pitic is the new lol.

:(

pitic is the new lol.

For you, maybe.

U of O Queer Center had that happen a month or so ago. Pretty much the whole campus community, the mayor, and others stepped up for rallies and vigils. It was nice to see, but also, whoever does these things is probably snickering more, the more reaction there is.

"whoever does these things is probably snickering more, the more reaction there is."

... and most likely doesn't give a damn one way or another about the LGBT issue. They do it only for the attention.

Oh no.

That's some mighty fine long-distance mind-reading skills you've got there, Ardiril.

"They do it only for the attention" I hope that's all it is but I'm not so sure.

Ick. Sorry you have to look at that, pups. Fucking arseholes.

Nah, BP, just a history of defacement, vandalism and criminal mischief from my first years as a college student. Also, as a Cali resident, I have read the news that many UC campuses have experienced a wave of similar public acts recently since the Compton party at UCSD.

The Million $ Question is, 'Which is worse: hate or indifference?'

'Which is worse: hate or indifference?'

I'm going to go with C) spray painting "die faggot" on the doorway of the campus LGBT center.

That's disgusting. :-(

And whatever the reason for the vandalism, the effect is fear, generally fear that makes people have to rethink their daily actions out of worry they'll be targeted for violence. It's hardly any sort of "harmless prank."

the effect is fear, generally fear that makes people have to rethink their daily actions out of worry they'll be targeted for violence. It's hardly any sort of "harmless prank."

I've heard that sound bite parroted many times and I still don't buy it. Escalating the motives behind these acts prior to any evidence does not improve the situation.

I'm not talking about the motives; I specifically said the motives don't matter. I'm talking about the effects on the community.

I know firsthand that I get scared and anxious and that I limit my daily activities when I am in an area (online included) in which people feel free to make public slurs against women. It makes me feel targeted and unsafe, even if the slurs were made against another woman. That's not a soundbite; that's my experience.

What do you think would be a constructive response, Ardiril?

To me, any other response results in the impression of dismissiveness towards hate speech. Knowing that hate speech can indicate an atmosphere of tolerance to hate crime and to invite one-upmanship, and having abundant examples from history, it would seem very risky to choose a dismissive response.

As a person who has a queer daughter, and a queer sibling, I know that this act is not benign. Queer people can, and do, get assaulted for no other reason than their orientation.

And scribbling words on a wall does not exist in a vacuum. Bullshit, Ardiril. This stuff hurts. There will never be any evidence of "motive," because the individuals responsible will never be identified and made to explain. But it DOES take its place on the spectrum of hate, which starts at jokes, and goes all the way to assault and murder.

Fuckers.

Fuckers.

You are of course referring to the Canadian Hockey Team, eh?

When the synagogue where I was bat mitzvahed was vandalized, it turned out to be a bunch of teenagers. When they were caught, some of the ways they were made to be held accountable were a discussion with the rabbi and a visit to the Wiesenthal Center.

People suck, for sure.

*sigh*

That sucks, 'pupp.

I don't understand - I just don't understand what they think that accomplishes, & I don't understand why it even matters to other people what people do/are in their private lives. It's not like the gay person over there stops the straight person from going to their favorite grocery/library/school/bank whatever daily activity they do.

I'm sure the people who do that kind of vandalizing are many types: could be the teenager just doing what they think is cool/bowing to peer pressure, and I'm sure there are real haters out there. I can understand the teen scenario a tad more than the plain hater scenario (although fear makes us do shitty things to each other sometimes - that I get.).

So for the hater category - it's not like doing this shit changes anyone - it doesn't make gay people straight, faggots don't die because of the spraypaint itself. So are they just wimps because they chose spraypaint over actually *doing* what they want it to do? (Do they even know what they want it to do?)I find it hard to believe that they're the same people (the painters & the active assaulters).

I've only experienced one episode of discrimination, & it was benign, humiliating, but mostly perplexing. We sat down for lunch in a restaurant in Bethlehem PA. We sat at the bar, it wasn't crowded. There was one other couple at the bar - a straight couple. Basically we were invisible. No one spoke to us at all: not the manager, host or wait staff. We waited about 15 minutes & then left.

So basically they lost our business. I doubt that if they were slow the rest of the day/week they thought at all about the $ they lost from us leaving & telling everyone about it. In one of the most economically depressed & depressing areas of the country, you'd think they'd take money over judgment.

What's the solution? Is it as simple as one person's rights beginning where another one's ends? Who puts the line where? Or is it more, Be the change we wish to see in the world?

Sometimes I think we're all bored & complacent b/c life in this country is so comfortable for most of us in terms of housing, food availability, transportation & technology, & doctors. So people invent shit to fight about. Any shit. Politics, whether the 10 commandments can be in a park, whether public schools can be diversified (that's going on here right now), who can sell beer on Sunday, etc etc etc.

Again, 'pupp, I'm sorry you have to have that in your face every day.