(Please Rec this diary if you want more people to get in on the discussion of what to do and why)
People aren't going to boycott the inauguration; even if many were, it wouldn't be a very effective form of protest. And it's still a day for us to celebrate. But we've got to do something. And I think we've really got to do something from the inside, that shows what a slap in the face this decision is to true dems, obama supporters, campaigners, etc., oh yeah, and to anyone who actually believes in equal rights under the law.
I feel like a total chump. And I feel that Barack is a compulsive conciliator -- a condition which leads him to cede important ground, whether symbolic or concrete, when it's neither even necessary nor moral to do so. In addition to being gay, I work in wilderness conservation. Because of Salazar alone, I was already disappointed and angry today. No policy decisions had been made yet, however, so it wouldn't be fair to assume the worst based on that selection, etc., etc... but this Warren thing is just ridiculous. RIDICULOUS.
So. I've been speaking to some family about how hurt and furious I am about the selection of Warren -- or even, simply, the "O.K." given to Warren -- for delivering the invocation, or part of the invocation, at the inauguration. And some of that family has considerable experience in university administration. Big graduation ceremonies, some controversial commencement/invocation/baccalaureate speakers, etc. They said that
the most effective and statement-making they've seen at these sorts of things has been people standing and turning their backs to the podium.
Even if only one person does it, it commands everyone's attention.
This won't work nearly as well if people rise for the invocation, which they may well do. (will they? do they?) But maybe if people just turn their backs - and if they have some additional way of marking themselves, to be determined (headwear about turning our backs on discrimination and bigotry? or just bags over heads, brightly colored hats, etc?), we can make a powerful statement.
Other ideas, thoughts, etc? I like this kind of concept because it's nondisruptive. I mean, it's disruptive, to be sure, but it doesn't interfere with the actual flow of things. The point isn't to say 'fuck you' to obama. But we don't have to accept this incredibly meaningful decision and accept this incredibly offensive person setting the tone for what is still a day for celebration. Oh, yeah, and for the next four years. Speaking of tone, what kind of tone do WE want to set vis a vis progressive acquiescence to decisions such as this one?
You can make a scene without making a scene in a conventional sense. What do people think about this... how can those of us who will be at the inauguration, or who have friends who will be at the inauguration, make our feelings best known? If people are already standing for the invocation, would it still make an impact if people who were on the side of progressive values and/or equality in general turned around?
We've got to give something a shot, so let's toss out some ideas here in the comments section.
BTW, one of the 'Stand and Turn' examples I've heard of was people doing this when William Shockley spoke at an ivy league commencement in the 70s. (Shockley was a Nobel Prize winning physicist who argued that black people's conceptual intelligence is significantly lower than that of white people and the discrepancy is genetic and ineradicable)