What are "Special Rights"?

[Toots]

I keep hearing that about Gays wanting "Special Rights". Do Gays want special "Tax Exempt" status like the Church does? Do Gays want the "Special Right' to take away Freedoms from people like Republicans do such as Freedom of Choice between a family and their family doctor, or the right to marry the one you love like everyone else in America. Maybe the "Special Right" to deny people a place to live based on who that person may love. Why has this sound bite had such an effect when it is exactly the opposite of reality?

[hobbit709]

1. "Special rights" is RWspeak for denying regular rights.

[rodeodance]

8. yes, and this term has been very effective (sheep think it is true)

[Orrex]

2. Special rights are fabulous! Among them:

Found this Bill of Special Rights somewhere online:

1. The citizen with Special Rights can double-park on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, excluding Federal holidays

2. The citizen can wear white before, during, or after Labor Day

3. The citizen can take 13 items through the express lane

4. The citizen can swim safely a paltry 20 minutes after eating

5. The citizen can wave his or her hands in the air like he or she just don't care

6. The citizen can drink milk directly from the carton

7. The citizen is entitled to the last Oreo in the bag

8. The citizen shall never be required to jiggle the handle on the toilet

9. The citizen can bring his or her own damn popcorn into the theater

10. The citizen is entitled not to be the victim of a crime simply for belonging to a nebulously defined and curiously reviled subset of society

Pretty special, right?

[bunkerbuster1]

3. "Special Rights" are for folks who don't look or act like us.

I agree, it's one of the most disgusting of RW frames, the idea that civil rights for people who don't look or act like us are "Special."

[LeftishBrit]

4. Any rights for minorities are 'special' in the view of the RW...

I've come across the term not only with regard to gay people (though that seems to be commonest), but with regard to non-white people, Jews, atheists, and people with disabilities.

The none-too-subtle subtext is, "You are beggars at the gate, and should be grateful for any crumbs tossed at you by the majority group. If you're too uppitty, we can easily take everything away from you!"

[unpossibles]

5. "special rights" is code word speak for

"I am a bigot who is against equal rights"

See also "states' rights" and some other colorful euphemisms. I fail to see how this one got traction - to relabel equal rights as special, but I wish I could say I was shocked. You'd think that humanity would learn from history.

[Iggo]

6. I'm with ya, Toots.

I can't say it enough. Gay rights are civil rights.

[Hepburn]

7. Whatever the hell sexual orientation has to do...

...with someone enjoying the exact same rights as someone else is waaaaaaay beyond my comprehension. Why should it even matter who wants to marry whom? As long as the person is of an age of consent and there is valid consent, what the hell does it matter as to color, sex, religion, etc?

What the hell is "special" about being equal??? Well, I guess to some of the RW bigots, unless a body is straight, white, Christian and male, it is NOT equal.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

9. I agree with the posts here

Basically, "special rights" is the rallying cry for anti-gay crusaders seeking to crush any attempts for GLBTQ individuals to have the same basic human rights as they get to enjoy. That they feel like they need to go out of their way to DENY people basic civil rights protections speaks volumes about their larger anti-democratic impulses to impose their own belief system on everybody else. AFAIK, GLBTQ individuals aren't asking for any rights that most reasonable people would consider to be "special" in the context of what everybody else in our society already freely enjoys but because there are still plenty of people out there who seem intent on willfully and maliciously preventing GLBTQ from simply living their lives, there is a definite need to pass laws in order to specifically protect them from being discriminated against. Many of the same arguments that are now being made against protecting GLBTQ individuals were once used against civil rights protections for women and minorities but it seems to be particularly difficult for GLBTQ individuals to make gains in terms of basic civil rights protections because not everybody believes that people are born GLBT (I'm not saying that it matters to me but it apparently does to some people) and opposition to GLBTQ protections is often couched in religious terms making it difficult to challenge. There is an excellent book out there that discusses this subject at some length entitled "Created Equal:Why Gay Rights Matters To America" that you might want to read. I actually consider it to be the best written tome on the subject of civil rights for GLBTQ individuals.

[guitar man]

10. special rights

"special rights" = equal rights for people who disagree with the way the right wing wants everybody to live. Remember, the definition of "freedom" to the right wing fundies is the "freedom" to live like they do(or like they tell you to). As long as people are "free" to live according to the RW "values" Amurika is fine to them,nothing to worry about.....however, when their boat gets rocked by those who are different than them wanting equality, it is time for them to sound the alarm.

[DangerDave921]

11. special indeed

Why are so many RW'ers freaked out by the idea that someone may be getting sexual pleasure from a member of the same sex? I mean really -- who the fuck cares whether someone likes to get a BJ from a woman or from another man? Why does this cause such consternation in some quarters?

Personally, I adore women and will go to my grave obsessed with looking at them, touching them, and having relations with them. That's how I'm wired. Other folks are wired differently and get off in other ways. It's all good.

Would the world really be markedly improved if we were to somehow ban the act of same sex relations?