Some Dudes Marry Dudes. Get Over It.

T-shirt = $13 [...] "$5.00 from each T-shirt goes directly to support the great work of the following groups leading the fight against Prop 8 and working for marriage equality across the U.S." link

All fund raising is. $8 isn't a lot to be making on a T-shirt. Of course it all depends on what they charge for shipping, and they do have more expensive items.
posted by Chuckles at 6:14 AM on October 16, 2010

I like.
posted by humannaire at 6:49 AM on October 16, 2010

cheap and gaudy
posted by Postroad at 7:05 AM on October 16, 2010

I've seen a number of people post this on Facebook.

Apparently what's worse than systemic oppression and abuse of gays is kids saying "fuck".
posted by Legomancer at 7:23 AM on October 16, 2010 [7 favorites]

I kind of liked it too -- not my personal style but it's nice to see people speaking out against hatred.
posted by theredpen at 7:37 AM on October 16, 2010

This is a thinly veiled cash grab.

Of course it is. That is the very definition of fundraising.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 7:59 AM on October 16, 2010 [3 favorites]

This is a thinly veiled cash grab.

That was my first reaction yesterday when I first saw this.

I can't help but think that it is modelled on the No H8 Campaign (a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization) started by Adam Bouska and Jeff Parshley two years ago.

Nowhere on the FCKH8 website does it say it's an official, registered non-profit. All it says is: "The FCKH8.com video and website were created by non-profit media campaigner Luke Montgomery..."* Nothing about the status of the organization.

Also:

"Turns out the project is the brainchild of Luke Montgomery and Nate Guidas, the boyfriended do-gooders who made a similar video for their Unf–k The Gulf campaign [of which they sent '$12,000 for charities in the Gulf working to make a difference']."

They also had a campaign for Haiti.

In all of their "charity" endeavors I can not find a statement that they are truly non-profits. It reminds me of the controversy when many learned that the original AIDSRides USA bicycle and Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day Walks fundraisers were organized and run by the for-profit company Pallotta TeamWorks.

After lawsuits for paltry contributions to AIDS organizations ("In two Florida AIDS Rides only $482,000 of the $2.3 Million donated went to charity. In three Texas rides, less than $1 million of the $5.8 million contributed ended up with the beneficiary charities.") and anger from many, the company shut-down in 2002.

What I see here are two guys taking advantage of causes, making T-shirts and generating income for themselves and small donations to various causes that do not endorse them ("Note: We are supporting the work of these groups but they DID NOT create or endorse our F-word-filled video or site in any way.")

I can't help but see them as opportunists.

What's next: 'FREE THE CHILEAN 33!' Oh, wait ...
posted by ericb at 8:05 AM on October 16, 2010 [15 favorites]

The first time I saw that I thought...FCKGW?
posted by ymgve at 8:11 AM on October 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

It played well with me, but then I get incredibly frustrated when my communities are habitually marginalized and the fundraiser seems like a relatively nice way to blow off steam that would otherwise be less profitably channeled.
posted by kalessin at 8:22 AM on October 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

Also regarding their "charity" status, FreeRice had a similar problem in that they talked about making charitable contributions but were not a 501(c)(3). And they might have been making incredible profits beyond their charitable contributions.

Didn't keep lots of MeFites from having a grand old time supporting FreeRice with their clicks.
posted by kalessin at 8:23 AM on October 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

Some Dudes Marry Dudes. Get Over It.
posted by mmrtnt at 8:30 AM on October 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

Really? Is the U.S. so crazy conservative that kids saying "fuck" in an obvious attempt to be "edgy" is controversial. Sorry morally-outraged-or-at-least-pretending-to-be-to-make-a-point-people, when you have an easily yanked chain, people are occasionally going to yank it.

I liked the video, couldn't care less about the language, but then I'm not a Christian schoolmarm in the 1800's.

I tell my own kids "don't curse, it makes me look bad", which mostly works. I can't summon a lot of moral outrage about it though, since I truly don't give a fuck. I'm just glad it mostly works for now.
posted by Invoke at 8:42 AM on October 16, 2010 [5 favorites]

For profit or not-for-profit, if there were a Some Dudes Marry Dudes. Get Over It (front) and Some Chicks Marry Chicks. Get Over It (back) option, I'd buy 5 of them because this is a fantastic slogan.
posted by FelliniBlank at 9:02 AM on October 16, 2010

Personally I think this campaign is counterproductive. "Oh look at what awful parents the gays make, Beryl...they teach their kids to be foul mouthed and belligerent." Ridiculous conclusion, I know, but look at who were talking about.
posted by JaredSeth at 9:17 AM on October 16, 2010

Oh and I must be a "Christian schoolmarm" because I don't really dig hearing children sound like a bunch of teamsters. Thanks for clearing that up for me.
posted by JaredSeth at 9:19 AM on October 16, 2010

See also: Deadwood
posted by found missing at 9:31 AM on October 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

... the boyfriended do-gooders who made a similar video for their Unf–k The Gulf campaign...

