TheSweaterVestChronicles

!SweaterVest Award! for Most Unreadable Comment

2013-01-24T03:54:00.002-06:00

So, as you may or may not know, the internet is filled with lots of interesting, uncommon, and outright odd people. I have decided to start to give awards to these people. Now you may ask, what type of award would I give someone. What would BenSweaterVest give to someone, on his blog the SweaterVestChronicles at TheSweatervest.com?

What type of award would I give......

That is correct! I have created The SweaterVest Award for Internet Achievements!

The first award will be given to a most.... Interesting.... comment on Brute Reason. This comment is one that I can't finish. I regularly read lengthy scientific reports and articles, proof coding, and even memorized pi for fun in high school, but I could not finish this article. Not only is this comment a mash of conspiracy theory, ancient alien theory, pseudo-religion, and woo science, but it is 21 pages long (at 12 point arial font), SINGLE SPACED! (For those of our readers used to double space, that is 42 pages....)

Also part of the conspiracy?

I have tried multiple times to finish it, but it isn't happening... Not only because I dont have the necessary time, energy, or willpower, but because that is not the end! The comment has been cut off part way through the word "after".

And so, I officially award this SweaterVest Award to commenter "Donald Smalter". !Congratulations!

To Donald Smalter for MOST Unreadable Comment

Now,

Another SweaterVest award was issued immediately after this first award was created (and not just because I had a few different images created). This comment did not go without thoughtful response. Miriam, the wonderful "Professional Fun-Ruiner" in charge of this blog responded with the only possible response.

Miriam, Professional Fun-Ruiner

January 23, 2013 at 6:21 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment

Reply

Now, seeing as this was better than any comment I could ever conceive of, I am proud to award Miriam of Brute reason with the Best Response to Terrible Comment Award! This Award made of real Gold (colored pixels)!

To Miriam Best Response to Terrible Comment Award

On An Invisible Man

2012-12-18T14:14:00.003-06:00

So,
Over the course of my work, my activism, my networking, and my life, I come across several truly amazing people.

I also come across some amazing animals, but that is a different post.

One of these people is a man who when I first met him, I thought he was a weirdo. And while I still hold that opinion, I also see him as one of the most intelligent, creative, hardworking, and best people I have in my life. Since we differ on outlooks and perspectives, he is always pushing me to grow and develop as a person. I like to think I have made him grow at least a little along the way.

When he first started to blog at Fliponymous, I immediately became his biggest fan. I then helped him to network with one of his favorite bloggers, my friend Miriam from Brute Reason. When he got his first readership spike, he was ecstatic, and seeing him so happy was the highlight of my day.

And now, he has hit the big leagues. Last week, I read his first post (An Invisible Man) at the Huffington Post. I'm not sure what he will create with his new platform, but I am truly excited.

Celebrate this momentous event!

On Tim Farley's Addition

2012-12-09T07:11:00.002-06:00

So,
As some of my readers may know, I will be speaking at the upcoming SkepTech conference here in Minnesota. Along with that, I am one of the conference organizers. This conference has been my baby for almost two years.

I have been working on this conference for as long as this cute, gender non-specific child has been alive!

My first real victory in planning this conference was when I convinced Zach Weinersmith of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal to speak.

When he agreed, I was almost in tears of joy.

But recently, something amazing has happened. Tim Farley, the creator of Whats The Harm, asked to speak also. Now, as much as I love secularism, my strongest passion has always been for skepticism. One of the websites that I constantly and consistently use to show people why they shouldn't promote altmed, or pseudo-science is Whats The Harm. If you have never been on this site, it has a collection of more than 600,000 deaths caused by lack of skepticism and critical thinking. While emotional appeal shouldn't make your argument for you, when you have a list of deaths caused by homeopathy, it makes your case a lot stronger! The fact that Tim is going to be speaking makes me SO happy!

SkepTech was always going to be amazing, and with Zach, it became epic.... But with the addition of Tim, we somehow got even better!

SkepTech, coming this April in Minneapolis!

As always, if you have anything to add to the conversation, just comment below!

On The Science Of Rotting In Hell

2012-12-09T04:41:00.000-06:00

So, as you may guess, as an outspoken atheist, I am often told to go to hell... For a while this was restricted to comments in forums, and then occasionally on Facebook, then in emails, and eventually in meatspace (real-life). But something has always bothered me when someone tells me to rot in hell.... Not the fact that they are simply verbally harassing me (I have been called much worse), but because I don't think you would rot in hell. And I'll tell you why. SCIENCE!!!

Now, I have only ever been told that I was going to hell by christians. Sadly, this casts a negative shadow on christians (the vast majority of whom would never say such a thing), but it does mean that I only have to counter the christian idea of hell. Normally it is hard to argue things about the bible, due to the contradictions in the bible (there are quite a few), but the christian idea of hell (according to the bible) is relatively straight forward. The basic gist is that it is hot, and there is a lot of fire....

Credit to bible.org for this wonderful list of ways I will be burned after death....

Now, while as pleasant as all this lake of fire talk is, there is one point which should be gleamed (or at lease that I gleamed). Hell is incredibly hot. So hot, in fact, that you will not rot. For you see, rotting is a well known, well documented, and highly understood biologic process. And step two of five in the rotting process, Bloat, requires the natural drastic increase in microbiotic activity within the (recently dead) body. If this step does not occur, rot CANNOT occur. And if you are so hot that that microbiotic life can no longer survive (lake of fire anyone) you will not rot. You could steam and cook (in cases of wet heat) or you may mummify (if its a dry heat)....

"Its a dry heat, they said, you wont feel it, they said"

But you would not rot. So, when I point out to people that I would not actually rot in hell, that I would cook, they point out that god can do anything.

My question is this: If god can do anything, why would he punish me for eternity?

Why wouldn't he simply correct my behavior through magic-god-powers?

Why would he not only keep me alive for eternity in order to punish me, but also bend the laws of nature to make my punishment slightly worse?

They don't usually have a good response....

