Op-Ed: Solvang Votes for Bigotry and Discrimination Against LGBTQ Community

Certain people in a certain political party have made being racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, bigoted, and discriminatory a badge of honor. It's disgusting.

TP his house? Now in the "non-bigotry" corner I present: "two wrongs make right".

VOICE - you probably call the cops on kids who ding dong ditch, don't you?

SBSTONER - can you define "woke?"

SBstoner, you can't say you're pro gay and all for gender expression and then explicitly say things that are anti-gay. Gross

Sac - Woke:
When social Justice warriors push ludicrous amf unpopular ideas and issues into the eye of the public and don’t shut up till the politicians pick up their pens.

I doubt your neighbors who are pro gay have the same some ideas as you.

"ludicrous amf unpopular idea" - you mean like rainbow flags during pride week?

SBSTONER - also, you're wrong. The definition of the term "woke" is, according Merriem Webster: "aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice" - https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/woke

Now tell us, Mr. I'm Not a Bigot, why you think that's a bad thing?

Sac - That definition will be championed by those in with the “culture” but doesn’t make it any less of a minority movement that is so in everyone’s face that those who are neutral feel pressure to comply or be labeled “bigots” by those same champions of wokeness.

And no, ridiculous and ludicrous like “if a city doesn’t put up rainbow flags for a month then they are anti gay and bigoted.”

"“if a city doesn’t put up rainbow flags for [PRIDE] month then they are anti gay and bigoted.” - Exactly. That's exactly what they are.

You are conflating biology (sex you were born) with gender here. If someone born male wants to identify another way (non-binary) there are no pronouns except for “they” and “them. Fully get that you don’t understand because you don’t have to but we should respectfully let people identify however they choose. The world is changing.

Sac - People are really on here downvoting those who voice any opposition or disagreement with their personal values. Even those of us with non invasive personal opinions that we aren’t outwardly lobbying can’t say how we feel on a public news site without a ton of backlash. I don’t know what happened to “love thy neighbor” but just because some people with more conservative views disagree with changing our lives to comply with every single group’s increasingly demanding requests doesn’t make us bigoted, misogynistic or fascist.

I see it all the time here on EH. People on both sides of the political battleground do it. I feel baited by you peoples’ continuous comments calling me anti-gay or a bigot when I don’t think I’ve said anything of the sort.

Not agreeing with adopting different policies, curriculums or ideas en masse doesn’t make me racist, sexist, or homophobic. I don’t see a thing wrong with Solvang not decorating for pride month similar to how I don’t see a thing wrong with people having issues with non-binary pronouns. I’m allowed to believe that children should not be exposed to let alone educated about this “them they” stuff until they are old enough to start questioning their sexuality at all, similar to how I can say that I believe teaching that in schools, and making it a mainstream identity is confusing to children who biologically are meant to imitate what they are exposed to.

With seemingly more stuff to either comply with or get canceled every year, it’s increasingly hard to imagine how there will ever be an end to the list of things we should or shouldn’t do based on the woke agenda.

I bid you a wonderful evening, try to take everything with a little less salt.

Goodnight, bigot!

5:40, non-binary gender, and sex, has been a part of human history for probably all human time. I urge you to learn about intersex people (a biologic fact; the wikipedia entry has dozens of great footnotes and sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersex)
and
the existence of a "Third Gender"
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_gender)

"can’t say how we feel"

You are saying how you feel-a downvote doesn't prevent that. OTOH, a downvote is an expression of how someone feels. Perhaps if you can acknowledge these obvious facts that illustrate extreme hypocrisy and illogic then you can you go on to recognize the other elements of extreme hypocrisy and illogic that permeate your comments. (Oh, who am I trying to kid? That won't happen.) Over and over you express bigoted sentiments and then say you're not a bigot. Why such cowardice? Why not own and be proud of your bigotry? Wave your bigotry flag high! You talk of your "opposition or disagreement with their personal values" -- that's bigotry, straight out of the dictionary.

