Blowback

[JamesSavik]

The cameras are gone from Fulton, Mississippi- home of one of the big media prom dramas of 2010.

Fulton, Mississippi is in Itawamba county and sits just a few miles off the Alabama border and is 12 miles from Tupelo, Mississippi. In addition to being the home town of Elvis is the home of Donald Wildmon's American Family Association.

This conflict was a bit like taking a stick and knocking the crap out of a hornets nest.

The results were predictable. Constance McMillen was disappointed and the school district acted despicably.

You can be sure that this has been the topic of conversation of the AFA's members and the churches have been tanking up on hate.

Now that the media is gone, we gay folk that live here have to cope with the angry hornets.

Gay people are going to lose jobs. I've already lost a cable installation gig. Not that the economy doesn't suck in the best of times in Mississippi (number 50 with a bullet), it sure doesn't help when the churches are telling employers that the evil gay agenda is here and wants to molest their babies.

Not that things are EVER gay-friendly, things are noticeably more gay-contemptuous. People with rainbows and Human Rights Campaign bumper stickers are getting pulled over and cops are sitting on gay bars waiting for patrons to leave.

So what good did the media exposure do us? None at all. Everybody knew that Mississippi sucks. That's a given.

What it did was get a lot of local gay activists to speak up and now they are facing retaliation.

So thanks a lot for the media circus. It was fun while it lasted. It created a lot of false hopes and has the Christians on the war path... in a loving way to punish dirty faggots to make them come to Jesus and give up their evil hobbies.

Here's an idea: the next time you want a gay media circus go to Alabama, Louisiana or Georgia. We've had ours for the decade.

[The Pecman]

That's a drag, James. We're feeling the economic pinch over here in LA, too (though not from any gay-related causes, pro or con). Times are tough all over.

I figure you've lived in ol' Miss for a long time. No chance of moving to a more receptive area? There are parts of New Orleans that are beautiful, and Atlanta has a very active gay community.

On the other hand, you can make a good argument that you might ultimately get more positive results by staying. The more "regular people" are exposed to decent, hard working gay people in real life, the better off all of us will ultimately be.

[Trab]

James, except for there being no roundups and concentration camps, your area doesn't sound much different from Nazi Germany, particularly in regards to the police action. It's a pretty sad and sorry mess when one of the defenders of the 'good' in WWII turns into what they hated most.

[colinian]

James, the AFA is a Fascist organization and should be exposed as such.

Colin

[JamesSavik]

You don't know how badly I want out of this rat-fuck paradise.

I just don't want to leave and take my own worst enemy with me.

[The Pecman]

Yeah, the "American Family Association" sure doesn't represent any family I know. Idiot bastids...

Whoa, the Wikipedia entry gives a list of companies that the AFA is boycotting:

7-Eleven, Abercrombie & Fitch, American Airlines, American Girl, Blockbuster Video, Burger King, Calvin Klein, Carl's Jr., Clorox, Comcast, Crest, Ford, Hallmark Cards, Kmart, Kraft Foods, S. C. Johnson & Son, Movie Gallery, Microsoft, MTV, Mary Kay, NutriSystem, Old Navy, IKEA, Sears, Pampers, Procter & Gamble, Target, Tide, Walt Disney Company, and PepsiCo.

I think I buy stuff from at least half of them! (I'm disappointed that they don't also boycott Apple, which has the same human rights policies as Disney -- full benefits for domestic partners, etc.)

AFA is one scary group. If we could only take them and the Phelps "GHF" group, then put them in a single room and drop a bomb on them... (Not that I would advocate violence.)