BOYCOTT EL COYOTE LOS ANGELES!!!!!!! NO GAY DOLLARS TO BIGOTS!!!!!!

[madmadmad]

today i attended a meeting at el coyote restaurant where one of it's owners, marjorie christoffersen, was to explain her donation in support of prop 8 to the restaurant's justifiably outraged gay patrons. i originally intended to report back in my original thread on the subject, but i left the meeting so angered and so disheartened, that i thought we needed a new thread as a call to arms for everyone concerned with civil rights to do this:

BOYCOTT EL COYOTE LOS ANGELES!

i went to the meeting with an open-mind- as i stated in my earlier post, i was concerned for how a boycott would affect the employees of the restaurant- they have always been so wonderful and accepting- and i hoped perhaps if marjorie TRULY regretted her decision to donate to prop 8, and was willing to make amends, that somehow, we could work out compromise. that was not to be the case. after hearing her out, in my mind, we have no choice to boycott, and to NEVER give another gay dollar to the establishment- at least as long as the christoferssen family has any financial interest.

today there were probably 100 gays in attendance- the restaurant limited the number of attendees to those who made reservations- a couple of emotional el coyote employees spoke first- they are sick over the situation, and rightfully so. then marjorie, frail, emotional and surrounded by her family, came out to speak. she said was deeply, deeply, sorry if her actions offended anyone, and went on to talk about how she loved us, how the restaurant was a refuge of respect and diversity, and how it wasn't fair to make the families of the 89 el coyote employees suffer because of one person, that it wasn't the restaurant that supported prop 8 but her, and her alone. but while she said she was sorry for offending anyone, she never actually apologized for the act itself. typical bigot speak- "i love the gays, but they just shouldn't have the same rights as normal people".

after her statement, she was asked if she would demonstrate her contrition and donate an equal amount of money to an organization working to repeal prop.8, and if she had answered yes, i think most of the crowd would have not encouraged the boycott. but she answered no- doing so would go against her beliefs- and at that moment, at least in my mind, the boycott was officially on.

in her defense, she is very old, set in her ways, and has a lifetime of indoctrination by the mormon church. i honestly believe she does love the people who go to her restaturant, and she doesn't really understand that her actions are hateful. but regardless of her confusion, one thing is clear- it's her actions that will make her employees suffer, not ours. just as she had a right to speak with her pocketbook about her beliefs, we have a right to speak with ours- i will not give my money to someone who will in turn tithe 10% back to the mormon church to fund their campaign to strip me of my civil rights... it's time to send a financial signal to mormons, evangelical christians, and anyone else who thinks it's ok that gay people are not deserving of equal rights under the law: IT'S JUST NOT OK- YOU FUCK WITH US AND WE'LL GIVE AS GOOD AS WE GET! yet the reverse is true- you leave us alone, we'll leave you and your crazy religious beliefs alone too.

i really do hate to see the people that work at el coyote suffer- they will, and they don't deserve it. i also understand for that reason, many of my friends might choose to keep going to el coyote- i won't judge them for it- but personally, i will not give el coyote another dollar to be used against me, and as long as the christoffersen family retains a financial interest, i will actively boycott, protest, yell and scream, and encourage others to do so as well. NO MORE DOLLARS TO BIGOTS!

ps- if anyone knows how to get in contact with anyone organizing the demonstrations agianst prop 8, please let them know about this, or put me in touch with them- i think 7312 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036, would be a GREAT place for a few hundred angry people to gather, and let others know about this boycott!