On A Roll

April 5, 2007 12:37 PM

Speaking of the White House Egg Roll... The GLBT organization Family Pride plans to once again fill the annual event with hundreds of gay and lesbian families. What many welcome as a rare opportunity to be included as legitimate American families in a historic national tradition is seen by opponents as the crude politicizing of a children's event.
posted by hermitosis (103 comments total)

The amusing part is how 400 families (maybe, if they even get as many as they'd like) wearing non-confrontational t-shirts to a 16,000 ticket event can be considered "crashing" by Fox News. Stay tuned after the egg roll, we have breaking footage of as many as three or possibly four gay families who plan to "crash" the closest D.C. IHOP for breakfast!
posted by vorfeed at 12:58 PM on April 5, 2007

fuck it, the christians have been crashing it for years
posted by slapshot57 at 12:59 PM on April 5, 2007 [1 favorite]

Gays crash IHOP
posted by hermitosis at 1:01 PM on April 5, 2007

From herm's link: "It was a casual kiss," said Eva Sandoval, who said the women were approached after she briefly kissed her girlfriend, Blair Funk. "It was the sort of kiss I would give my grandfather."

We might have a deeper problem here.
posted by found missing at 1:05 PM on April 5, 2007

Egg roll come with gay.
posted by cog_nate at 1:08 PM on April 5, 2007 [7 favorites]

Padres said she worried that the gay and lesbian presence might force her to explain homosexuality to her 4-year-old son, should he ask why the group was wearing rainbow leis. "To me, once they identify themselves as a group, that's a protest," she said.

Yeah, and black families, they should cover up so I don't have to explain race to my kids. Don't even get me started on parents in wheelchairs.

(Although really, are the leis necessary? The simple fact of two mommies or two daddies should impress the intended message on adults while letting the kids see it as just a fact of life. Actively representing the rainbow crew might muddy the waters a bit.)
posted by uncleozzy at 1:10 PM on April 5, 2007

Lei come with gay?
posted by found missing at 1:12 PM on April 5, 2007

This was bound to happen eventually. Gays are naturally drawn to lawn parties, decorative handcrafts, and pastels.
posted by Atom Eyes at 1:15 PM on April 5, 2007 [5 favorites]

"We're hoping other people will see we're just normal parents, like everyone else," said Finamore, 39.

If they want everyone to see they're just normal, then whay call any attention to themselves at all? Why were rainbow leis or hand out rainbow doughnuts? If anyone happened to question their relationship to the child ("Oh, are you his uncles or something?") then they could explain that they're a gay couple. But they're not there to blend in and show that they're just like any other parent; they're there for the attention, the media exposure, the "Hey, look at us!" factor. Heck they people in front of the gay couple might well be necrophiliacs, but no one would know because they're not making a point of publicly proclaiming it. What does ones sexual preference have to do with an Easter egg roll?
posted by Oriole Adams at 1:18 PM on April 5, 2007

What the fuck is up with this thread?

So far it's going "Ha ha, I'm so modern I can say homophobic and racist shit, and it doesn't count because I'm being ironic!"

Jesus.
posted by serazin at 1:19 PM on April 5, 2007 [1 favorite]

"It's improper to use the egg roll for political purposes," said Mark Tooley of the conservative Institute on Religion and Democracy.

But it's not improper to use religion for political purposes!?

Which is the bigger Abrahamic sin: Taking your kids to a lawn party bedecked in rainbow leis OR pimping out Jesus at every opportunity all for money and power?
posted by Azaadistani at 1:22 PM on April 5, 2007 [2 favorites]

I completely agree with serazin. Let's eliminate irony, the scourge of the oppressed.
posted by found missing at 1:24 PM on April 5, 2007

This is what sexual preference has to do with an easter egg roll:

The dominant discourse in our culture emphasises queer identity as primarily sexual and deviant. An egg roll is an event designed to signify 'traditional values' ie: an imagined/pretend set of values from the past (a past where discrimination was legal and generally overt).

By being openly and clearly queer at an egg role, and by being openly queer with kids at an egg roll, these activists are specifically challenging the idea that family=old-fashioned-segregation and that queer=fucking-at-the-bathhouse.

