What do you get when you combine good old direct action tactics, a boisterous hotel boycott and a Lady Gaga hit?  

A YouTube flashmob called “Caught in a Bad Hotel.”  On May 8th, San Francisco Pride at Work teamed up with One Struggle One Fight and the Brass Liberation Orchestra in a direct action to urge a boycott of the Westin St. Francis on Union Square.  Workers at the hotel have been fighting for a fair union contract that includes decent wages and healthcare benefits, and are now calling on the community to boycott the Westin St. Francis, along with other downtown hotels.  

Besides being a very fun and enjoyable video, this kind of protest is far more effective than the standard demonstrations that liberal San Francisco has gotten used to.  In Taking On the System, Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas argues that political activists must adapt to the technology of their era.  Gandhi used newsreels shown in movie theaters, Sixties protesters used the mass street protest — which was effective at the time, because everyone only watched 3 channels and getting Walter Cronkite on your side could move the country.  Today, with our decentralized media and more people online, YouTube flash-mobs are the direct action of the future.

This 5-minute video is one of the funnest political protests I’ve ever seen.  As one participant later said, “it’s more fun to protest with the gays, cause we’ve got the attitude and we know how to dance.”  For more details, check out http://www.sfprideatwork.org

It wasn’t just hatred that helped Prop. 8 pass.  Money and strategy was the real reason Prop. 8 passed.  We were out-gunned and out-smarted.  We had a full house and got bluffed by two pair.  We stood there and couldn’t believe that our fellow citizens would belive the lies that were being said about us.  And now we’ve taken to the streets in anger that our right to marry was stolen from us.  Well, just because your opponent claims to be Christian, don’t expect them to behave Christ-like when they hate you.  Television and radio was FLOODED with those hateful ads. “They are going to teach your children about gay marriage in school.”  “They are going to take away the church’s right to free speech.”  “Children should have one Daddy and one Mommy.”  No one taught gay marriage to anyone in school.  The churches still have their free speech.  There are still plenty of single-parent families, double-parent families, and every other combination there of.  All that has changed is that same-sex marriage is now outlawed in the state of California.  Thanks guys!

Here are my suggestions on how to get back our right to marry:

1.)  Cancel all Pride celebrations until same-sex marriage is legal.  The CA LGBT community spends millions of dollars every year in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego to celebrate Pride.  California merchants will back our cause if they begin losing revenue.

2.)  Encourage gay Americans to NOT vacation here in California.  This would be a show of solidarity for us and more financial pressure on CA merchants.

3.)  Pressure Hollywood to boycott the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

4.)  Boycott all Utah business, Mormon and non-Mormon.

Some people will say that it isn’t fair to punish California financially, but not one resident of Utah voted for Prop. 8.  It takes a 2/3 vote in the CA legislature to pass an annual budget, but same-sex marriage can be killed with a simple majority of voters.

Some people will say that only Mormon business should be boycotted, but all Utah should have to pay for the behavior of their major religion.

Money and strategy took our right away.  Loss of revenue and solidarity will restore them.