"UnF—k the Gulf's fundraising efforts center on T-shirt sales ... The abundance of expletives in the duo’s viral video—and particularly the use of children to deliver some of them—has already caught the ire of Bill O’Reilly, who devoted a recent segment on his Fox News show condemning Montgomery for using kids in a F bomb-laden ad."*

posted by ericb at 9:44 AM on October 16, 2010

Luke Montgomery's website: Good Ideas For Good Causes ("Charity Crusader, Media Maven & Design Dork).
posted by ericb at 9:46 AM on October 16, 2010

Didn't keep lots of MeFites from having a grand old time supporting FreeRice with their clicks.

That involved mouseclicks and no cash sent via Paypal or the purchase of t-shirts, buttons, etc.

Paint me 'skeptical.' It appears Montgomery has found a formula: identify an 'issue-du-jour,' use his design talents to create 'schwag' that people will buy (and supposedly feel good about 'the cause'), donate some of the cash to causes he identifies.

1. Set-up a silkscreen press in the garage.

2. Buy t-shirts in significant bulk (for low-cost per unit), so that you always have them on hand for the next 'charity.'

3. Create website, bomb social-networking sites, so the 'thing' goes viral.

4. PROFIT!

Hey, it's a job!
posted by ericb at 9:54 AM on October 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

When you alienate and marginalize your opponent and use thier tactics you will always have an opponent.

And when you ignore them, you'll always have an opponent.

Hint: The guy who hates gays will *always* hate gays. That's not who you're trying to convince. Alienating and marginalizing him means that those who don't have an opinion won't choose his opinion.

Why do you think they are trying to alienate and marginalize you?
posted by eriko at 9:58 AM on October 16, 2010 [3 favorites]

Get Over It (front) and Some Chicks Marry Chicks. Get Over It (back) option, I'd buy 5 of them because this is a fantastic slogan.

Check out their online shop. They offer t-shirts with each of those slogans on the front. You can also buy mini-buttons ($2.00), bumper stickers ($2.00) and a range of apparel ($13.00 to $29.00).
posted by ericb at 10:03 AM on October 16, 2010

Very important point: it appears that the $5.00 donation is applicable only to the $13.00 base t-shirt ("Get the $13 T-Shirt: Help Fund The Fight For Equal Rights"). So, I suspect that they take 100% of the profit for the other items ($2.00 - $29.00) they offer and don't pass on a $5.00 donation for each of those sold.

Ching, ching, indeed!
posted by ericb at 10:09 AM on October 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

Oh and I must be a "Christian schoolmarm" because I don't really dig hearing children sound like a bunch of teamsters. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

You are welcome. Also, please see the part about "when you have an easily yanked chain..."
posted by Invoke at 10:12 AM on October 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

Yeah, see my previous comment? My chain isn't yanked (hell, I'm not sure I even have a chain) but I'm for gay marriage and didn't bother watching beyond the first 20 seconds because it became just so much noise. Like I said, counterproductive if you ask me.
posted by JaredSeth at 10:29 AM on October 16, 2010

Admittedly, I probably would have reacted the same way if they'd inserted "like" and "you know" between every other word.
posted by JaredSeth at 10:31 AM on October 16, 2010

I can't help but see them as opportunists.

Yeah, I'm afraid I have to agree. One of the articles ericb linked to led me to this link in the comments.

You may remember Luke Sissyfag, the former ACT-UP activist who once distributed graphically illustrated condom packages to schoolchildren, regularly pranced before cameras in lipstick, eyeliner, and pink plastic hair barrettes, and championed the idea of a natural gay "queerness." He now calls himself Luke Montgomery and appears on fundamentalist radio programs to decry the "gay lifestyle" as "totally devoid of any moral character" and consisting of nothing but rampant sex and continual drug use. He says anti-discrimination laws are "fascistic," promoted by a gay community that doesn't feel good about itself.

That's troubling, to say the least.
posted by hippybear at 11:28 AM on October 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

I saw other articles about his Luke Sissyfag days.

Andrew Sullivan (May 2009):

"The best named activist of the 1990s - "queer" turned "Christianist" - has emerged again. Yes, he's now a bear."

posted by ericb at 11:52 AM on October 16, 2010

"Unf*ck the Gulf's fundraising efforts center on T-shirt sales. For every $13.00 shirt sold, the charity donates $5.00 to environmental organizations, most of them now actively working in the Gulf.