Some queer activists would actually critisize this action for being too asimilationist, but personally I think it's brilliant. Basically it says "If you profess to love 'family' so much, then prove it by welcoming OUR queer-ass family".

Come on, do you folks really think a lei is so confrontational? It merely identifies the participants as clearly gay, which is in fact the point of the action.
posted by serazin at 1:26 PM on April 5, 2007 [8 favorites]

Down With Irony!

I'm going to have t-shirts made.
posted by serazin at 1:29 PM on April 5, 2007

I also feel that the wearing of various bracelets, lapel pins and ribbons will also politicize this event. The obvious solution is to ban all clothing so that everyone will be on equal ideological ground, fashion-wise.
posted by 2sheets at 1:32 PM on April 5, 2007

I wonder if I will ever live to see the day when homosexuality isn't being somehow compared to necrophelia, bestiality, or incest.

I don't think anyone is denying that this is some sort of community action. It's not like hundreds of families just spontaneously woke up with a desire to roll eggs. But it seems to be a peaceful, earnest way for families to introduce themselves and their children to the White House as functional, normal people.
posted by hermitosis at 1:33 PM on April 5, 2007

While it's silly to suggest the Family Pride group is 'crashing' the public event, it's also disingenuous to say that encouraging gays and lesbians to make a public showing at the event is not a 'political' act. I fully support everyone's right to take part, but it is indeed a political move, because it's the result of an organized, publicized campaign led by members of an advocacy group, intended to make a statement in support of their cause. That's inherently political.

It would apolitical if every who attended just attended because hey, egg roll might be fun.

From the fair and balanced Fox report: "...some critics of Family Pride suggested the White House could make the egg roll an invitation-only event, as it did in 2003 when attendance was limited to military families..."

I'd like to see that happen this year. I don't think the virtuous serviceperson image is so easily co-opted given the current state of affairs.
posted by Miko at 1:33 PM on April 5, 2007

It is politicizing of a family event, although not crudely, but it's worthwhile noting that the word "crude" does not appear anywhere in the fox news link that suggests it - that's the poster's adlib.
posted by CynicalKnight at 1:34 PM on April 5, 2007

I doubt Mary Cheney and her lesbian partner Heather Poe and their soon to be born baby boy will be attending.

"It'll be a boy for Mary Cheney! Her dad revealed the gender of his future grandchild yesterday during an interview with ABC News Radio."^*

posted by ericb at 1:34 PM on April 5, 2007

Wouldn't it be more "normal" (and thus subversive) for them to go without the declaratory leis?
posted by stratastar at 1:35 PM on April 5, 2007

BTW -- that link to FOX News is to an AP article from last January (2006) about last year's event.
posted by ericb at 1:36 PM on April 5, 2007

Also, to atone for my typo, I will be playing "NecrOphelia" in an upcoming version of Hamlet set in the world of the undead.
posted by hermitosis at 1:37 PM on April 5, 2007 [3 favorites]

Google: Your search - "declaratory leis" - did not match any documents.

When this term becomes commonplace, remember where you heard it first.
posted by found missing at 1:39 PM on April 5, 2007

I imagine that the leis really make things easier from an organizational point of view-- making it way easier to calculate how many gays are there so that reports are accurate. Also it's just good for morale to get to show solidarity in a modest way.
posted by hermitosis at 1:40 PM on April 5, 2007

I imagine that the leis really make things easier from an organizational point of view-- making it way easier to calculate how many gays are there so that reports are accurate.

<Godwin>Know who else made homosexuals identify themselves?</Godwin>
posted by uncleozzy at 1:43 PM on April 5, 2007

The second link ("hundreds of gay and lesbian families") is also a year old (from the Washington Post).

Here is current coverage about this year's event -- and all from various gay publications.

Gay and lesbian families return for White House Egg Roll.

Gay families crash Easter egg roll.

Gay Families Prepare For White House Egg Roll.

After Googling, I have yet to find any news coverage from FOX, CNN, etc. regarding this year's event.
posted by ericb at 1:43 PM on April 5, 2007

One thing I'm amazed to learn is that there are 16 thousand people at the White House egg roll. Sheesh!
posted by Miko at 1:43 PM on April 5, 2007

From ericb's second link:

First lady Laura Bush issued a statement that all families are welcome to the event.
posted by Miko at 1:45 PM on April 5, 2007

serazin, you're right. How's this?

