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My high-quality vid is still uploading, but I have this lower-res version for those excited to see the flopsweat on Brian Brown’s brow ASAP. So the background first — I did this on my lunch hour (kind of a long lunch since it takes about a 1/2 hour to get to Raleigh), and I drove a work colleague with me who hadn’t been to one of these fundie rallies before. Robyn was quite excited as I described the decomposing influence of NOM as its tour has worn on.
It’s hot here this week, so it was over 95 degrees and when we drove down Morgan Street, which was the dividing street between our anti-NOM rally and NOM’s zombies, our side had signs saying “Honk for Equality” which was the rallying call to drown out NOM’s speakers, which was quite effective in rattling Brown. We found a parking space a block away (!) and I quickly got up the block, turned the camera on, and got a pass of the protesters and then marched up to the NOM crowd and zeroed in on Brown, who was just getting warmed up…you may hear my editorial “OMG” comments in the background. And when Brian starts bleating about how he’s going to help pass a marriage amendment here in NC, you can clearly hear me say “not gonna happen.” 
Brian Brown urged supporters this afternoon to stand and urge their legislators to support a constitutional amendment to protect marriage: “If you move forward with a marriage amendment in North Carolina, you will show the government where we stand.” The way will not always be easy, however: “In Atlanta, some attempted to attack Dr. Alveda King and smear her – she greeted it with love.”
And for even greater effect, there were two NOM supporters behind me at various points getting the spirit inside them and they would yell out “Yes! Praise Jesus” or some such nonsense in response to the speaker spouting outright homophobic blather. I was having a hard time not cracking up at the sad spectacle.
As I said in my earlier post (“NC: NOM’s pathetic stop in Raleigh – another FAIL-O-RAMA“), the National Organization for Marriage continues its disastrous tour that has crashed and burned repeatedly here in the South, with today’s embarrassment in Raleigh a festive smackdown of bigotry. There was no organized effort on our side — all of it was grassroots activism via Facebook groups that turned out over 200 people. On NOM’s side – maybe 50. It may have been even less, since some of the people I counted looked to be lunchtime curious onlookers, not the hardcore faithful. And there were a lot of cops, as in way too many for the given task, and there was a large media presence, so when you see the photos in the slideshow of the shaded area where NOM is, that thin crowd if you take tha latter away, would be pitiful.
There were several stand-up comic natural marriage advocates present, including was the head of the local bigot parade in this state, the North Carolina Family Policy Council, Bill Brooks and Mark Creech, Executive Director of the Christian Action League of North Carolina. Creech was particularly entertaining.
Ian Palmquist, the executive director of Equality North Carolina was at the rally and I grabbed him for an interview to ask him about the reaction to the grassroots demonstration and NOM’s weak, bizarre stop in our state.
When my colleague Robyn got a glimpse of Brown as the event was breaking up, she said:
“Oh, my he has a history, doesn’t he?
I said:
You mean as he’s in the closet?
Robyn:
Who on earth is he kidding? There’s no way he’s straight. He’s a desperate man.
Robyn.
Now what happened next was beyond surreal. This middle-aged woman with a floppy hat on and a clipboard in her hand, looking a bit wild-eyed, came over and asked us if we wanted to sign up for some “scientifically-based information on marriage.” Robyn and I looked at each other and knew exactly where this was going. I said:
Pam: Scientific information? What are you talking about?
Fundie: I’m with The Ruth Institute (a “project of the National Organization for Marriage) and I have literature I can share with you…
Pam: I’m sorry, I’m not interested…I’m married to a woman.
PREGNANT PAUSE…FUNDIE JAW OPEN. Clearly she thought I was straight and on her side.
Robyn: I am married to a woman as well.
PREGNANT PAUSE…FUNDIE JAW OPENING WIDER. Oh NOES, her Gaydar is broken for sure! A fly could have entered and buzzed around in her piehole. Finally she regains her composure and says…
Fundie: You’re marriage is not real. You’re not married in the state of NC.
