If you look at the Rec List, The Troubadour broke the news of a couple of guys who went to Rick Santorum's Rally in Arlington Heights and gave him a Mic-Check and view of a male on male smooch.
I was shocked at the chants of USA, USA because that audience does not represent the USA that I live in. Tucson, AZ is a blue city despite being in red Arizona. Think of it as a green apple in a sea of red apples. I walk on the UA Mall and see LGBT couples holding hands and kissing all the time. Nobody stares. Nobody starts chanting. It's just whatever. I think that is how it should be. Our LGBT brothers and sisters should not be treated like second class citizens and it makes me sad to see displays like this at GOP Rallies. HOWEVER, I am not a fan of people who disrupt when someone else is speaking.
So maybe we can give the Santorum security team the benefit of the doubt? Maybe those men were ejected from the rally because of their disruption rather than the fact that they kissed. OK. Lets review other cases of disruption of public officials.
My fear is that although kissing is a harmless act, we have seen much more dangerous displays of interruption. I think that there is a time and place for vocalizing dissent and disagreement. As citizens it is our right and our duty to question our lawmakers, but when is it appropriate to do so? One of the men at Santorum's Rallies said, “I don’t think the message should be about what my sexuality is,” Tross said. “It’s the message that he’s saying about sexuality that matters.” If you listen to Santorum's speech, he wasn't saying anything about sexuality, would it have been more appropriate for Tross to kiss his friend once Santorum stated something anti-LGBT? Alternatively, Santorum is openly anti-gay, it is part of his "conservative appeal" anything he says regarding getting "America Back" could mean getting America back to a time where people didn't come out as gay to the public. An America where having a marriage of 20+ years and 7 kids was the norm and ideal life for middle America. Getting America "back" isn't going to happen. We must push forward. But how do we get our message across effectively?
If you watch the video of other people who were disrupted the underlying theme from the aggressor is fear. During the health care debate, people didn't know what "Obamacare" would do to their health, so they latched onto stories of Grandma Nancy and death panels. On our side, the Occupy Wall Streeters have faced legal action that was not seen during Tea Party Protests. OWS didn't have a Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh telling the world what the message was, so the opposition which continues today still generates confusion. I often hear the meme that Obama created OWS for this election. If that is true why did they mic check President Obama? Why doesn't OWS protest Mitt Romney's rallies when he talks of lowering the Capital Gains Tax and Corporate Tax? And what about the booing and perceived use of the N-word against a Black Congressman as he was entering a building? Is that an appropriate way to express your distaste with his policies? Can there be no calm, discourse between dissenters and our lawmakers? Are we at the point where we must yell for their attention no matter what the cost?
What about the reaction to Arlen Specter and Ann Kirkpatrick? Should we yell down our congressmen and women with intimidation? Or should they expect our disagreement with their policies and understand that we have a right to get angry with them and if they anger us enough we will work to get them out of office?
I'm a newbie to politics. I will work diligently for President Obama's Re-election campaign. But I can't help but wonder how we will win the War of Messaging against our opponents while retaining our integrity. Most of all, I worry that we will see more disruption as the election year goes on and let's face it, the right is angry, so are we, how will we win this battle? Do we fight fire with fire or play a game of rope a dope and let them keep punching until they are winded and we give them one knockout? This diary may be misconstrued but I welcome the discussion and would like to know what you think about this issue. I do not oppose public displays of affection. I understand the message that the Santorum Mic-Checkers were trying to convey. When in a debate I get heated and excited but never shout and revert to intimidation using physicality. I would never yell at the President or call him a liar at one of his speeches whether he is a Republican or a Democrat.