Harry would never use his magic powers to eternally punish me!

As always, if you have anything to add to the conversation, just comment below!

Hey Look, Im on a PodCast

2012-12-06T03:36:00.000-06:00

So, as many of you have likely already seen, I was recently on the WWJTD Podcast....

Some of those questions are REALLY hard for a Minnesotan....

We are pretty nice

As always, if you have anything to add to the conversation, just comment below!

THE RETURN

2012-11-26T20:18:00.002-06:00

AND...... WE ARE BACK!!!

I'll be posting an explanation for the recent lack of posts soon, but I just got the ability to blog back, and I wanted to post something ASAP!!!

Here you go!

42 days: Sarah Stacy

2012-10-12T08:30:00.000-05:00

This post is a guest post for the 42 days series. Learn more here!

I'm choosing to vote no on the marriage amendment because I truly believe that love has no boundaries, when people find someone they want to commit to, marriage is the major bond that ties them together. Love should be shared not taken away.

Denying basic rights to others doesn't make sense to me.

Perhaps I'm just super open minded but I know what it's like to have people treat you differently just because they just don't understand you. That is how I feel people treat the marriage amendment, don't you understand that denying this right, isn't going to make homosexuality go away?

Some just don't want them to have the tax breaks and what not, but what are you so scared of, gay marriage isn't going to ruin the world. Love is love, don't try to take that away from people.

My name is Sarah Stacy, recently licensed cosmetologist and aspiring tattoo artist. I'm an animal lover and musician.

As always, if you have anything to add to the conversation, just comment below!

42 days: Katey

2012-10-11T12:00:00.000-05:00

This post is a guest post for the 42 days series. Learn more here!

Why I am voting No this November.

There is no grand scheme, there is no lofty reason, and there is no major plan; I am voting no because I want to get married someday, that’s it. Equality is great, equal rights for all, {insert cheering crowds here} but I am really voting no because I have the same hopes and dreams as everyone else. I am voting no and I am bugging everyone around me to vote no because I want to get married someday. It’s not just that I want to get married someday; I want everything that it means and that it symbolizes to me and everyone around me. When I get married it means I have fallen in love, it means I have found that person I want to spend my life with, it means those that are there to watch me get married love and support me and my partner, idealistically it means that I am happy, and content. It means I have found someone I am willing to make a lifelong promise and commitment to. To me getting married means I am loved and in love, and I can’t imagine anything being better than knowing that. Also, I would be lying if I didn’t also mention I really want to get a gorgeous white dress and have an awesome party with all my friends and family.

Getting married is on that running list of all the things I want in my future: fall in love, get an education, get a good job, get married, have a family, and enjoy my life. Why am I denied that opportunity? Why does everyone else care so much if I am in love and happy? That is what a wedding and a marriage is to me, it is love, happiness, hope, commitment. To the people voting yes this November, I have a question: Do I not deserve those things in my life simply because I am gay? Do I not deserve to celebrate the love that I have found with my friends and family? If you do decide I don’t deserve those things because of who I choose to marry, are you willing to tell that to me personally, because I take this issue very personally, this is not just politics and balancing budgets, this is my life and my future you are voting on this November. I am asking you to support love this November, and if you can’t do that I’m asking you to just support me this November and vote No.

A History Major from St Cloud State University Katey is an activist in her everyday life, she works closely with SCSU Students for Choice, and has volunteered with Minnesotans United for All Families. After graduation she hopes to work in the political nonprofit arena.

As always, if you have anything to add to the conversation, just comment below!

42 days: Andy Jacobson

2012-10-10T13:18:00.000-05:00

This post is a guest post for the 42 days series. Learn more here!

I’m going to tell you upfront, I’m not a very political person. The most political I get is researching the candidates around elections. Honestly, that’s as political as I want to get. I don’t want to protest or debate. I’d rather just live my life, find a nice guy and settle down. Unfortunately, it is impossible to do this with the restrictions put on my relationship.

In order to have a normal life, I am tossed into the political battles and forced to defend myself on a regular basis. The way I see it, the issues presented here aren't political, on either side. It is very personal. The reasons people support equal marriage are to help the people they love in times of need, for example: to be there in the hospital when someone is hurt or joint adoption or custody of a child if something were to happen to one parent. The reason people oppose it are fundamentally religious. Trying to convince people that something that isn't causing harm to anyone is immoral, that is only something that comes from the misuse of religion. One side is personal and the other religious, neither of which the government has any say in. Our personal freedoms are meant to be protected and though the phrase “separation of church and state” isn't in our founding documents, it is something the US government has supported. This amendment is doing something worse than ignoring gay marriage, it’s specifically meant to

ban it. The way it is worded, it is giving specific rights to specific people, and denying it to anyone who doesn't fit that definition. This is fine for felons or people who have harmed others, that’s part of their punishment, but what the hell did we do?

Andy Jacobson is a junior at SCSU, studying music, and working as a Community Adviser.

42 days: Rebecca

2012-10-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

This post is a guest post for the 42 days series. Learn more here!

No.
Why?
My name is Rebecca. I’m a junior at St. Cloud State University. If I hadn’t made the decision to move to a college where I wouldn’t know anyone and would have to learn to make new friends, I’m not sure I would vote the same way I am today.

Home

I grew up in a small town where diversity was almost nonexistent. I went to school with a group of peers that never learned any manners about diversity and equality. The school system tried to make us better people but with no one around to show us what our hurtful words and actions meant we grew up ignorant and mean. I played along to fit in, even if from a young age I detested racial jokes, and I had yet to learn the hurt from sexual slurs. It wasn’t until I made friends with a new girl in my school did I learn the implications of such common phrases in my vocabulary like “That’s so gay”. That girl’s mother was lesbian and for many years had been living with her partner helping raising the girl as her own. When she told me not to say the word gay like it was an insult she freely told me her mother’s sexual orientation. I was taken back but instead of letting my small town prejudice get the best of me, I stopped using gay as a derogatory term so that I could keep that new friend. This was my first experience with sexual orientation other than heterosexual.

