Source 1: NOM - Gathering Storm Ad [Video]. (2009). Retrieved April 18, 2010, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp76ly2_NoI
The National Organization for Marriage is a conservative, faith-based non-profit organization that seeks to prevent the legal recognition and acceptance of same-sex marriage. NOM's stated mission is "to protect marriage and the faith communities that sustain it." NOM worked to overturn gay marriage in California and in 2009 it came out with a controversial ad that suggests opponents of same-sex marriage are now being victimized for their beliefs. NOM spent 1.5 million dollars to air the spot to turn back the tide of gay marriage and the group does not back away from the ad's argument that same-sex marriage has a direct, negative impact on non-gay people.
I chose to feature this ad in our blog because I think it epitomizes the irrational argument that so many opponents of gay marriage (particularly conservatives) subscribe to; that allowing homosexuals to marry will adversely affect the rest of the population and is threat to us all. "There's a storm gathering," one woman says as the spot opens. Says another woman: "I am afraid." Later in the spot, a man says same-sex marriage advocates "want to bring the issue into my life." He is followed by a woman who says "my freedom will be taken away." Another woman says same-sex marriage advocates "want to change the way I live." A teenage girl intones, "I will have no choice." The commercial is full of these quotes from "citizens" afraid of what will happen to them if gay marriage is allowed... when in reality it likely won't affect them at all. Check out a CBS news story on the ad here.
Source 2: Colbert Report - The Colbert Coalition's Ant-Gay Marriage Ad [Video]. (2009). Retrieved April 18, 2010, from http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/224789/april-16-2009/the-colbert-coalition-s-anti-gay-marriag-adFollowing the release of the NOM ad featured above, Stephen Colbert came out with his own anti-gay commercial on the Colbert Report, of course making fun of the original while pretending he is a hard line conservative that actually believes its message. Colbert said of the original NOM ad, "It is like watching the 700 Club and the Weather Channel at the same time."Colbert claims he got riled up as a result of the recent wins for gay marriage in Vermont and Iowa, and when Governor David Paterson introduced gay marriage legislation in Stephen's home state of New York he took action. He made his own gay marriage storm ad because as Stephen says, "New York can't handle a flood of gay marriage. As it is it's impossible to get a wedding announcement in the 'Times.' I had to release Carbon Monoxide into an apartment building then work the wedding into the police interview."
Interestingly enough, the National Organization for Marriage actually sent Stephen Colbert a letter of thanks for producing the commercial parody that depicts the NOM membership as closeted, dim nitwits. Apparently, they believe that Colbert has helped their cause, somehow. This is, as they say, ADORBS:
See the Huffington Post story about the NOM letter to Colbert here
Source 3: Cognition & Emotion. June 2009, Vol. 23 Issue 4, p. 714 - 725. Conservatives are More Easily Disgusted than Liberals by Yoel Inbar, David A. Pizarro, and Paul Bloom
According to the authors of this journal article, the uniquely human emotion of disgust is intimately connected to morality in many, perhaps all, cultures (Rozin, Lowery, Imada, & Haidt, 1999b). They report two studies suggesting that a predisposition to feel disgust (“disgust sensitivity”) is associated with more conservative political attitudes, especially for issues related to the moral dimension of purity. In the first study, they document a positive correlation between disgust sensitivity and self-reported conservatism in a broad sample of US adults. In Study 2 they show that while disgust sensitivity is associated with more conservative attitudes on a range of political issues, this relationship is strongest for purity-related issues—specifically, abortion and gay marriage. I reference this article because I believe it can shed some light on the conservative stance against gay marriage seen, among other places, in the National Organization for Marriage commercial. Perhaps it is disgust and/or a perceived sense of having no moral purity tied to religious and political values that conservatives see in homosexuals that allows them to put up such a fight and the most unfounded, ridiculous arguments against gay marriage. I've had enough of this slippery slope argument that if we let gays marry then what is next... incest, polygamy, loss of freedom, the end of the institution of marriage, lifestyle changes for all, or as Stephen Colbert said arma-GAY-don. It just doesn't work like that and conservative Americans want to pretend it does perhaps because they are driven by disgust.
-Adam
The National Organization for Marriage is a conservative, faith-based non-profit organization that seeks to prevent the legal recognition and acceptance of same-sex marriage. NOM's stated mission is "to protect marriage and the faith communities that sustain it." NOM worked to overturn gay marriage in California and in 2009 it came out with a controversial ad that suggests opponents of same-sex marriage are now being victimized for their beliefs. NOM spent 1.5 million dollars to air the spot to turn back the tide of gay marriage and the group does not back away from the ad's argument that same-sex marriage has a direct, negative impact on non-gay people.
