Veep Drinking Game

Day Without A Gay

For those who don't know, and I would imagine most don't, today is "Day without a gay." It's the day where the gays are supposed to prove how valuable they are as employees, by calling in sick. So far, I haven't noticed any proof of value. On my drive in this morning, it took about as long as always, and in walking around the office all the gays seem to be here. Although, I haven't seen the weird guy (with the framed TV Guide of Friends in his office) walking around, who stares at me just a little to long. Beyond that guy, I would imagine most of the gays know well enough that skipping out on work and pissing the boss off, probably isn't the best way to prove a point. When I asked a gay friend of mine about it last night, he didn't even know it was "day without a gay" day.

I think this is one of the problems with the gay community, and why they haven't been getting the same recognition as the rest of us. They lack organization. Think about the civil rights movement, and all the marches and protesting. Sure the gays have an annual pride parade and they flamboyantly walk the streets, but beyond that, there isn't much of a national movement. Out of the few gay friends I have, I would put them pretty low on the reliability scale. Except for one, who does a decent job of house sitting for me when I'm out of town, and taking care of the dog. The dog is a girl, so I'm not worried about anything emotionally traumatizing happening to her.

Another thing missing from the gay rights movement is a strong leader. Think Martin Luther King or Malcolm X, who were always out protesting, leading marches, and constantly speaking out against the establishment. We've all heard of Susan B. Anthony and her fight for equality, and most recently witnessed Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin running for president and vice president. But what gay man/woman has stepped up on the national stage? Sure we have Dan Savage writing books, and ranting in his newspaper column. But, it's not like he's out leading marches and being arrested for illegally fagging out. And the last time Barney Frank the openly gay congressman showed up in the news was for proposing a bill that would legalize marijuana.

So to all the gays out there, get with it. If you want equal rights then find a leader and fight for them. Most of us Americans have short attention spans, and once the parade is over, we forget. Also as prop 8 in California has shown, we are easily influenced and persuaded. With a lot of cash the Mormon and Catholic churches were able to sway our opinion. Stop complaining about this and use it to your advantage. Run some ads, get together and march, and don't let up. Just as we were easily influenced to vote one way, we can be just as easily influenced to vote the other.

And if you decide to do the "day without a gay" thing again next year, promote it a little. Because anything that will improve my drive into work, even if it's only for one day, is a good thing.

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