Family

I am from a family with heterosexual parents still married after 30 years. I was raised a Catholic. I was taught by the church that marriage was between a man and a woman. I was taught that homosexuality was a sin. Much of my extended family very much agrees with both these points and act just has my school peers did; they mock people for have a different sexual orientation than themselves. Yet with all of these people being an influence on my life the couple that I want my future relationship to be like have never, that I can remember, told me that gay marriage and relationships were wrong. I never got a parental prejudice on sexuality and I’m thankful for that.

College

I moved away from home for school. I met new people and made new friends. It is making these new friends that I made my decision on this amendment. College was not the fair and intelligent place I assumed it would be. Everyone has their own opinion and many freely give that opinion even if it’s hurtful or prejudice to others. There though I also saw with the unpleasantness a glow of humanity I never got back home.
I’ve never felt this oppression as much as from the “hill toppers”. These are people free to come on campus and tell those passing by to join their faith or, if they don’t fit the mold/ don’t want to, that you’re going to hell. Then there is the boy from my class who was brave enough to come out to his friends but he can’t tell his parents because he thinks he will be disowned. When I found out he was gay it didn’t make it awkward for us, actually it helped improve our friendship because he could talk about his crushes and relationships so openly. I was also pleasantly surprised that nearly all our friends never saw that boy any differently. Two vastly different experiences that I have had here have led me to the same conclusion.

Why Say No

Why did I choose no because I don’t believe that I have anymore right to declare my love through marriage just because I have a heterosexual relationship than someone who isn’t in a heterosexual relationship. My experiences over my short 21 years have allowed me to see that the need for equality in marriage is a serious problem that can be changed now. I have many friends who want the option to marry as they please and if my vote can help them I will help them here and now in this election.

As always, if you have anything to add to the conversation, just comment below!

42 days: Kelsey

2012-10-08T16:00:00.000-05:00

This post is a guest post for the 42 days series. Learn more here!

I’ve always known I’d be voting NO on the Marriage Amendment come election day – there was never a question in my mind. I’ve always believed everyone deserves the same rights and should have them in the eyes of the law. Unfortunately, that’s not even what this amendment is about. The Marriage Amendment, if it were passed, would change the constitution of the state of Minnesota to define marriage as between a man and a woman. If it does not pass, the constitution remains unchanged, but that still doesn’t make it legal. That would take yet another vote. I believe this is something quite a few people voting on the amendment still haven’t realized.

We of course know now that only 50 years ago, giving black Americans equal rights was absolutely the right thing to do. That isn’t questioned in the minds of most of the population. Those who do question it are branded as extremists, and are written off as such. Though we do still struggle as a nation with the issue of racism, all signs point to a brighter future. In a few generations, it will hopefully no longer be an issue.
The gay rights movement is a generation behind this. While, in time, views will change and people will come to see the same rights they are given in the future as deserved, we have the opportunity now to be the most progressive state in the nation, and step ahead. We have the opportunity to tell the rest of the country that we value each and every single Minnesotan as a human being, and give them rights as such.
Giving a group the same rights you’ve always had doesn’t mean you or your beliefs or your lifestyle is under attack. It just means you recognize that group as equally deserving of your respect as anyone else. Please VOTE NO in November.

I am a straight, 20-something business college student. I am an atheist (but don’t hold that against me) and rational and compassionate woman. I live in Waite Park with my wonderful boyfriend, and dog and cat, all of whom are talking to me right now.

As always, if you have anything to add to the conversation, just comment below!

42 days: Trixi

2012-10-07T13:08:00.000-05:00

This post is a guest post for the 42 days series. Learn more here!

I was in California the day that gay marriage was legalized. While I didn’t see celebrations in the street, and I hadn’t even come out to my mother yet, I knew it was a big deal. Unfortunately, I was also in California for the entirety of the Prop 8 movement, and I had to witness discrimination, lies, ignorance, and the eventual heart break of having equality ripped from our hands. I was sitting with the majority of our college democrats club watching the election. We cheered when we learned Obama was the new president, but the energy in the room was sucked out when we found the fate of Prop 8. This issue was bigger than picking the president. I barely saw any political signs for candidates; it was all about the freedom to marry. And because we were on a liberal-dominated campus, it seemed like there was no way that this stupid proposition could pass.

But it did.

Confused and angry, we looked up a map of how each district voted. The liberal places along the coast all voted No, but everywhere else was an ugly shade of red. It was devastating. The brutal lies the Right had created had worked. They played off the natural homophobic tendencies of people. They figured out that most people were actually pro-gay marriage, but not many where for the teaching of gay rights and history in schools, so they spewed things about how by letting gay people get married, their children’s schools would be reading stories about two princes, and learning about Harvey Milk. And that’s not ok. Gay people can go and get married, but my child can’t be gay.
I watched as all the advances in the LGBT movement we have been fighting so hard for all crumbled because too many parents have a deeply rooted fear in their hearts that their perfect child would learn that they can be who they actually are, and that might just mean they are gay. And gay is bad. And this was the view in California. For being such a “liberally hippy progressive” place, it sure isn’t.

Then I moved back here to Minnesota, and I heard about this amendment, and I almost wanted to cry. I was going to have to do this all again. I was going to have to see bigoted ads, hear lies about myself, and see the true ugliness of people. But, I was happy to find that for a long time, there were no ads, no slandering comments. Everything was quiet. Then, I finally saw an ad. A pro marriage equality ad. But, still no “vote yes” ones. It stayed like that for a while, and then I went off to school and haven’t watched TV since, so I’m not sure if the “yes” side has beefed up their fight. But, wherever I have been, I have seen “VOTE NO” shirts, stickers, buttons, signs, fans, you name it. And that makes me feel hopeful. I have seen only 1 “vote yes” sign. But, when I think about it, I worry, because that is how it was on my old campus. Just because I see it everywhere doesn’t mean it’s the majority. And I can’t help but wonder if I see less “vote yes” stuff because those voting “yes” know they are being discriminatory, and they feel shame, as they should. And I worry that this hidden “yes” community will surface and move to the polls in November, and then slide back to the underground, leaving people they have never met, never bothered to get to know, and probably never will, standing here without what I view as a basic human right.