"Egg roll come with Ho Mo Pho Bya."

Better? Racist? [NOTRACIST]? post-post-ironic?
posted by cog_nate at 1:45 PM on April 5, 2007 [5 favorites]

By being openly and clearly queer at an egg role, and by being openly queer with kids at an egg roll, these activists are specifically challenging the idea that family=old-fashioned-segregation and that queer=fucking-at-the-bathhouse.

Actually, wouldn't barring 'non-traditional' families from such an event be needlessly politicizing as well? If you really believe that kid's events should put aside politics, you should put aside petty differences and let the gayfolk in.
posted by jonmc at 1:46 PM on April 5, 2007

We'll see if there is any reported "controversy" about "the gays" attending this year from those who reported on such last year. As of now, no wingnuts seem to bloviating about it, but that could change.
posted by ericb at 1:47 PM on April 5, 2007

TAKE IT DOWN A NOTCH LADIES, THEY'RE JUST PANCAKES.
posted by phaedon at 1:48 PM on April 5, 2007

[NOT IRONYIST]
posted by found missing at 1:50 PM on April 5, 2007

just have the children of gay parents wear a little armband with a pink triangle and get it over with
posted by matteo at 1:51 PM on April 5, 2007 [1 favorite]

(and mine was sarcasm more than irony anyway)
posted by matteo at 1:52 PM on April 5, 2007

Hmmm. Could it possibly be that last Easter predated a national election in November? Doesn't the GOP playlist include (1) abortion, (2) "the gays," and (3) flag burning as issues to get all "hot-and-bothered" about, but no need to in non-election years (as long as no Foleys, Haggards and others rear their ugly heads)?
posted by ericb at 1:52 PM on April 5, 2007

If there is a right-wing conspiracy, Fox News et al. might be (not) acting out of awareness that playing up this issue right now will cause additional scrutiny of the VPOTUS and his duplicity.
posted by found missing at 1:57 PM on April 5, 2007

I see several comments above which slam Christians, e.g.:

fuck it, the christians have been crashing it for years

This is Easter we're talking about. Easter is a Christian holiday/event/celebration. To "crash" an event is to go where you're unwelcome and uninvited? How could Christians be unwelcome at their own celebration? It would be like Jews not being welcome at a Passover seder.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 1:59 PM on April 5, 2007

I thought the egg thing comes from Paganism. Why are the Christians crashing a Pagan celebration?
posted by found missing at 2:02 PM on April 5, 2007 [1 favorite]

New Orleans' 8th Annual Gay Easter Parade
posted by hermitosis at 2:05 PM on April 5, 2007

You did know that the Last Supper was a Passover Seder, right?
posted by Miko at 2:05 PM on April 5, 2007

Regarding the wearing of leis:

"We believe that by participating fully and openly in time honored traditions like the Egg Roll we can help the American public come to know our families,' the group said in a statement.

'Last year’s Egg Roll was an amazing time and, for one weekend, this country was introduced to our families on a grand scale. And in addition to educating people about our lives, we had a great time rolling eggs, meeting amazing children’s characters and participating in a wonderful family celebration.'"^*

posted by ericb at 2:06 PM on April 5, 2007

I thought the egg thing comes from Paganism. Why are the Christians crashing a Pagan celebration?


depends what you're trying to say here. mexicans, for example, i don't think do anything with eggs on easter. greeks go nuts though. mm... tsoureki.
posted by phaedon at 2:09 PM on April 5, 2007 [1 favorite]

of course, if you want to piss on my parade, i seriously doubt 'tsoureki' is even a greek word.
posted by phaedon at 2:10 PM on April 5, 2007

I see several comments above which slam Christians, e.g.: fuck it, the christians have been crashing it for years

I think at the White House Easter Egg Roll the CIA will be providing free calibrations of 'satire-o-meters' along with this year's special on the fine-tuning of gaydars.
posted by ericb at 2:11 PM on April 5, 2007 [1 favorite]

greek word

Hey -- this year Greek/Orthodox Easter will also be celebrated on Sunday.
posted by ericb at 2:13 PM on April 5, 2007

