Mormons

Here is the new video for my protest song! My husband Al directed it and we shot it all on Monday. Ian Harvie and Judd Minter play the Mormons and I think they look hot, and the whole idea behind me playing guitar had to do with that green dress. I thought it looked perfect with the guitar slung across my back, like a very large backwards facing necklace. Anyway, enjoy!

45 thoughts on “Mormons

  1. Give it up. Instead of riding songs, why don’t you work on someone to marry. Then write a song. Last time I checked you were still a single gal. You are smart, beautiful and funny, why are you single?

  2. love it.

    probably not the best way to start an argument with someone, but definitely what goes through your head when people start talking shit and keep defending prop. 8.

  3. Vlad Herrera..if you would notice, she said that her HUSBAND Al directed the video. She has been married for quite some time now. Pay attention.

    Also, it isn’t “riding songs” it is writing songs. Before you give somebody like Margaret a lesson in life, take one for yourself.

  4. Good job Margaret! Love it! Lyrics are awesome! And you look fabulous of course! I think Vlad who left the comment above should read that you said your husband directed it. HELLO?!
    YOU ROCK MARGARET!
    Paul in Portland, OR

  5. Nice job. Way to rock your inner-activist. Loved the Mormon boys — they did a good job. Next time, shirtless please.

    Thanks for all you do for us!

    Love,
    Jon

  6. I love you, and I hear what your saying, but my mixed race “gentile” family lived in Salt Lake City for three years, and I’ve known wonderful, compassionate, giving, even queer Mormons, and can’t find it in my heart to bash all of them for the actions of their corporate church. Friends of mine elected a (closeted, of course) gay city council member in Salt lake around 1973.

    When I was 15, around 1958, I was hiking in the Henry Mountains in Utah, came across two old guys who scratched out just enough gold to go into Hanksville for flour and bacon every week. One of them said he was 60 and too old to get married and the other said he was 40 and too young to get married. I was too naive to wonder how they passed those cold Utah winter nights…

    Si

  7. What an interesting anecdote Silenus. I tend to think of gay mormons as secret agents of the movement, carrying out the will covertly or something. haha!

  8. I am noticing that it doesn’t look like you played Utah on your Beautiful Tour.
    I think you should book about 30 dates in Utah and just not go away…
    Be a surprise guest and coffee houses with your new guitar and flowing garb.

    Anyway I think the ACLU is fighting Prop 8 and perhaps they can get it over turned and establish a precident for good.

  9. //Instead of riding songs,//

    Heh, maybe that will be the next one? Bow-chicka-bow-wow….

    Thanks for the words and the song MC; your activism is an inspiration!

  10. That was great. Its got to be true that gay hate comes from the closet cases of the world, which is everyone, because no one can be completely straight… in my opinion…

  11. Loved it! It’s so wonderful that gay rights activists can scream ‘tolerance’ till their lungs are sore, and not have to have any tolerance for the opinions of others, isn’t it?

    TOLERANCE FOR ALL BUT THOSE WHO DON’T AGREE WITH US!!!

  12. In early days of new millenium bunch of greedy divorce lawyers and crooked family court judges met at a Restaurant at Osgoode Hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and discussed ways how to expand their divorce ripoff scam.
    One of the lawyers asked; how come we cannot rip off gays and lesbians, who seem to have quite a lot of money, when they break-up their relationships??
    One of the judges responded; we cannot legally grant them a divorce before they have legal right to marry.

    This simple remark created new “human rights struggle” that we are witnessing today.

