For the Anti-Gay Indiana GOP, the Web Is a Harsh Mistress
http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/001095.html
It was with obvious glee two days ago that GOP Governor Mike Pence
signed Indiana's new "Religious Freedom Restoration Act" -- in reality
a law created to gladden the political voting hearts of closeted and
outed racists, not to mention other right-wing lowlifes throughout the
Hoosier State.
While written so broadly that it conveniently could be used to
discriminate against any "minority" religious group, the true purpose
of the legislation was never in question -- it was designed to provide
a mechanism for treating LGBT persons as second-class citizens -- for
example, to be denied entry to establishments at the whim of
prejudiced prune heads.
Pence and his GOP minions apparently figured they had a real winner
with the RFRA -- "Hell, our base racist voters will flock to us in
droves," they must have thought.
But it's a funny thing about politicians these days. They usually like
to make a lot of noise about being "Internet-savvy" -- but in reality
their understanding of the Web and the two-edged sword of social media
can be unimpressive in the extreme.
So seemingly just a few heartbeats after the RFRA was signed into law,
we have the sickly amusing spectacle of its supporters expressing
surprise that pretty much the entire world -- including major tech
firms, sports leagues, and the vast power of social media -- has
turned against them, with enormously expensive boycotts of Indiana
rapidly being announced, and vastly more under consideration.
While the law's supporters hem and haw claiming that discrimination
was not the purpose of the legislation, everyone knows that's a lie --
legalizing discrimination was precisely the reason for the law's
enactment. Nor will Indiana politicians' protests that other states
have seemingly similar laws on the books make a difference -- if
anything those states may now come to regret the fuse that the Indiana
GOP lit under this issue.
For as much as many politicians don't really understand the Internet
at all, there's one thing they all certainly understand -- money. And
the financial loss that can be foreseen from announced and future
boycotts related to this issue could be staggering -- something to
chill the hearts of politicians everywhere.
Particularly fascinating is the sense that Indiana's governor and
cohorts in the abomination of RFRA appear to be genuinely surprised by
the massive and rapid backlash.
Perhaps this is the result of spending so much time in racially and
religiously intolerant "echo chambers" of Indiana state government.
But it's also likely to be an artifact of their inability to
understand the power of the Web -- and of social media in
particular -- to mobilize concerned persons around the country and
the globe in ways that were unimaginable even a relatively few years ago.
Well, they're learning that lesson now.
Welcome to the 21st century, boys. We still may be waiting for those
flying cars, but we've already got the Internet -- and the Net is far
more powerful than a fleet of flying Ferraris.
You can take that to the bank -- whatever you have left after the
boycotts, that is.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein ([email protected]): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Founder:
- Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
- PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://google.com/+LaurenWeinstein
Twitter: http://twitter.com/laurenweinstein
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com
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