Pam: No, you’re right. But when I go to visit my relatives in NY, I’m married. If I go to Iowa, I’m married, if I go to Massachusetts I’m married…
Fundie (interrupting, voice shaking): Your marriage is a legal fraud, that doesn’t matter, what matters is natural marriage.
Pam (interrupting): My marriage is not a fraud…and I don’t need your literature.
Fundie (turning and walking away, head exploding in anger): You’re being rude…
Pam: Hey you’re the one who came up to me first…(laughing).
Robyn and I laughed the entire ride back to work because this woman 1) pegged us both as straight and kindred spirits, 2) clearly hasn’t run into this “problem” before, and 3) had a meltdown that was priceless.
***
The also random oddities about the event today.
While I halfway expect to get fan mobbed at Netroots Nation, I really don’t expect that down here at home. When I walked up to the corner to shoot more video, a whole bunch of people demonstrating were yelling out my name and cheering, and saying hi.
Of course this was a bit embarrassing, because I’m standing here next to my co-worker who knows me as the IT Manager at Duke Press, a position that clearly isn’t what is causing the commotion. The old alter ego thing, worlds colliding.
But I know that the greeting was genuine, and I do like meeting readers, so I waved and yelled out hi and crossed the street over to them and spoke to those who wanted to say hello or take photos with me. Sigh. I guess my days of local anonymity are numbered.
***
Anyway, when I went back across the street to do more NOM taping, I’m just walking all the way up to the front with the media (I had no credentials) walked around the side of the speaker stand, getting good shots. I go back across to our side to take photos of the rainbow rally. I do this a few times and then I run into one of those attending on our side and he alerts me that the police had chased him away from the NOM zombie side. Apparently they did not want anyone on the pro-equality side anywhere near where they had their permit to speak.
Well I was all up NOM’s butt taping and none of the cops came up to me to say anything, even though I was clearly shooting on the conflicting sides and wasn’t designated as press. That was really strange. I’m not complaining, but I thought I stuck out like a sore thumb. Then again, if that fundie with the clipboard was fooled…
Here is a report from WRAL:
http://www.wral.com/news/state…
34 Comments
Uh… Pam?You’re black.
OK café au lait… but methinks they likely left you alone because the majority of blacks — particularly in the South — agree with NOM. You were considered not-the-other-side by default.
I often wonder if I, as a fat, old, gray-headed guy with a cane [I have to use it when my ankles swell from the HIV meds] might get away with it as well. I look forward to the day I’ll be able to find out.
Just saw the pic……of the guy in the flag shirt. That’s me, only about 20 years older.
[Don't the conservatives have a thing about the US Flag??]
it was less about how I looked but it was my behavior that I thought would trip me up, since the NOM people were supposed to stay on their side and the LGBTs and allies on theirs.
That I crossed over quite obviously multiple times (and wasn’t the media) should have at least caused someone to ask what I was doing since I was within touching distance of Brian Brown at one point.
Eeew!(the last sentence)
My theory, although it’s probably wrong is that since you and Robyn aren’t men you couldn’t possibly be gay and married. Remember, lesbians don’t exist in the literature that they try to gross people out with.
Oh, that reminds me of what my husband found tonight. Someone sent him a link to the “Eat the Poo Poo” video, he watched it and apparently there’s an autotune version of it now. It’s almost possible to dance to it. It’s good to take the wind out of the sails of these bigots.
the floppy hat womanlooks suspiciously like the woman with a similar hat, but with tea bags attached, that I always see every time some news outlet runs file footage of the tea bag movement. LOLOLOLOLOLOL
It’s not just your fans who read the Blendit could be that the NOMsters recognized you too and knew the mileage you’d get out of a story of being booted wasn’t worth booting you.
