Last night I answered the phone and it was a recorded message asking me to press "1" if I agreed that marriage should only be allowed between a man and a woman. We got this recording left on our answering machine once before; it's a long message that makes a lot of different political statements and asks you to press "1" if you agree with them. As I recall, it's mostly opposed to gay marriage, but there might have been other conservative right-wing statements as well.
But I never got to have my memory refreshed, because I didn't press "1." It hadn't occurred to me when I heard the message on the answering machine, but there was no option for disagreement! I stared dumbfoundedly at the phone's keypad for five seconds or so, trying to figure out what button I could press to express my lack of agreement. In the end, I pressed "0," which immediately curtailed the bigoted litany with a rapid "Please call 1-800-blah-blah for more information on blah blah initiative. Good-bye."
I felt cheated. I know it wasn't a poll, and they don't care that I'm in favor of marriage for anybody who wants it. But I wanted to be able to tell those ghastly bigots that while I won't mind if my son turns out to be gay, either way I want him to get married and provide me with grandchildren. What button do I press for that?
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