St. Cloud is a very conservative town off campus. As a visually different person, I fear being attacked every time I walk out of the door. And when I leave my building in drag makeup, I walk as fast as I can to wherever I need to go because I know that it is not safe in this homophobic town. I don’t like hiding. I don’t want to hide anymore. I want this town to continue its change towards a progressive, accepting community, and this amendment is just another step towards that.

I am voting “NO” because I do not want to see what happened in California again.

Bio – I am proud to call myself a Minnesotan, as any of my friends from the 2 years I went to school in California will tell you. I am a 22 year old pansexual, drag queen, art student, and all around odd person!

As always, if you have anything to add to the conversation, just comment below!

42 days: Patrick Mefford

2012-10-06T11:47:00.000-05:00

This post is a guest post for the 42 days series. Learn more here!

The Conservative Case for Same Sex Marriage

I’m openly an atheist, nothing spectacular about that in the SSA. What does raise some eyebrows is that I am an atheist who openly identifies as a political conservative, which can make one a bit of a pariah in the “movement” so to speak. Happily, my local SSA group has been entirely accepting of me and my glorious co-president asked me to pen a blog post for his “42 days of No” campaign which not only honored me, encouraged me to dutifully comply. Before I make my simple case, I need to make some important clarifying points which might help readers unfamiliar with my opinions better understand them.

Contrary to public opinion of cable news anchors, radio personalities, and all the authors of those most terrible books that line the shelves under the ‘Current Events’ placard in the local bookstore, proper conservatism is not some fetish for the past. It is something richer than that, something that would look back thoughtfully to the talented prose of the critics of the French Revolution and draw inspiration from those who had no love for the Ancien Régime nor the revolutionaries who commandeered Notre-Dame Cathedral or basilique Saint-Denis to rechristen as their temples of reason.

I am not enamored with the past and I do not accept everything from history, but anything I do embrace must have its place in history. The most important, full blooded, and vigorous ideas have made their marks on humanity’s quick climb out of the wilderness and into the urban jungle. Almost all of humanity’s collective high points and disturbingly low points can be reduced to issues concerning such abstract ideas as justice, freedom, or the proper pursuit of knowledge (or a lack thereof in many cases). This isn’t some yearning for the past, but a clamorous plea to rupture the cycle of past mistakes.

When fellow conservatives see the issues of same sex marriage, they most often complain about the progressive/liberal assault on the institution of marriage and on the family unit. This is quickly followed up with sardonic commentary about the “tolerance” of the progressive/liberal wanting to ban free speech. I think I’ve had it with the whole routine to be honest, and I think it is one of the biggest tactical errors conservatism has made in this stunted and manifestly corrupt game we call, without a shred of self awareness, “American Politics”.

I’m more inclined to leave my progressive/liberal friends jostling for a spot in line to sign up for victim narrative that is so self serving. I think the only appropriate reaction to the same sex marriage issue is one of celebration, because the conservative ideal has won. This is a rare moment when the Thou has decided that they would rather be like I, the Them wants to become Us, the conservative ideal of strong monogamous relationships that serve as the bedrock of the family unit has appealed to those on the margins of accepted sexuality and instead of living out their sexuality in some underground atmosphere of secrecy away from prying eyes, they would rather live out the standard in broad daylight and in open honesty! Quite frankly, the GLBT community as decided when in Rome do what the Romans do. The hegemony of conservative thought has carried the day, what more could we ask for?

Much more apparently. So instead of counting this as a victory, we seem to be doing our best to convince the GLBT community to rethink the whole issue and reject the entirety of our worldview because we are demanding that they simply ignore their own sexuality and cease being human. We use terrible arguments that focus on the instrumental use of our genitals and arguments from natural law and teleology that would make even the poorest Aristotelian weep, instead of realizing the value of the family is being affirmed by those we view as our political enemies.

So that is my case, conservatives have won this important battle and it’s time to move on to more important things. There is nothing to gain by defining marriage by a correct matching of specific sex organs, rather we should welcome the GLBT community into our circle and show them that our other values are just as important as the family.

Patrick Mefford is an avid student of both Philosophy and Religious Studies and is close to finishing up degrees in both fields. He studies both Analytic and Continental styles of Philosophy and focuses on Metaphysics, Logic, Philosophy of Religion, Philosophical and Religious Hermeneutics and the history of Philosophy. He is an active member of the Student Secular Alliance and has lead multiple panels on interfaith dialogue between Muslims, Christians, and Jews.

He also blogs at The ServileConformist.

As always, if you have anything to add to the conversation, just comment below!

42 days: Robbie

2012-10-05T14:00:00.000-05:00

This post is a guest post for the 42 days series. Learn more here!

I spent a weekend in Minneapolis, recently. This was the first time back for me, after moving out of the state two months ago. While in the city, I spent a day in Uptown with an old friend; we walked around Lake Calhoun, had a nice dinner at Stella’s, and enjoyed a few drinks at William’s. There was one theme that was continually present though the course of the day, an overwhelming number of people and yard signs bearing the “VOTE NO” logo. I was incredibly surprised by the amount of visible resistance against this ballot initiative. Having spent four years in the Twin Cities going to UofM, I am well aware of how LGBT friendly the area is and I knew that this amendment would not be a guarantee for those that support it. What I did not expect was to see such open support against this bigotry on a sign in nearly every front yard I drove by. That weekend brought hope to my heart. The state that I came to age in, found myself in, and gained the confidence to finally come out in appears to have my back.

One thought stuck in my mind after seeing such amazing support for LGBT people, this hateful amendment is a vote for defining a marriage as a union between one man and one woman. If (read as: “when”) it gets voted down in November, only half the battle has been won. Gay and lesbian men and women still won’t have the rights to legally be joined with the person they love.

