Symbol Question

[doctordoctor]

Greetings....I think there is an avatar of somebody's here on the board showiing two darkish blue horizontal bars, each short and one on top of the other, on a gold/yellow background....I've also seen this "symbol" on a bumper sticker so it definitely means something...does anybody know what it means?...thanks a lot for your help

[Bilbo]

That is a long standing symbol in the gay community. I believe that it was originally used by an organization named Act Up. It is an equals sign and is short for "Silence = Death". The more people don't stand up and fight against AIDS, the more people die.

[trilingual]

It's the logo of the Human Rights Campaign, the largest gay rights political and lobbying group in the U.S. Visit http://www.hrc.org to join the rest of the community in fighting for our rights (and to get a lot of useful information).

[doctordoctor]

ok, thanks for the help and answers...I see I got the colors mixed up, though...you both figured out what I meant very quickly, anyway....thanks again

[eastbayguy]

>Greetings....I think there is an avatar of somebody's here on

>the board showiing two darkish blue horizontal bars, each

>short and one on top of the other, on a gold/yellow

>background....I've also seen this "symbol" on a bumper sticker

>so it definitely means something...does anybody know what it

>means?...thanks a lot for your help

 

 

<======= Is this the one you're referring to?

 

Yes, this is the HRC logo. As someone noted earlier, you can visit the HRC online at http://www.hrc.org. Not 100% sure these days that the HRC is on the right track. They seem to have become the major pushers for gay marriage. After the election, I question the wisdom of this strategy more and more.

 

--EBG

[doctordoctor]

thanks ebg....do you question their gay-marriage position because you think it might be politically expedient to lay low now re: this issue because of the election's conservative swing...or what?...I'm entirely undecided on the whole thing because, for some, it's only an economic issue, and for others, it's only political...the morality of it be damned, some seem to appear...like abortion, it may not be legislated...the sanctimonious-ness of the ultra-right is embarrassing to this registered Republican...maybe the states need to have the right to decide, if that can be upheld in court......messy complicated issue...just my rambling thoughts.......I'm not an expert

[trilingual]

There's never a good time to push for rights for an unpopular minority. And HRC can't control the actions of the courts (which is what triggered the current controversy).

 

Let's be real. I mean, when WOULD be a good time to push for gay marriage? If people just back off and fail to stand up for their rights, we'd never advance. If African-Americans (and their supporters) had been fearful and timid in the 50s and 60s Rosa Parks would STILL be waiting for a seat on that bus and Americans would still be going to officially segregated schools, drinking from "White" and "Colored" water fountains, and be forbidden to marry someone of another race. Millions of Americans opposed (and still oppose) the mixing of races. But their private prejudice has no support in the Constitution, which why the old laws mandating inequality and discrimination were overthrown.

 

I can't blame gay people for not wanting to wait for equal rights any longer. The Constitution requires everyone to be treated equally before the law. That's the issue in gay marriage: opposite sex couples are allowed an entire range of civil benefits if they get their relationship officially recognized by the state (which is what marriage is, in the legal context). What's the constitutional (not religious) argument for preventing same-sex couples from enjoying the same recognition and benefits? None.

[Bilbo]

Sorry if this is a copy. I seem to have lost the first one in cyber hell.

 

While it is a political question, and it is a financial question, let us never forget that it is an emotional question, too. I was shocked and horrified, at a time when I least needed to be, by the government's actions after the death of Lester, my lover of six years. How dare they say that we were never married? Where do they get off ...? So, the symbol in many ways does still mean Silence = Death. The death of a lot of people's self esteem. Or at least a ghastly assault upon it.