    If you do not belive me just check the dates:Halper decision and “legalisation” of gay/lesbian marriages June 10, 2003, sham lesbian marriage June 18, 2003, alleged separation in sham lesbian marriage on June 23, 2003. Separation agreement is allegedly dated April 30, 2004. Divorce petition based on one year separation is issued on June 15, 2004 (less than a year separation). Justice Mesburn conducts hearing on sham divorce on September 13, 2004. (all events take place while Canadian Parliament is not in session). Justice Mesburn releases her decision on November 19, 2004. Supreme Court of Canada releases their reference on Same Sex Marriage on December 9, 2004.

    http://www.samesexmarriage.ca/docs/Petition_divorce.pdf
    http://www.samesexmarriage.ca/legal/div210704.htm
    http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/news/nr/2003/doc_30946.html
    http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/samesexrights/beforethecourt.html

    It is very clear from Madam Justice Ruth Mesbur’s endorsement that she willingly colluded with Ms. Martha McCarthy and other individuals in granting this sham divorce instead of throwing it out of her Court and penalising all parties involved for submitting to the court Divorce Petition containing false information, perversion of Canadian laws and for scandalising the Court.

  13. MARGARET + ROCKS = MARGROCKS

    I borrowed it from my sister Margaret who is a drummer in a Punk Rock band, but it sure applies to Margret Cho and this song! I am sure my sis won’t mind sharing!

  14. Margaret you make a good point I hadn’t thought of. Who is the Church of Latter Day Saints to lecture about upholding the tradition of marriage when they are polygamists? Why is their “deviation” from the norm better than another’s? Sure gay marriage isn’t the “norm”, but love is. Whether that love takes place between a man and a woman, two men or two women, in the end it is still love and that is why it deserves to be recognized.

  15. Love, love LOVE IT!

    Thanks from all those ex-mormon gays out there like me! My family has totally disowned me over this Prop 8 thing. I am sooooooooooooooooo tempted to send this to my mother. She’d probably get off on it though thinking how righteous she is to be persecuted. I know, weird logic, doesn’t make sense.

  16. this probably won’t get on the site – and if it does, not stay long – but, there are two things that need to be said. i am in no way a supporter of the defenders of prop 8, but:

    1. if you’re going to attack those with whom you disagree, get your facts straight (i.e. polygamy) and attack ALL of those who are responsible – the catholics started this whole thing and asked the mormons to help; prop 8 wasn’t originally the mormons’ idea.

    2. how sad that this is what passes as witty, intelligent, deep comment/protest. sadly amateurish, boorish. you used to be smarter than this. i expect more of you.

  17. Have no fear I am a big fan and a liberal LDS but I must ask the following hard questions:
    Did the LDS church give a church wide or even local political directive to church members? Did the LDS church break any law?
    Did these individual LDS church members exercise their constitutional rights?
    Would it be appropriate to protest Catholic or even predominant black church’s?
    I believe it is a matter of faith and that is all.
    This is a glorious time where we should celebrate (Obama) and believe in the power of the vote. I’m with you – Organize, show class and do it right. It is a matter of faith and that is all.
    PEACE PEACE In the end the love you give is equal to the love you take! PEACE PEACE

  18. My favorite thing about this song, is if a mormon comedian were to do a song like this about gays, he would be faced with lawsuits about ‘hate speech’. Yet it’s perfectly fine to hate mormons publicly.

    Fact is, mormons are great people who have done more collective good for the world than any gay organization has even attempted. Here’s a link that might open a few eyes:

    http://www.pbs.org/mormons/themes/humanitarian.html

    Mrs. Cho, how many starving mouths have you fed?

  19. A couple of friends and I drove up to Sacramento from Los Angeles for the 11/22 rally at the State Capitol Building and found it to be worthwhile despite the less-than-projected attendance numbers. For me, this particular rally felt like a natural evolution of our movement: from one of shock and anger to one of real action on several levels.

    Gloria Allred and Darrell Steinberg offered up the recent history and their future strategies in the quest for marriage equality. The 3 same-sex couples gave the rally a “face”, a personal context, and a sense of humanity.

    But for me, the most significant group of speakers were the local clergy/religious leaders present. They were the there to remind us that we do have allies within the religious community; and that they will stand with us. Rev Lindi Ramsden offered this up: “This is a community that’s very good at talking to ourselves. Now we need to talk to others.” It’s a shame that a small percentage of the people present chose to walk out during this segment and start marching… These are exactly the types of dialogues we all need to start having; and the perspectives we need to hear.

