Smash

Frangipani: 21st Jul 2006 - 21:30 GMT

Dave - check the dictionary, there and their.

Catherine Penfold-Waxman: 21st Jul 2006 - 23:05 GMT

I think that Jamie is joking...unless he's not, then I won't send him the video my friends and I made during our sleepover.

EvilGentleman: 21st Jul 2006 - 23:51 GMT

I bet my female sleepover videos are better... Where do you think the "Evil" in my name comes from? It sure is not referring to my political stance...

Susannah: 22nd Jul 2006 - 12:43 GMT

I don't understand why we have billboards about how people govern their personal lives and relationships - except that I know there are special interest groups purchasing advertising space. You don't see any billboards saying "be nice to your Mom today", or "remember Grandpa".

jeeff: 22nd Jul 2006 - 23:26 GMT

sure you do except they're selling mother's day cards and werthers originals.

Susannah: 23rd Jul 2006 - 21:04 GMT

Touche - still seems an odd subject for a bus stop billboard.

jeeff: 23rd Jul 2006 - 23:35 GMT

i'd rather see an ad for love/respect/dignity than one for werthers originals.

Susannah : 26th Jul 2006 - 18:07 GMT

Its still an "ad". The idea that I might love any of my children any less for any reason is ridiculous to me, hence I don't understand the need for these kinds of ads. It just makes me wonder whats really going on.

Catherine Penfold-Waxman: 26th Jul 2006 - 18:36 GMT

I'm glad you think it's ridiculous. It makes you a person who wouldn't care if their child or loved one is homosexual. And yet a lot of people reject their children because of their sexual orientation. And if this poster gives them pause to think about it or creates a discussion, then great.

I also wouldn't really call it an ad. I'd say it's more about awareness.

Susannah : 26th Jul 2006 - 20:58 GMT

I also don't care who marries who - but I'm in a huge minority.

EvilGentleman: 28th Jul 2006 - 14:35 GMT

Susannah, why do you feel you are in a huge minority? Most people I know are straight like me, yet still support equal opporunity to be married, regardless of sexual orientation. Love is love, and to me, the concept of marriage is about making a lifetime commitment to the person you love. Marriage is about love, not a religious institution.

Western society is slowly drifting away from the institutionalized indoctrinated thinking that only allows for traditional Judeo-Christian thought processes, and is instead adopting a more humanist stance that reduces the dominance of religious groups. One day, I hope there will be space for true democracy to actually exist, where prejudice is a totally alien concept.

Human cultural evolution can be a wonderful thing.

Susannah : 31st Jul 2006 - 02:12 GMT

I live in a predominately republican community. Most people I know say things like "we're in a culture war"and "its part of the liberal agenda" and they circulate petitions against gay marriage - I can't quite understand the issue from their perspective. I'm not even sure I understand the religious justification for that kind of reaction. I find it really hard to reconcile my religious beliefs with my feelings about marriage in general, let alone same sex marriage. Most people I know go the either the "civil union" or all out ban route..thats why I say "minority".

EvilGentleman: 31st Jul 2006 - 14:45 GMT

Ok, fair enough. But here in Montreal, you would be part of the majority, not the minority. Considering this city's history of being devoutly Catholic, it is quite surprising. At least until you count the sex shops and strip clubs, when a distinctly open-minded culture becomes apparent. We still have rednecks here, too, but they do not dominate local opinion.

Susannah : 1st Aug 2006 - 11:16 GMT

Is it a majority that favors civil union or a majority that supports gay marriage - because I don't think they are the same. I think civil union is a diplomatic attempt to bridge the differences. But in reality it is still a form of segregation. Can I tell you that I honestly can't make up my mind about how I feel about this? How I feel is that I couldn't put a person down for being gay. On the other hand, my faith is really important to me - in fact it is the most important thing to me, and the powers that be in the church condemn gay marriage. I do believe faith takes discipline and that you can't just do whatever you want, but its hard to know where to draw the line. Jesus said "let he who is without sin cast the first stone" and the bible is summed up by saying "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you and love thy neighbor as thyself". But many educated people who believe this are still against gay marriage, and I believe people like me, who are uncomfortable mixing politics and religion are uncomfortable to say so. Thats why I say "huge minority", because its not so much about numbers but about a balance of power. People with strong clearly defined opinions have it, I don't.

EvilGentleman: 1st Aug 2006 - 13:44 GMT

You make a very valid point, Susannah. At the moment, it seems as if urban residents are so much more tolerant of differences than people in the smaller communities and rural areas. This is probably partially true, due to the fact that people raised in small towns and on farms tend to have less exposure to diversity, and thus have not been able to develop tolerance for things they have little understanding of. But I believe that particular effect is quite minimal. I believe the main reason that tolerance is less in small towns and rural areas is because the intolerant and/or strongly opinionated people know where you live, and are quite likely to drag you into a public debate on issues you know little about. Therefore, most small-towners tend to keep their tolerances concealed. In the cities, people gain bravado from the anonymity, and are much less likely to suppress dissenting opinions. The beauty of the city is that the local bullies have much less influence, and seldom get elected to public office.

thelinebetween: 24th Nov 2007 - 05:52 GMT

This ad is for the Ali Forney Center, a shelter for homeless and at risk gay youth. The ad is there to highlight the all too frequent occurrence of a young person coming out of the closet and finding themselves homeless. It's not a "special interest" group in the more traditional sense of the word as much as it is a group trying to highlight the incredibly huge population of homeless gay youth. It's not about marriage, or taxes, or anything so controversial. It's about young people without a home due to the fact that they unlike many, came out in their teens rather than after a marriage, two kids, a house, and a divorce. I think this is an amazing ad, and there should be more of them. On the other hand...I think the pictures are amazing, and the person who broke the glass could never have imagined how much more powerful they made the poster behind it...