When I made the “Talking Equality” video, I almost cut one line because it seemed so goofy, shticky, and unserious: To critics like Bill O’Reilly, who said marriage equality would lead to people marrying dogs and goats, I said, “A goat would be more likely to eat a marriage license than to sign one.”
It turned out to be some people’s favorite line.
I’m not a big fan of the talking-point style of debate, but I’m a realist, too, and I know many of the people we need to convince won’t sit still for a five-minute lecture. And are even less likely to bother remembering it.
I also know that I can be a bit, well, long-winded (is anyone even still reading this far?), so I’m setting a little goal for myself to create very short statements on key issues. For instance, here’s one for the pedophilia controversy:
If your son needs a babysitter, you’d be safer asking your brother’s boyfriend than your sister’s.
I like it because it has a high WTF? quotient and could make your listener demand an explanation. Which is what we want.
I like this line even more than the goat. The goat line, I felt, was brilliant for gay marriage supporters, but probably likely to annoy someone on the right (yes, I know it’s not hard to do so). This line makes you actually stop and think it through, and very effectively makes the point – gay men are less likely to be pedophiles than straight ones.
Keep ‘em coming.
Rob, I read every word you write, and I listen to every video you post (of course, I’m not someone you need to convince, but still…). Oh, and I also show them in my classroom, when I can (a few weeks ago, I showed your Uganda video to my juniors and seniors; we were talking about formulating rational, unbiased, fact-based arguments, and that video, which you’d just posted, fit in perfectly).
Talking points kind of make me nervous, though; I am disgusted by how much spin is made off of quotes taken out of context…
Yeah, it’s true, time and time again it’s heterosexuals who are molesting the kids. Self-defined heterosexuals with no interest in men, no history with men, but with a history with women, and often a current girlfriend/wife. If these men are gay, you’d never know it. Seems IF they’re gay, it says more about what the closet does to you than anything else.
Somehow they hardly ever seem to find a homosexual who’s out, proud, loud and in a relationship. Sad to say there are probably a few, but they’re statistically insignificant compared to the hetero-appearing, hetero-claiming, homo-DENYING pedophiles.