Right now I live in Iowa, one of six states to have legal same sex marriage. Even here, the fight for equality is still being waged. So far three of the State Supreme Court Judges that ruled in favor of equality have been voted out of their positions and an additional one of the judges is up for election this year. This goes to show that, even when it appears that equality has been achieved, there will always be people trying to fight against it.

I’m proud to have called Minnesota home for my college years. In a way, it still is my home away from home. I love the state and trust that, when equality is brought to a vote there, Minnesotans will do the right thing and show what it really means to be “Minnesota Nice.”

My name is Robbie and I am an Engineering Alumnus of the University of Minnesota. I am also gay. I now live in Iowa, after spending four years in Minneapolis for school.

As always, if you have anything to add to the conversation, just comment below!

42 days: Kelsey

2012-10-04T13:00:00.000-05:00

As always, if you have anything to add to the conversation, just comment below!

42 days: Robert Arnow

2012-10-03T07:30:00.000-05:00

This post is a guest post for the 42 days series. Learn more here!

Vote no, because there's no such thing as gay marriage. There is only a legal covenant of care between consenting adults, who may or may not be together forever, who may or may not have children (which may or may not be related to them), who may or may not be of the same gender, and who may or may not be of the same sex. There is only this one marriage, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Opponents of the constitutional amendment aren't complaining about a defense of the "historic understanding of marriage as the union of one man and one woman"; we are fighting strenuously against a close-minded and revisionist REDEFINITION of marriage. We fight against an insidious redefinition that has swept the nation since the 1990s, with DOMA; one that poisoned America before the latter half of this century, with antimiscegenation laws. We fight against those who would say, "MY family deserves preferential adjustments of the law to ensure its stability, but YOURS makes me feel squicky and therefore doesn't deserve the same". We fight against those who think that celebrating love or dedication between two other people can somehow lessen their own.

We don't, actually, fight against people who don't want their religious communities to marry certain kinds of people. That is because America is not a Christian nation: churches may sermonize or ceremonize in whatever fashion they please; the secular government may create whatever legal relationships it wishes; never, though, shall the twain meet. The amendment on the ballot asks Minnesotans to take an unconscionable step: to enshrine religious biases into secular law, and in so doing to advance a sort of Christian <i>shari'ah</i> that is antithetical to what it means to be an American and a Minnesotan.

On the 6th of November, when we are asked to redefine marriage, let us in one voice say, "NO".

Robert Arnow is a senior at St. Olaf College, where he is currently studying to be a public school science teacher. Mr. Arnow is the vice president of the Secular Student Alliance at St. Olaf. Also, not that this should affect the validity of his argument one way or the other, Mr. Arnow plans to marry a woman at some point.

As always, if you have anything to add to the conversation, just comment below!

42 days: Chris Benjamin

2012-10-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

This post is a guest post for the 42 days series. Learn more here!

I am human.

I am a brother, a son, a friend. I work fulltime, I go to school fulltime, and I try my darnedest to have somewhat of a social life. I love coffee at late hours, I read, I write. I love a really great plate of nachos and my preferred drink is a Long Island Iced Tea. I think mayonnaise is absolutely disgusting and generally avoid eating anything from a jar. I am kind, I am intelligent, I am sarcastic, and some days I fancy myself a poet. I do my best to make this world a better place it was than before, whether it be through advice, a hug, or just telling someone a joke. I am gay.

Even though I am a complex mixture of various traits and flaws, it is this last part that people seem to care about the most. Because I am gay, most people think of me as vile, a sinner, somebody who is less of a person than they are. They think that I “choose” this horrible lifestyle and that somehow my existence is corrupting the very foundation of society.

They forget that I am human.

That is what the proponents of the marriage amendment are doing; saying that “We” (and by “we” I mean anybody who is not entirely a cookie-cutter image of them, “we” the people who want our happiness, our joy) that “We” are not in the same standing as “Them”. That “We” are not of the same station because of our LOVE. They invalidate our LOVE, our JOY and want to eliminate our RIGHT to choose whatever path of happiness that we deserve.

I am voting NO on the marriage amendment because I have the RIGHT to make my own HAPPINESS. I am a citizen of this country, I pay my taxes, I do my contributions and I should be treated in the same way as my other fellow citizens.

This amendment is a statement that I am LESSER, that I do not DESERVE the same rights, that I, I am a subpar citizen, a SECONDCLASS citizen. Essentially, I am not Human.

And I disagree with this statement wholeheartedly.

I disagree with this attempt to ERADICATE my ability (and many others) to choose the HAPPINESS in their lives.

I disagree with the HATRED within these people’s hearts.

I disagree with the FACISM.

I disagree with the BIGOTRY.

I am Human and I am voting NO.

Chris Benjamin, student majoring in Communication Studies, and Anthropology. I've been out of the closet for almost 11 years and really want to help others in the coming out process.

As always, if you have anything to add to the conversation, just comment below!

42 days: Buttons

2012-10-01T07:30:00.000-05:00

This post is a guest post for the 42 days series. Learn more here!

Why vote No? There are so many reasons for me. My biggest being if this amendment is put into the constitution the LGBTQ community will continue to be seen as second-class, something less than human. I don't want anyone to go through the struggles I went through just to be accepted my own family and to gain the rights that most people already had.

Being a lesbian, when I find that special someone I do want to get married to them, not in a church since I'm Pagan and that would be weird, but I would like that piece of paper that says I'm committed to that person for the rest of my life. I know most people argue that it's only a piece of paper, but if that's true, why should it matter if I have it?

Really it all boils down to the same thing. Equality. How can America claim to treat everyone as equals, to be the land of the free, when a group of people are denied the right to marry just because of who they love? And the only reason for this is based on one groups religion, when America drums home that church and state are separate. Kinda hard to believe when the only argument against gay marriage is religion.

My name is Buttons, I'm 20 and I'm a lesbian. I've been out since the age of 13 and am very active in the LGBT community.

As always, if you have anything to add to the conversation, just comment below!

