In Messages for Equality, Keep It Simple

Two examples of how in this day and political climate we need short, bumper-sticker size slogans to get our messages across hit me this past weekend.

Today’s reality, whether we like it or not, is that people are not reading long and extended discussions with nuanced “there’s this, and then there’s that” arguments in a society where religionists and one of the political parties have fully embraced the tactic that words are less to inform and more a means to excite, scare, and anger people.

The first example is what struck me at the local “No Kings’ rally I attended where people held signs up along a busy suburban-like thoroughfare. The busyness of those who drove by and had no time to stop and read lengthy lists of why someone was out there, even if they honked in support, was instructive.

It meant that the short and sweet and more provocative signs were the ones that got a message across. Keeping it simple reached more people even if one would like them to take the time to know more about the issues.

Most people can’t or won’t take the time to immerse themselves in the details of what’s going on today. There were even only a few people in the rally itself who could take the time out of their own protesting to take in the signs that required one to stop and read them.

The second example was the two identical billboards I encountered driving on the major interstate routes through rural Kansas the following day. They repeated in large, bold capital letters only the poignant phrase “God Made Trans People” accompanied by a huge Christian cross to the right of those words.

I didn’t have to read any further to get the point - and, anyway, the only other words were “Paid for by Mayday.Health,” a New York City-based non-profit that focuses on reproductive health.

In an interview, its executive director explained that the goal of their billboards is not only getting the message out to trans people in a state where they are targeted constantly by the legislature that others support them using religious language, but “if folks with fundamentalist religious views happen to glance over at these billboards because they see a cross sign, then great. We’re glad that they know that people support trans Kansans.”

The last sentence of her response, means that this executive director gets how to be effective allies in today’s climate. Not only do transgender people and their advocates need to be reminded that they are not alone, but everyone needs to see that though there are those loud voices choosing to promote the misunderstanding and denigration of transgender people, there are also others right now, right here, who vehemently disagree with the critics enough to openly display this affirming message.

The reality is that with all the polemical clutter that seeks our attention in our culture today, one of the most effective things individuals and organizations can do to break through all the noise is to just be there by modeling for the critics, and more importantly in front of everyone else watching, what it is to have a human being standing right in front of those who are conditioned into some kind of bigotry saying fearlessly “No, I disagree” – a living, breathing human being who rejects group stereotypes, who doesn’t act as if bigotry is negotiable, who really believes in what they are saying, and who isn’t taking a position because of its political expediency or some measurement of how the wind is blowing today.

As I’ve argued before, the movement for LGBTQ+ equality itself needs one of those bumper-sticker size slogans that it can stick with to wake up, re-enforce, and permanently install its message in the minds of people. There was a day when “Hate Is Not a Family Value” was that slogan.

There are certainly places where further discussion is called for, necessary, and valuable, but that doesn’t get the attention needed in a time when pithy memes, short videos, and the limits of so much social media formats set the standard for so many of us. You'll know from how others respond when that time is ripe.

And the good thing about a simple message such as “God Made Trans People” is that it really needs no fancy elaboration. It’s enough to respond to naysayers with: “Well, that’s what I believe.” And no matter what their come-back might be, repeating similar words over and over as if jumping up and down in the same place reenforces that message even if the critic walks away in disagreement.

Depending upon one’s own views, there is some similar phrase you can develop as your personal response. You don’t need to be an expert on gender, science, or religion or have all the answers. You just need to speak from your own values as if you believe them – which I hope you do.

As the old saying goes: “People don’t care how much you know, if they know how much you care.”

Then, don’t get sidetracked into other arguments. Don’t get caught up in having to "win" an argument.

Maybe your presence means just responding with something like: “I know there are people who believe what you do, but I don’t.” But the key is to state what you believe in as simple and sincere a way as possible.

You’ll be surprised how effective this is in the long run, even if it's not immediately evident, when the ultimate goal is a cultural shift.

And when it comes to religion, every historian and social scientist knows that the dominant religion in every society is the one that supports its current prejudices. When those cultural prejudices change, the dominant religion does too.