Wednesday, October 15, 2008

They Did What?!

What the crap?

Not only did several of my friends have their YES on 8 signs stolen from their yard (some more than once!), this man was assaulted while passing them out.

So, you're telling me, that a bunch of people screaming for equal rights and kindness and "how could you hurt the gays?!" are now assaulting people and taking away their right to display political messages in their yards!?

What. The. Crap?

I know not everyone involved in the No on 8 campaign is doing this; but what does this say? Such hypocrisy, people. If you want me to believe in your own ideals, don't do it by assault and theft.

Man, I'm ticked.

16 comments:

Janelle said...

Honestly Cheryl, I doubt the theft is being done by gay people. I imagine some is just teens out looking for something to do. I don't think it is a concerted effort or organized and I think that the man who beat up the man in Modesto was doing it on his own accord. We just need to be nice, but the sign stealing sure does make my job a little more time consuming.

Amanda D said...

That is lame. Apparently here there was a house that was fire-bombed because they had a McCain sign in their yard. Imagine if they channeled their passion for something good instead.

Cheryl said...

Janelle-
Oh, I know. I guess I shouldn't blog when I'm angry; I always come off sounding...well...ummm...angry? :)

Amanda-
Seriously? That's just crazy. Why are people so crazy?

Cardalls said...

It's called freedom of speech and expression people! Wow--this riles me up too!

tamrobot said...

The No on Prop 8 campaign is reporting lots of their signs being stolen as well.

In the past, kids have been the main culprit for signs on either side disappearing. Where we are at, I think the main culprit is the santa ana winds.

Desi said...

You must get the AFA Action Alerts too! I just printed this article yesterday for my husband. He was recently called to be a Security Specialist for our ward because of the Prop 8 stuff. After their first meeting last Sunday where the Stake President was present, he is now the Security Specialist for the Stake as well. Crazy stuff I tell ya!

Cheryl said...

Tam-
You are probably right (about both sides). But the assault and the multiple sign-stealing was in NorCal.

What is wrong with people? (on both sides) Seriously, what is the problem? What happened to free speech? The whole thing is just annoying and obnoxious.

tamrobot said...

By the way, you need to hurry and finish brisingr so we can talk about it. i can't believe i have to wait for a 4th book. i thought this was going to be the last one.

Anonymous said...

yeah, to be fair, it's happening to EVERYone. i think it's regional as to who the targets are... we used to live in a diverse area in los angeles and at a baby shower up there last week, my girlfriends all shared they were afraid to put up their "yes" signs for fear of retribution. where we currently live, it's veeeeery conservative and the "no" people we know are afraid to put their signs out for the same reason. it's redneck country here, though, and it's very likely that you'll get a "whoopin'" over stuff like this. it's happened before and some of the residents are proud of that history.

our "no" sign was stolen, but we've worried about worse things happening. the "joke" around town is that if you even whisper that you'll vote no on 8, your house will get burned down. not a very funny joke. :\ my husband is one of the local cops and a lot of people know him/where we live, so we kind of feel like our signs will get stolen, but nothing worse will happen. we'll see. the climate here makes us feel even more adamant about publicly showing which side we support.

Lizzie said...

Yes, Cheryl, I'd be careful if I were you not to post political things when heated. There's a reason why our church leaders do not get up on the pulpit and scream and yell the church's stance on issues: it's not Christ-like, and it ALWAYS sends the wrong message. As others have already said, sign stealing is a time-honored tradition practiced by BOTH sides of every single political issue since the beginning of time. It is always childish and almost always hypocritical (except if one were to steal a "Vote YES on Prop 99: Make Sign Stealing Illegal" sign). Obama signs get stolen here all the time (like my poor neighbors). Everyone does it, and it always sucks. This will probably be my only polical comment, since I HATE talking politics when it seems the only outcome can be conflict, but I feel I should share this: It's been interesting for me, being Mormon my whole life and moving to Utah after growing up in Seattle. In my ward at home, just about everyone was Democrat, the same as here, just about everyone in church is Republican. It just went hand in hand with our religious beliefs. Of course we were not in favor of free-wheelin' abortions, but everything else went along with our faith (or I should say "goes along", since I still have the same faith and the same political beliefs). I was always finding myself saying "How can you be Christian and be Republican? So many of the party's ideals go against everything Christ taught." And yet, here in Utah that same sentiment is expressed in the exact opposite. My point is, I've learned that you can have the same faith in the same God, based on the same religious teachings, and still have differing views on politics. No one is right in taking a "holier than thou" stance. I think this is why the church usually stays out of the polical arena, because while religion influences politics, they do not go hand in hand. In the case of Prop 8, it's remarkable that the Prophet has said what we should do, and if I lived in California I would vote for it because I follow the Prophet's council. But the Prophet did not say to hate "the other side". That's never what the church stands for.

