Twenty-four-year-old Tanner Efinger felt he had to do more after Proposition 8 passed in California, where he works as a bartender. After reading an article encouraging people to write to the new president about LGBT rights, Efinger decided to go one step further and encourage others to write the White House as well. His project, dubbed “Postcards to the President” aims to keep the energy up after last year’s protests through the simple act of licking a stamp.
QUEERTY: What’s? the basic concept behind “Postcards to the President?”
Tanner Efinger: I started Postcards to the President as a way I could stay involved in the fight for marriage equality and then I began to realize that a lot of people have the same desire. So the concept is to create a movement that everyone can own and everyone can be involved in.
What inspired you to do a postcard campaign?
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
I was inspired to do postcards by an article on Advocate.com that suggested sending a postcard urging for the repeal of DOMA–and I suppose that’s why I am focusing my efforts on DOMA, too. Really, people can write whatever they want, but I think it’s important to try and streamline a message.
How did the project begin? You’ve had events in L.A. and New York and it must have taken some work to get it to become so big so fast.
It kind of got big on its own, you know? I had the idea to kind of do something at my bar [Here Lounge in West Hollywood] first, so I called the promoter for Sunday nights, Tom Whitman, and he was down to do something. Then I was like, “How do I get postcards?” I had no idea about how to go about getting postcards. I’d never done this kind of thing before. Very naively, I thought to myself, “Oh, I can walk into City Hall and see if someone in City Hall will donate some cards.” And I don’t know anything about any office’s in City Hall or anything like that– I can barely pay a parking ticket on time.
Randomly, I bumped into a friend–literally bumped into–who I had not seen in several years that I had met once in New York– and he happened to be a board member of LGAB, the Lesbian and Gay Advisory Board to the West Hollywood City Council, and I told him this idea I had and he said, “Come to a meeting tomorrow night and see if it’s something we can do.” So I went to a meeting the next night and gave kind of a quick public announcement and from there it started to begin looking like an idea that could be much larger than I had anticipated. Everyone was really enthusiastic about it. Members of their board gave their unanimous support to the movement, so that was really exciting.
From there, it just kind of grew and grew and grew. It just took off from under me. I really didn’t expect all of this.
Why do you think it’s taken off?
I think it’s because it’s a really simple idea and it’s an idea that everyone can own as their own movement. When I talk with people about doing it, I tell them that I can give them my suggestions about what I think they can do, but there’s no set protocol, because this is everyone’s movement. This is really the heart of grassroots. People are doing all kinds of different things all over the place. Some people are throwing parties where to come to the party, you have to bring five stamped postcards. I think people are doing that up in the Bay Area and then, some people, their band is hosting a big event. And some people are doing it through their school and some people are making postcards. It’s something that everyone can do on their own. It’s a really simple idea and everyone can feel like they’re a part of this movement.
What would you say to people who argue that the postcards won’t have much of an effect?
I don’t know I’d say to those people. I haven’t talked to anyone whose said that yet! I don’t really think it’s about having an effect– it’s about staying involved. It’s about always staying active. I don’t think this is how laws get passed or things get overturned – I’m not a lawyer – but what this is doing is just creating a voice, creating a very loud voice that says, “Something needs to happen. Something needs to happen in the right direction for the LGBT community.” And that’s what I’m trying to do.
Why send postcards to Barack Obama?
We’re sending postcards to the president because he is what is inspiring us. He’s the one that has placed the importance of his campaign on Change. Will this change the future of our country? I don’t know what effect it will have. I think we stand a better chance of making an impact if the press is covering us and on our side (sites like Queerty help!) but we are making our voice known. We are not allowing our voice of equality to sit on the back burner.
You had two kick-off events in L.A. and NYC. How’d they go? Any plans to take Postcards to other cities?
The kick off events were great. Since Inauguration Day we have sent almost 1000 postcards, but this grows larger and larger everyday. I think the official count is movement in 17 different states now, but soon you’ll start to see events all over the place. Bands in Richmond Virginia, colleges in Kentucky, religious groups in North Carolina. I think when I had the New York event, that’s when I realized this could be a nationwide movement. If it’s so easy to set-up a few parties, it can’t be too hard to get a few more people involved and get them to get a few more people involved.
Have there been any people who you’ve met through this that have really stuck out in your mind?
Yeah, there’s this 17-year-old boy in Oklahoma whose come out of the closet because of this. He sent me a really quick email–it’s been hard to get back in touch with him– and he said, he came out of the closet to his family and wants to send postcards from his town.
Wow. That’s pretty amazing.
