I know there are important issues involved in this campaign. I know that people are suffering and that the economy has not improved at a rate we all wish it would.
Yes, people are suffering, but the gay and lesbian community has been suffering for hundreds of years, and I am so tired of it, so tired of feeling less-than, so tired of knowing I have friends on Facebook who will vote for someone who will keep me a second-class citizen for my entire lifetime. I have already spent half a lifetime hiding, half a lifetime conforming. It is exhausting and demeaning, and I am worn out. I want to love myself full-out. I want a president who can look me in the eye and say, âYou are equal! You are equal to everyone else in this country, and I will fight for your rights. The time is now, and it is long overdue.â
Romney and Ryan could not look me in the eye and say that, and I feel sorry for every gay and questioning child who might have to listen to a potential president who believes that he or she is not equal. Children will take their lives. It is the worst form of trickle-down bullying, and it absolutely splits my heart in half.
When the president says you are less-than, it gives permission to every authority figure, every politician, every teacher, every bully on the playground to push you around and bully you and treat you as less-than. It is dangerous, and lives will be lost.
How about we take this to the next level?
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If this is not important to you, please remove me from your friends list. I need people in my life who love me and consider me 100-percent equal.
âBroadway star Max von Essen (Evita), addressing Facebook friends who are voting for Mitt Romney, in an essay on Huffington Post.
Alan down in Florida
Bravo! Couldn’t agree more.
Avenger
What a whiner. Me, me, me…me, me, me…
So other people are supposed to put this guy’s inferiority complex and need to be coddled over the fact that they themselves are unable to find work and are possibly drowning in debt in this rotten economy that Obama has presided over and NOT vote for his opponent? Is he serious?
But then again, being a Broadway star, I guess he probably couldn’t relate to all that anyway. He has a job, after all. So instead his one issue voting self is all about needing a president to go out of his way to reaffirm that he’s equal. I’m sure Obama loves these kinds of supporters, because they don’t need anything from him but a few crumbs of acknowledgement.
Not only is this guy a whiner, he’s selfish. If he has any followers who are struggling and have a legitimate reason to vote for Romney, then I hope they DO unfollow his ass and tell him to good riddance at the same time.
2eo
I like Avenger, in an internet troll way. He doesn’t even pretend to be an ally or member of the community, and he clearly isn’t and like all good trolls he stays completely in character and is completely selective where he posts.
He is of a dying breed, people like BJ just aren’t as good at it. You wouldn’t see Avenger in the fake gay beating thread for example.
hephaestion
Bravo to Max von Essen!
And to “Avenger”: If you think Romney will improve the economy by doing the same things that DESTROYED our economy in the first place, good luck buttercup!
LaTeesha
@Avenger: Do you think anybody really takes you seriously and isn’t aware that you are just trolling? You’re way too obvious. Unlike one of the other commenters, I don’t think you’re a very good troll. Your technique simply isn’t believable.
Avenger
@LaTeesha: I think YOU took me seriously enough to analyze my ‘technique’ and try and come up with a theory about what I’m doing here. Me, a troll? Meh… If I were, then by the basics of ‘Troll 101’ I’d say I *am* a good one, because not only did I succeed in getting your attention, I also compelled you to react. *shrugs*
If I were a troll, that is…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF2ayWcJfxo
marc sfe
@Avenger: ROFLMAO you’re a funny lil troll – –
BradT
Well said Max von Essen. This election is way too personal for me and I have let the people in my life know that we can’t be friends if you’re a Republican. Because that means they want me to be less than a full human being with all of the rights enjoyed by every other American. They want us all back in the closet and completely disenfranchised becaude we make them feel uncomfortable.
My plea is also for everyone to not even engage trolls like Avenger. They are not worth it. They are generally pathetic losers living in their moms basement playing video games and taking out their unhappiness and misery on anyone they can make into a target. My advice is to completely ignore them. That will truly infuriate them and the tops of their heads will probably blow off.
petensfo
I agree w/ Max… I’m tired of giving people a pass for their bigotry; Republicans that don’t support equality, Katholics that think everyone should live by the rules of their faith, evangelicals, whatever…
I don’t have a problem with people of faith, only when they try to impose it on others.
The only way the GOP will change their tune is when they lose people from their ranks because they don’t want to be associated with their discrimination. We got work to do.
The Real Mike in Asheville
@Avenger: Fuck off asshole trolling turd!
Larry McD
Here’s a news flash, Max. I’m a gay progressive Democratic man and I hit the like button on Mitt Romney. Wanna know why? Because now I get a flood of Republican ads in the gutter on my Facebook page and every time one of them pops up, it costs them money. I researched the Facebook ad rates for another reason and realized that while it’s not a huge amount of money, it costs those people a minimum of $2 for each view. Not only have I done it, after asking me why I did it, a dozen of my friends are now “friends” of Mitt Romney.
First time I came across this, it was an Ann Coulter ad on Kenneth in the 212. I emailed an inquiry and he told me that he not only got paid for the views, the amount of money he got was increased significantly if anybody actually clicked on it. I now regularly click on those ads to donate to Republicans and then back out once the hit has been registered.
Leaping to conclusions is not limited to Broadway “stars” but it’s no less irritating in them.
2eo
@Larry McD: Facebook have sold your personal information for over $1000.
They are all harvested and it has cost you a lot more than any of you will cost the Republican advertising machine. Also the link reference is kept in an MSO Flash-cookie “backing out” of the link is utterly irrelevant, you have given them money.
You’ve handed over all your browsing habits, shopping habits and they’ve got complete access to all your online purchases, and if you’re really unfortunate they will acquire more targeted information from the likes of Amazon.
You haven’t won, you never beat the advertiser, the only winning move is not too play.
TheArtist
I grew up in a small Iowa town and have a lot of family members who like Romney on FB and in real life. They also allegedly like me. This is what I posted the other day on my page: If you hate Obama and want to vote against him, I completely understand your frustration. However, what I do not understand, is if you’re voting AGAINST Obama by voting FOR Romney…why? Why not choose a third party candidate? There are many to choose from, Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, Constitution Party candidate Virgil Goode, Green Party candidate Jill Stein, and Justice Party candidate Rocky Anderson
Many of them have good economic plans as well as social plans. And as an added bonus, they’re all white, so there’s your other base, covered! Just don’t vote for Romney, unless you truly believe gay people shouldn’t have as many rights as corporations.
Quan-Li
Amen, Max! You rock!!! đ
Guillermo3
Good for Max!! Personally,I’ve avoided de-friending people who like the
corporo-fascist Romney and his Republican SA men,but have made enough similarly-
toned comments on their posts that they may be permanently alienated.
The hardest thing is that so many of them are friends and relatives.