SNL Vice President Debate

This clever SNL parody captures some of the highlights of the vice-presidential debate. Their discussion over granting rights to same-sex couples relates to some of the discussion we had in class on how to teach acceptance of different sexual orientations.

One thing I noticed during the actual vice presidential debate that of course the skit writers picked up on is that gay rights are not going to be strongly advocated by either party in this election (or in the near future). Basically, if you are gay or lesbian, the best you can hope for is a law that grants you as a couple the same rights as a married couple. But even the Democrats, who supposedly support these rights, will not come out and say "We support gay marriage."

I guess I don't understand people who see gay marriage as undermining the American family. Yes, it doesn't fit the picture-perfect view we have of the American family as a mom, a dad, a son, a daughter, a pet dog, and a white picket fence. But whose family does fit this stereotype? People get divorced at an alarming rate and I don't see candidates saying divorcees should not be allowed to get remarried because it threatens the American family. I'm not saying we should move backwards and refuse others the right to get married - I'm just saying that the argument that gay marriage undermines family values is ridiculous, and that a hundred other equally-founded arguments could be used to prevent other people from getting married. This argument is simply used to mask a prejudice that people are too close-minded to acknowledge.

This little skit also hones in on the "tolerance" word. Tina Fey, portraying Palin, says that she "tolerates gays" and even "knows a few of them - but not personally." The implication of the word "tolerates" is that she puts up with them despite her best judgment, like you would tolerate sitting next to a person with bad B.O. Although I am in favor of the idealogy of teaching tolerance, the more I hear that word, the less tolerant I am of it! I think "acceptance" or "respect" would be a much better word because it offers a more positive / proactive view than a negative / reactive view towards differences.