Yeah, it’s really crazy. There’s a guy named Adam in Kentucky who is on a full-ride to the University of Kentucky or West Kentucky State or something like that. It’s a very conservative campus and he’s always looking for a way to spread some more LGBT activism there — and now, it’s going to be a huge presence on the campus. He’s now building grassroots strategies in four-different states and just connecting with other like-minded people. You know, he’s now doing more than I am out in those states. It’s pretty insane. I just met with a high school GSA out here in Massachusetts and they’re going to do it at their high school and they’re going to bring it to a teacher’s conference on February 22nd. And I’ve talked to Matthew Shepard’s mother about it, because she’s touring around doing stuff against hate crime. People are talking. People are really excited about it.
You’ve said that before Prop. 8 you weren’t all that political. This may sound really obvious, but what changed?
Barack Obama changed me. I didn’t even vote before Barack Obama. He got me involved in politics. He got me to pay more attention. I wasn’t a political person at all. He just tapped into the same tools that we’re using now. You know, Google and Facebook and YouTube and stuff and I was on anyway, talking to friends, and suddenly his face was popping up as well. I don’t know. I guess it’s the whole political atmosphere. You drink the Kool-Aid and do it.
What’s so inspiring about him? I’ve never been a proud American. I’ve never played into politics. Every time I’ve heard people talking about this country, it’s always complaining about this or complaining about that and since I wasn’t too interested in the first place, it didn’t sound like a thing I wanted to get into. It seemed like nobody cared that much. But suddenly, people did and suddenly people think, “Okay, this thing can really turn around and our country can change and there’s a lot of stuff we can do.”
Drake Roberts
This is a great, simple, and easily re-produced idea! If others wanted to join the movement, where would we send the postcards? Thanks!
Nick
Great article, and great concept…
Japhy, could we have him be the inaugural hotty for a “Morning Nerds” feature. He’s dreamy:)
Leland Frances
OK, I was open minded about this until the following exchange which I urge everyone….you, too, Japhy, just stop being distracted by how cute he is … to reread carefully [emphasis mine]:
Q: What would you say to people who argue that the postcards won’t have much of an effect?
A: I don’t know I’d say to those people. I haven’t talked to anyone whose said that yet! I DON’T REALLY THINK IT’S ABOUT HAVING AN EFFECT– it’s about staying involved. It’s about ALWAYS STAYING ACTIVE. I don’t think this is how laws get passed or things get overturned – I’m not a lawyer – but what this is doing is just creating a voice, creating a very loud voice that says, “Something needs TO HAPPEN. Something needs TO HAPPEN IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION FOR THE LGBT COMMUNITY.” And that’s what I’m trying to do.
SAY WHAT??? The self-contradiction in his thinking, or lack thereof, totally echoes the half-wit ejaculations of Aimless Amy Join the Impact. On the one hand, she wants to protest the passage of Prop H8TE, but on the other she says “leave the Mormons alone.” On one hand she wants to see H8TE overturned, but also says that CHURCHES should decide what to call OUR relationships. Uh, Amy, that’s virtually what H8TE does.
More recently, she said, like Tanner, that this was the first election she’s taken seriously. But she says it’s because before it was because we had to choose between the lesser of two evils. Uh, Amy, Al Gore was only slightly less evil than Bush? John Kerry was only slightly less evil than Bush?
Both she and Tanner confuse simply being “active” with “accomplishing something.” Both apparently confuse politics with dieting.
And “1000 postcards”? The White House probably gets that many EVERY TEN MINUTES. Even before he was elected, as of mid-December, the Save Darfur Coaltion had sent him 160,000 postcards. Read that again: ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY THOUSAND.
How many do you think of any of these campaigns to you think Obama even hears about, let alone sees? If you do decide that you really to want something “to happen,” which….wait for it….is the same as “having an effect,” y’all better ramp up real fast.
Looks? 6.5. Dance? Insufficient data. Good Intentions? 10 points. Strategic thinking? 0. At least with the Girl Scouts I can get cookies.
Tanner
@Leland Frances:
Leland –
Allow me to clarify the quote for you: I don’t think sending postcards is how one goes about changing legislation.
The EFFECT I am concerned with is in the communities and individuals who take on this movement and in how many people hear about this movement. People who weren’t standing up before to say how they feel are now standing up. Their voice is heard in their communities, with their families, with the growth of the movement, and soon with the numbers of postcards sent in the White House mailroom.
So stop your nay saying and send a postcard, honey!
Staying active takes a lot of different forms: this one is about making a continuous stink. Talking with individuals and sharing our thoughts and changing peoples minds and growing and growing and growing…
that’s staying active.
I have support for you in whatever shape it takes.
Much love,
Tanner
Ellen Thistle
In the amount of time it took you to write that diatribe you could have prevented the clubbing of at least one baby seal. At least that would have made a difference.
Oh, and for the record: Dance? it’s off the charts.
I have two words for Leland Frances: bite me.
Ellen Thistle
(For clarification, all of the above was directed at Leland “douche” Frances.)
Leland Frances
To paraphrase a classic gay play:
You can say the same thing about self-delusion as masturbation—you don’t have to worry about looking your best.