42 days: Victor Warne

2012-09-30T11:39:00.000-05:00

This post is a guest post for the 42 days series. Learn more here!

Confession: unlike the rest of my straight, male cousins, I worship Zach Quinto. I know, I know, unavailable and not a widely accepted divine being (even if Sylar was pretty badass), but that’s not what I mean. I mean it breaks my little gay heart he found love before I got to LA to try to win him over. In case that doesn’t give away my bias, here: I’m going to VOTE NO on the Minnesota marriage amendment. I’m also going to give you a new perspective on the issue and create some talking points to help people see the issue from the side of a person, someone who lives with this every day. I don’t care about right, left, religion, or rhetoric. Bottom line: I care about people and I care about equality.

I understand that for many people, lack of exposure to our community is the issue. I didn’t know an openly gay person until I was out of high school. Even then, I didn’t technically “meet” anyone by the definition of the word. Instead, I found out I’d gone to high school with a handful of LGBTQ people, including one who had been a very good friend of mine since elementary school. Point: If I, as a gay man, lacked exposure to the real gay community most of my life (Perez Hilton and Will & Grace don’t count), certainly others are equally uninformed. Though I would like to, I can’t fix this problem by myself, but I’m going to do my best to make a few brief points that may help broaden how people think. Those of you already committed to voting no, I encourage you to have conversations with people around you who are on the fence, and I hope these points give you something to work with. You’re free to use, adapt, or ignore anything below in your conversations.

1) We only wear the brave face. I’ll call upon my bluntness here: it is almost impossible not to take this process personally at some point. Think about it. People I do not know, people with whom I have never even interacted, get to vote on if I should have the right to marry. At the end of a long day in the library when my mental reserves are tapped out, that just feels exceptionally lousy. I might pretend it’s fine for the benefit of those around me, but that’s because there’s nothing more they can do but be supportive to me and the cause. But it’s not fine. It’s hurtful, infuriating, and draining.

2) Separate but equal was a thing once. Didn’t work. I know many people don’t really understand the difference between marriages and civil unions. Frankly, there’s no reason to parse out the difference between the two. That opens the door to suggest same- and opposite-sex couples have different, essentially identical, unions. We had segregation once, and people thought it was a good idea at the time. I think we can all agree that was an oops. A big, big oops. I’m not suggesting the Civil Rights movement and same-sex marriage are one hundred percent synonymous, but the principle is the same. I don’t care what we call it, but we should all call it the same thing when we make a commitment to the person we love, and we should all get the same benefits as a result. Separations only give excuses for one population to believe they are better than the other. Haven’t we all read The Sneetches?

3) You don’t need to be threatened “the gays” or our marriage. I can assure you we don’t want to break up your marriage. Also, if I tell a straight man he looks nice today, I mean he looks nice today. There is no code. I’m not hitting on him. He just looks nice. But so what if he thinks I am hitting on him? Have you never been hit on by somebody in whom you had no interest before? A “no thanks” will do. Or “sorry, man, we play for different teams.” If my fragile sense of self was shattered every time a straight girl told me I look nice, I’d have to learn how to get psyche out of the carpet. That doesn’t sound fun, so I’d just go with “thanks for the compliment” and move on. I promise to keep my hands to myself, so please keep yours off my rights.

4) We are not out to brainwash the children. I don’t even know what to say about this. We just aren’t. Even if we were, we could do so as singles. But we aren’t, so don’t believe the fear bombs.

5) Think about those you love. If you’re thinking about voting yes on this amendment, please just do me one favor before you do. If you humor me in no other way, please do so here. Think about somebody close to you: a brother or sister, son or daughter, best friend, colleague, whatever. What if that person is gay? The truth is, whether you know it right now or not, somebody close to you probably is gay. Think about how you would feel knowing you were part of the reason that person couldn’t marry who they love. How are you going to explain to them why you filled in the yes bubble? It’s easy to pick a fight with me, some relatively anonymous blog contributor. It’s easy to vote against nameless, faceless masses. Will it be easy when you’re confronted by somebody you care about and see every day? Think about it. Odds are it’s a conversation you’ll have to have eventually.

So there are my thoughts. Hopefully I’ve given you something to think about. Please (please, please, please) get out and vote on November 6. If you’re passionate about this, have some conversations with the people around you before then. Share the human side with them. I know Minnesotans will make the right decision if we can move past all the bitter politicking. Let’s make it happen and VOTE NO on this amendment.

Victor Warne is a second year at the School of Pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. He enjoys locking himself in the library in place of having a social life. Well, not really, but he looks forward to reaching the light end of the tunnel and hopes it is not a train.

As always, if you have anything to add to the conversation, just comment below!

42 days: Hannah

2012-09-29T09:00:00.000-05:00

This post is a guest post for the 42 days series. Learn more here!

I, unfortunately, enjoy watching “Sister Wives” on TLC. In case you aren’t aware, “Sister Wives” is a show that follows the lives of 4 wives married to the same man. And although I don’t agree with their lifestyle or even like Kody Brown (he’s the husband), I respect their decision to be married to the same guy. I feel for them that they cannot be “open” about their relationship to the world, even though it appears like they are a healthy, functioning family and are raising pretty decent and respectful children.

They live in Nevada; I live in Minnesota. There is a different fight for families going on in Minnesota. It’s the fight for “Traditional Marriage”. There is a proposed amendment that we, the people, have to vote on to make marriage defined to a man and a woman. Okay, well, why would that matter? Why is it so important that we need to spend time defining marriage between 1 man and 1 woman?

I wanted to know. So I went online and searched for vote yes website. They actually have a page dedicated to my question:http://www.minnesotaformarriage.com/why/

Let me give you the run down of it, this viewpoint believes that it’s important for the people to vote yes because of the children. We need to protect the children. Wait, no. Read further: “But marriage is a special relationship reserved exclusively for heterosexual unions because only the intimate relationship between men and women has the ability to produce children as a result of that sexual union.”

