an issue of CIVIL RIGHTS.

While I agree with you that the passing of Prop 8 is a huge step backward in national progress and shows that prejudice is alive and well in this country, your note goes to show just why people are not listening to individuals such as yourself– your language is harsh and offensive and no one on the opposite side would take you seriously or respect your position in an argument. I know that I seldom engage in conversations with people who outright call me “crazy.” Your letter truly goes to show your “doctrine.”

–me