... At Luke Montgomery's website ... you can also buy a $1 lapel pin and a $2 bumper sticker. I see no indication that the money he collects from selling these additional items will go to charity, so nobody should assume that it will. It'll no doubt end up in the same place that 61% profit from his T-shirt sales is going! Is anybody tracking the donations, I wonder?" *

posted by ericb at 11:56 AM on October 16, 2010

"Sorry, but as a longtime resident of Seattle who remembers him from the days of Luke Sissyfag, I have to seriously question anything Mr. Montgomery is involved in. He is a relentless self-promoter who will do anything to claim the spotlight. Luke started out as a self-proclaimed AIDS activist, best known for attacking openly Gay and supportive officials who disagreed with him about AIDS policies. When we stopped paying attention to him in Seattle, he suddenly rejected the Gay lifestyle (sic) and began appearing on fundamentalist radio and TV, decrying Gay people ... now he's Gay again, and jumping on whatever cause of the moment gets him on camera for a minute or two. Before this, he was collecting money for Haiti and flying himself and his boyfriend there to distribute medicine without any medical training ... I really can't encourage GLBT people to give this media whore a penny of our money ... part of me feels sorry for the guy because he's a mess, but generally I find his actions to be somewhere between counter-productive and unforgiveable."*

posted by ericb at 11:58 AM on October 16, 2010

Well crap, good feeling gone! I am easily entertained, it seems.
posted by theredpen at 12:07 PM on October 16, 2010

Oh, other past "campaigns" of his also include: animal welfare, pet adoption, anti-fur and pediatric AIDS.
posted by ericb at 12:09 PM on October 16, 2010

Luke clearly saw the media attention he garnered from the 'UnF—k the Gulf' t-shirt campaign.

"Heck, Bill O'Reilly! Let's use the word FUCK again. What can we append it to? Yeah ... that NOH8 campaign has gotten tons of attention. Look at all of the celebrities who have had their NOH8 photo taken, not to mention the videos starring them and the vast media exposure. They're online store is doing incredbly well.

Fuck, I got it. 'FUCKHATE' ... err, I mean 'FCKH8.' We're gonna make millions!

Oh, honey, be sure to send FOXNews an e-mail and link to the website. We could use the controversy again. Ching-ching!.

posted by ericb at 12:22 PM on October 16, 2010

I was disappointed to find out that this had nothing to do with amateur radio.
posted by LiteOpera at 12:31 PM on October 16, 2010

The same sentiment, expressed a little better: http://enagoski.wordpress.com/2010/10/07/i-dont-respect-you/

Although I do long for a return of civility, I think some positions are such that taking them at all is 'uncivil.'

I mean, when someone says that gay people shouldn't be allowed to teach and shouldn't be allowed to adopt (because they can't be trusted around children/because they might pass their 'perversion' on to the kids), what's the 'civil' response? How is calling that person a motherfucker worse then their oh-so-subtle insinuations about pedophilia and 'recruiting'? And isn't holding LGBT folks and their allies to a higher standard of discourse just furthering control of their speech and enabling the 'anything goes' attitude of anti-gay attacks?

The thing is, I do understand the cries for civility and reasoned discourse, but in both the video and Ms. Nagoski's post, I couldn't help imagining a conversation:

Me: "You are a fucking horrible person for favoring prop-8 and opposing gay rights legislation. What you are doing is immoral and evil."

Homophobe: "HEY! That's uncivil and uncool! How would you like it if I said stuff like that about you?"

Me: You do. Every. Fucking. Day.
posted by Myca at 12:40 PM on October 16, 2010 [5 favorites]

Grrr: *Their online store is doing incredbly well.*
posted by ericb at 12:48 PM on October 16, 2010

okie doke, so is this a scam or what? or is it borderline scammy?
posted by angrycat at 1:18 PM on October 16, 2010

I personally think it's borderline scammy. It seems to be a money grab by an attention hound who is inconsistent in his public presentation, with questionable donation amounts being sent to the charities, who also seems to be a professional charity leech. I have yet to find solid figures for how much his "unfuck the gulf" campaign raised and donated for that cause, and I suspect that we won't be able to find solid figures for this campaign, either.

I'd say, if you really want to support the causes he lists as charities on his website, you'd do better by sending money directly to those causes. You won't get a nifty FUCK-laden t-shirt out of it, but "been there, got the t-shirt" isn't always what is most important, IMO.
posted by hippybear at 1:25 PM on October 16, 2010

Not to be overly-specific and critical, but in the same way Andrew Sullivan is wrong on a good many of the issues for which he appoints himself a go-to expert advocate, it boggles my mind that he thinks Luke ~~Sissyfag~~ Montgomery is a "bear." Facial hair on a giant self-promoting, camera-seeking head hovering like a balloon on a string over a coathanger physique does not a bear make.