So basically you have to be married to have children? Uhm. As a pregnant and unmarried woman, I have to disagree. And why do married couples have to have babies? What if they don’t want babies? What if they want to adopt? What, if god forbid, they don’t even have sex? That’s a stinker in your argument.

It doesn’t end there. They pretty much say that “single” parents are ruining our children and that marriage between a man and a woman prevents fathers from running. Seriously. Because being married makes you a ‘present’ and ‘good’ father…I think we can observe several thousands of fathers that this is not the case. They are married to their baby momma but are not involved in their children’s lives.

Proponents to this Marriage Amendment also argue that when we allow “homosexuals” to marry or genderless marriage, it eliminates the meaning of marriage. Which to them, is to fuck like rabbits and make bunnies.

So what if you are infertile and married? That means your marriage, yeah, it’s not real because you can’t breed. You adopt? You don’t really love that child, because according to them, only their biological parents can really love them. You don’t like your spouse but you have children? You have to stay together because your children will NOT be happy and healthy if their biological parents are not married. That’s what this website basically says in argument for the marriage amendment to pass. That’s not good enough for me to vote yes for. In fact, it discriminates on a lot more people than just gays and lesbians. It means you have to have children to be legitimately married. Which is fucked up, because I know a lot of people who would be happy together married, but should never be parents. I also have a wonderful set of godparents who had to adopt because they could not conceive and they make great parents to both their adopted son and their goddaughter. I want them to stay married.

A person once told me that she just wants everyone to be happy. It is so simple and cheesy, but at that point in my life, it’s just what I needed to hear. If getting married makes you happy, you should have the right to do so. If you are consenting adults, why not? Even if that means 4 wives are married to one douche of a guy, so what? I really think we are making a mountain out of a mole hill….well, actually an ant hill.

Finally, I just want to say how important it is to not only vote no; but to vote these idiots out of office. We elect these officials to represent us and make decisions for us. What do they do? They put not one, but two amendments on the ballot for us to vote on. They aren’t doing their job. And to mention that there are more pressing and urgent issues than marriage and voter id, they really aren’t doing their job.

I’m a grad student at St. Kate’s studying to be a children’s librarian. I’m expecting a son and happily cohabitating with my partner of over a year in a horribly conservative suburb of Minnesota that actually supports Michele Bachmann. I occasionally pay attention to politics and sometimes write in my blog, www.hannahkdeefindsfeminism.blogspot.com, about living as an out feminist.

As always, if you have anything to add to the conversation, just comment below!

42 days: Molly Willms

2012-09-28T22:05:00.000-05:00

This post is a guest post for the 42 days series. Learn more here!

Reader, blogger, people-lover, critical thinker, voting no.
I recently wrote an article in my campus newspaper defending my decision to wear a “Vote NO” shirt on campus, despite the fact that I’m the editor of a publication that strives for fairness and objectivity.

It’s the word “despite” that my detractors would use. Me, I’d use “because.”

I will vote no because to vote yes goes against everything that I am.

I’m the first sentence of this post, but I’m also a writer, an ally, a kind person, a friend to straight, gay and everything around and in between.
I’m a journalist. My job is to question the status quo. My job is to report the provable facts in order to spread the power of knowledge.

I’m the orphan of a mother who loved all people, and realized that in order to say you love gay people, you have to want them to have the same opportunities as everyone else.
I’m the editor at a campus newspaper. It’s my job to look out for the campus community, and I take it very seriously.
I’m not doing students any favors by pretending I have time for hatred, ignorance and oppression all fueled by the misreading of an ancient text that is not a compulsory belief.
If you want to sit there and not want gay people to get married, you have my blessing.
But the second you start trying to take rights away from people based on your beliefs, there’s an issue.
There’s an issue between you and me, a thinker, a reasoner, a public servant, a believer in logic, someone acquainted with what comes after rights are taken away, a human being who cares for other human beings.
And if you identify yourself with any of the above traits, you should vote no, too.

Molly Willms is a senior at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota. She blogs and writes for newspapers in the St. Cloud area. She loves her cat and most other things.

Find her at mollyjusttalks.wordpress.com and follow her @MollyWillms

As always, if you have anything to add to the conversation, just comment below!

42 days: Patrick RichardsFink

2012-09-27T19:36:00.000-05:00

This post is a guest post for the 42 days series. Learn more here!

What Marriage Equality Means To Me
I’m bisexual, which means I have attractions to both people of the same gender and people of other genders. Unless I specifically point this out, people assume I’m straight, in no small part because I’ve been happily, lovingly, monogamously married for over 20 years to a straight woman.
It was purely a roll of the genetic dice that led to this. It happened that she was born XX – an approximately 50% chance – and she was assigned a female gender at birth, and is comfortable with this gender identification. Had she been born and assigned as male, or had she transitioned genders to male (or eschewed notions of masculine and feminine altogether and been genderqueer), or had I been female-identified, I would be just as crazy head-over-heels passionately in love with him (or with her, or with hir), but we would not have been able to get married.
It would have been prohibited.

There are perks to marriage, legally, socially, and culturally. There are also basic human rights, the ability to declare your family of choice as your legal family. We are completely unrelated in any genetic sense, and yet she is the person who is, in the eyes of the law, my Next of Kin, the one person who is not only closest to me but is legally empowered to make choices should I be incapacitated. Hey, I’m middle-aged, closer in a very real sense to death than to birth. I *have* to think about these things.
Every long-term relationship goes through periods of struggle and compromise and renegotiation. Being married helps navigate the tough times – not because the piece of paper itself has an intrinsic meaning, but because a legally and socially recognized commitment removes some of the external stresses faced by unmarried couples.
Marriage is not something everyone wants. But for those who do (and, in this culture at this time, the people who desire at least the option to be married, for whatever reason – as a public affirmation of commitment, as a legal handle to protect the interests of our little 2-person corporation which has for the last 15 years included a third person who has special needs, as a significant milestone in our breathless journey together, as a way to empower each other in decision-making -- are at the very least a strong plurality and in all honesty probably the majority), the option *must* be available.