I think it would be much better if gay families instead held the funnest, hippest, most-talked-about all-day easter egg hunt ever, with free nintendo wii in every kid's goody bag, and cool-ass music with a kids' rave, and a willy-wonka meadow with everything made of candy, and celebrity guests...and if the breeders try to get in just tell them to suck it!
posted by troybob at 2:16 PM on April 5, 2007 [5 favorites]

Both Easter and Passover have roots in pre-Judeo-Christian religions, including Egyptian, Greek, and Roman religions. Easter, in particular, draws a lot of its traditions and motifs from Northern European spring and fertility celebrations. They've all interacted in complex ways of the last few thousand years to result in the holidays we know today. Endless resources about this stuff on the net.
posted by Miko at 2:16 PM on April 5, 2007

good friday at a greek church is something you should do before you die.

i just read somewhere that the egg roll symbolizes the tomb of jesus being opened. or for some people, i guess, being closed.
posted by phaedon at 2:18 PM on April 5, 2007

This is Easter we're talking about. Easter is a Christian holiday/event/celebration

They are indeed crashing it. It's origins are pagan.

That's not anti-christian to say they are crashing it. It's just pointing out everyone with a family should be able to attend without persecution.
posted by impolitic at 2:18 PM on April 5, 2007 [1 favorite]

"One woman in a lawn chair shouted, 'I'm glad you made it' to a group of folks in rainbow leis, then nudged the friend sitting next to her. 'Those are the gays,' she explained."

Metafilter: Those are the gays.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 2:20 PM on April 5, 2007 [1 favorite]

I thought the egg thing symbolizes Jesus' yummy delicious yolky center, and the fact that when he fell off the cross, no one could put him back together again. I could be wrong.
posted by found missing at 2:22 PM on April 5, 2007 [6 favorites]

I would be with the IRD on politicizing the Egg Roll... if this administration and others hadn't waved children in front of the camera every chance they got already.

I see several comments above which slam Christians

Shut up Steven! Can't you see this is AxeGrindFilter??

Besides, the secret Christian cabal will be dealing with them shortly. Breakfast taco?
posted by dw at 2:23 PM on April 5, 2007

I wonder if they'll fix it so that Laura's gone again by the time they let them in--like last year?
posted by amberglow at 2:23 PM on April 5, 2007

Damn straight, impolitic.
posted by agregoli at 2:24 PM on April 5, 2007

Metafilter: I thought the egg thing symbolizes Jesus' yummy delicious yolky center, and the fact that when he fell off the cross, no one could put him back together again. I could be wrong.

: >

(South Park was wonderful with this last night)
posted by amberglow at 2:24 PM on April 5, 2007

Easter, in particular, draws a lot of its traditions and motifs from Northern European spring and fertility celebrations.

Brings to mind previous MeFi threads on Christmas and its pagan roots (Merry Religious Assimiliation Day: The Pagan History of Christmas; The Ancient and True Meaning of Christmas; The Real Story of Christmas; The Pagan Christ; Winter Solstice).
posted by ericb at 2:26 PM on April 5, 2007 [3 favorites]

There isn't a major religious celebration that isn't partially polluted by things imported from outside that religion. Christmas, for instance, is held when it is because it coincided with a mid-winter holiday already celebrated in Rome in the early years. A "christmas tree" is imported from druidism. (And Christmas is a big deal in Japan, even though few Japanese are Christians.)

None of that takes away from the fact that Easter is fundamentally Christian in origin.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 2:26 PM on April 5, 2007

hich is the bigger Abrahamic sin: Taking your kids to a lawn party bedecked in rainbow leis OR pimping out Jesus at every opportunity all for money and power?

Gotta be the lawn party. Abraham was Old Testament, so he wouldn't have known Jesus from... well... Adam.
posted by deadmessenger at 2:27 PM on April 5, 2007

The Pagan Origins of the Easter Bunny
posted by ericb at 2:27 PM on April 5, 2007

They are indeed crashing it. It's origins are pagan.

