narcimund

It's tempting to read that as a tautology. But what makes it otherwise is that while most people do generally learn as time passes, there are in fact other people who do not. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Speaker's Corner was unusually interesting these last few weeks. First Class Citizen Twice Over

It's interesting to see RonD1120 drop his mask just for a second to confess that he fits even the tighter, dropzone.com/speakers-corner-adopted version of the definition of troll: A) Posts solely or primarily to sow rancour and discord in a community B) And intentional deception It's unfortunate. There are (or have been) many intelligent, thoughtful, sincere people who are generous with their wide variety of viewpoints who have posted here. The conversation has sometimes had the potential to actually offer some learning and growth like a good Salon can. But those who wage trust-destroying behaviours sabotage that potential. Then with few exceptions those who live by higher standards drift away seeking better opportunities. Speaking of all that, I've just reminded myself of something important. First Class Citizen Twice Over

You want extreme? This is extreme: Conlon Nancarrow's Study for Player Piano #21. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2gVhBxwRqg It's seemingly purely chaotic and quite difficult to listen to. But underneath the craziness he's exploring a simple, original musical idea. You'll maybe be tempted to give up early. But if you stick with it you'll probably get what he's up to about halfway through. Then you'll know it's worth the three minutes of effort to let him finish. First Class Citizen Twice Over

We rented the entire Moolack Shores Motel with 30 friends and family in all 12 rooms for the whole weekend. It was a few hundred meters north of the shadow's first landfall. Unbelievable amounts of shared food and wine. Kiting up and down the beach. Other hijinks I won't mention. The weather kept me nervous up to the last second. There were entire minutes during the partial phase where nothing was visible. And the deepening cold created a thick fog. But when the moment came it was plenty clear enough. We got this picture through my telescope. First Class Citizen Twice Over

This is surely one of the most jaw-dropping Speaker's Corner posts in many, many years. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Three years ago I reserved a favourite coastal motel that we've been visiting for many years. It also happens to be the very first lodging under the shadow, 0.01 seconds after first landfall at Yaquina Head. We have all 12 rooms for 30 of our friends and family for the whole weekend. I've been planning this for 38 years -- since the last one to come through Oregon when I was a young teenager and I hitchhiked to the Goldendale Observatory. The chance of clear skies is favourable though far from certain. But time spent on the Oregon Coast is better than time spent anywhere else. Maybe it'll be the best show ever and maybe we'll just play on the beach with our friends for a couple of days before the clouds go dark for 2 minutes. Either way we're going to have a hell of a party! First Class Citizen Twice Over

Antonin Scalia: Dead at 79 of complications from chronic Argle Bargle exacerbated by an acute attack of Jiggery Pokery. First Class Citizen Twice Over

He ran a shady dump but the world needs some of those. I'm glad I made my first couple of hundred jumps at Sheridan. Unfortunately I'm not a creative enough writer to retell any of the stories in a way that makes him look good. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Other married couples? First Class Citizen Twice Over

As the only one here* that this ruling actually applies to, I'd just like to say: [#ff69b4]HOT [#fdd017]DA[#34dddd]MN[#7f00ff]! * (As far as I know) First Class Citizen Twice Over

Well, that about says it all. I think that's the definitive answer to my question. Thanks everyone else for your contributions but I think we can all go home now. First Class Citizen Twice Over

As far as I can tell the amount of "making it the prime news spot" we've experienced is exactly HOW one makes it equal as far as laws go. It wasn't happening on its own. Personally though I'm sympathetic to your complaint. I find gayness to be annoyingly prominent in the public forum. I don't mean gay people are too gay -- to each their own and bless anyone who throws glitter in their hair. What I mean is the number of commercially published news stories, opinion articles, organized religious arguments, and general political fuss -- on both sides of the divide -- is stupidly loud. Unfortunately this excess is probably necessary to make progress. I would be very pleased if it dies down once gay marriage gets settled. And that's basically the question I posed in the OP. Will it die down or will the anti-gay side find ways to keep egging it on? First Class Citizen Twice Over

Can you say more about what you think would happen? First Class Citizen Twice Over

Soon we'll hear from the US Supreme Court about Obergefell v. Hodges which might just settle the federal gay marriage situation. There are several possible outcomes but the press seems to anticipate it will go wholly in favour of gay marriage. I'm curious what people here anticipate the response from the other side might be if that's how it goes. The far right websites I browse for cultural voyeurism are full of sturm und drang. Hundreds and hundreds of thoughtfully written, credibly proofread articles written by seemingly sober people, some of whom are famous, have encouraged wild reactions from their readers. My poll responses are taken directly from these articles. These aren't just one-offs either. They keep coming, one after another, for months! Are these people just hyperbolic cranks whose websites mimic being popular and organized? Or is there actually momentum to this apocalyptic movement? I don't live in the US any more so I don't get much first-hand information about what's going on down there. Here in Canada gay marriage was debated 10 years ago, then when it was settled it immediately became yesterday's news. I work with the public from all regions of the country and I'm often asked about my family. I easily mention my husband. Nobody at all -- young, old, different ethnic origins, from small towns or cities, east or west -- even twitches their eye about it. My intuition is roughly the same thing would happen in the US but there's enough noise online to make me curious if the folks here have other views. (By the way, I know I only post here about gay marriage politics these days, but it's really not an obsession. It's just kinda the last remaining topic in Speaker's Corner that interests me enough to post about.) First Class Citizen Twice Over