And if you think 1000 post cards are “a stink,” you really must donate your hypersensitive olfactory lobe to the Smithsonian.
As por moi, no thanks. I grew out of circle jerks long ago.
Tanner
Well, you can’t please everyone. Good luck to you!
Darrien
@Leland Frances: You usually have something interesting to say, but I’m not sure I can agree with your view on this.
For activism, one needs activists – it’s axiomatic. With this project, people can take an easy, inexpensive form of action. For some, that will be enough. For others, it could be an opening to involvement and further activism. Either way, nothing is lost.
You’re probably right about the volume of postcards needed before the White House takes a smidgeon of interest. But, because this is such an elegantly simple project, it has the potential to snowball. At the risk of French-kissing a cliche: from tiny acorns mighty oaks grow. And anyway, a couple of thousand postcards will probably keep a postal worker in employment for part of the recession – and that’s no bad thing these days.
You’ve listed the cons, but you should pay attention to the possible pros as well. On balance, Mr Efinger should be congratulated.
charles
“You’ve listed the cons”
That’s all he has ever shown himself capable of doing.
Natural Beat
To begin, Tanner, good going! Over Thanksgiving, Join the Impact and the Civil Rights Front did something like this and it got so huge that Obama’s transition office stopped accepting postcards! You’ve definitely taken ideas like “Letters to Obama” and “Project Postcard” to the next level with a unique and original twist! Keeping people active and united in one voice makes a gigantic impact and a huge difference! You are giving people a great tool to make their voices heard, and helping people who may have otherwise felt alone (like your friend in Kentucky), feel like a part of something enormous!
Have you had a chance to checkout whiteknot.org? It’s based out of LA and might be a great partnership opportunity for you. Maybe the next step is to send the postcards with white knots or give everyone who has sent a postcard a white knot. There are a ton of people doing great things in this movement and your “simple” addition is going to help in many complex ways!
When it comes to Leland, just ignore him. Unfortunately, his main goal in this movement is to jump onto blogs like this and flame people left and right. His name is all over the internet trash talking the grassroots initiatives. If he doesn’t like the way the grassroots activists are doing things, then he can just step up and organize something himself. Instead he chooses to keep complaining, which is going to get him nowhere. He’ll continue to try and undermine you and the movement because it makes him feel better about himself. Don’t take it personally.
Mr. Sprattler, librarian
Good going Ms. Thistle! I agree.
For someone who “grew out of circle jerks long ago”, Leland certainly maintains an affinity for public masturbation, as he obviously gets off on hearing himself talk. (I find it particularly amusing, however, that he talks about “circle-jerks” like it’s a common phase everyone goes through.)
My problem with Leland’s attitude towards Tanner’s initiative is the same as my problem with people who are against gay marriage: if it’s not hurting anyone, and it makes people happy, why do you care?
petted
Activism is the new black, my desire to hit on activists aside – this is a good project because it builds upon and strengthens the activist community by providing a visible and well defined goal to keep people motivated. Maintaining motivation and activity is among the most difficult things for any movement so its good to see people are trying to channel that energy.
Feeling rather self conscious now… hey is that the alarm for the oven?
parisinla
@Drake Roberts:
Drake, please vist http://www.postcardstothepresident.com for information on how to acquire postcards or please email me [email protected]
@Leland Francis:
So tell me what you’ve done to forward the movement?
Eli Nassau
I really enjoyed reading this post about the effort of this young man, Tanner Effinger, to try to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). It inspires the readers like me to take part in the fight (or conversation) to achieve equal marriage, it provokes readers to engage in any way they can and reminds us all that change comes from the bottom, from the roots and that every little effort is valid and important in order to achieve a goal. The conversation in general presents very interesting points, engaging even, to the point where I could relate to some of the cases, for example the difficulty of living in a small, conservative town, having to deal with homophobic people like Tanner says when he talks about Adam, the boy in Kentucky. Also the overall topic and the graphics relate well to one another, especially the last one, where the people are having a postcard party. This really seems to be affecting people and, along with Tanner, they are getting more involved in Politics because they see that now there is a chance that they could be heard by the government (at least better than in the previous administration). This is probably best captured in the line: “Barack Obama changed me… He got me involved in politics. He got me to pay more attention. I wasn’t a political person at all.” However, the question that comes to mind is, do you think this will actually affect or make an impact? Will it make any difference in California, where Proposition 8 is being studied for its legitimization?
As hard as these questions are to answer, the effort is worth it, whether it makes any difference or not because, in my opinion, it shows that the people are getting involved, and having faith in the government. If I may, a minor criticism would be that I would have liked to see more information about how to contact Tanner, and the various points were this project is available, in order to make it easier for the reader to start engaging in this project. In general, though, I appreciate reading stories about small, yet inspiring acts that change the world, in this case “one postcard at a time.”