More from the colorbar fad...

I want to ask a serious question. Pardon me if it offends.

How many of you actually support gay rights? How many of you actually understand gay issues? How many of you actually understand what you're doing?

It just appears to me that people are doing this and they don't really understand the significance of the flag and symbol they're parodying. I can't speak for all people in the GBLT community, because we're all so diverse in our opinions (like any group of people), but I can't see too many of them supporting a group of people superimposing fandom joys over a flag that people have died for. It really is like making fun of the Star of David, or any national flag.

I know memes and bandwagons can be annoying, and they're fun to make fun of. I even understand that you might think you're supporting the diversity of love by putting your particular love in the flag. If it were different sorts of couples, I might begin to understand where you're coming from.

But all I've seen is completely unrelated and frivolous topics which undermine and belittle something that is a serious issue.

I am quite ready to accept your flames and anger. I know you all enjoy this past-time very much, but I don't know if people realise how disrespectful it is.

I have a much angrier message at my personal LJ about this, but I thought that it would be a little too confrontational to yell at you in the journal you share these things in. I just wanted to help raise awareness to the reason why there is the flag in the first place. There's inequality and injustice, and that flag is the symbol of our hope and pride. Please, please understand that.

Again, I'm sorry if I've upset people, but I had to stand up for my beliefs. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't, and I understand if this shits you all.

Just understand that your 'fun' is making fun of something very, very important.

The personal journal is a bit snappier.

I haven't seen a whole lot of wank in the comments yet, but still...it's fifty comments (at the time of this posting) about whether memes are thumbing their nose at the gay community. WTF?

(Post a new comment)

	smo 2004-02-28 05:54 pm UTC (link)
	It really is like making fun of the Star of David, or any national flag. Does this count as a violation of Godwin's Law? (Reply to this)(Thread)

	walkingundine 2004-02-29 04:55 pm UTC (link)
	I think it's skirting the edge. It's only referring to the flag of Israel, not the events of the Holocaust. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	shoiryu 2004-02-28 06:26 pm UTC (link)
	Methinks this fellow needs to stop, rewind, and instead start by asking how many of these people who're making the parody banners are gay or lesbian themselves. (Reply to this)

	littletort 2004-02-28 07:01 pm UTC (link)
	:)) When I saw that on my LJ friends list this morning I had a feeling I would be seeing it here! :D (Reply to this)

	ladybirdsleeps 2004-02-28 07:01 pm UTC (link)
	I fit in the "LGBTWTFBBQ" classification somewhere, and I think the spin-offs of the colorbar meme are hilarious. And I know I'm not alone. At least 4 out of 5 of the debauched bisexuals in my closet agree. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	judyhazeleyes 2004-03-04 02:07 am UTC (link)
	peeks out of closet you talking about me behind my back again? (Reply to this)(Parent)

	yadda 2004-02-28 07:18 pm UTC (link)
	Dude, it's a meme. A meme on livejournal. It has no real effect on gay-rights whatsoever and lots of the people making the color bars are gay themselves. Go find something really worth getting your panties in a twist over and try again. (Reply to this)

	feenix 2004-02-28 07:29 pm UTC (link)
	CAO PI IS SEX!!!!!!11111111111111111111 ...right-o. It's a meme. And it's a flag. And the point of the colorbars is to mock the original meme. Honey, we're not trying to oppress you by mocking you. We're just trying to have fun. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	iris 2004-02-28 07:56 pm UTC (link)
	CAO PI IS SEX!!!!!!11111111111111111111 Well, it's true! He got it on with older women when he was seventeen. Rawr. XD (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) -

mooncalf, 2004-02-29 04:15 am UTC

(no subject) -

iris, 2004-02-29 07:14 pm UTC

sarajayechan
2004-02-28 08:41 pm UTC (link)

...I'm totally for gay rights support. But this person seems to be playing the old "Don't try to have fun with this or make light of it, EVER, even if it's in good taste, because people DIED, you mock them, you're bad!" card, which I find annoying. -_-;; I have a Chiyo-chan colorbar in my journal. Nothing mocking or evil, just stating that Chiyo-chan is cute. I also have the original "marriage is love".

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	crickets 2004-02-28 10:43 pm UTC (link)
	That was my impression as well. Getting upset about Bush considering a Constitutional amendment "protecting" marriage makes sense. Getting upset about a colorbar meme? Way to keep things in perspective, logansrogue. Step back and calm down, yo. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) -

sarajayechan, 2004-02-28 10:47 pm UTC

	chaoskind 2004-02-28 09:29 pm UTC (link)
	I think, these colour bars really mock the fact, how stuff on LJ can become a total fad, travelling through the whole community by lightening speed. This is, why they create those memes, I think. (Reply to this)

ataniell93
2004-02-28 09:56 pm UTC (link)

I was going to ask this person if they realised that nobody dies for the rainbow flag, they die because other people are stupid and discriminatory. I'm sure that when someone gets gay-bashed, they think they're doing it for Teh Flag. Not. Wasn't the first thought in my roomie's mind.