Brian Brown is a liar – Suprise? Not!Just watching your video Pam, and noticed that Brown had to trot out, once again, the anti-gay lies about Catholic Charities in Boston and the church pavilion in New Jersey. Let’s remember, in the Catholic Charities case, the magic number is 13 – as in the number of children adopted by gay or lesbian couples through Catholic Charities in the decade before marriage equality. The charity stopped facilitating adoptions NOT because of marriage equality, but because the head of the church in Boston, Sean O’Malley, demanded they stop treating gays and lesbians equally. As for the New Jersey church, they got a tax exemption on their beach pavilion on the condition they keep it open for the entire public. Like Agusta National, which forfeited tax breaks to remain all-male, the church in NJ forfeited that exemption to ensure the evil lesbians couldn’t hold a civil union there.
But, if Brian didn’t lie, he’d have nothing to say.
DiversityI believe our side had more diversity of age, race, orientation etc.
Their side (old white men side):
The only young people on the NOM sidewere the ones painted on the side of their bus.
:0)You’re one of the sneaky gays that Sue Sylvester ranted about ;0) Thanks for the report and videos.
Boston Catholic Charities AdoptionsCPT_Doom,
I also noticed Brown’s comment about the Catholic Charities Adoption Agency. What really pisses me off was how he framed that debacle with his statement,”You can no longer adopt children because you won’t adopt children to same-sex couples because of your religious beliefs.” As if they were forced to close their agency by some instrument of the government.
But, like you point out, they weren’t told they couldn’t facilitate the adoption of children. They chose to close their adoption agency so they wouldn’t have to comply with Massachusetts law to open adoptions to same-sex couples (and they wasted no time in blaming the whole thing on us).
The Catholic Church’s actions are deplorable because they demonstrate, time-after-time, a willingness to place the welfare of children at the bottom of the ever-present pedestal where their warped institution and dogma are kept safe.
And Brown is even worse, using us as scapegoats while the Catholic church (and the Vatican) continue barely being held accountable for their actions. Really no accountability as far as the adoption issue in Massachusetts.
You know…that whole exchange with that fundie proves that when this group says it wants to have accurate results of these surveys, what it really means is that they just want people from their own camp to answer. Not that we didn’t know that already, but this just proves it. Otherwise, she would’ve swallowed her tongue and tried to get you to answer her questions on that survey. Maybe someone should’ve told her that gay people look just like straight people, so she should be a little more careful.
I can’t figure out why she thought saying you were being rude to her was a good idea. Just because you were saying things she didn’t agree with doesn’t constitute rudeness. Then again, the Religious Right does seem to be confused on the usage of many different words. Maybe someone should buy them dictionaries?
You sure are the mediaWatch your language.
You may not have had a press pass or some other document or registration, and it might have made a difference if you were challenged.
Stop saying you’re not the media.
Just a you are married whether someone else recognizes it or not, you are a part of the media, whatever your credentials.
Words matter.
More than thatThey weren’t shut down for not following the state rules, nor were they in any danger of being so. What they were at risk of losing was state funding.
Rendering unto Caesar and all. They wanted to take state money but not have to follow state rules, and rather than either take the money according to the rules or going without the money, they chose to take their little red (Prada?) wagon and go home.
They really are wanting to get attacked.Listening to Brown, it is very clear that at least one of the main purposes of this whole bus tour is to try to create a record of being attacked and discriminated against for their Christian values.
His comments about what happened in Rhode Island – hate beyond anything – ANYTHING! – he had seen before, when they don’t hate anyone, and believe in the dignity of everyone, and all that, just makes it clear that they wanted to be able to stand up in court and show how nasty gay people are, and how viciously dangerous and discriminatory our supporters are.
Of course, even that is pretty darn misguided. Sure, they’ll use those stories in their ads and literature (“Harassing a nursing mother!”) just the way they lie about the New Jersey pavilion and the Massachusetts adoptions.
But at most, even if everything they claimed was true, it would create a case for Constitutional protections for Christians and their right to free speech – protections they already have, and use, and abuse. It wouldn’t support discrimination against LGBT people.
