Culture War
This sums up the entire debate for me. View another great image gallery on this issue.
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Who is this guy?
Sam Felder is a web designer and occasional writer in Los Angeles, CA.
Born in Washington, DC, Sam and his family moved to Peoria, IL, where he grew up and went to school. He returned to DC in 2003 and left for the west coast in late 2005.
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Today
- Sam tweeted, "I don't think tonight's presidential debate could possibly have had less substance: http://tinyurl.com/6arb64" Sam tweeted, "I don't think tonight's presidential debate could possibly have had less substance: http://tinyurl.com/6arb64" Sam tweeted, "I don't think tonight's presidential debate could possibly have had less substance: http://tinyurl.com/6arb64" 2008-04-17T05:58:45Z 2008-04-17T05:58:45Z
- Sam is attending IxDA-SF Presents: Matt Jones, "Playfulness in Design" at odopod Sam is attending IxDA-SF Presents: Matt Jones, "Playfulness in Design" at odopod Sam is attending IxDA-SF Presents: Matt Jones, "Playfulness in Design" at odopod 2008-04-16T21:30:19Z 2008-04-16T21:30:19Z
- Sam tweeted, "slowly getting better at making espresso. still terrible at foaming soymilk..." Sam tweeted, "slowly getting better at making espresso. still terrible at foaming soymilk..." Sam tweeted, "slowly getting better at making espresso. still terrible at foaming soymilk..." 2008-04-16T18:00:06Z 2008-04-16T18:00:06Z
April 15
- Sam tweeted, "Glad that I filed my income tax last week. I had to pay but at least I don't have to spend today stressed out!" Sam tweeted, "Glad that I filed my income tax last week. I had to pay but at least I don't have to spend today stressed out!" Sam tweeted, "Glad that I filed my income tax last week. I had to pay but at least I don't have to spend today stressed out!" 2008-04-15T20:27:22Z 2008-04-15T20:27:22Z
- Sam tweeted, "OH: I think the future of dolls is..." Sam tweeted, "OH: I think the future of dolls is..." Sam tweeted, "OH: I think the future of dolls is..." 2008-04-15T19:32:26Z 2008-04-15T19:32:26Z
April 12
- Sam tweeted, "biking in SF makes me want terrain view in google maps on the iPhone. These hills are serious!" Sam tweeted, "biking in SF makes me want terrain view in google maps on the iPhone. These hills are serious!" Sam tweeted, "biking in SF makes me want terrain view in google maps on the iPhone. These hills are serious!" 2008-04-13T01:52:25Z 2008-04-13T01:52:25Z
- Sam tweeted, "every time I see an airplane gracefully take off I'm impressed that we can do that. It really is amazing!" Sam tweeted, "every time I see an airplane gracefully take off I'm impressed that we can do that. It really is amazing!" Sam tweeted, "every time I see an airplane gracefully take off I'm impressed that we can do that. It really is amazing!" 2008-04-12T21:20:09Z 2008-04-12T21:20:09Z
April 10
- Sam tweeted, "Making plans for a great weekend up in SF. The weather is going to be great and I plan to spend as much of it outside as possible." Sam tweeted, "Making plans for a great weekend up in SF. The weather is going to be great and I plan to spend as much of it outside as possible." Sam tweeted, "Making plans for a great weekend up in SF. The weather is going to be great and I plan to spend as much of it outside as possible." 2008-04-11T01:34:18Z 2008-04-11T01:34:18Z
- Sam tweeted, "Loving the new season of Radiolab http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/" Sam tweeted, "Loving the new season of Radiolab http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/" Sam tweeted, "Loving the new season of Radiolab http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/" 2008-04-10T22:57:53Z 2008-04-10T22:57:53Z
April 9
- Sam tweeted, "up late watching video from TED" Sam tweeted, "up late watching video from TED" Sam tweeted, "up late watching video from TED" 2008-04-10T07:35:16Z 2008-04-10T07:35:16Z
- Sam saved the link NewsVisual Sam saved the link NewsVisual Sam saved the link NewsVisual 2000-11-30T00:00:00Z 2008-04-10T03:17:20Z
April 7
- Sam tweeted, "Why does iTunes keep downloading partial podcasts? I don't want 18 minutes of This American Life. I want the full hour!" Sam tweeted, "Why does iTunes keep downloading partial podcasts? I don't want 18 minutes of This American Life. I want the full hour!" Sam tweeted, "Why does iTunes keep downloading partial podcasts? I don't want 18 minutes of This American Life. I want the full hour!" 2008-04-07T17:23:15Z 2008-04-07T17:23:15Z
April 4