It's not like a military flag, that people go out and fight on a battlefield for.

But then I saw who posted this. The same person who, when I tried to explain to her that my feelings about Dumbledore were based in my own personal ethics, which have a Thelemic religious source at the root, got all freakypants and brought up that she was a spiritualist Christian and that the dark energies associated with Thelema scared her stupid.

And I decided so not to bother.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	amand_r 2004-02-28 10:02 pm UTC (link)
	pricks up ears Thelemic Dumbledore? Oooooohhhhh. Do you have this in a journal entry? Oh! I'm all excited. Do share. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - ataniell93, 2004-02-28 10:21 pm UTC

(no subject) - (Anonymous), 2004-02-28 10:50 pm UTC

(no subject) -

biichan, 2004-02-29 12:32 am UTC

(no subject) - (Anonymous), 2004-03-01 12:13 am UTC

(no subject) - (Anonymous), 2004-02-28 11:15 pm UTC

(no subject) - ataniell93, 2004-02-29 03:36 am UTC

Re: -

amand_r, 2004-02-28 11:49 pm UTC

(no subject) - ataniell93, 2004-02-29 03:48 am UTC

(no subject) -

eljuno, 2004-02-28 11:59 pm UTC

(no subject) - ataniell93, 2004-02-29 03:49 am UTC

(no subject) - ataniell93, 2004-02-29 03:50 am UTC

(Reply from suspended user)

(no subject) - ataniell93, 2004-02-28 10:23 pm UTC

apoplexia
2004-02-29 08:21 am UTC (link)
I had to reread it, going: people died for this flag. Was this during the Sexuality Wars (1976-82)? Is there some overly camp battalion out there in puce fatigues?
(Reply to this)(Parent)

eljuno
2004-02-28 11:21 pm UTC (link)
...

I hate oversensitive asshats. And I speak as one of the queerest queers who ever queered.

(P.S. The Strokes are Love.)
(Reply to this)(Thread)

loki
2004-02-29 01:58 am UTC (link)
That's fabulous. Hope you don't mind if I gank one and give you credit.
(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - eljuno, 2004-02-29 05:24 am UTC

yadda
2004-02-29 02:03 am UTC (link)
Your humorous alteration of a common symbol of homosexuality has brought shame to queerkind everywhere.
(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - eljuno, 2004-02-29 05:25 am UTC

(no subject) - smit, 2004-02-29 05:26 am UTC

(no subject) - yadda, 2004-02-29 05:40 am UTC

(no subject) - smit, 2004-02-29 06:20 am UTC

(no subject) - yadda, 2004-02-29 06:32 am UTC

(no subject) - smit, 2004-02-29 08:02 am UTC

(no subject) - walkingundine, 2004-02-29 05:01 pm UTC

cesare
2004-02-28 11:26 pm UTC (link)
This just makes me think of a killer Bill Hicks routine about the US flag:

Bill imitates a redneck: "Hey buddy, my daddy died for that flag!"

Bill in his own voice: "Well, I bought mine. Sorry. You know, they sell 'em at K-Mart, three bucks. You're in, you're out. No violence is necessary."

Bill in another redneck voice: "My daddy died in the Korean War for that flag!"

Bill as himself: "What a coincidence. My flag was made in Korea."
(Reply to this)(Thread)

visp
2004-02-29 08:33 am UTC (link)
Bwahaha!
(Reply to this)(Parent)

eljuno
2004-02-28 11:38 pm UTC (link)
I just ranted most wankily in my personal lj.

http://www.livejournal.com/users/eljuno/242468.html
(Reply to this)

romana03
2004-02-29 06:55 pm UTC (link)
I honestly don't see the problem.

/coat
(Reply to this)(Thread)

apoplexia
2004-03-01 09:29 am UTC (link)
Lol. You are so going to hell for this. I know I shouldn't be giggling, but just the idea of "Hitler is Love" kills me (so to speak). Have you put this anywhere more prominent? The reactions would be priceless.
(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - romana03, 2004-03-01 01:48 pm UTC

lots42
2004-02-29 07:01 pm UTC (link)
OMG TRAGEDY WAS RELATED TO THIS...WECANT HAVE FUN WITHY ANYTHING RELATED TO AYN TRAGEDY WHATSO0EVAR!1111!!!!!!!!!!1ONE!
(Reply to this)

musette
2004-03-01 07:16 am UTC (link)
Bah, personally I really find the colourbar thing annoying for a myriad of reasons (many of which involve stress making me feel old and humourless of late), but it's /so/ not worth making a big deal out of.
(Reply to this)