They really do see this as morality being exactly equal to legality. That if gay marriage is legal, they won’t be allowed to preach against it – as though people were being arrested (or even suppressed) for preaching against premarital sex or divorce. That if something is not illegal, then they have to personally approve of it.
But all that aside, it continually torques me that these clowns hold a national bus tour trying to get voters to continue to deny us our rights, and in some cases, repeal access to those rights, causing us measurable harm, and then express shock and amazement that some of us might hate them.
The real surprise ought to be that we’ve been so well behaved. The vicious bile his side spouts whenever they perceive a FAR lesser slight far outweighs anything he gets from our side. I guess that part about not being able to see the speck in your neighbor’s eye because of the beam in your own applies.
“Just because you were saying things she didn’t agree with doesn’t constitute rudeness.”In their narrow little minds, saying things they don’t agree with is not only rudeness, it is persecution.
Blaming the Gays—-Not the real problemGreat Stuff Pam! !
In this whole tour how much of the focus has been on the horrific state of marriage between those men and women? Has there been any discussion from the NOM podium by some of their experts about the focus on the children of divorce, or Newt’s kids? The costs of therapy for the children that think it is their fault that mom and dad broke up? Does Mr. Brown or Ms. Gallagher discuss any of these issues? Or, do they continue to demonize teh gayz? I wish these questions would be asked by the press of Maggie and Brian and Tony and Ted…Let’s talk about which family of Newt’s is the sacred one—-the first, second or third. Keep up the great work!
Same thing happenedwhen I attended Pete LaBarbera’s poorly attended presser/ “rally” in Augusta last year. Had my fave nutter come up to me and because I was dressed conservatively, started handing me bunches of literature and chatted me up.
But as the speakers had yet to open their yaps (they ran a half hour late) and Snooky was setting up to tape them, I went along with her as not to blow cover.
At one point, Joe Sudbay (who was also taping/ snapping pix) came over quietly and said hi; I told him “I’m undercover and don’t know you today!”, which he found hilariously funny… when I next saw him, he asked me if I knew him NOW!
———
Point is, they make such assumptions based on what they perceive LGBT folks to look like. It’s really pathetic how they profile!
But you ARE a rock star!I can understand how the incongruity between “work Pam” and “blogger Pam” came to a crash when your co-worker was with you, but of COURSE you’re a celebrity among the Q folks here! I saw you walk up and thought “Ooh, we’re really there now!” and immediately began anticipating what you’d write about the event (and you didn’t disappoint).
I LOVE that you were able to infiltrate them and even be mistaken for one of them! Will that Minnie Pearl woman sleep more lightly now, knowing there are some of us she can’t spot? “Rude” indeed…she’s the one who committed the horrible offense of associating you with them! I do think you have such a benign appearance that you make the perfect spy at these things, since they clearly expect us all to be Rainbow-bedecked crazies. And, you were wearing a dress, so how (in their eyes) could you be a Lesbian?
Seeing you talking to Ian was almost too much fame and celeb for my blood. I was about to genuflect in your direction. Get used to it, Pam, you’re a rock star!!
I agree!I was excited to see you there, Pam! You’re definitely a rock star!
What cracks me up the most about that Ruth Institute lady is that she call YOU rude after she insults you and your marriage!
The hysterical woman who attacked you is Joanne Beckman. I think she teaches at NCCU Nursing School.Joanne Beckman was interviewed by the folks at NOM tracker, and she identified herself by name and said that she is a registered nurse. The video was linked here yesterday. There is a Joanne Beckman who is a professor at the North Carolina Central University school of nursing in Durham.
Her interview with the NOM tracker folks contained a very bigoted attack on black families along with the homophobia. Since NCCU is a historically black university, it’s very sad that one of their faculty appears to be racist, homophobic, and (judging by these videos), hysterical in public.
In contrast, Pam, your interview with the NOM tracker folks was calm, well-reasoned, and polite.
Basically, Pam, you “passed”They think all lesbians look like Mercedes McCambridge in Touch of Evil
That’s Mercedes coming through the door
Admittedly it’s a cool look. But it’s not you, Pam.
