Monday, November 28, 2011

The Thanksgiving Video War Massacre - competing messages about marriage equality over the Thanksgiving holiday

Maggie Gallagher handed the lgbtq community a victory over the Thanksgiving holidays in what turned out to be a contest of dueling videos.

Did I say contest? A contest would mean that two equal entities would be competing for superiority. What happened last week was a massacre.

Gallagher began the contest with a video she put out giving supposed tips on how to handle discussions of marriage equality during Thanksgiving. By tips, I guess Gallagher meant repeating the same tired talking points about people on her side of the argument unfairly being labeled as "bigots" and making false platitudes on respectful discussions while all the while folks on her side paint lgbtqs as folks seeking to corrupt children and (stop me if you heard this one) attempting to destroy the "special uniqueness of marriage being between one man and one woman:



To say that Gallagher's video wasn't popular would be an understatement. To say that she created the youtube version of Battlefield Earth and Plan 9 from Outer Space (two motion pictures renowned for how bad they were) would be more to the point.

Some folks have said that her delivery wasn't exactly comforting. Also, Gallagher simply didn't say anything we haven't heard before. If her aim was to tug at hearts, then my guess is that she used how the Snow White's wicked stepmother wanted to tug at her heart as a model.

And forgive for saying so because I am certainly not trying to rag on Gallagher's looks but the way her hair would bob in her face when she made what she thought were emphatic points totally distracted from her message. All the while Gallagher was talking, I kept thinking about that scene in the motion picture Valley of the Dolls when actress Pattie Duke was singing at a telethon and her dancing caused her necklace to bob and weave as if it took a life of its own.

Gallagher's video alone was poor, but the artificiality behind it was made evident due to another youtube video. This video, from Australia, featured  real situation where a gay couple meet, share time and family crises together, and then eventually get married:



The difference between the two videos speak for themselves. One featured a polarizing talking head repeating tiresome talking points behind a bland backdrop while punctuating her points with annoyingly flopping hair which didn't say "traditional marriage defender" but rather screamed "camp."

The other video featured a real-life situation involving a gay couple sharing time together, crises together, and finally wanting to share their lives together.

There was no competition.

Now there are some who call me biased for how I have criticized Gallagher's video. Well the facts bear me out. Gallagher's video, while at present time seen by less than 30,000 people, is tanking badly in terms of support.

In comparison, the Australian video has been seen by over 1 million people and has a vast number of supporters.

The simple fact of the matter is that this was a head-to-head competition and Gallagher's video lost because she didn't have an argument.

The other video simply didn't need one. It merely showed love, commitment, and devotion - all of the qualities which should make up a marriage.

All of the talking points in the world can't compete with that.


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2 comments:

Welch said...

To me the most beautiful part of the Australian video is at the end when his entire family runs up and congratulates them--it's a scene of total acceptance that most people don't have and that Mrs. Gallagher certainly does not promote.

Prospero said...

Maggie's video on has 0 likes on YouTube.