    In retrospect, Margaret Cho’s Mormon protest song seemed a bit dissonant with the overall inspiring tone of the rally. She’s been a great friend to our community; and yes, we’re all angry. But I’d rather channel my energy towards more constructive bridge-building, initiating those difficult conversations outside of our own community, etc. rather than bash, point fingers and demonize. Isn’t that what’s been done to us for too many years?

    Margaret: Love you lots and love your work, but I don’t this song helps us move forward.

  20. Not all Mormons voted in favor of Proposition 8. Mormon voters were less than 5% of the yes vote. If one estimates that 250,000 LDS are registered voters (the rest being children), then LDS voters made up 4.6% of the Yes vote and 2.4% of the total Proposition 8 vote.

    The Yes on 8 coalition was a broad spectrum of religious organizations. Catholics, Evangelicals, Protestants, Orthodox Jews, Muslims – all supported Yes on 8. It is estimated that there are 10 million Catholics and 10 million Protestants in California. Mormons were a tiny fraction of the population represented by Yes on 8 coalition members.

    African Americans overwhelmingly supported Yes on 8. Exit polls show that 70% of Black voters chose Yes on 8. This was interesting because the majority of these voters voted for President-elect Obama. No on 8 supporters had assumed that Obama voters would vote No on 8.

    The majority of Latino voters voted Yes on 8. Exit polls show that the majority of Latinos supported Yes on 8 and cited religious beliefs (assumed to be primarily Catholic).

  21. I just watched it again and I love the part when you say “go fuck yourself” and then they do! Very entertaining! Oh, and when you flipped them all off, brilliant! ♫Shove Proposition 8 up their ass..♫ One thing that I really thought made the video funny were those subtle looks that you gave the camera. On a side note, if you really were going to shove Prop 8 up your ass, then would ball it up or tear it into tiny pieces ect.

  22. For someone trying to promote love, your lyrics are anything but. I have many wonderful friends who are gay. I don’t agree with their personal choice, but I still love them. Learn what Mormons really believe before you get all bent out of shape. http://www.mormon.org

  23. Ben:

    If you truly have friends who are gay, then you do not support Prop 8. You may disagree with their choice to live their lives as they feel compelled to and to love whomever they love. But you cannot be a friend to someone while you would deny them basic civil rights. Personally, I think Mormonism is wrong. I think being raised in Mormon households is unhealthy for children. But I would fight with every fiber of my being if someone tried to deny you the right to live as a Mormon and to raise your children as such.

    As for the “lies” about polygamy — the truth is that the mormon church practiced it until the late 1800s and abandoned it only to gain statehood for Utah. It was not about “taking care of widows.” Some “wives” were as young as 14. That said, Brigham Young was right when he said “marriage is a civil contract.” He went on to say that you might as well regulate the number of children a man has as to regulate the number of wives he has — but he was right about it being a civil contract.

    You will NOT get the truth about Mormons from any official church websites or histories. They whitewash it and hide it even from members.

    Tolerance should never be universal. No one should tolerate bigotry. So yeah, we’re intolerant of the Mormon church’s bigotry. Same goes for the Catholics and the evangelicals. But the Mormons, with their relatively recent practice of polygamy are just such amazing hypocrites in defending “traditional marriage” and trying to portray themselves as wholesome and inoffensive that they’re just an easier target.

  24. Oh, and Truth: You are right. The percentage of LDS voters was small… compared with the money and efforts put forth by the Mormon church. If the church had just left it to the Mormons within California, it wouldn’t be a big deal. But it became a deal because of money — much of it from out of state — and the sense from at least some Mormons I personally know, that they felt coerced into donating by their Bishop.

    The Mormon impact on Prop 8 was far greater than the actual Mormon voters who turned up at the polls.

    Not all Mormons voted for it. Yay. Not all gays march around in leather chaps in Pride events. But the ones who do seem to be picked as representative of the entire community. When you are a member of a larger group, you tend to get lumped in with the more vocal, dare I say flamboyant, members of your group. Get used to it.

