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08/19/2013
Wait, there's another Brian Brown fighting against us?!
Since the headline makes him sound like a "victim" and the advice is all about how the "traditional marriage" movement can flip the script, I read his whole Public Discourse piece thinking it was coming from the National Organization For Marriage president. But it turns out there is another Brian Brown working against marriage equality. Here is one of his ideas:
“Marriage equality” is the meme that is currently dominating the debate. Even disagreeing with it implicitly accepts its premise.
To beat such a “sticky” meme, marriage advocates would have to popularize a stickier meme (preferably stealing back a term the other side likes to use). For example, the meme “true marriage is more diverse” appeals to the distinct, complementary differences between mothering and fathering (instead of the “mono-gendered” structure of two men or two women). Or the meme “changing marriage creates inequality” could be attached to stories of the unequal emotional experiences of children raised in single-sex environments. For memes to work, they have to be on the leading edge of every pro-marriage argument, all the time.
FULL: Now That We’re All Haters… by Brian Brown (*but not that one) [Public Discourse]
I love how they act like these memes are just something we've concocted into existence. They don't realize (or at least won't admit) that any good meme, from silly to salient, resonates because it is grounded in some sort of relatable truth. People are buying into the push for marriage equality because we have made the sound arguments, we have demonstrated our deservedness, we have stepped up and showed the actual humans behind the talking points, and we have resonated with a growing majority of the public. You can't fake it.
Like his NOM-heading namesake, this Brian Brown is trying to change the fate without actually changing any underlying truth. Until and unless the Brians stop discriminating against qualified taxpayers who have met the tests of marriage, even the best designed meme will fall flat. Simply appending a LOLCat to history's wrong side won't instantly make it right.
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