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Grasshopper Soup: Turning the tables on Prop. 8 foes

Bob Sweigert
Grasshopper Soup

Have you ever noticed how some Bush haters act exactly the way they claim George Bush acts? Some of them out-Bush Bush. They show complete disregard for the democratic process and trample all over the Constitution of the United States.

The neo-fascist tactics employed by same-sex marriage fanatics are obviously on a much smaller scale than the Iraq War, but the gung-ho mentality is the same. Same sex marriage militants have resorted to hassling defenseless little old ladies and disrupting church services. How’s that for tolerance?

Because of their unacceptable tactics, I can no longer support them unless, like anyone else who wants the laws changed, they go through proper legal channels and petition the government to make the rights of civil unions equal to those of traditional married couples. As long as they have that option, the frustration and disappointment of “No on 8” crusaders is much ado about nothing.



People who want same sex marriage should respect the rights of those who don’t with the same attitude and protection they feel their own rights deserve. Instead, they demand that their opponents surrender their entire belief system and abandon all rational discourse about the obvious differences between same sex couples and traditional marriage. They want to be accepted for who they are, but refuse to accept traditional believers in return. They just shot themselves in the foot, inflicting irreparable damage upon their own cause. It would be easier for them to change the definition of fishing.

Same sex vigilantes scour the internet for lists of people who donated money to the “Yes on 8” campaign, which defines marriage in the traditional sense. They write down their names and target them with boycotts and protests, and treat them exactly the way they don’t want to be treated themselves. It is premeditated discrimination against an alternative life style, and a complete rejection of the principle of free choice, a principle same sex marriage advocates say they believe in. They are masters at embracing what they despise most about people they hate. Intolerance and bigotry are their trademark.



Scott Eckern was forced to resign from his job as artistic director of the California Musical Theatre in Sacramento under pressure from Prop. 8 opponents. Ironically, Scott had a reputation for camaraderie with gays and lesbians, who make up a significant percentage of the theatre community. He cast them in plays, gave them jobs and collaborated with them on one creative project after another. He was well known for getting along with, and supporting, all the actors he worked with, regardless of sexual orientation. But they were not so sympathetic in return. When they found out he donated $1,000 of his own money to Yes on 8, they turned on Scott and forced him to resign.

Now the same sex marriage gestapo are going after Leatherby’s Ice Cream Parlor in Sacramento for the same reason. Scott Eckern and the Leatherbys have a constitutional right to do whatever they want with their money without fear of reprisal. That right is just as important as the rights of same sex couples.

Peace in a democracy depends upon respect for those with whom we disagree. Those who can’t live by that common sense principle guarantee perpetual civil strife and inequality.

Retaliation against others for voting one way or another, or for donating money to the cause of their choice, is simply wrong. It is a sickness of the mind and of the spirit. It is a perversion, if not the complete death, of common sense. If this kind of hate doesn’t stop in America, it will never stop. No cause is worth such a cancer in the lungs of a peaceful, tolerant, diverse and free society.


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