Spare us the puppy love.The good news is, the puppy's cute. The bad news: $900,000 that could have been used to help educate Americans about gay lives was instead wasted on an ill-conceived media campaign about a dog who moos. Yes, that's right. A pup that goes "moo." It's supposed to be a metaphor. The little spaniel spaniel: see sporting dog; toy dog. spaniel Any of several breeds of dogs used to flush game. Spaniels originated in Spain, but most modern breeds were developed in Britain. Breeds range from 14 to 20 in. , dubbed Norman, was "born different" and struggles for acceptance. Featured in five TV spots, a fake movie trailer, and billboards, banners, and bus ads--all seen only in Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, city (1990 pop. 281,140), seat of El Paso co., central Colo., on Monument and Fountain creeks, at the foot of Pikes Peak; inc. 1886. It is a year-round resort and a booming military, technological, and commercial city. , Colo.--Norman is supposed to make that notoriously conservative town's residents rethink their opposition to gay rights. Activists with LET THE PUPPY MOO T-shirts wander the streets to talk to passersby. If right-wing hearts are warmed by this canine fairy tale fairy tale Simple narrative typically of folk origin dealing with supernatural beings. Fairy tales may be written or told for the amusement of children or may have a more sophisticated narrative containing supernatural or obviously improbable events, scenes, and personages , we're to assume, then they might suddenly wake up to the wisdom of marriage equality. What an unconscionable Unusually harsh and shocking to the conscience; that which is so grossly unfair that a court will proscribe it. When a court uses the word unconscionable to describe conduct, it means that the conduct does not conform to the dictates of conscience. waste of time and money. We're shocked that no one at the Gill Foundation, which funded the campaign, anticipated the Christian right's terse, logical response: Puppies aren't born mooing. And people aren't born gay. Because the first statement is an absolute truth--hello-o-o!--it gives apparent credence to the false statement that follows. Thanks, Gill Foundation, for putting another arrow into the quiver of the homophobes--and for associating a crucial human rights issue with an embarrassingly infantile fantasy. Meanwhile, a little-known group called the Arcus Foundation--along with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) is a nonprofit organization that supports grassroots organizing and advocacy for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights. Founded in 1973, NGLTF works to strengthen the gay and lesbian movement at the state and local levels while and Freedom to Marry--began its own media campaign, called simply Marriage Matters." In direct, engaging ads appearing nationwide (not just in Colorado Springs), five same-sex couples who've been together from five to 53 years are pictured above the phrase "They're committed. So are we." Then follow the names of dozens of prominent people and groups who back marriage equality, including mayors, union leaders, a rabbi, and Tim Gill Tim Gill (born October 18, 1953 in Hobart, Indiana) is an American computer software entrepreneur and gay rights activist. Early in his life, Gill showed both interest and talent in computer science first at Wheat Ridge High School in Jefferson County, Colorado, eventually , founder of the Gill Foundation. Gill's generosity is legendary, and his foundation has been an unparalleled force for social change. But comparing the ill-begotten Born Different mooing puppy campaign to the powerful Marriage Matters ads leads to one inescapable conclusion: If you want to educate Americans about gay and lesbian lives, it's best to show them real gay and lesbian people. Not an imaginary mutt, no matter how cuddly cud·dle v. cud·dled, cud·dling, cud·dles v.tr. To fondle in the arms; hug tenderly. See Synonyms at caress. v.intr. To nestle; snuggle. n. he may be. |
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