Here’s a question: If you’re in favor of same sex marriage are you in favor of an FCC crackdown on Howard Stern?
What prompted this question? A line from one of the comments to Eric Olsen’s post on Howard Stern.
[…]I’m tired of living in a society where the minority gets to decide how the majority lives.
By any objective measure the country does not favor same sex marriage. There is more support for civil unions, but the last numbers I saw indicated that even civil unions were not a majority opinion. Regardless of the will of the majority same sex marriages will soon be law in Massachusetts, and eventually may be extended to all states via the establishment clause.
The FCC’s new aggressive policing of broadcast indecency does give voice to the concerns of a minority (as well as to those of the majority). Perhaps a vocal minority will get their wish and have the airwaves cleared of Howard and Howard wannabes, but then again maybe they wont. Free speech won’t be Stern’s downfall, but economics might be. Ironically deregulation may be Sterns downfall. With just a few media conglomerates controlling radio, it only takes a few skittish executives to end Stern’s network of affiliates and career.
I’ll chime in. First, I’d like to clear up something that’s been bugging me. Since the same-sex marriage issue become big news, I’ve been asking, “How do gay and lesbian people REALLY feel about it?”
The President speaks about protecting our tradition of marriage. There are other traditions that same-sex marriage may be threatening — that of gay culture!
In spite of centuries of oppression, a gay culture has evolved in this country. In that culture, relationships have evolved that are significantly different from those in the straight world.
Many gay and lesbian people believe that same-sex marriage is nothing more than assimilation to a straight lifestyle. They want to know why they must conform to the ways of their oppressors.
I am one of those people who believe that monogamous relationships aren’t necessary for happiness. Had it not been for the AIDS pandemic, gay culture would have continued a long tradition of rejecting the concepts of monogamy and marriage. For the past 20 years, monogamy has been promoted as the way to stop AIDS and many gay people have found that straights are more accepting of couples who set up house rather than living a more “unconventional” lifestyle.
That some gay people do not support same-sex marriage is not being made public by gay activists. They want America to believe that ALL gay people are in favor of same-sex marriage. The truth is that many are against it for various reasons — including the one mentioned above. Personally, I support same-sex marriage because I think it is an option that should be available. What concerns me is that it will become the ONLY option.
Here’s my point. How can we be sure what the majority view really is? Have you seen any polls to indicate where gay people stand on the issue? No.
If a poll were taken among gay and lesbian people, I have a hunch it would show that a significant percentage are not in favor of same-sex marriage (maybe 25-30%). That wouldn’t be good PR for those who are promoting it as something that is overwhelmingly accepted by gay and lesbian folks.
Think about this. San Francisco has the largest concentration of gay and lesbian couples in the U.S., yet only a little more than 3,000 couples have gotten married. What about the tens of thousands of others? Why aren’t they lining up at city hall?
Eric Olsen was quoted, “…I’m tired of living in a society where the minority gets to decide how the majority lives.”
Well, I’m being told that gay and lesbian people should assimilate to a straight lifestyle, have kids, live in suburbia with the white picket fence and all of the trappings of middle class existence.
That ain’t gonna happen to me, folks. Sorry. You can keep it. If that makes me less acceptable to my family, friends, and co-workers (as if that’s even possible), so be it.
How does this apply to Kevin’s question? Only in that these issues are much more complicated than a minority trampling on the majority. There are voices within those minorities who are being ignored. I’m sure that there are people who are greatly offended by Howard Stern but wouldn’t take away is right to free speech for anything. They just don’t listen to his show.