Every family has those crazy relatives… the wacky uncle who grabs the mic at wedding receptions and sings an off-key, inebriated rendition of Dahil Sayo… the auntie in the floppy hat and muumuu who smells of cheap perfume and sometimes talks crazy… we all have them. They’re family, and we love them. But we are careful about how much public exposure we give them.
I have been observing the divisive culture-clash at the Hawaii State Legislature this week. Though I perceive it to be political theater, and nothing more, since the whole thing is a back room deal from the start, it has been interesting to try to be an impartial observer of strategy.
THEY are far better at it than WE are.
We brought our wacky relatives to the party, fired them up and handed them the mic. They rambled, screamed, cited false rumors, expressed vague fears of the possible future and generally behaved like the drunken uncle and the crazy-auntie. Oh, I don’t mean everyone did. Some wonderful, kind, intelligent people in opposition to SB 1 made cogent, thoughtful and appropriate comments that might have advanced the discussion. Hundreds of others rambled, preached, prayed and provided ironic entertainment for the LGBT crowd in attendance.
About the LGBT people there: did you notice the 6’4″ pre-op transsexual in fishnets and stripper heels testifying? Of course not, because s/he was not there. The other side of this issue understands the P.R. nightmare presented by exposing “those people” to public view, so they wisely, and strategically, filled the gallery with sweet, normal-looking gay and lesbian couples and controlled the narrative from the start. Actually, I misspoke. It was not the LGBT people at all — I am pretty sure there were few Bs and NO Ts visible. The more outrageous acting and appearing members of their community exist, for I see them almost daily in Hawaii, but they were invisible at the State Senate Committee Hearing this week.
The LG speakers understood the power of narrative. They understood the power of the memorable soundbite. They understood the power of imagery. They made this a very personal and human issue while many of the anti-SB1 speakers spoke in generalities, using vague language and fear-filled rhetoric. I understand the passion, and I share the theological position of many of the speakers, but quoting scripture to non-believers will never convince them against the imagery of calm, rational, normal-looking people personalizing the struggle and using loaded language. The very name of the bill sets it up as a matter of “equality,” and ignores the radical societal change being ushered in.
If we are to ever win any battles in the culture wars it will be necessary to kindly and politely coordinate our efforts, leaving the most colorful of our proponents in the closet (pun intended) while pushing forward our kind, coherent, rational, normal-looking spokespeople to make a logical case in a Christlike spirit.
Until we learn from the tactics of our adversaries we will lose these battles.