This got kind of long and rambling, but I guess my point is just that we should not be so quick to judge others. I think everyone needs to just cool their heads and stop being so angry. I hate how shockjock political talkshow host turn this country into an "Us vs. Them" War. I hate the phrase "those people", and others like it. We're all people. We're all Americans. We should stop hating each other, and doing hateful things. And when some idiot does do something hateful, we should leave it at that, instead of taking that incident and using it to spread more hate. As they say: "Can't we all just get along?"

Alison Wonderland said...

Yeah, I hate to take the edge off your hate (No, seriously, I hate it when I'm all riled up about something and someone comes in and does this whole voice of reason thing and I feel like I was wrong to get so mad [I wasn't wrong, of course, I just feel like I was;) ]) but that kind of thing happens everywhere all the time and for all different reasons. And really it's not nearly as messed up as the people who blow up abortion clinics, killing people, or assassinate abortion docs.

Lizzie said...

Side note: In that last, very Loooooooooooong post, EVERY SINGLE TIME I wrote the word "political", I spelled it wrong, and had to go back and fix it. Like WAY wrong, with 3-4 letters missing. I'm not even sure if I got it right now, I've been looking at the word so much its starting to look funny. Odd.

Anonymous said...

I know this is coming a few days late to really be relevant and please understand that the following is in NO WAY condoning the jackass that assaulted the guy in CA. October 12, the day of the assault, was the 10 year anniversary of the day Matthew Shepherd died. There are a lot of people, gay and straight, that react out of anger and frustration to gay issues when his name is brought up. I can see how being in CA right now creates an environment for someone to do something angry and stupid and, even though I know there are hateful people out there, I hope that it was just a knee-jerk reaction for someone venting frustration.

Leslie said...

There has been a rash of vandalism on signs here in Az that say something like "say yes to Prop 102" (which is the same issue as in CA's prop 8). They have changed the signs to say, "say yes to Hate." It's unfortunate...because that really isn't the issue. I think it's very sad. But...there also lots of unsavory things being said/done by people who are for 102. It's really unfortunate because it just makes good discussion impossible.

Janelle said...

Lizzie - I was just having that discussion last night with my husband (who happens to be from UT) that the LDS democrats and all democrats take their position out of compassion. He was saying those same things like how could you believe in the church and be a democrat.... I hope I swayed his opinion, because I can definitely see both sides. I imagine truth and compassion are not entirely comprised within either of the party lines. Which is why we must be careful and study the issues out instead of relying on the party vote.

Cheryl, I seriously love your commenters. They are so good and so smart!

Never A True Aggie said...

My Sister in So Cal has not had too much of a problem. Her sign is up and they have been doing curbside rallies with no problems. It is a heated issue. A lot of people see it as a rights issue. I have been thinking about it lately. Back in the early sixties, in some states, it was legal to lynch a black person. There were segregated drinking fountains and bathrooms. Hello, Rosa Parks anyone? Gay Wedding Cake pales in comparison to those rights issues.

I was thinking about the temple. Let's just say that the obsurd happens and the church accepts gay marriage. Where will they sit in the temple? A temple perspective has really helped me with this issue, especially keeping it a temple perspective. There is no room in The Plan for gay relationships. Plain and simple.

I am still uncomfortable with how some areas (stakes and wards) have interpreted the direction of the prophet. Some have said some strange things about whether or not you support it, or are willing to contribute. In my opinion, your church membership should not be on the line if you choose not to do signs or pamphlets or whatever. I don't know. For this issue, it is deeply personal for me. I also know that it hits you in some soft spots too.