As advocacy, I want to like this ad. It's semi-fun, sort of hip in a commodified sort of hip way, and all pink and such, but I can't see it changing minds. It'll solidify some opposition, and give the tut-tut crowd something to go "SEE!" about, but it doesn't make much of an argument or really clarify anything about the errors and outright lies from the other side. It's just...loud, which is probably why Mr. Sissyfag is in it.

I'm reminded a bit of all the old pro-choice bumper stickers with a coathanger under a red circle & line. You're driving along, all pro-lifey and so on, and suddenly, there it is, a no-coathangers bumper sticker. Well, what were you thinking, you crazy pro-lifer? Think about that no-coathangers symbol, won't you? You know, you have a position, and maybe it's wrong, maybe it's right, but when you saw that no-coathangers symbol, everything suddenly became clear—

Abortion is okay! Why didn't I think of it until I saw that no-coathangers sticker?

It's been staring me in the face all along! Thank you, bumper sticker, for clearing up that messy and complex moral quandary I've been having, trying to balance the right of the individual against my understanding of the sanctity of life! It's so much clearer now!

Well, or maybe that's Faye Dunaway's car.

Cute ad, I guess, but to what end?
posted by sonascope at 2:03 PM on October 16, 2010

In all fairness, Sullivan links to this blog which declares Sissyfag a bear.

And being a bear in mind if not necessarily in body, I'm not sure I agree with your assessment of "bear" in this case. But I certainly don't really think that Montgomery is of pure intention with this current ~~fundraising~~ money grab preying on a popular cause.

I won't try to negate someone else's self-identification as "bear", because I've experienced the negative energy resulting from that kind of gay-internal discriomination. But I will call Luke out on his questionable money-raising tactics.

An in-depth discussion on exactly what "bear" may mean within the gay community, as revolutionary movement and marketing niche and self-advertising... will have to wait for me to put together a decent FPP sometime.
posted by hippybear at 2:15 PM on October 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

I think I'm annoyed with the increasing alternate use of "bear" in the same sense that the "musclebear" became this weird intrusive presence in beardom, signaling, for me, the advent of the Animal Farm moment in what was a sort of egalitarian, if diffuse and uncertain, movement (or self-descriptive category?).

ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL
(BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS)
As soon as you could stop shaving a gym bunny and still consider him a bear, the fun sort of went out of it for me. That said, I'm cranky today because the wind keeps blowing my clothesline tree over and dumping my laundry in the grass, so I should be taken with a hefty grain of salt.
posted by sonascope at 2:26 PM on October 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

*heh* indeed.

I'm leaving for a week early Monday morning. I'll start collecting links for a real discussion about "bear" and what it means (meant) in the gay subculture when I get back.

It's probably something worth investigating in-depth.

Is it okay if I take you with fresh ground sea salt, or should I use kosher or iodized table salt?
posted by hippybear at 2:37 PM on October 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

Thanks for the comment thread, providence! I was about to send this guy a couple bucks for a bumper sticker!

Anything better to go viral with online, that is more transparent in how it handles the money and isn't run by somebody who seems to be only for gays some of the time? I'll check out the local charters of marriage equality first.

It's a shame, because the bumper sticker seemed to be exactly message I wanted to send. "This isn't about you defending your marriage. This is about you wanting to control other people, to live life in only ways you approve of. That's not the American way."
posted by mccarty.tim at 3:28 PM on October 16, 2010

The video wavers between funny and forced, and yeah, it looks like it's a cash-grab (though $13 isn't so bad for a shirt, frankly, and I buy all sorts of shirts for more without any ideological justification outside of aesthetics).

As for whether this is going to be the video that makes Fred Phelps quit the ministry, well, remember that different audiences are reached in different ways, and it can be just as important to make something hip and attractive to appeal to teens that don't necessarily have strong feelings one way or another as it is to reach established voters or any other demographic, just as it can be as important to excite your base as to enlarge it.
posted by klangklangston at 3:33 PM on October 16, 2010

What I see here are two guys taking advantage of causes, making T-shirts and generating income for themselves and small donations to various causes that do not endorse them ("Note: We are supporting the work of these groups but they DID NOT create or endorse our F-word-filled video or site in any way.")

I can't help but see them as opportunists.

I'm surprised, this being MeFi, that this thread isn't all over the way the shirts rip off the Stonewall UK's Get Over It campaign. I was surprised when I followed a FB link to an anonymous Cafepress or Zazzle site offering knockoffs of the UK shirts I'd seen in news photos, so I made sure I went to the official Stonewall site to buy mine (which was, by the way, £10 or roughly $15).
posted by dhartung at 5:21 PM on October 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

(By the by, this is the only knockoff I think should be allowed.)
posted by dhartung at 5:25 PM on October 16, 2010 [2 favorites]

Luke Montgomery probably wears a tee shirt that says:

"Some dudes make money. Get over it."
posted by bwg at 2:57 AM on October 17, 2010

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