Backlash

Yesterday was day of the national protest against Prop 8 and the hate campaigns waged by the Mormon Church, the Catholic hierarchy, and the Dobson Gang. I had planned on attending the Chicago rally downtown, but. . . .

I blew it. I was sitting here trying to make sense out of a piece of garbage I had written before submitting it, and when I looked at the clock, it was 1 pm. The rally started at 12:30, and it would have taken me at least an hour to get downtown. Damn! So, all I can do at this point is say thank you to those who were out there, and try to spread the word. It helps to know that there will be more protests, more demonstrations, more of everything: this is just starting, so I will have a chance to go out and freeze my skinny little ass off for a good cause.

Enough of us were on the ball that yesterday looked very good. Andrew Sullivan has a series of posts with reports from readers across the country this morning. Here are some comments from Chicago, and I just love this picture -- a wedding party who spontaneously joined the demonstration.



Andy Towle has photo albums from what seems to be every state in the union. Here's the tracking page at Calitics, where you can find out what's coming up. Yes, boys and girls, this is just the beginning.

From Sullivan, this comment, I think, points the direction:

There will be a campaign by the Christianists to define and describe the reaction to having our families attacked and marriages voided as bigoted, angry, vicious and the like. A few incidents will be used by the usual suspects - O'Reilly, Hannity, Beck, Kristol, Drudge, Fox, The Weekly Standard, National Review, FRC et al. - to tarnish the thousands who showed up today as nasty people hostile to religious freedom. Watch them also try to use code-words about children to stir up fear. There's nothing we can do about this kind of thing, except show that the overwhelming sentiment from today was positive.

I think it's time to start picketing the offices of Focus on the Family, Family Research Council, American Family Association, O'Reilly, and Westboro Baptist Church (put Phelps where he belongs, right with the rest of the Dobson Gang), the whole rotten, lying crew. Picket them every week, if we have to.

Keep it legal, keep it civil, but do it.

Note on the title: This is my response to Carpenter, Rauch, and the rest of the "don't make waves" contingent: here's some real backlash, fellas, not the carefully orchestrated rovian campaigns you're talking about.

Update: Box Turtle Bulletin has reports from cities all across the country and even one or two overseas.