"can’t say how we feel on a public news site"

Sure you can.

"without a ton of backlash"

Well, right, a lot of people don';t like bigotry and speak out against it--what's your problem with that, IF YOU'RE NOT A HYPOCRITE? Why do you get a voice but no one else does? I think bigotry sucks and is stupid and bad and ignorant and mean and self-centered and unpleasant and we should rid our society of it ... why can't *I* express my opinion without you whining about it? I think conservatives are self-serving and backwards thinking and narrow minded and ignorant and dishonest and cowardly ... why can't I say so without a lot of backlash? Sorry, it's a fake question--I expect conservatives to complain about my views; I'm not going to whine about it because I'm not a pathetic cowardly whiny mewling dishonest hypocritical ... conservative.

" I’m allowed to believe that children should not be exposed to let alone educated about this “them they” stuff until they are old enough to start questioning their sexuality at all"

Yes, you're allowed to believe that, and people are allowed to point out ignorant, stupid, bigoted and dishonest it is--that it is fueled by a right wing political agenda and is a covert attack on the rights and existence of people unlike you, and that it is cruel and harmful to children who have gender dysphoria issues.

"based on the woke agenda"

"I bid you a wonderful evening, try to take everything with a little less salt."

Again, I will note how hypocritical and dishonest this juxtaposition is.

6:47, that's what Black people and their allies did in order to get civil rights legislation passed. Civil rights for Blacks was a "ludicrous and unpopular idea."

Snicker - THANK YOU! So well stated, well done.

Agreed!

"we should respectfully let people identify however they choose"

And whining about it, criticizing it, calling it "the woke agenda" is the sort of bigotry and narrow mindedness and dishonesty that permeates right wing discourse, and results in LAWS like in Florida that ban teachers from mentioning the existence of gay or trans people and the existence of institutional slavery, ban books that mention these things or show images of two fathers, even ban books about two male penguins (https://www.thedailybeast.com/and-tango-makes-three-florida-school-district-bans-a-book-on-penguins), etc. And make no mistake, the guy who says " we aren’t outwardly lobbying" will send money to and vote for the right wing politicians who institute those bans in a heartbeat.

Snicker - A lot of insinuations, but you won’t find me on any of those donor lists.

It’s funny, for someone who got so wordy outside of having actual conversation, you aren’t saying a lot. Just calling me a hypocrite and bigot the same as everyone else. You sure are fighting the good fight breaking down everything I say as though it makes you more right.

I hope those little upvotes help you sleep at night.

"That definition will be championed by" lexicographers and others who recognize what words mean.

"doesn’t make it any less of a minority movement"

Despite all the right wing propaganda, a recent poll shows that 60% of Americans still recognize "woke" as having a positive meaning.

"that is so in everyone’s face that those who are neutral"

You sure don't SOUND neutral. In fact, no one here, including those who feel the same as you--including YOU--think you're neutral.

"those same champions of wokeness"

So, those same champions of being aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice).

"And no, ridiculous and ludicrous like “if a city doesn’t put up rainbow flags for a month then they are anti gay and bigoted.”

What's ridiculous and ludicrous (well, not as ridiculous and ludicrous as you calling yourself neutral) is omitting the fact that it's *Pride Month* https://nationaltoday.com/pride-month/

Here's a clue for you: you're not going to win people over because, even if you happen to be right about something, you argue very poorly and *transparently dishonestly*. You can't claim to be neutral and also rail against "the woke agenda" and trot out every single other right wing talking point. And you can't convince anyone that you're not a bigot when over and over you use the rhetoric that bigots use. And you won't win any friends by complaining that you're not being allowed to speak just because people speak back. And no one is going to take you seriously when you write "try to take everything with a little less salt" AT THE END OF A RANT.

Seriously buddy.

