Humor is one of the best ways to communicate ideas about touchy subjects like Mormon history and other Mormon blunders. One of the most popular right now is City Creek. Social media have been bumpin’ with rumors about City Creek: what the LDS Church hoped to accomplish and how it seemed to fail. Here are some memes on the subject that make me giggle.
President Thomas S. Monson on City Creek: "I'm sorry people are jealous of our mall."
It cost more to build the City Creek Center than it did to build Treasure Island, the Luxor, and the Monte Carlo… combined. City Creek is more lavish, and more expensive, than three of Las Vegas’ megaresorts.
"We do not have a clique problem at our mall" said President Thomas S. Monson at the grand opening.
The Huffington Post ran an article a while back about trending prejudice on Twitter. Twitter user @LGBTfacts posted some pretty insane tweets with the hash tag #LGBTfacts. Warning: some of the tweets are pretty foul so search at your own risk.
Few in the LGBT community took offense and instead turned the tweets around and made them humorous. Here are some examples:
It’s surprising how humor deflates potentially explosive situations. Good job gweeters (gay tweeters)!
I thought this was a thought provoking shit people say YouTube video. It highlights a lot of stereotypes people have about gay men. My favorits is when the girl is talking to her boyfriend on the phone and says “He’s probably more attracted to you than he is to me.”
I don’t always feel qualified to answer questions on marriage equality and other gay issues, especially when it comes to adoption by gay and lesbians couples: My personal experiences and knowledge are limited. I’ve compiled a series of videos that offer rebuttals to common arguments against gay marriage and other gay issues either through someone telling their story or a representation of true-to-life scenarios and facts. Share these videos on social media to answer questions you don’t feel qualified to answer; it makes a difference.
Zach Wahls of Iowa talks about being raised by two moms. He asks legislators in Iowa:
“You are voting for the first time in the history of our state to codify discrimination into our constitution… Will this vote affect my family? Will it affect yours?”
He further asserts “The sexual orientation of my parents has had zero affect on my character.”
This video from Australia reminds me of significant life events I’ve shared with Dan including our engagement.
This video is touching to me. People briefly mention aspects of the Constitution that uphold gay marriage and then say (something along the lines):
“We are the people of the United States of America. I’m your doctor. I’m your lawyer. I’m your pastor. I’m your neighbor. I’m your kids best friend.”
This video touches me because I don’t always feel supported by pastors, lawyers, neighbors, etc.
This video is also touching to me as I’ve felt numerous times that I need permission from all the people fighting against my marriage to be with Dan.
And here’s a clip from the most progressive show ever: The Golden Girls. If you want to know why men have nipples, this clip has an answer.
Wanda Sykes on gay marriage:
“If you don’t believe in same-sex marriage then don’t marry someone of the same sex… I think the biggest threat to marriage is divorce… Make marriage like the mafia: once you’re in, you’re in.”
Vulgarity warning: Wanda has been known to curse.
These videos are a little longer and more in depth. The man in the video talks about aspects of religious freedom that aren’t threatened by gay marriage. It is basically a rebuttal to Dallin H. Oaks: Oaks cites many of the same cases this guy discusses (e.g., the United Methodist Church case). These are the same cases and arguments distributed in LDS congregations during the time of Prop 8. LDS lawyer Morris Thurston offered his own rebuttal to these same arguments.
Here’s a final video from the CATO Institute which describes how marriage is a fundamental right.
If you’re not familiar with debates about gay marriage, they usually go something like this:
Gay man: I should have the right to marry.
Straight man: You do. No one is stopping you from marrying a woman.
Gay man: Well, the problem is, I’m not really attracted to women so…
Straight man: So stop complaining. It’s your choice and you choose not to marry a woman.
More direct debates usually go something like this:
Gay man: I should have the right to marry.
Straight person: No you shouldn’t, because if we let you marry who you want, what’s to stop other people from marrying a horse?
Gay man: No comment.
(But really. People actually use this claim to support their arguments against gay marriage).
In celebration of slippery slope arguments (and more), I’d like to share a cartoon and video. The cartoon explains, in the most simple language, the gay marriage debate. For all the duck lovers out there, the video uses very clear logic to demonstrate how the legalization of gay marriage will facilitate Scrooge McDuck fetishes.