Out of the sea of rainbow-frocked Facebook profile photos, corporate logos, and colorfully lit buildings emerged a seemingly innocuous black and white video.
With a mission to, “educate and inspire Americans of all faiths to prioritize the issues of life, faith, and family,” Catholic Vote is the brains behind the video that has publications like Ad Week up in arms.
Billed with the hashtag #SpeakTruthWithLove and filmed as a coming out video of sorts, ‘Not Alone’ illuminates the flip-side side of the gay marriage coin — those who believe in traditional marriage.
“I am a little nervous about people hearing that I am this way and people thinking, well, you know, she’s not welcome here,” says one woman. “Most people probably already think I’m weird anyway, so I don’t think society’s impression of me is going to change drastically based on one or two discoveries that come to light after this video,” expresses another. “It’s pretty scary, you know? You wonder how many people can I really, truly, honestly be open with?”
The big confession? “I believe marriage is between a man and a woman.”
Take a look:
Not everyone is amused.
Professing love for gays but still believing in traditional marriage is spreading a, “message of intolerance” said Ad Week. Ad Week then went on to pitch a hilariously self-awareless fit over Catholic Vote’s “appropriation of LGBTQ themes to marginalize LGBTQ people.”
These Catholics are nervous about revealing their stance on same-sex marriage because they’re (spoiler alert!) against it.That stance is nothing new. And everyone is entitled to their opinion, as long as it doesn’t lead to legislation that discriminates. No, what’s galling about the ad is its appropriation of LGBTQ themes to marginalize LGBTQ people.The ad, with a straight face, position Catholics as a persecuted group for not having their message of intolerance (here blatantly recast as its opposite) widely accepted these days. It even plays like a coming-out video for Catholics who are afraid to take the “brave” step of voicing their objection to equality. That’s a pretty audacious tactic—disingenuous and disrespectful, to say the least.Beyond that, it is rather illogical. You can’t reposition a group as oppressed when there is no movement to oppress them. And you certainly can’t equate being called a bigot for spouting intolerance with anything near what members of the LGBTQ community have experienced for decades.
Gee, why would Catholics have cause for concern over voicing their support for traditional marriage? It’s not like religious institutions are imperiled by the Supreme Court’s ruling on Obergefell v. Hodges or anything. Oh wait…
The best part? Without realizing it Ad Week proved Catholic Vote’s point. Well done, Ad Week. Well done.
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