topaz

and from the other side...., originally uploaded by qwrrty.

A woman in the VoteOnMarriage.org camp was holding up this sign this afternoon outside the Massachusetts Statehouse. I found it hysterical and fascinating all at once.

What's the best part? I can't decide! The incoherent references to "pederast homosexuals" and "adult-child sexual liaisons"? The comparisons between "gay-lesbian-bi clubs" and "Hitler Youth groups"? Or just the whole suggestion that the U.S. in 2007 is somehow comparable to "Nazi Germany"?

I think what I liked the most about this, and some of the other distasteful signs on the other side, is that it served to remind us of the real motives of the protestors. Make no mistake: this wasn't just an abstract conflict of constitutional principle. Oh, I'm sure that for some people that was an important issue -- but I daresay that most of the people who turned out were not constitutional scholars. For most of them, by far, the motivations were clearly and starkly motivated by hate. (See also.)

I was tempted to go over and suggest that her sign would be more accurate if you crossed out "Today" and wrote "Catholic Church." It was probably just as well I didn't.

Edit: According to the caption on an AP photograph run in the Boston Metro, this woman was subsequently arrested for slapping a gay rights supporter during an argument. Thanks to beah for noticing this and bringing it to my attention.