Notice the title of this piece on the FRONT PAGE
of star-tribune.com reads:
Katherine Kersten: Is polygamy next?
Then note the tagline on the article:
Once same-sex marriage is OK, polygamy's next
So much for the mystery. This woman is pure evil in a 50s package. She uses her position as a columnist not to try to bring people together, or contribute intelligent commentary to the public debate, but simply drive GOP wedge issues like same-sex marriage. She should be ashamed of herself, as should her friends, family, and whoever the idiot is at the
star-tribune that hired her.
HATE should not be allowed equal footing in the public discourse,
and that is exactly what she represents.
So let's consider her argument, as antiquated and discriminatory as it is:
The fact is, once you adopt same-sex marriage -- legally changing the
standard for marriage from one-man, one-woman to a "committed
relationship" -- there is no principled way to prevent its extension to
polygamy or other forms of "plural marriage" or partnership.
I don't understand how this is a problem right now, for one. And even
so, who cares? Do you really think that there will be an outbreak of
polygamy in Minnesota if the constitutional amendment doesn't pass?
Doubtful. Will tons of people start questioning their marriages to loving spouses? Naw.
I don't understand how keeping GLBT partners from visiting their loved
ones in the hospital is ok, or denying hard-working, good Americans the
same civil rights afforded other couples is not a violation of the
basic principles of our country. Maybe Katherine needs a refresher:
LIFE, LIBERTY, and the PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. Whatever that is to someone, as long as it doesn't harm me or others,
no matter how much I disagree with them, has to be allright under our
laws and policies. This is not a gay or lesbian issue, it's simply a
civil rights issue. And these right-wing neoconservatives will not
prevail.
"Big Love" is just a TV show, you say? But cultural expression can pack
a powerful wallop - witness the much ballyhooed bid by "Brokeback
Mountain" to normalize same-sex attraction.
Ok so Ang Lee's goal was not to tell an eloquent,
original story - it was "to normalize same-sex attraction."???
Ummm...whaa? First off, I saw Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and there
was no gay kissing or sex or anything, just lots of flying and
fighting! And....uh, same-sex attraction isn't normal? Haven't we all
thought about it once
in our lives, even if we're straight? Come on, this is such crap.
Does Katherine Kersten have the right to pass judgement on anyone? To
tell anyone what is 'normal' and what is not? What is accepted and what
isn't? Maybe in church she can, but not in the grander, broader, much
more wonderful and unknowable America. Come to my precinct
Katherine, let's talk to normal folks and see what they think normal is
-
let's go to Uptown and see what's normal. You haven't a clue, you poor
deluded woman...
What's the likely endpoint? Marriage may be redefined out of existence,
and replaced by a flexible, contract-based system of
government-registered relationships. So get ready. Today gay marriage
supporters' mantra is, "How does my same-sex marriage harm your
marriage?" Down the road it may be, "How does my marriage of two men
and a woman harm your marriage?" If we don't answer the first question
with resolve -- making clear that "one man-one woman" is at the heart
of marriage in Minnesota -- we may not have a chance to answer the
second.
Laughable man. Are you kidding? No baby, I can't have sex with you
because I'm in a "government-registered relationship contract". Yeah,
the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman, with tons of
cheating and half of all of them failing, is like - wicked sacred. Straight people do a much better job of invalidating their marriage vows then a threesome ever could.
"...one man-one woman" is at the heart
of marriage in Minnesota"
The heart of marriage in Minnesota is people living their lives;
working, playing, crying, loving, laughing, doing the best they can to
contribute to society. Minnesota is about keeping your nose to the
grindstone through long winters and playing like you'll be dead
tomorrow in the short summers. It's about raising happy, healthy kids - or not. Either way, it's up to you. It's about some of the hardest things in life - taxes, long-term illness, money, and death.
To me, Minnesota is about individuals who, while they
may not agree, always do a pretty good job of respecting one another.
Minnesotans are not simplisitic, we are intelligent and articulate. We
know better than to self-ritgeously judge our neighbor, we lead by
example and help when we can. We support one another when we can. We try to live a good life and have some fun along the way. Minnesotans know better than take themselves too seriously, and most don't have the inflated ego to tell another person how to live. Unless your kids are riding through my grass again...those little bastards.....
Minnesotans tolerate those we do not understand and feel compassion for
those who fall by the wayside in life. We value our kids education, our
environment, our health, hard-work, and fairness. Not telling other
people that the way you think is the only way. We tell the truth, and
we are honest. In my opinion, Kersten is neither.
It'll too bad Katherine can't find a way to contribute to Minnesota in
any positive manner. All she can do is ply fear and hate rhetoric in
this poor excuse for an argument.
Katherine, you should be ashamed of yourself. Why would you write
pieces like this? I don't understand it, are there no more
pressing issues to the people of Minnesota?
Please feel free to email me at jondavid@jondavid.com, I'd love to
interview you on this issue so you can respond to my comments. I will
not hide how little I think of you, but I promise to be respectful
enough to complete a 10 minute interview so you may respond
accordingly. The door is always open.
Link: Once same-sex marriage is OK, polygamy's next.
kkersten@startribune.com if you want to shoot her an email to tell her what you think of her piece.
the other shows a view of backyard and the Mississippi River in the evening. The house is a lot more than a house to us. It's the home he and my Mother bought,
renovated a couple times, and made their own in pretty much every conceivable way. My Sister was married in the front yard. 
Parents need to work a little harder at staying involved in their kids' lives. Preferably, BEFORE they have sex with creepy old guys like 15 times?!?!