Snow Voices Carry Tuesday

So where do we begin with this post? The groundhog spoke and Mother Nature delivered a wintry swath of snow complete with a take that folks cold snap!

Adding to that chilly situation also comes the fact that despite all the "call to actions," and many efforts to demand Governor Hutchinson to use his veto power to stop SB 202, he was having none of it. He did a "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil," move to allow the measure to seep its way to being a law. That's all folks.

Despite this situation, those who raised their voices, sent e-mails and all manner of public discourse should commend themselves for at least stepping up and doing their civic duty. I am posting a couple of items that I saw in reference to this situation below.

Bob Rogers wrote on Facebook:

"I used to be proud to be an Arkansan. Even though we were last in virtually every measurable category, we were hospitable to people of all types. Thanks to your complete lack of leadership on SB202 (and no doubt on HR1228 should it reach your desk) I am no longer proud. I'm not only not proud, but I'm afraid to be a gay Arkansan.

I am ashamed of you, and our legislature.

If there was any way for me to afford to move from the state I was born and raised in and returned to gladly to pursue my career with First Commercial Bank and later Regions Bank, I'd be out of here.

Sadly, that's not going to be possible. But I can assure you that I will with every fiber of my being persuade any business, professional, or social contact that I might influence that Arkansas is most assuredly not open for business; not welcoming to professional highly educated employees; and not a good place to continue higher education. In short, stay away from Arkansas, and by extension, any corporation, business, or university associated with this state. Bar None."

And then there's this...

M.M. Granger on Facebook:

This jackass. The state of Arkansas is officially entering the PREVIOUS CENTURY. But guess what - it won't last long! ANYONE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST BASED PURELY ON APPEARANCE - THAT IS A VIOLATION OF FEDERAL LAW.

If it happens to you, and you are not wearing rainbows or anything that specifically identifies you as LGBTQ, record it if you can. LAWSUIT!!!

Unfortunately, as a democratic republic we know that many people are just not engaged with many of the electorate processes. Its been highly reported that many citizens are not voting, know exactly who represents them, aware of the various branches of government and recently its been cited that a great deal of Americans probably couldn't pass the citizenship test that others must pass to become citizens. Wow!

What has happened is another valuable lesson on how lawmaking works or not works and just what it takes to address such matters. COP 24/7 applauds those who answered the call, but what's needed and is seriously lacking is a well oiled machine to at least give us a fighting chance. But we have to be clear that even with this, nothing is a sure thing here in our great state.

As noted, this type of structure requires a tremendous amount of resources that we have yet to muster. Local community based organizations are "struggling well," to stay afloat with their meager funding outlays, dedicated donors if any, scrappy fundraisers, and often times exasperated leadership. All of this effort falls in the "good intentions," bucket that has persisted for most of my life time. When good viable leaders, activist or advocates are identified or developed, we usually loose them to the siren call of gay meccas from coast to coast.

We seem not to get folks to "stick and stay," because we don't have the lure of "gayborhoods", the heat of the ATL, or big city living that takes every damn dime you can earn to keep living it as if you would die if you had to think of living in Arkansas.

We have suffered defeats before, yet we live to see another day. I'm not about bashing the state, abandoning it or allowing others to do so, but rather staying diligent to be apart of the solution rather than moving on to another perceived paradise state to have more expensive problems. It may not be what we want for now, but let's not stop trying! 


A COP 24/7 Zip Stream Moment...



 

 

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