By now the phenomenon of the pink equal sign started by George Takei is in full swing and everyone who considers themselves in the know has put it on their profile on Facebook and in other social media platforms. Good for them, but I will not be doing that. Don't get me wrong, I completely support equal rights for all couples, but I do not believe in following the doctrine of "social proof," where the actions of other individuals influence/convince others to do the same even if they are not necessarily hard core advocates of the cause in question. Christopher Hitchens would have had a field day with this vicarious form of distant advocacy.
Rather than post a pink equal sign, I posted a black and white equal-to-or-greater-than symbol. I haven't used this since my high school days (say nothing of the incongruity symbol!), but I do like what it represents, at least for me. Truth be told, not everyone is equal, certain segments of the population have more than others. Even groups that have constructed their identities on victimhood have splintered into factions engaging in games of one-upmanship with other groups in the same "category." When will it all end? Not for a long time.
Where as the pink Rothko-esque equal sign is tied to the cause of equal rights for homosexual couples, the equal-to-or-greater-than symbol can refer to any movement/cause/ethnic group/class, etc. The list can go on and on. I like this as it allows conversation and engagement of so many different themes.
I don't expect others to replicate what I have done, but I hope they will at least take the time to review other issues of repressed rights, inequality, etc. Now more than ever we need to have this conversation.
The pink equal sign is a good symbol and it stands for a noble cause indeed, but the ubiquitous posting of it can be a tad overwhelming. I thought a change in color would be good. Besides if a casual observer is bombarded with the pink equal sign, they might end up only seeing red.
Rather than post a pink equal sign, I posted a black and white equal-to-or-greater-than symbol. I haven't used this since my high school days (say nothing of the incongruity symbol!), but I do like what it represents, at least for me. Truth be told, not everyone is equal, certain segments of the population have more than others. Even groups that have constructed their identities on victimhood have splintered into factions engaging in games of one-upmanship with other groups in the same "category." When will it all end? Not for a long time.
Where as the pink Rothko-esque equal sign is tied to the cause of equal rights for homosexual couples, the equal-to-or-greater-than symbol can refer to any movement/cause/ethnic group/class, etc. The list can go on and on. I like this as it allows conversation and engagement of so many different themes.
I don't expect others to replicate what I have done, but I hope they will at least take the time to review other issues of repressed rights, inequality, etc. Now more than ever we need to have this conversation.
The pink equal sign is a good symbol and it stands for a noble cause indeed, but the ubiquitous posting of it can be a tad overwhelming. I thought a change in color would be good. Besides if a casual observer is bombarded with the pink equal sign, they might end up only seeing red.
No comments:
Post a Comment