TIMES ARGUS: HATE DRIVEN MEDIA ADVOCACY

Green Mountain Daily:-- The Times Argus' toxic and divisive poll is a reminder to our legislative leaders that the responsibility to enact priorities carries with it the responsibility to publicly advocate for those priorities.
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The Times Argus' "poll" ** is nothing more than a direct, in-your-face, jab at gays and lesbians specifically, and the majority of Vermonters, in general, who value equal protection of the law.

The TA's behavior has the effect of pitting Vermonter directly against Vermonter. The poll's not-too-subtle message to its readers is "Your interests are necessarily mutually exclusive from the priorities of other Vermonters' interests when it comes to legislative priorities."

This is just plain untrue. It is toxic thinking. It creates a false, media generated, and media perpetuated conflict of priorities where none exists.

Is the TA afraid too much consensus is building around equal marriage rights? Seriously, what is the inspiration for this?

Here is the problem. When a newspaper asks:

Do you think same-sex marriage should be a top priority for the Legislature?

What it is really telling its readers is "are the issues that are important to gays and lesbians more important than the issues that affect you?"

If that's the questions they are really asking, then want to know what the real answer to that question is? The answer is Bullshit! It's bullshit because the implication is false. The conflict is non-existent.

If the Times Argus really wants to play those games, what's stopping them from pulling out all the stops and pitting the rest of "us" (whoever "we" happen to be) against each other and against our neighbors? Let's see the TA put up a poll that pits children against farmers or the elderly against working people. Why only imply to your readers that it stops with marriage rights? Certainly there are other groups that can fight to trump each other?