Who’s Minding the Store?

After yesterday’s post on how to defeat Calif. Prop. 8, I started wondering why I should hide my bits of alleged wisdom under a bushel basket. Why not share these ideas with others?

So I went hunting for websites where the activists in this campaign hang out. They’re not easy to find. Eventually I spotted Equality For All. But after an email exchange, I’m starting to think the Equality For All site might be a front for a Mormon hit squad who are planning to use the contact information submitted by the unwary in order to round people up and put them in concentration camps.

But maybe that’s insulting to the Mormons, who are nothing if not thorough. Mormons would probably do a better job putting up a thick layer of bullshit.

The site asks for your donations, but gives no indication whatever of any activities that will be funded by the donations. There’s no links page. And there’s no indication of how one might become personally active in the campaign if one were so inclined.

So I sent them an email.

Inter alia, I asked, “Who is writing the scripts for your TV spots? I’m a professional writer. Maybe I could help.” I asked, “Does your site have a page of links that my blog entry could be added to?” I asked, “What’s going on in your organization, if anything?”

Someone named Rebecca (no last name … and hey, there’s no list of the organization’s officers on the site either) responded to my email. She thanked me for my “advice,” and suggested that I check back at their site regularly to see updates. But she entirely failed to address any of my questions.

On closer inspection, Equality For All isn’t actually an organization. It’s a “coalition.” The list of organizations in the coalition is long, but meaningless. Several ACLU chapters, the Billy DeFrank Center, Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry Action Network, and so on.

These groups aren’t even called “members” of the coalition. They’re just listed. One is bound to wonder about the precise nature of their involvement in Equality For All. If any. Do they even know their names are being used on this site? I think I may look into that.

Footnote: According to the Unitarians, it’s a legitimate coalition. I’m still wondering where they channel the donations, though.