  25. Yo, all of you need to go fuck yourselves if you are gonna talk shit on Margaret. She is my fucking role model, and I would personally whoop all of your asses if I knew where you lived. I think Margaret should be as obnoxious as she possibly can about this filth that has been legislated in California. In fact, I hope she performs it in Utah, in front of an audience full of LDS members. If you don’t support Prop 8 and you are a LDS member, than why should it matter to you!? She has every right to express her freedom of speech and newsflash THAT IS STILL LEGAL… I mean yeah you would think it wouldn’t be, especially with the recent banning of gay marriage, such outspoken people like me and margaret would be removed from youtube or facebook or whatthefuckever… This is what I love about her, SHE SAYS IT, Y’ALL WERE THINKIN’ IT!!! The Mormons get whatever they deserve when they spew out blatant hatred. SHOVE PROPOSITION 8 UP THEIR ASS!!!

    God, fuck you Margaret, now I can’t get it out of my head!!!

  26. “African Americans overwhelmingly supported Yes on 8. Exit polls show that 70% of Black voters chose Yes on 8. This was interesting because the majority of these voters voted for President-elect Obama. No on 8 supporters had assumed that Obama voters would vote No on 8.”

    But WHO WENT AND SENT FLIERS AND KNOCKED ON BLACK PEOPLES DOORS!?!?! MORMONS!!! It’s not the black people’s fault they were homophobic. They’ve been homophobic as a community for YEARS! I was not surprised at all by the exit polls. Like its a shockwave?! But people who go and pander to their hatred and homophobia and confuse them and lie to them and take advantage of their stupidity…. (this excludes the 30% that actually have brains, or just simply aren’t assholes) are the ones to blame.. AKA the Mormons!! The ones who were behind the operations of mostly all of this were the Mormons. The people who spat on my friends and called me faggot at their local rallies were DEFINATELY Mormons!

  27. O and BTW all of you out there that are trying to say we are trying to teach “tolerance” of the LGBT community can go fuck yourselves too! I could give to shits and a monkey tit if you “tolerate” me, but at the end of the day after all that is said and done, I demand that you not “tolerate” me but “RESPECT ME” for who I am and what I want! Ain’t nothin’ to do with tolerance. I don’t have to be tolerant of shit!!! I don’t tolerate nazi-fascist propaganda that panders to people who are like Sarah Palin that “tolerate” gays but don’t “accept” them for who they are. Kind of like Margaret Cho, She can like myself, accept someone for being a member of the Church of LDS, but NO she DOES NOT HAVE TO TOLERATE THEIR RELIGIOUS BULLSHIT!!

  28. “Mormons wear weird underwear…”

    Ha, priceless. Here’s another zinger: I like to call Muslims — all Muslims — “towelheads.” Why? ‘Cause fuck them for wearing towels on their heads, that’s why.

    Also, you know how orthodox Jews wear yarmulkes? ‘Cause they believe it signifies humility before God and shit? I call those, heh-heh, “kike beanies.” Heh.

    Thanks, Margaret — mocking religious clothes is fun!

  29. Okay, it’s official. If I was a straight man, I’d have to kidnap you from your hubby and marry you, Margaret! (But hey…I tried that routine when the Mormons told me it was the only way their god would accept me, and it didn’t work out so well!). LOL!!!!!

  30. I’m from Utah, Mormon and gay. It was a little extreme at points but you have to understand that a lot of people were/are effected by this issue. I’m proud to have someone who will stand up and sing a song for my/our rights. Do I agree with some of the points that were made? No, but I don’t have to. Margaret Cho is pretty amazing at what she does and this-my friend-is what she does. She sang this song to a directed audience who came to listen to it. She did not, on the other hand, force her beliefs (highly funded beliefs) onto others. She is only proving that we are making progress. You may not call this progress but you are only looking at it superficially; Look at the big picture. I will always be a fan of Margaret Cho. Her methods have always been an inspiration to me and has helped be through some pretty rough times in my life. We need more people like her supporting causes.

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