Poll: Newspaper prank, too much?

[Goofguy]

Earlier this week, a Canadian newspaper printed an engagement announcement between two men from Halifax. Thing is, the two guys are straight so this was clearly a prank played by someone they know.

Source: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/two-straight-men-stunned-after-ad-announces-their-engagement-1.883432

There's been some backlash as some are upset at how such a prank trivializes the struggles of the LGBT community. Others are saying it's not big deal and that it's just a joke.

I fall in to the latter category. I am a prankster myself and I personally don't find this offensive. Could be that I lack some sort of comprehension or understanding as I am a straight male but nonetheless, this is funny to me.

What do you all think?

 

[Jonluw]

It seems you can't make a single joke without offending some sort of community.
I say fuck the people who are complaining. Have your fun.

 

[ReadyAmyFire]

I really was expecting something more serious.

 

[Nantucket_v1legacy]

I saw bacon in the thread and any opinion I had turned to drooling.

 

[Hoplon]

Maple cured bacon is delicious!

 

[Gilhelmi]

I say yes. A persons sexuality is very personal, there will be people who probably still do not know it is a joke going "WoW, I did not know they were gay."

I wonder, as an experiment, we could pick a gay man and lesbian woman, very active in the LGBT community, and fake an announcement about them "Coming Out" as strait getting married. Would they be upset at someone trivializing their sexuality? Would they be upset that their would be people who might lose respect for them because "they pretended to be gay!!" ??

These are questions to be thought upon.

 

[Scrustle]

The point at which prejudice and discrimination disappears is when it becomes possible to joke about the given topic without a backlash.

 

[Goofguy]

I say yes. A persons sexuality is very personal, there will be people who probably still do not know it is a joke going "WoW, I did not know they were gay."

I wonder, as an experiment, we could pick a gay man and lesbian woman, very active in the LGBT community, and fake an announcement about them "Coming Out" as strait getting married. Would they be upset at someone trivializing their sexuality? Would they be upset that their would be people who might lose respect for them because "they pretended to be gay!!" ??

These are questions to be thought upon.

The appropriate reverse situation of this would not involve "coming out" as the engagement announcement of the two Haligonians had no such thing. The joke announcement was merely to say they were getting married, under the pretense that they had long since come out of the closet.

So,, your example would work better in saying simply that someone posts an engagement announcement between a man and a woman. Anyone who knows them would know that they are in fact, both gay and would therefore be shocked and perplexed. In such a case, I don't think anyone would get worked up about it at all. One of the two might try to right it by claiming they are not straight, not even a couple. You'd be hard pressed to find someone get angry about this role reversal. Personally? I wouldn't give a crap. I wouldn't be insulted or believe that the sanctity of straight marriage is being sullied.

I'm well aware that the LGBT's struggle is one us straights have never had to deal with. In the interest of equality however, bringing attention to such an "issue" that would not bother straights if the roles were reversed achieves nothing.

 

[Gilhelmi]

I say yes. A persons sexuality is very personal, there will be people who probably still do not know it is a joke going "WoW, I did not know they were gay."

I wonder, as an experiment, we could pick a gay man and lesbian woman, very active in the LGBT community, and fake an announcement about them "Coming Out" as strait getting married. Would they be upset at someone trivializing their sexuality? Would they be upset that their would be people who might lose respect for them because "they pretended to be gay!!" ??

These are questions to be thought upon.

The appropriate reverse situation of this would not involve "coming out" as the engagement announcement of the two Haligonians had no such thing. The joke announcement was merely to say they were getting married, under the pretense that they had long since come out of the closet.

So,, your example would work better in saying simply that someone posts an engagement announcement between a man and a woman. Anyone who knows them would know that they are in fact, both gay and would therefore be shocked and perplexed. In such a case, I don't think anyone would get worked up about it at all. One of the two might try to right it by claiming they are not straight, not even a couple. You'd be hard pressed to find someone get angry about this role reversal. Personally? I wouldn't give a crap. I wouldn't be insulted or believe that the sanctity of straight marriage is being sullied.

I'm well aware that the LGBT's struggle is one us straights have never had to deal with. In the interest of equality however, bringing attention to such an "issue" that would not bother straights if the roles were reversed achieves nothing.

True, but would it bother gays? I do not know I am not Gay, but history has this bad habit of repeating itself. The issues change, the outcomes may be different, but the story is in the same frame work.

I can understand someone not wanting people too think they are gay. I can understand why the LGBT community does not want people pulling "pranks" faking someone else being gay. I think that both sides are wrong but neither side knows why they are wrong.

I am tired, I will try and explain this again when I am awake. Unless, you understood my ramblings then congratulations because the words seemed jumbled too me.

 

[Goofguy]

snip

Hmmmm yeah, we'll just continue this conversation at an other time then.