This is a stupid point, considering at some historical point a lot of pagans became Christians. And you make it sound like Christians slaughtered pagans over their religious beliefs.

heh heh. i kid.
posted by phaedon at 2:30 PM on April 5, 2007

I thought the egg thing symbolizes Jesus' yummy delicious yolky center, and the fact that when he fell off the cross, no one could put him back together again. I could be wrong.

True, true.

As a matter of fact, Cadbury, inspired by this year's chocolate Jesus statue, will be offering minature creme-filled Jesus miniatures next year, as a brand extension of their seasonal Cadbury Creme Eggs.
posted by ericb at 2:32 PM on April 5, 2007

The "those are the gays" thing got me thinking about "All in the Family", and since this post was about gay families:

Boy, the way Shakira played
Songs that made the Hit Parade
Guys like us, we had it made
Those were the gays.
And you know who you were then.
Girls with girls and men with men.
Mister, we could use a man like Liberace again.
Didn't need no welfare state
Everybody pulled his weight
Gee, our new Passat ran great
Those were the gays.

this is what happens after a week with very little sleep
posted by mr_crash_davis at 2:34 PM on April 5, 2007 [8 favorites]

None of that takes away from the fact that Easter is fundamentally Christian in origin.

Well, fundamentally, some Christians don't celebrate an Easter egg hunt. What with the whole Pagan Bunny thing distracting from Christ's resurection.
posted by impolitic at 2:35 PM on April 5, 2007

which brings us to the end of our show
posted by phaedon at 2:36 PM on April 5, 2007

Well, fundamentally, some Christians don't celebrate an Easter egg hunt.

As mentioned in the Wikipedia article, a number of churches call it "Resurrection Sunday." And I understand the sentiment -- it's easy to lose the main idea of the Christian holiday, Christ's trial, crucifixion, and resurrection, amidst the Cadbury eggs and Peeps and egg rolls. But I still think it's dumb.

It's Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter. With the Tenebrae on Maundy Thursday. Which is tonight, BTW (unless you're on the other side of the dateline from the Americas).
posted by dw at 2:43 PM on April 5, 2007

You know, it's also possible to celebrate easter without getting lost in commercial chicanery, and without lamenting its pagan origins. my name is pagan, for example, but im orthodox. being divisive is so cool.
posted by phaedon at 2:47 PM on April 5, 2007

Someone stole the penis from the nude, anatomically correct chocolate sculpture of Jesus Christ

I see someone took a knife to this thread too. Thanks, Mods, for protecting us from the irony.
posted by found missing at 2:48 PM on April 5, 2007

Yes, heaven forbid someone politicizes the White House Easter Egg event.

I fail to see how a public event run to generate goodwill for a politician can be more or less politicized...
posted by wildcrdj at 3:00 PM on April 5, 2007 [2 favorites]

it's also disingenuous to say that encouraging gays and lesbians to make a public showing at the event is not a 'political' act.

This is an excellent example of "the personal is political."

Wouldn't it be more "normal" (and thus subversive) for them to go without the declaratory leis?

Aw, most people will be declaring someting. There will be the wearers of those little American flags made with beads and a safety pin; yellow-ribbon wearers; crazy cat people covered in a layer of ritually-applied cat fur; those who have sold their chestal region to shill for a clothing store, university, beverage, or theme park; pot-leaf wearers both earnest and ironic; and a critical mass of Easter-themed sweaters.
posted by desuetude at 3:13 PM on April 5, 2007 [1 favorite]

On second thought, screw the leis. At a pre-determined time all same-sex couples stage a "kiss-in" on the White House lawn.

Hey, Mommy, Mommy. Look. Those two men are kissing. Just like I saw Daddy do with the delivery man in the garage last Saturday.
posted by ericb at 3:23 PM on April 5, 2007 [1 favorite]

To get the most contfrontational entertainment value out of this event, I'm goign to send an invitation to the Phelps family.

"GOD HATES EASTER"

"FAG BUNNY"
posted by saraswati at 3:31 PM on April 5, 2007 [2 favorites]

the crude politicizing of a children's event.

Really? Meanwhile all this time I thought laws about who could marry whom was crude politicizing of marriage.
posted by eustacescrubb at 3:31 PM on April 5, 2007 [1 favorite]

I don't think it's appropriate for anyone to get leid on the White House lawn, gay or straight.
posted by The World Famous at 3:40 PM on April 5, 2007

But nothing says Easter like a good controversy.
posted by Abiezer at 3:51 PM on April 5, 2007

I don't think it's appropriate for anyone to get leid on the White House lawn, gay or straight.

