I’ve already gone on at some length about my thoughts on gay marriage, but this week, as thousands of gay men and women in Massachusetts are finally getting the chance to wed, there’s one more thought I wanted to add. This debate–more than any other major political debate I can think of–is being argued in metaphorical terms. Is opposition to gay marriage as bigoted as opposition to interracial marriage? Or is it based on simple biological reality, like the opposition to incest?
Personally, I have no doubt that, in a few decades, anti-gay-marriage laws will seem as inexplicable as anti-miscegenation laws do now. But I don’t want to have to wait a few decades to prove it. I’ve therefore developed a short quiz. I’ve taken some quotes from people who believe blacks shouldn’t marry whites, and some quotes from people who believe gays shouldn’t marry each other. I then stripped the quotes of any words like “race” or “gender” that would give the game away.
Can you tell which anti-marriage argument is which?
When you’re ready to start, click here to take the quiz.
I got 5 out of the 6 correct, but you-re right – I chose purely by the stylistics of the writing rather based upon any significant difference in the rationale.
Interesting quiz, JSW. Thanks.
I got 100%, but chose purely on the basis of the language, except for the last — I chose that one to even up the numbers.
5 out of 6! Yeah, that was a bit easier than I thought it would be. I agree with you 100% that laws against gay marriage will one day seem as quaint as anti-miscegenation laws do today. And it’s nice to see you’re not the only one wondering why no one had a problem with Richard Ramirez tying the knot while on Death Row. So, if gay people can’t get legally married because homosexuality is a sin, does that mean that homosexuality is worse than rape and murder? That’s the logic presented by anti-gay marriage people.
Only 4/6 for me.
I scored 100% as well. I’ve been watching this “debate” unfold and I’ve even called Marilyn Musgrave’s (R – Colorado) office to give her an earful. She ignited this firestorm.
Only 4/6 for me. Guess that as a non-native the language wasn’t sufficiently different to be noticeable, so I was responding to the fact that I’ve heard all those arguments used in the gay marriage discussion. Frightening stuff.
You scored 5 out of 6 (83 %).
5/6 here too. One really has to wonder if all the politicians that take firm stances against gay rights now are going to be shunned in 20 years, like racists are shunned today? I wonder when the turning point will be, when it is no longer OK to be against gay marriage, just like it isn’t OK to be against interracial marriage today.
The very interesting thing is that if you skim over the quotes it is really quite hard to determine which is which. The silly people who argue against gay marriages could have lifted those older, out-dated quotes almost verbatim. It is heartening to recognize the correlation. You are right…in a few decades people will look at this time and say (among other things), “How could they deny a human their rights like that?”
Nice entry.
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Another 5/6, and another one who did it on the basis of the language, not the arguments. It wasn’t the KKK one that tripped me up – something about the phrase “appalling surge in the numbers of DELETED couples” sounded somehow more aposite for interracial marriage – rather it was the first one, which talked about God a little too much for me to think it was about interracial marriage.
Excellent little quiz, I must say.
4 out of 6 for me – I concentrated on content and got #6 correct.
4/6
some were tricky!
4/6 for me too. Also went by the language style. An area of personal significance to me cos I was legally married to my partner in Canada last year.
Don’t know of any “traditional” marriages crumbling as a direct result…yet!
Yet another 5/6. I went mostly by language, but also a little by content. The one I missed was #2.
I scored 4 out of 6 (67 %). Funnily, although I went with the language not the arguments, I found the KKK one the easiest to sniff out… I can’t tell you what made me notice it, though.