Comments on: Did Soccer Moms Cost Us Marriage In Maine?

By: jimmy

jimmy — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:55:26 +0000

First, know that my wife an I are the typical white collar couple, living in Maine and both from Maine. I have to say I am teriblly embarrassed with Maine voters, Yes to drugs, no to marriage equallity. At least I can say that in my own town we voted for gay marriage. I have read the above comments and some of you are living in fantasy land. I only really agree with #4, who hit the nail on the head. Maine is still a “behind the times, old school state,” even with the internet. Many people are still highly religious, bigoted and lving on a high school education or worse no education at all. Many of these same people have actually never even set foot out of the state, so they are living in their own world. So I am not surprised by the vote, but I was saddened by the outcome. But don’t blame the soccer moms or whatever you want to call them, it goes far beyond that. Just my heterosexual two cents..

By: reason

reason — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:46:01 +0000

I think what post 10 is trying to convey, although to me it seems like he is being condescending, is the gay community has an image problem. A lot of people that don’t know gays intimately only see the lewd side of the community, and literally believe that is what being gay is. Networks like Fox News play into this: if you watch Bill O’Reilly every time he talks about gays he drudges up images from the 60′s drug culture with half naked men acting crazy. People in rural communities, religious, and others that don’t have exposure to gay’s believe the worst because that is all they are exposed to. The images often times give me pause, can’t imagine how it impacts others that are already cynical about the worlds morality. I really don’t know how you go about changing that. The African American community experienced something similar with the media only presenting coverage that cast AA in a negative light back in the days leading even decent people to believe an organization as disgusting as the KKK was actually trying to protect society. With even less numbers than the African American community it is going to be difficult to counteract the stigma through personal interactions.

By: hyhybt

hyhybt — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:13:02 +0000

#9: Partially, it makes sense: gay dating sites seem to be oriented mostly towards men. Men are big on the visuals; if straight dating sites didn’t have to attract women as well, you’d see mostly underdressed, large-breasted women in their ads.

Which I guess is fine if you just want to pick up someone for the night, but where do you go for the keepers?

By: Swarm

Swarm — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:45:51 +0000

#10 No, hon. Do you actually want to know the truth? They don’t want to have to explain the sexual mechanics to their kids. I’m not kidding one bit. Figure out a solution to the “ick factor” (not my words). Coach soccer, go on the PTA, be a big brother, be a drama coach (whatever) in other words …be whatever you are in their world. As you know religious objections are easily overcome when they are rationalized. I’m also with the camp that says go for civil first but I know that’s a lightening rod. OH, and stop hating your own when they falter in your eyes ie Adam Lambert bashing. FOCUS. I’m not trolling, I’m a straight 45 yr old sister of a gay man. Been at this a LONG time. Alot of women are bullied by husbands or at their economic mercy so I’m not so sure that “winning over” the husbands is gonna come quickly. Until their child comes out. Then the moms may have to leave the dad. #4 is correct.

By: jason

jason — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:38:33 +0000

Yes, I agree that gay male dating services are body-obsessed. We’re like the equivalent of sleazy straight guys who obsess over women with big boobs.

By: coonin

coonin — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:08:31 +0000

Not to be swayed by headlines, but I believe this headline. Straight women with families in the suburbs are for the most part – not our allies. Sure they don’t mind letting us cut their hair, or going with them shopping, but their power card is control baby…and they secretly think we’re inferior.

By: PK

PK — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:32:26 +0000

When heterosexual internet dating services advertise, they normally show a wholesome neatly dressed couple. When gay match making sites advertise, they always show naked or partially naked men. Why is that? Just look to the right of this blog.

It strongly communicates to me that there must be a huge difference between gay and strait relationships. I would rather not have marriage represented by sleeze.

By: InExile

InExile — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:53:44 +0000

First we had soccer moms, then we had security moms, and now we have bigot moms. This demographic group is always trouble!

By: jason

jason — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:42:07 +0000

Soccer moms are vile. They’re big hypocrites. They put on their smiling faces while watching Oprah but vote against us at the polls.

By: Attmay

Attmay — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:20:45 +0000

There’s no such thing as a “repeal-proof” bill. Even the First Amendment could be repealed if enough states voted to ratify a repeal.

By: PopSnap

PopSnap — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:31:22 +0000

At this point Im done caring who supports gay marriage and who doesn’t. We need to support a “repeal proof” bill like there is currently promising to be passed in new Jersey. We need to do this in as many states as possible, so that it will be difficult to put to a popular vote, until the supreme court case wins and/or at least to stall time until we can WIN by popular vote, probably anytime after 2012-13.

By: hyhybt

hyhybt — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:58:43 +0000

Has anyone looked at the absentee ballots yet?

By: dsdrane

dsdrane — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:20:20 +0000

I’m deeply disappointed, but not surprised.

I grew up in Maine, went to college in Maine, and left Maine after I graduated. I continue to have a love-hate relationship with the place, with an annual pilgrimage enough to remind me what I love about the place and why I left.

At the end of the day, the heavy lifting of one county — Cumberland Co., home to Portland, Maine’s largest city — wasn’t sufficient to offset the other 15 counties in the rest of the state. While a few southern, coastal counties teetered back and forth over the 50-50 line, the rest came down decidedly in the Yes column.

To me, this is largely a class issue. Southern coastal areas are more cosmopolitan. They are wealthier, better educated, and host most of Maine’s huge tourism business. In short, they know gay people. The inland areas (where I’m from) are isolated geographically and culturally. They are poorer and more blue collar. Think depressed mill towns. If you grow up gay there, you make it through high school in one piece and you leave. In short, they really don’t know gay people.

The good news is that this is also a generational battle, and the wind is at our backs. Check out this soothing balm of a post* at Daily Kos, written by their resident Mainer. It made me feel a helluva lot better today.

* http://www.dailykos.com/storyo.....-Wednesday

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:32:16 +0000

Brian – If there is anything that we have learned since 2004 it is that people lie to pollsters. The only meaningful poll is the one that occurs on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

By: Orpheus_lost

Orpheus_lost — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:27:21 +0000

All of this hindsight “told you so” bullshit is getting old – quick! What do we need to focus on? EVERYTHING!

That means soccer moms, mormons, African-Americans, catholics, baptists, the blind, the mute, the deaf, etc…

But it also means that we needs to focus on the legislature, the executive and the judicial branches of government.

It means we need to work on TV, newspapers, radio, smoke signals, telegraphs and faxes.

It means that, unlike the prognosticating by those who want to see us focus narrowly, we need to show that we’re everywhere and make sure people know that we’re already among them.

It means that when, one day, we actually do obtain our rights that it won’t be because one strategy was more effective than another; it means that we all worked together in our common interests.

E Pluribus Unum.

By: Brian

Brian — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:11:12 +0000

Polls actually confirm that the majority of Mainers support same sex marriage. We lost because religion got the voters to the polls. Invoking God is very powerful. Turnout killed us.