You'd get your ass scorched by Dick Cheney's lingering brimstone footprints anyway.
posted by oneirodynia at 3:55 PM on April 5, 2007 [1 favorite]

i just love how people on this site skip the real issue that no one wants to deal with --

when you start rolling the eggs should the big ends be up or the little ends?

answer carefully ... lives HAVE been lost over this
posted by pyramid termite at 3:59 PM on April 5, 2007

It's all a lie. I looked at the Homosexual Agenda and there's nothing in it about attending an egg roll.
posted by Muddler at 4:08 PM on April 5, 2007 [1 favorite]

I don't think it's appropriate for anyone to get leid on the White House lawn, gay or straight.

That joke is probably lame enough to get past the censors.
posted by found missing at 4:09 PM on April 5, 2007

I gotta go along with "crashing." And amazingly, no one from the GLBT community has any idea how much this type of stuff hurts rather than helps their cause.
posted by darren at 4:23 PM on April 5, 2007

see, if there really were a christian god, he would strike the gays down with lightning bolts. no lightning suggests no god.
posted by bruce at 4:52 PM on April 5, 2007

Heh. I did the easter egg roll when I was a kid serveral years in a row (we still have the wooden easter egg knick-knacks from a while ago on the family bookshelves). I did and still do live in DC so it wasn't an extremely special thing to me, but you could see that alot of families came from far away to take pictures with the president and such.

Its a great oppurtunity to give people a chance to see things the wouldn't see regularly if they weren't from a city (not that I'm saying, "har-har uncultured homophobes," or anything) a chance to see families diffrent from their own.

And the gay families aren't being intrusive or disruptive, their just wearing a lei to show their pride in being a gay family. It the same as having a tattoo for your army division or something.

The excuse of having to explain homosexuality to children is completely whack as well, we might as well say gays can't walk down the street holding hands because there might be children about.
posted by Suparnova at 4:57 PM on April 5, 2007

Care to elaborate, darren, on behalf of us who just don't see the harm?
posted by hermitosis at 5:24 PM on April 5, 2007

Also if they weren't wearing leis, they would look so "normal" that other would assume they were straight. This is called 'heterosexual presumption'--the idea that, e.g., two men with children are uncles rather than parents.
posted by girandole at 6:05 PM on April 5, 2007

And amazingly, no one from the GLBT community has any idea how much this type of stuff hurts rather than helps their cause.

by some odd coincidence a lot of straight people can't understand how it hurts their cause, either ... this is people taking their children out to roll easter eggs out on a lawn, for pete's sake

what kind of ultra-sensitive, absolutely neurotic person has a problem with that?
posted by pyramid termite at 6:14 PM on April 5, 2007

Is this the thread where the "unoriginal prats" hang out? Cause I'd be honored to be in on that action.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 6:24 PM on April 5, 2007

Ah yes, it "hurts their cause." "their" cause. Which cause is that? Equal rights for all? Ah yes, that's the one. Those crazy gays.
posted by mek at 6:58 PM on April 5, 2007

The link to the New Orleans parade immediately make me think of Bunnies on the Bayou: Houston "largest annual outdoor cocktail party" is a GLBT charity fundraiser.
posted by Robert Angelo at 7:22 PM on April 5, 2007

oops, possessive punctuation: Houston's
posted by Robert Angelo at 7:23 PM on April 5, 2007

The link to the New Orleans parade immediately make me think of Bunnies on the Bayou: Houston "largest annual outdoor cocktail party" is a GLBT charity fundraiser.

