[NB I know this is a little late in getting posted, but fair week has been hectic so far. I have only been able to type our experiences from the first day because I brought my computer with me yesterday to the fair!]
We had a great opening day of the fair. Kate and I opened the booth. Joan worked for several hours, and Larry, Tony, Martha, and Gwen worked the afternoon and evening shifts. It is wonderful to have so many willing volunteers this year. It makes all the difference—thanks to everyone who is volunteering this week. Here is a sample of comments and interactions we recorded:
11:16 am Lady passing by: “Gay-Straight . . . huh . . . what does that mean?” Kate explains. Lady: “Oh, okay, I was just curious what it meant.”
12:11 pm A lady asked what our booth was all about, and Kate explained. The lady wanted to know if this was some sort of movement to make gay people straight. We explained that GSAs are not designed to convert anyone one way or another, but rather that the purpose of most GSAs are for both gay and straight people to support one another.
12:15 pm A lady and a young boy stopped by, took literature from Equality Ohio about the laws in Ohio that exclude sexual orientation and gender identity. The woman was surprised that it is still legal to fire someone because they are gay.
12:30 pm A young boy (12–14 years old) and his mom and grandma were walking past the booth. He started to walk over to us to get a piece a candy. The mom tried to hold him back. He just pushed her hand away and came over here anyway. He took a piece, said thank you, and then left. The mom just kept walking. I think much of the resistance we encounter these days come from older generations. I think the younger generations are getting it!
1:00 pm A young family stopped by and took literature and candy. They were very pleasant and said thanks.
3:10 pm A high school student came up to our booth and said, “Okay, I don’t want to read anything right now, but I have a question. Are you for or against gays?” (the standby question we heard so much last year). Tony replied, “We believe in equal treatment for all people.” Then she gave us two thumbs up and seemed pleased.
Martha’s report for the afternoon shift:
3:55 pm We were talking with each other, minding our own business, when we heard a pop from behind the tent. Then we smelled something. Upon investigation, we found someone had set off a “fart bomb” behind the tent.
5:20 pm A woman with a Red Cross shirt stopped by. A friend of hers has a son who graduated from high school a few years ago. She believes the son is gay but the mother is not supportive and the son is closeted. She took some lieterature. (Note—she looked at our booth for a long time before coming over, and we all assumed from her facial expression that disapproved of us. But we were wrong!)
5:45 pm A man, two women, and child stopped by. They were supportive. One woman’s uncle had married but struggled with his sexuality his whole life. The man’s boss and office manager are partners and he has no problem with it. “Let them marry—let them be as miserable as the rest of us!”
7:25 pm Three teenagers stopped by. They are supportive and took bumper stickers for their cars.
7:30 pm A woman stopped by and asked if Dawn was here. She wanted to say hi. She put a few dollars in our bowl. We asked her how she was enjoying the fair and she replied, “you know, it is what it is.” :)
7:40 pm Dale, the balloon man from the Wordless Book booth across the way, stopped by to talk. He asked how we explained Romans and Tony launched into his explanation of Romans and they continued to have a pleasant civil conversation. When he said he thought being gay was a choice and/or that it was the result of poor upbringing, Larry shared his story. When we asked Dale when he chose to be heterosexual, he said he didn’t, he was born that way. We nodded and said yes!—that’s the way it works for gay people too. He took a Soulforce pamphlet, a God vs. Gays pamphlet, and The Only Question That Matters pamphlet, and he said he’d ask his pastor about it. He also asked why God didn’t make Adam & Steve instead of Adam & Eve. Tony responded that it’s likely that Adam & Eve has all aspects of all people built in their DNA—including people of all sexual orientations.
8:05 pm A woman passed by, waved and said hi.” :)
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