Let's see if I got this straight: Hundreds of supporters of gay
marriage, opponents of California Proposition 8,
have picketed a Mexican restaurant in L.A. and
shouted vulgarities at innocent customers just because one
employee - a daughter of the owner - gave a modest $100 donation in
support of the measure protecting traditional marriage. Opponents of
Proposition 8 have threatened and harassed several other businesses -
including a radio station, a theatre, and
a chain of health food stores - because employees gave money in
support of Prop 8. Opponents of Prop 8
have knocked a cross from the hands of an elderly woman and stomped
on it during a demonstration in Palm Springs.
Suspicious white powder has been sent in an envelope to a Mormon temple in
Westwood. (Mormons were big supporters of Prop 8.)
And the supporters of Proposition 8? Well, their measure - which
sought to restore the definition of marriage between only a man and a
woman - won in a statewide referendum by a
52 to 48 margin. They simply want judges to respect the vote and
uphold its result.
So what does the Los Angeles Times'
Tim Rutten
have to say about all of this? He says in
his November 15 column that "both sides" "are going too far"
and "need to cool down."
"Both sides" "need to cool down"? "Both sides"?
Wait a minute. It seems one side is a tad bit hotter than the other! A
number of the episodes I've cited above are from Rutten's own paper.
Has he checked it out lately?
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Rutten's column also bemoans the "unprecedented intervention" and
"distasteful business" of the Catholic and Mormon churches voicing their
support of traditional marriage and Proposition 8. He's upset that they
have "leap[t] into the political process" as religious organizations. "[I]t
raises hackles, and rightly so," Rutten asserts.
Gee, Tim. Your paper didn't seem too upset about any "distasteful
business" or "unprecedented intervention" a few years back when your
paper published
a favorable editorial about Cardinal Mahony "saying the right things
about illegal immigrants" and "reinforcing the right of religious
leaders to speak out on the moral ramifications of political issues."
Hey, Tim. What about that same right now? Ohhh, wait. This
time the Church has the opposite view of your own, and that is
"raising your cackles."
All together now: "Double ... standard."