Season 5, Episode 8: Norma Gay (Discuss Here)

[Wienderful]

I just want to say thank you for this episode. As a Californian, a lawyer, and a social worker, I was shocked and appalled by the passage of Prop 8 in California. I am so glad people like you are out there using your celebrity for a worthwhile cause. Thank you, Kathy!!

p.s. Huge fan! Think you are totally hilarious and DVR all the D-List episodes!

[Michael]

Well Vickysue, maybe we should all get together and vote on your rights...remember to be kind to us and perhaps things will go your way - or maybe not. Good luck.

I have to say, Kathy, that you handled yourself quite well. I am one of the 7 non-gay people who has religiously (bad choice of words) watched your show since the beginning. I an 55 and tend to be conservative on most issues. However, I do see this as a civil rights issue, and I think that the trick is to just keep working on awareness.

Do not call those who feel differently names, i.e. homophobe, biggot, etc. When you treat people with kindness, they will rethink this issue, just as you proved when you walked the neighborhood and spoke one on one with people. Many, many people are coming around, but are turned off if they feel attacked. This is not an easy issue for many. There are still those out there who feel this is learned behavior. Many baby boomers have children, and gay family members, and having a personal experience with a gay person is usually what will turn someone around, expecially the positive experiences.

Perez Hilton tactics really turned people off and will never get the end result you want. Neither will shutting down businesses as it affects real employees who probably had nothing to do with the management. Good luck.

[RevAmyinSC]

Thank you so much for this episode. I just watched it for the second time, this time with my partner of over 13 yrs (she was traveling for work when it came on the second time, but we always DVR your show). So powerful, and so moving - thank you.

This is such an important issue, not just for CA, but for the entire country. Your support of us, and the work you do on behalf of our community, means more than I can say. Some day we'll get there, especially if we have people like you in our corner.

You are a treasure, not to mention funny as hell. We cannot WAIT to see you when you come to Charleston, SC in Oct.!

[lucykitty]

Well Vickysue, maybe we should all get together and vote on your rights...remember to be kind to us and perhaps things will go your way - or maybe not. Good luck.

I have to say, Kathy, that you handled yourself quite well. I am one of the 7 non-gay people who has religiously (bad choice of words) watched your show since the beginning. I an 55 and tend to be conservative on most issues. However, I do see this as a civil rights issue, and I think that the trick is to just keep working on awareness.

Do not call those who feel differently names, i.e. homophobe, biggot, etc. When you treat people with kindness, they will rethink this issue, just as you proved when you walked the neighborhood and spoke one on one with people. Many, many people are coming around, but are turned off if they feel attacked. This is not an easy issue for many. There are still those out there who feel this is learned behavior. Many baby boomers have children, and gay family members, and having a personal experience with a gay person is usually what will turn someone around, expecially the positive experiences.

Perez Hilton tactics really turned people off and will never get the end result you want. Neither will shutting down businesses as it affects real employees who probably had nothing to do with the management. Good luck.

I think Vickysue was trying to get people to understand from the mind of someone who is essentially homophobic the way to approach them so they may see things differently...it doesn't mean it's ok for them to think this way... but it's an unfortunate reality. (Try to think of how long women and African Americans were kept from excercising their own rights and to this day still are struggling in many ways). I think she was trying to be helpful. Unfortunately when it comes to getting a person to see the light-even if they are wrong-understanding what has shaped a person's mind to think the way they do is a start when approaching them on an issue. Attacking a close minded person is useless. That was the message they were trying to get out there on Kathy's show when it came to the door to door visits. The goal is to educate people and help them think rationally about civil rights-even though in a perfect world that would come naturally!

[garbo1980]

Well, I have to say I have mixed feelings about this show. Prop 8 is a complicated subject and shouldn't be tackled by a comedian in 45 minutes. But I'll tell you my biggest disappointment for the evening was Kathy's complete disregard of the ONLY girl in the teen center (shown on tv anyway). This girl was only in a couple shots but it looked like Kathy made NO attempt to engage her and like most teenage lesbians she was pretty much ignored and expected to blend in the background. Now, a more cynical person might think Kathy is only interested in "her gays" if they are cute, funny and colorful guys. If you're a struggling gay not in the above description please stand back, we can't use you. Kathy, diversity means more than your stereotype of what gays are like. Nice try but you blew it.