Sbstoner - cool name, but I doubt it. Just like you keep telling us you're pro gay lol

"social Justice warriors"

What's wrong with fighting for social justice? Why do you fight so hard against it?

"ludicrous amf unpopular ideas and issues"

What ideas and issues, exactly? Why do you use such veiled language, like referring to "personal values" that you are in opposition to? Spell out these "personal values" *honestly*, without resort to equally veiled terms like "wokeness". What is it that your enemies *value* that you don't? I mean, aside from honesty, decency, social justice, inclusion, being intelligent, informed, and everything else good.

Boomer move of the week definitely goes to Robert Clarke

Stoner… “push ludicrous and unpopular ideas…” your “woke”definition sounds more fit for people who ban reproductive rights, want weapons anarchy, and deny climate change than for those who want to celebrate our wonderful LGBTQ+ community.

You also just invented your own definition to counter a dictionary definition. Ever heard that “facts don’t care about your feelings?”

SBSTONER--

Who TF is asking you to change your life?

This constant victim claiming from the people that have always held the power is the ultimate gaslighting.

Believe whatever TF you want. Don't freak out because people want what you have.

Why does the far-right christian nationalist coalition have to throw their colors/personal identity in everyone’s face

YES! Christians and religions throw their symbols and “god” and colors at me all the time (my entire life, and without my consent)! But heaven forbid we put a rainbow up!

It's fascinating how blatant bigots are too cowardly to own their bigotry and dishonestly turn it around. "You're critical of bigots so that makes you a bigot! I thought you liberals were supposed to be tolerant!"

Years ago, when people marched in the streets for the right to sit at lunch counters and on the bus and drink from water fountains and swim in pools and go to schools without having dogs and water cannons turned on them or be lynched, they were subjected to the same vile nonsense and were accused of attacking genteel white society. In fact the word "woke" come out of the Black community--it's a reminder to be awake to the threat of bigots and prejudice and oppression.

Leave it to snicker to liken the struggle to redecorate Solvang with rainbows to the Civil Rights Movement.

Then please explain how it's different.

1678428741 - Oh please. We all know the people whining about their idea getting rejected are not facing what segregated people faced. There aren’t beatdowns, mob attacks or other violence, or any other bad things happening to those people at a rate that isn’t proportional or less than what is happening enough to other groups.

Choose a hill but not this one.

Downvote me for saying the truth xD

@10:26
You're pretty blind to what you don't want to see, aren't you?

10:26, have you never heard of gay bashing?! Or the murder rate of transgender people?! Where have you been for the past few decades, and do you read newspapers?

I found it amusing. Like, a joke, ya know?

Basic is a fine fellow who thinks it is not at all lame to take someone to task for wearing a mask when they had cancer and a splenectomy and are immunocompromised.

SBSTONER " That does not make me or anyone who feels similarly a bigot." - If you are upset about pride flags, yes. Yes it does make you a bigot. A normal person would either accept them or ignore them without being upset.

Sac - Seems like the city of Solvang chose to ignore the request.

I simply don’t see where the finger pointing and name calling comes into play.

There's nothing even remotely honest about that. Honesty would be to admit the blatant bigotry that permeates that comment.

"I simply don’t see where the finger pointing and name calling comes into play."

"you’re a big fat biggot"

Um, ok.

"you can’t accept"

He does "accept" it as a fact, but he's critical of it.

"that people ( a lot of people by the way) don’t agree with your values"

There's a word for such people: BIGOTS. (And by "your values" you actually mean their sexual identity.)

SBSTONER--

As soon as you stop your white, Christian, Euroecentric actions which literally permeate every sector of American society you can legitimately ask other people to stop asking that they have an iota of representation.

I'm white, straight, male, and IDGAF if gay people get flags--we literally carry money in our pockets with symbolism created by white straight European males every single day.

Who, bigots? You're right. Donald Trump gave them a pulpit and coaxed them out of the greasy, shadowing holes in which they spewed their hate. Time to send them back!