- Sam saved the link Change We Can Believe In Sam saved the link Change We Can Believe In Sam saved the link Change We Can Believe In 2000-11-30T00:00:00Z 2008-04-04T16:49:16Z
- Sam shared ThinkFast: April 4, 2008 from Think Progress Sam shared ThinkFast: April 4, 2008 from Think Progress Sam shared ThinkFast: April 4, 2008 from Think Progress 2008-04-04T16:05:20Z 2008-04-04T16:05:20Z
April 3
- Sam saved the link City songbirds are changing their tune Sam saved the link City songbirds are changing their tune Sam saved the link City songbirds are changing their tune 2000-11-30T00:00:00Z 2008-04-03T17:18:57Z
- Sam tweeted, "I dreamt that it was suddenly May and I had forgotten to file my taxes. Is it a sign that I should stop procrastinating?" Sam tweeted, "I dreamt that it was suddenly May and I had forgotten to file my taxes. Is it a sign that I should stop procrastinating?" Sam tweeted, "I dreamt that it was suddenly May and I had forgotten to file my taxes. Is it a sign that I should stop procrastinating?" 2008-04-03T17:04:20Z 2008-04-03T17:04:20Z
April 2
- Sam is attending Street Hacks and Long Wows - An Evening with Chipchase, Burns, and Schauer at Adaptive Path Sam is attending Street Hacks and Long Wows - An Evening with Chipchase, Burns, and Schauer at Adaptive Path Sam is attending Street Hacks and Long Wows - An Evening with Chipchase, Burns, and Schauer at Adaptive Path 2008-04-03T07:23:27Z 2008-04-03T07:23:27Z
a couple things i noticed in the photos...dunno if this is indicative or not: the anti-gay protesters were overwhelmingly men. and where are the queer people of color? nearly all the couples i've seen are white.
i went to a trans activist conference yesterday, and the speaker pointed out that much of our queer organizing is around symbolic victories. how much does same-sex marriage solve problems? does hate-crimes legislation actually affect the committing of crimes? the keynote asked us to consider who actually creates these agendas. nothing wrong with fighting for same-sex marriage and civil rights, but we ought to think about how to best use our energies.
and the other thing i see missing here is dialogue. maybe this isn't the appropriate time for dialogue, but i don't see either side quite making arguments relevant to the other. the antis keep talking about the sanctity of marriage and the immorality of it all, while the pros talk about civil rights and legality. neither side is speaking the language of the other. i do believe legality and civil rights should have precedent here because it's a legal matter...but then again, i'm not an anti. at the end of the day, legality doesn't really matter to antis. i want to ask what we're really arguing about. gays & lesbians are accepted on TV/film readily enough, so why not reality? is the same-sex marriage debate really about same-sex marriage, or is it more fundamentally about discomfort and morality? is it more fundamentally about how much a majority can dictate the lives & bodies of a minority? i don't even know, but i find it hard to sustain myself when i can't see through the bullshit of two sides standing & yelling at each other.
Whenever I hear someone on the radio or read about someone in the paper talking about marriage being the most important institution of our civilization, I wonder where they have been all these years while divorce rates have been skyrocketing. An article yesterday in the NY Times says "a study by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force last fall discovered that 334 documents on the American Family Association's Web site contained the word "homosexual" while "divorce" and "domestic violence" together merited fewer than 70 mentions." (Also, if they are so upset about marriage being used for something other than the "man-woman-god" alliance that they endorse, what about all those heterosexuals out there who have been married in secular ceremonies? Also: it seems to me like invariably, anti-gay-marriage folks cite either 1) God or 2) the need for "one man and one woman" when raising a child. Well for the first issue I defer to Sam's employers. For the second: does this seem to anyone else like the root of this all is not just sexuality but gender as well? It seems to me like these folks are still so attached to separate notions of "male" and "female" (or father and mother) that they cannot conceive of two parents of the same gender being able to parent in the same way as two parents of opposite genders. On Saturday I heard an interview on NPR of an episcopal priest, who said that he thought it would be better for a child to have a single mom than to have two moms. What are they so afraid of? I can't fathom it.