Last week, someone published the names of the people who signed the petition to repeal Ordinance 119, the Civil Rights Ordinance that Fayetteville’s City Council had voted on the month before, onto a website. Before the website changed, it was called ‘Hog Town Haters,’ though has since been changed to Did They Sign?
This bugs me for a number of reasons. While I know the signatures are publicized information, organizing them to be searched out by date, name, age, or address seems wrong. The original name of the website makes the intent behind this move clear, so excuse me for a moment while I rant.
This is not the way. As a group working towards a brighter future, we are better than this. Naming the website ‘hog town haters’ makes the intent to embarrass and shame crystal clear, and that’s not my city anymore than my city is discriminatory.
I need to make it clear that I am aware that publicizing these names has let us know some really sad stuff, namely that some of the people handling signatures for their petition misrepresented themselves and their cause, and as a result, there are many people that signed it being wholly unaware what they were signing. If anyone is reading this and that story sounds familiar, please contact City Councillor Sarah Marsh at (479) 287-4054, Matthew Petty at (479) 595-8703 or Mark Kinion at (479) 442-7868 and let them know that you were one of the people tricked into signing.
As it stands, I have seen this list used to publicly shame people for their choice to sign. While I don’t agree with these people’s choice to stand alongside discrimination and against the LGBT community, we, the people on the other side of this issue, have to be better than them in our fight. They have used fear-mongering and outright lies to back up their case, citing the ever-present and ever-stupid ‘bathroom issue’ as one of their driving reasons, because ‘think of the children!’ See that’s the thing, though. Half the time, these people are just sadly uneducated, and most certainly don’t qualify as deserving harassment or shaming.
We have to be better. We have to educate where normally our anger would lead us to lash out. We have to be kind. We can’t sit on this side of the issue, like it’s some high-and-mighty throne, and look down on the other members of our community for not thinking the way we do. That’s not the way our country works, and that’s not what freedom is. They are free to think as many hateful and wrong things as they like, and I am free to make a choice on how I respond. I respond by trying to make them better, by showing them a better way. How do you think it makes us look to publicly shame and embarrass them?
I implore you, be better than the opposition. Act better. Take this as a chance to educate, help figure out which names truly belong on the petition and which are their as a result of subterfuge. Do something constructive with your time and energy. Do not make other citizens of this city feel ashamed of their choice, show them a better path. We have to be better. I know we are, now we need to act like it.
That’s the end of my rant, I appreciate you listening. Dec. 9 is the vote on this, please show up in the numbers we got for the City Council meeting and show your support for Ordinance 119, because you know as well as I do that this city needs it.
Hog Town Haters Shaming Unnacceptable
Dane La Born
Last week, someone published the names of the people who signed the petition to repeal Ordinance 119, the Civil Rights Ordinance that Fayetteville’s City Council had voted on the month before, onto a website. Before the website changed, it was called ‘Hog Town Haters,’ though has since been changed to Did They Sign?
This bugs me for a number of reasons. While I know the signatures are publicized information, organizing them to be searched out by date, name, age, or address seems wrong. The original name of the website makes the intent behind this move clear, so excuse me for a moment while I rant.
This is not the way. As a group working towards a brighter future, we are better than this. Naming the website ‘hog town haters’ makes the intent to embarrass and shame crystal clear, and that’s not my city anymore than my city is discriminatory.
I need to make it clear that I am aware that publicizing these names has let us know some really sad stuff, namely that some of the people handling signatures for their petition misrepresented themselves and their cause, and as a result, there are many people that signed it being wholly unaware what they were signing. If anyone is reading this and that story sounds familiar, please contact City Councillor Sarah Marsh at (479) 287-4054, Matthew Petty at (479) 595-8703 or Mark Kinion at (479) 442-7868 and let them know that you were one of the people tricked into signing.
As it stands, I have seen this list used to publicly shame people for their choice to sign. While I don’t agree with these people’s choice to stand alongside discrimination and against the LGBT community, we, the people on the other side of this issue, have to be better than them in our fight. They have used fear-mongering and outright lies to back up their case, citing the ever-present and ever-stupid ‘bathroom issue’ as one of their driving reasons, because ‘think of the children!’ See that’s the thing, though. Half the time, these people are just sadly uneducated, and most certainly don’t qualify as deserving harassment or shaming.
We have to be better. We have to educate where normally our anger would lead us to lash out. We have to be kind. We can’t sit on this side of the issue, like it’s some high-and-mighty throne, and look down on the other members of our community for not thinking the way we do. That’s not the way our country works, and that’s not what freedom is. They are free to think as many hateful and wrong things as they like, and I am free to make a choice on how I respond. I respond by trying to make them better, by showing them a better way. How do you think it makes us look to publicly shame and embarrass them?
I implore you, be better than the opposition. Act better. Take this as a chance to educate, help figure out which names truly belong on the petition and which are their as a result of subterfuge. Do something constructive with your time and energy. Do not make other citizens of this city feel ashamed of their choice, show them a better path. We have to be better. I know we are, now we need to act like it.
That’s the end of my rant, I appreciate you listening. Dec. 9 is the vote on this, please show up in the numbers we got for the City Council meeting and show your support for Ordinance 119, because you know as well as I do that this city needs it.