[fushigi]

Hey, took a page out of your book, Dirty Name, used time travel and substitution to question your argument.

NARRATOR: We're now going to take a look at Dirty Name in 1854, a southern slave-owner and congressman who is arguing against the abolition of slavery and acknowledgment of blacks as people.

We've made the following substitutions:

• slaves for homosexuals
• personhood for gay marriage rights
• horses and rocks for polygamy and incest

Please enjoy out presentation. I believe it might shed some light on how narrow-minded thinking and objections based on an appeal to tradition can be.

Quote by: Dirty Name in 1854 I think before you set about flipping switches, twisting dials and yanking levers on the control panel of society, you should at least be able to define your goal. So tell me, what do you consider "progress" when it comes to protecting the backbone of our society - slavery? Why should we give the same tax breaks and legal protections to a slave who claims to be a man? It makes no sense and dilutes the rights we give to REAL people. If you are going to make personhood available to anyone who claims he / she is a person, only the dumbest idiots in the nation wouldn't sign up for benefits. So the question becomes, where do you draw the line? What's next? Personhood for horses? Rocks? And the simple answer is that you draw it where it makes the biggest impact, makes the most sense, and does so with the least intrusion on privacy. Clearly, that line should be drawn where it is right now - with whites being the only real people. It currently doesn't require anything more than a glance at the person (worst case, perhaps a driver license), doesn't require fertility tests, doesn't require any declaration of sexual orientation, nor any declaration of intent to procreate, nor any actual procreation, nor any of the other stupid ideas you people have suggested. Either permitting slaves to become legal persons: a) Discriminates against other forms of personhood (horses, rocks, etc.) or b) It dilutes personhood benefits so dramatically that current personhood benefits become pointless, thus harming the institution as it exists today. Choose now.