October 28, 2008

More from the Oakland Front Lines (Mormons Gone Amok)

Author’s name and email redacted:

Oakland High & MacArthur Report (and aid needed)

Date: Tue Oct 28, 2008 10:50 am PDT

This came to me from a really nice straight women who was biking by with her kids outside the Mormon temple on Sunday and stopped to chat and ask what she could do. (She’d already given money but was looking to help other ways as well.) I gave her my card and she sent this to us…

So, looks like we need at least 2 Oakland No on 8 groups today/this week. High & MacArthur, and Lakeshore/Grand Lake. Please come out to peacefully rally. Bring a whistle (easier to hear over the din if there is a true emergency), your videocamera/camera, signs, etc. Or just come with nothing. But come. Some folks will get there early, others will stay late. So don’t be discouraged and think you’ll only have 1/2 hr there etc. It is what you make of it, like anything else.

Thank you folks. Better to be busy & tired now then regretful on the 5th. After hearing the story about how homophobia became so much more pronounced and overt in Hawaii after the similar fight there, I am even more convinced we need to do whatever we can.

Here’s the story:

Last night I was driving to Walgreen’s to get Milk for my kid when I saw the huge crowd (50 people or so) of YES on 8 people at the corner or High and MacArthur. There were only about 10 people who held NO on 8 signs. I rolled down my window and yelled NO on 8. The People yelled profanities at me and whirled their signs as if they wanted to hit me.

After getting back from the store I want down to help protest because we were clearly out numbered. I found that these people were all from the Mormon Church and they really didn’t even understand the measure very well, they just Hated gay people. They would yell things like “Yes on 8 No HIV” “Yes on 8 I love women”

So to top it all off, the police were there keeping order because most of the Yes on 8 people were young men and boys who were very very riled up. When the police left they started to approach us and it felt a little scary so I called 911 and asked them to come back. They reluctantly said ok and stated, “Ya no, we can’t baby-sit you all the time.” What a rude and unprofessional thing to say.

Anyway if anyone out there has an hour or so to come down to the corner, this will be going on until the election and we need the No on 8 people.