Marriage is a human right. Accidents of birth and acculturation should not be a cause for rights to be restricted, especially in the document that courts use to determine the fundamental basis for law. Laws are to be determined by a legislative process, and in a Republic such as we live in, the Constitution is a means to protect the minority from the tyranny of the majority. Constitutional amendments are not a vehicle to restrict rights, to sidestep the legislative process when it's obvious that you are losing ground to progress.
A great friend and mentor was married a few weeks ago. I recognize her marriage, her friends recognize her marriage, her family recognizes her marriage. It’s not hyperbole to say that it is a crime against humanity that the state of Minnesota does not recognize her marriage – and it would be a further crime to enshrine that arbitrary discrimination in the foundation of the laws of the state. Please vote No, even if you personally do not support marriage equality.
If your church does not wish to marry couples of the same gender, I do not have a problem with that – what I do have a problem with is the idea that your church can legally determine what religious freedoms my church has.

Patrick RichardsFink is a husband, father, bisexual, activist, non-traditional student, ordained Universal Life Church minister with the recognized legal right to officiate marriages in the state of Minnesota, as well as a committed secularist and blogger atwww.fliponymous.wordpress.com.

As always, if you have anything to add to the conversation, just comment below!

42 days: Amanda

2012-09-26T14:30:00.000-05:00

This post is a guest post for the 42 days series. Learn more here!

Hi, I’m Amanda. I’m what’s called a “red”, which means it would not be to my advantage to have my photo on an atheist site.

Ensign Ro Laren: Who *are* you?

Guinan: I told you. I'm Guinan. I tend bar and I listen.

Ensign Ro Laren: Well, you're not like any bartender I've ever met before.

Guinan: Hm. And you're not like any Starfleet officer I've ever met before. But that sounds like the beginning of a... very interesting friendship.

I didn't really know much about gays growing up, except that my two creepy neighbors were probably gay but no one ever saw them because they were ashamed of being bad people. Or something like that.

By middle school, I had started to buy into the "gay is a choice" school of thought, and I was creeped out by the idea of being gay. It was something I didn't understand, and I was afraid that I might be gay (turns out I'm not). Like many confused adolescents, these reasons were enough to justify hateful feelings.

It wasn't until high school, when I watched one of my friends break down sobbing, that I became a gay rights supporter. "I'm not sure why people keep telling me it's my choice!" He sobbed. "I hate being gay! If I could choose, I would be anything but gay! I hate that I'm constantly made fun of!"

So yeah, gays are people. People deserve the chance to be happy. Why is this complicated? You would think we would be able to overcome middle school-esque, unfounded prejudices and just let people live.

Vote no.
That is all.

As always, if you have anything to add to the conversation, just comment below!

On the 42 days

2012-09-25T12:36:00.000-05:00

42 days.....
At the time of writing this post, there are 42 days until the election. One amendment on the ballot this election could change so many, many lives. I am talking about the Marriage Amendment. This amendment would define marriage in the Minnesota Constitution as between one man and one woman. I, as well as many others, have explained over and over why this amendment is wrong. And yet nearly half of minnesotans are planning on voting yes on the amendment.

So, I am calling on the people you likely haven't heard from. I am calling on the people I normally wouldn't ask. Im calling on the people who are not very out-spoken, and the people who I often disagree with on some key issues, and everyone else who cares about this issue. Im calling on the people who care about equality and the lives and rights of families all over this great state.

Over the next 42 days, I will be posting a different guest post about the marriage amendment. I hope that these voices may just cause a few people to change their mind, and stand up for this worthy cause. I hope that together, we can convince at least a few people to VOTE NO on the marriage amendment, and that together, we can defeat this amendment, and score a victory for equality.

Post1 http://www.thesweatervest.com/2012/09/42-days-amanda.html

Post 2 http://www.thesweatervest.com/2012/09/42-days-patrick-richardsfink.html

Post 3 http://www.thesweatervest.com/2012/09/42-days-molly-willms.html

Post 4 http://www.thesweatervest.com/2012/09/42-days-hannah_29.html

Post 5 http://www.thesweatervest.com/2012/09/42-days-victor-warne.html

Post 6 http://www.thesweatervest.com/2012/10/42-days-buttons.html

Post 7 http://www.thesweatervest.com/2012/10/42-days-chris-benjamin.html

Post 8 http://www.thesweatervest.com/2012/10/42-days-robert-arnow.html

Post 9 http://www.thesweatervest.com/2012/10/42-days-kelsey.html

Post 10 http://www.thesweatervest.com/2012/10/42-days-robbie.html

Post 11 http://www.thesweatervest.com/2012/10/42-days-patrick-mefford.html

&lt;a href="http://www.7is7.com/otto/countdown.html?year=2012&amp;amp;month=11&amp;amp;date=6&amp;amp;ts=12&amp;amp;hrs=20&amp;amp;min=0&amp;amp;sec=0&amp;amp;tz=-360&amp;amp;lang=en&amp;amp;show=dhms&amp;amp;mode=t&amp;amp;cdir=down&amp;amp;bgcolor=%23CCFFFF&amp;amp;fgcolor=%23000000&amp;amp;title=Countdown%20to%20the%20Election"&gt;Countdown to the Election&lt;/a&gt;

As always, if you have anything to add to the conversation, just comment below!

TheSweaterVestChronicles

!SweaterVest Award! for Most Unreadable Comment

Miriam, Professional Fun-Ruiner

On An Invisible Man

BlogRoll

On Tim Farley's Addition

On The Science Of Rotting In Hell

Hey Look, Im on a PodCast

THE RETURN

42 days: Sarah Stacy

42 days: Katey

42 days: Andy Jacobson

42 days: Rebecca

42 days: Kelsey

42 days: Trixi

42 days: Patrick Mefford

42 days: Robbie

42 days: Kelsey

42 days: Robert Arnow

42 days: Chris Benjamin

42 days: Buttons

42 days: Victor Warne

42 days: Hannah

42 days: Molly Willms

42 days: Patrick RichardsFink

42 days: Amanda

On the 42 days