My grandfather had a saying. A very bitter one that I never liked, but seems to apply here:

“Never explain,” he’d say, “Your friends understand, your enemies don’t care.”

Much more is going on here than just anger over the issue of the definition of marriage. Nor is it about any lost legal rights, (since under domestic partnerships the gays have not lost any).

This is about power. Gays felt that they had finally achieved power in California, and along came these “believers” who proved differently. This is why the passage of Prop 8 is juxtaposed so often in their posts with the election of Barrak Obama. Obama’s election was symbolic of gaining power for liberal views across the country. The passage of Prop 8 however, represented a loss of power inside California. It also explains why many non-gay liberals are just as enraged as the gays.

In their view, the believers have robbed them of their right to the government. That’s why they keep yelling about “separation of church and state” as if that somehow means religious people should sit down, shut-up, and allow secular ideas exclusive control over the government.

The flat result of this is that the gays don’t care. They don’t care why we are opposing them. So explaining that we think marriage is more than just two people that love each other, and that this has nothing to do with hating gays is not going to help. They only care that we are opposing them, and thus are a threat to their power. The acts of intimidation, the forced resignations from their jobs of Mormons who donated to Prop 8, the demands made of the El Coyote restaurant owner- these are all just means of reasserting their power.

The rage displayed by the gay movement and allies is no different from the rage I saw come over schoolyard bullies when some small little kid (me) refused to kowtow to them. In saying this I would like to point out that like most bullies the gay movement became a bully because so many gay people have been bullied growing up. Though making their anger understandable, it does not justify their actions.

They are afraid, because they felt helpless growing up. Gay Marriage is not really about marriage, it’s about having the security blanket of first, being designated as no different from others, and second (and more importantly) of being the ones in power. Feeling powerful soothes their insecurities. That’s why they demand Marjorie Christoffersen (a Mormon who donated $100 to supporting Prop 8) donate money to repeal Prop 8, it would show that they really can control her, and thus they can be safe around her.

It’s why they are focusing their anger on the Mormons (and before Prop 8 on Boy Scouts). Mormons are relatively weak and vulnerable compared to the other backers of Prop 8. Attacking us is most likely to be successful and allow themselves to feel powerful and in control. Just like kids who are bullied pick out a person weaker than themselves to bully.

So you see- explanations are useless. They don’t care. They don’t want understanding or compromise. They want us to grovel, and beg them for forgiveness, and make them feel like they have the power and we have none.

The frustrating thing is that there is no way of retaliating in like manner, because as a suspect class, gays can not be fired for being gay, nor can they be refused service- yet they can and will do all these things to Mormons- especially those who supported Prop 8. Our legal system is rigged in their favor, and they will use it to the maximum effect that they can.

Back when I was in highschool (early 90′s) I used to read all sorts of political magazines. Including a gay political rag- in it I was shocked to read a editorial by a gay political activist talking about how one day they would have power, and when they got it they would do to religious people what had been done to them- they would ostracize them and force them into subservient economic roles. He even argued that gaining control of the military through gay officers would be part of this, (this was just after the implementation of “Don’t Ask, don’t tell). The writer went on to suggest that while waiting for an increase in political strength they should begin by marginalizing the Boy Scouts, and ensure the elimination of any government cooperation with them. I was shocked, and it took me a while before realizing he was serious, this was not a poor attempt at satire.

I told my friends about this, and nobody believed me. I was scare mongering they said- yet here we are.

Furthermore, the fact that people are not quickly and swiftly condemning this kind of intolerance for Mormons is only going to embolden the gays.

This is about power. And attacking the Mormons makes them feel powerful.

It’s not over yet.