[SuzRas]

I enjoyed the Norma Gay show last night. I received an email about an activist opportunity in So. Cal tomorrow (Thursday, 8/5) and thought I would make mention of it for those who want to join in Kathy's activism (or maybe Kathy can be there!!!)

7:30 p.m. GAY RIGHT TO MARRY MEETING _ An organization working to repeal Prop. 8, "Love Honor Cherish," will hold its weekly meeting to discuss its "Blueprint for Equality: How We Will Restore the Right to Marry in 2010." Crescent Heights United Methodist Church, 1296 N. Fairfax Ave., West Hollywood.

I'm in Sacramento (you may have heard, it's the capitol) so I won't be able to go but look forward to more opportunities in the future. I must say, as a proponent for equality and one who hopes Prop 8 is repealed, I learned a lot watching Kathy's canvassing. I thought the questions were great at getting people to possibly open their minds to realizing that allowing same sex marriage wouldn't really threaten or impact their lives at all, so why forbid it, we're helpful. I've been shutdown (and frustrated) when the person can't get past their "biblical" opposition, and I thought these were some good ideas to bring it to another level of equality, as promised in the Constitution. As a white woman who married a black man 15 years ago, I have used the explanation that there were times, in my lifetime, that I would have been unable to marry my husband (I was born in 1963 and as Kathy said, up to 1967 there were states that interracial marriage was illegal), and I think it's a powerful reminder of how far we've come and how much farther we need to go.

Thanks Kathy for not only making us laugh, but making us think also.

[huho14]

Kathy,

Probably you've sacrificed a funny episode for a really good cause, and that shows what's close to your heart.

Thank you Kathy,

huho

[LH-C]

This ep really shamed me. I voted against prop 8, and I even gave money to Equality California. But I didn't march and I didn't canvas. Why? Because of fear. I was already being called out as some sort of 'liberal', which I am not. (& I'm so sick of these weirdo homophobic people making me look bad.) I was afraid of even more alienation by my family, most of whom voted for it. I still don't know how my own mother could vote for it, especially when she knows more gays than anyone. But the saddest part is how my dad voted for it. He had voted no on prop 22, and this time around I don't know WTF happened. Then there was the scariest aspect - my cousin's husband made his own pro prop 8 banners and even dragged his kids out to picket with him. I was told he was yelling at people and cars.

Next time I am going to march and I am going to canvas, because those whackjobs posing as 'conservatives' don't represent me!

[rab61]

I've TiVoed the series but was uncomfortable with several episodes - and this one was the last straw. Every entertainer takes a big risk by using his/her fame to lecture on political topics. If Kathy's opinions are in the mainstream then perhaps it will work in the long run for her -- but she takes an equal risk of recasting herself as a political comedienne and alienating half of the country's population. An awful lot of entertainers have been shocked to learn that people tuning in for a laugh don't liked to be lectured to.

Personally, I have less of a problem with Kathy's opinions than with her strategy of insulting people with whom she disagrees and calling them names. It is one thing to take a principled stand but if the best you can do is insults and name-calling, then you're not only injecting politics into my entertainment but you're doing it childishly. Preach to the choir if that makes you feel better but you won't change minds if they're changing the channel.

[Michael]

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/08 ... ml?_r=3&hp

[JoeyO]

Wow! Simply amazing...this episode is simply amazing. Kathy, from a 43 year old gay man who's been in love with the same man for 21 years, I say THANK YOU! Thank you for fighting our fight, thank you for thinking of our youth, and thank you for opening the hearts and minds of others for the benefit of mankind.

Kath, keep doin' what you're doin'!!!

Joey-O
Washington, DC

[ChicagoChar]

This was an amazing episode and Kathy's ability to inspire people is so powerful. I am trying to find a way to get in touch with her to let her know about a Holiday Party I am working on at a major Chicago hospital to help families facing HIV. Her ability to teach us of the importance to not overlook those who are underrepresented is a major life lesson. I am grateful for her talent to bring kindness into our hearts by helping us to let our guards down through humor.

[Flying Saucerian]

Thank you, Kathy.

Incidentally, my all-time favorite homophobe: On one of Margaret Cho's DVDs, there's footage of her speaking at a pro-Gay Marriage rally and at the far end of the crowd are some homophobe protesters. One, apparently trying to be witty, has a sign: "I Want To Marry This Tree!". And the clod doesn't even have the brains to STAND NEXT TO A TREE SO HIS 'JOKE' MAKES SENSE.