Great!Awesome showing in a deeply red state. It is one thing to outnumber the bigots in New England, beating them on their home turf is truly an achievement. Great report Pam, had me laughing, only minus is that you did not catch the later exchange with the crazy lady on video.
I know you mean well, but…the assumption that NC is a red state is incorrect.
Setting aside the most recent Presidential election (NC was blue)…
NC has 1 R Senator and 1 D Senator.
NC’s 13 member US House delegation is majority Democratic (though these days, that means little — even for New England GOPers).
NC’s Governor has been Democratic since 1992.
NC’s legislature (both chambers) are controlled by Democrats.
It is NC’s judicial branch (Supreme Court and Court of Appeals) that is controlled by Republicans, which is why I again urge everyone to carefully vote for judges on the November ballot.
We elect judges in NC. We’ll be electing 1 of the 7 Supreme Court justices to an 8 year term. We’ll be electing 5 of the 15 Court of Appeals judges to 8 year terms.
FYI, now-former NC Court of Appeals Judge Jim Wynn took his seat on the US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday (after US Senate confirmation last week). He had been endorsed by the statewide equality group in one of his previous runs for judge.
Local politics matter.
A side note to yesterday’s protest: I’m not sure many noticed, but the pro-equality side was actually rallying on the sidewalk by the NC Supreme Court.
well, she didn’t attack meI was more amused by her discombobulation than anything. She’s entitled to her viewpoint and expressed it. That pretty much says it all; she obviously doesn’t see herself as looking like a screw is loose. She was also on News14Carolina last night giving the same wild-eyed performance.
My OpinionNOM = FRAUD
Brian Brown = Perpetrator of FRAUD
Faulty Phobedar…That woman is priceless.
I love how she tells you you’re being rude after she informs you that your marriage is a sham. God’s gentle people are terribly fragile.
NC vs. SCGive me NC any day.
People seem to think the Carolinas are monolithic, but nothing could be further from the truth. NC is surprisingly progressive and when compared to SC it is shockingly progressive.
Maybe “attack” is too strong a word, but she walked up to you and told you that your marriage wasn’t real.I call that an attack. You are being gracious, as usual.
that makes them sound smartcalculating. but if they listened to themselves they would realize how bullshit they sound and how incredible their arguments are, as the court noted.
I musttake Brian-bunches a new feather boa and ruby slippers when he’s here in Washington on Sunday. My guts says that, even with the numbers drawn by Md. bearer of false witness Rev. Harry Jackson, the pro-equality crowd will outnumber the bigots 20 or more to 1.
I was in AtlantaI not only was at the peaceful counter rally ACROSS THE STREET FROM THEIR RALLY, but I was up front at their rally videoing their speeches and we even interviewed Brian Brown. (Having difficulty uploading.) Someone “attacked” Dr. Alveda King? That is total bullshit! Of course, she, like Bernice, don’t follow the teachings of her father or mother. They are two bigots that fell far, far from the tree.
“Deeply Red”??zazu, calling NC a “Deeply Red” state is every bit as ignorant and incorrect as NOM saying we want to destroy families. Come on, learn a little about your politics. NC is, in fact, a BLUE state as of the 2008 election.
Also, saying that the bigots are “on their home turf” implies that all bigots are Southern and (more dangerously) that all Southerners are bigots. The “lady” who went off ono Pam has a Midwestern accent and I would bet is not a native of NC. NOM itself is based in the North, and none of their leaders are Southern, let alone from NC. One of the signs held at the rally even said “Carpetbaggers Go Home–NC Supports Marriage Equality”.
You will do yourself a favor to learn a thing or two about bigotry and geography. Stereotyping Southerners as bigots is no less heinous than stereotyping gays as dangers to the family. And presuming that all bigots must be Southern is even more incorrect, certainly in this case, where New Jersey-based NOM faced a crowd of North Carolinians for equality.