Wow. That's something else. And oddly enough, some local Muslim groups will be having a parade to celebrate Mawlid an-Nabi (birth of Mohammed) a few blocks away from BOTB this Sunday.
posted by Burhanistan at 7:47 PM on April 5, 2007

Personally, I am waiting for when the swingers decide to crash the White House Easter egg roll. Instead of rainbow leis, they will be wearing big-ass medallions and disco perms. Eventually, the Easter egg roll will look like the Limelight circa 1987. Then it will get too crowded and played out, and people will stop going there. Then they will turn it into a flea market or something. It's kind of sad, actually.
posted by Slap Factory at 7:52 PM on April 5, 2007

Gays crash IHOP

FYI hermitosis, the West Hollywood branch has the local free gay rags prominently displayed in their vestibule.
posted by brujita at 8:43 PM on April 5, 2007

FREE GAY RAGS!!
posted by found missing at 8:45 PM on April 5, 2007

if they weren't wearing leis, they would look so "normal" that other would assume they were straight. This is called 'heterosexual presumption'--the idea that, e.g., two men with children are uncles rather than parents

Well, ideally nobody would self-identify at the event itself, and good, god-fearing Christian folks would go home to talk about what nice people they met at the Egg Roll this year, only finding out later (having invited them to dinner with the fam) their terrible mistake. I'm only half-joking. When you can identify someone ahead of time as your political opponent, everything they do is coloured in that light, and it makes it a tad harder to see people as the generally nice, normal individuals that they are.
posted by dreamsign at 9:34 PM on April 5, 2007

Meant as slang, not as an insult, found missing.
posted by brujita at 9:51 PM on April 5, 2007

The dominant discourse in our culture emphasises queer identity as primarily sexual and deviant.

The GLBT community separates itself based on its sexual identity. The Straight Cabal separates the GLBT community as being deviant.

I'm all for marriage, adoption and most other things I have read and talked about for GLBT comminuty.

The rub is how does a disenfranchised minority gain status is our society without resorting to social tribalization?

\whoops-rant
posted by YoBananaBoy at 9:03 AM on April 6, 2007

The rub is how does a disenfranchised minority gain status is our society without resorting to social tribalization?

Maybe it can't, but what impresses me the most about the GLBT minority conglomorate is that it contains an impossibly diverse array of subcultures. It is a permeable, malleable, self-policing front that welcomes everyone (or at least genuinely tries to) and struggles to fight its battles using less destructive tactics than those of its foes. I've always thought the rainbow symbol was cheesy, but it's incredibly apt-- the cheesiness only reinforces the stark difference in this social tribe. It is a broad target, imperfectly formed, chimerical and irreverent-- that just so happens to shelter the ill-favored sons and daughters that this country is still trying to disown or destroy.

In contrast to this very motley assortment of ideas, individuals, and needs, the opposition they face tend to be pretty unilateral, rigid and homogenous. The resulting batter is really way more archetypal than anything the Dems and Reps have got going.
posted by hermitosis at 9:57 AM on April 6, 2007

I really believe that as far as events involving Fabergéd eggs go, that it would really be the straights who would be classified as crashing. I mean, really.

(More to the point, I think that if it's a "family" event, then they really should include all types of families. Straight, gay, single parent, grandparents, raised by wolves, etc.)
posted by grapefruitmoon at 10:16 AM on April 6, 2007

I think wildcrdj had the best comment. It seems to sum up what this is all about.

The White House Easter Egg Roll event is political theatre, using children and their parents as props to make a statement about "heritage" and engender goodwill among traditionalists - particularly Christian traditionalists who celebrate Easter. It's "feelgood" statecraft, but only for those people who subscribe to a certain cultural heritage.

As such, it is already inherently a politicized event. So it's totally fair for people who disagree with the Administration's narrow views about what is culturally valuable to make a political statement to show that our culture is much broader than this narrow view and that our government should be promoting a view of heritage that includes all citizens.
posted by darkstar at 11:17 AM on April 6, 2007 [2 favorites]

Since the White House Egg Roll is held the day after Easter, that means that in 2013, it will be held on April Fools' Day.

I would pay inordinate sums of money just to see them use these that year.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 1:40 PM on April 6, 2007

News clip from last year's Egg Roll.
posted by ericb at 1:54 PM on April 6, 2007

I just like the phrase, free gay rags. Like, free quonsar, it has meanings on different levels.
posted by found missing at 3:56 PM on April 6, 2007

*UPDATE* It seems like most of the major news purveyors ignored the gay slant on the event this year, but I did find this story that takes it to a whole NUTHA level...
posted by hermitosis at 1:34 PM on April 16, 2007