I chose to feature this ad in our blog because I think it epitomizes the irrational argument that so many opponents of gay marriage (particularly conservatives) subscribe to; that allowing homosexuals to marry will adversely affect the rest of the population and is threat to us all. "There's a storm gathering," one woman says as the spot opens. Says another woman: "I am afraid." Later in the spot, a man says same-sex marriage advocates "want to bring the issue into my life." He is followed by a woman who says "my freedom will be taken away." Another woman says same-sex marriage advocates "want to change the way I live." A teenage girl intones, "I will have no choice." The commercial is full of these quotes from "citizens" afraid of what will happen to them if gay marriage is allowed... when in reality it likely won't affect them at all. Check out a CBS news story on the ad here.
Source 2: Colbert Report - The Colbert Coalition's Ant-Gay Marriage Ad [Video]. (2009). Retrieved April 18, 2010, from http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/224789/april-16-2009/the-colbert-coalition-s-anti-gay-marriag-adFollowing the release of the NOM ad featured above, Stephen Colbert came out with his own anti-gay commercial on the Colbert Report, of course making fun of the original while pretending he is a hard line conservative that actually believes its message. Colbert said of the original NOM ad, "It is like watching the 700 Club and the Weather Channel at the same time."Colbert claims he got riled up as a result of the recent wins for gay marriage in Vermont and Iowa, and when Governor David Paterson introduced gay marriage legislation in Stephen's home state of New York he took action. He made his own gay marriage storm ad because as Stephen says, "New York can't handle a flood of gay marriage. As it is it's impossible to get a wedding announcement in the 'Times.' I had to release Carbon Monoxide into an apartment building then work the wedding into the police interview."
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| The Colbert Coalition's Anti-Gay Marriage Ad | ||||
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Interestingly enough, the National Organization for Marriage actually sent Stephen Colbert a letter of thanks for producing the commercial parody that depicts the NOM membership as closeted, dim nitwits. Apparently, they believe that Colbert has helped their cause, somehow. This is, as they say, ADORBS:
"I've always thought Stephen Colbert was a double-agent, pretending to pretend to be a conservative, to pull one over Hollywood. Now I'm sure," said Maggie Gallagher, President of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM).Yes. NOM appears to believe that pretending to not understand the central satiric conceit of the show constitutes a witty comeback. They are also under the impression that their opponents at the Human Rights Campaign were saddened, watching Stephen Colbert rip NOM a new one."Thank you Stephen for playing our ad in full on national television--for free. HRC eat your heart out. Plus we all had a great chuckle, too!" said Brian Brown, NOM's Executive Director. "Where can I make a donation to the National Organization for Colbert?"
See the Huffington Post story about the NOM letter to Colbert here
Source 3: Cognition & Emotion. June 2009, Vol. 23 Issue 4, p. 714 - 725. Conservatives are More Easily Disgusted than Liberals by Yoel Inbar, David A. Pizarro, and Paul Bloom
According to the authors of this journal article, the uniquely human emotion of disgust is intimately connected to morality in many, perhaps all, cultures (Rozin, Lowery, Imada, & Haidt, 1999b). They report two studies suggesting that a predisposition to feel disgust (“disgust sensitivity”) is associated with more conservative political attitudes, especially for issues related to the moral dimension of purity. In the first study, they document a positive correlation between disgust sensitivity and self-reported conservatism in a broad sample of US adults. In Study 2 they show that while disgust sensitivity is associated with more conservative attitudes on a range of political issues, this relationship is strongest for purity-related issues—specifically, abortion and gay marriage. I reference this article because I believe it can shed some light on the conservative stance against gay marriage seen, among other places, in the National Organization for Marriage commercial. Perhaps it is disgust and/or a perceived sense of having no moral purity tied to religious and political values that conservatives see in homosexuals that allows them to put up such a fight and the most unfounded, ridiculous arguments against gay marriage. I've had enough of this slippery slope argument that if we let gays marry then what is next... incest, polygamy, loss of freedom, the end of the institution of marriage, lifestyle changes for all, or as Stephen Colbert said arma-GAY-don. It just doesn't work like that and conservative Americans want to pretend it does perhaps because they are driven by disgust.
-Adam
Yea I couldn't resist posting the ad when we decided on gay rights for our blog topic. Colbert totally made fun of NOM and parodied their commercial yet they get some weird satisfaction out of it like it helps their cause or gets them publicity or that Colbert is secretly one of them or something...its crazy. And I'm sure you know first hand about conservative disgust with various lifestyles. To me it only makes sense that they are blinded by emotions of disgust and perceived immorality to come up with such illogical arguments yet still believe them wholeheartedly. Thanks for your post.
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