The NationStates #LoveIsLove Campaign

[Cormactopia II]

The NationStates #LoveIsLove Campaign

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On June 12, 2016, a radical, homophobic gunman carried out the worst mass shooting in the history of the United States, killing 50 people and injuring 53 others at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. This was the deadliest attack on LGBT+ people in U.S. history. Following this terrorist attack, the hashtag #LoveIsLove began trending on social media as people around the world used that hashtag to mourn those who were lost, to celebrate the courageous lives of the dead and the injured, and to demand a world in which love of all kinds is cherished rather than persecuted.

The NationStates #LoveIsLove Campaign is a way for the NationStates community to participate in this global outpouring of grief, remembrance, and demand for justice. Regions and nations can get involved in the NationStates #LoveIsLove Campaign by doing some or all of the following until June 28, the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall protests against police persecution of LGBT+ people in New York City, which marked the birth of the modern LGBT+ equality movement in the United States.

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Regional Action

1. Pin this dispatch to your World Factbook Entry.
2. Feature rainbow coloring and/or the hashtag #LoveIsLove in your WFE.
3. Change your regional flag to a rainbow or other LGBT+ pride flag or use a rainbow filter on your existing flag.
4. Add the LGBT tag to your region to proudly declare that your region is welcoming to LGBT+ people.
5. Send a region-wide telegram to your region to let them know about the NationStates #LoveIsLove Campaign and link to this dispatch.

National Action

1. Up-vote this dispatch to spread the word.
2. Make #LoveIsLove your national motto and/or incorporate it into other customizable fields.
3. Change your national flag to a rainbow or other LGBT+ pride flag or use a rainbow filter on your existing flag.
4. Use either a custom or game-created banner that celebrates LGBT+ lives and love as your primary banner.
5. Post on your Regional Message Board to let your regionmates know about the NationStates #LoveIsLove Campaign and link to this dispatch.

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So often after tragedies like these, many of us feel helpless and wonder what we can do about the state of our world and the hatred embraced by people who would prefer to destroy diversity rather than respect it. Nothing we can do will bring back the people lost in Orlando, but we can honor their memories and celebrate the bravery of LGBT+ people all over the world who bravely stare down the threat of systematic oppression, violence, and even death, on a daily basis, and defy it. One voice may seem small, but one voice added to a worldwide chorus can make the world listen.

[Altmoras]

Perhaps you should link the dispatch you are talking about. This is a forum post.

[Cormactopia II]

Perhaps you should link the dispatch you are talking about. This is a forum post.

Thanks! I copied the dispatch version for the forum post and forgot to include a link. The link is now in the OP.

[Crimoria]

God I can't believe someone would shoot all those innocent people.

[Sandaoguo]

I think this is great, though I think the LGBT tag should be reserved for LGBT-dedicated regions.

[Galway-Dublin]

Cool beans, I'll certainly do as much as possible to spread the message.

[Falkisches Reich]

God I can't believe someone would shoot all those innocent people.

It's not like it hasn't happened before. Hell, worse things probably happen every day in places like Africa and the Mid-East.

[Drasnia]

I think this is great, though I think the LGBT tag should be reserved for LGBT-dedicated regions.

The LGBT flag isn't something people can claim ownership nor should it be reserved for just a few. For the people that want to show solidarity should (and are) be allowed to use it. I would think that the more people use it, the more it will help the movement.

[Lady Yuno]

I think this is great, though I think the LGBT tag should be reserved for LGBT-dedicated regions.

The LGBT flag isn't something people can claim ownership nor should it be reserved for just a few. For the people that want to show solidarity should (and are) be allowed to use it. I would think that the more people use it, the more it will help the movement.

it spreads the message, any LGBT supporter using the LGBT flag is a good cause.

[Sandaoguo]

I think this is great, though I think the LGBT tag should be reserved for LGBT-dedicated regions.

The LGBT flag isn't something people can claim ownership nor should it be reserved for just a few. For the people that want to show solidarity should (and are) be allowed to use it. I would think that the more people use it, the more it will help the movement.

I said tag, not flag. If the tag is used for regions that are safe spaces for LGBTQI+ players, then regions not dedicated to being a safe space probably shouldn't use the tag. :\

[Drasnia]

The LGBT flag isn't something people can claim ownership nor should it be reserved for just a few. For the people that want to show solidarity should (and are) be allowed to use it. I would think that the more people use it, the more it will help the movement.

I said tag, not flag. If the tag is used for regions that are safe spaces for LGBTQI+ players, then regions not dedicated to being a safe space probably shouldn't use the tag. :\

Oh my apologies. I totally misread that soz

[Caelapes]

The LGBT flag isn't something people can claim ownership nor should it be reserved for just a few. For the people that want to show solidarity should (and are) be allowed to use it. I would think that the more people use it, the more it will help the movement.

I said tag, not flag. If the tag is used for regions that are safe spaces for LGBTQI+ players, then regions not dedicated to being a safe space probably shouldn't use the tag. :\

I know some leftist regions use it to signal that they are a safe space for LGBTQ comrades, as opposed to transphobic regions (like TERFs). TI has done so since the LGBT tag was added.

[King Nephmir II]

Uhhh... no. I will not support LGBT rights, as I am opposed to such things as a Christian IRL. And that doesn't make me an ISIS supporter, I dislike ISIS just as much as the sinful practices of LGBT that have now become mainstream.

I do not hate said people though. Hate the sin, love the person. It is sad that these people had to die to the hands of ISIS, especially on American soil, and my condolences for the families who suffered losses in the attack and for those who died.

[Ikania]

This is quite the worthwhile cause, and one Grand Central will be participating in.

[Justin States 3]

Uhhh... no. I will not support LGBT rights, as I am opposed to such things as a Christian IRL. And that doesn't make me an ISIS supporter, I dislike ISIS just as much as the sinful practices of LGBT that have now become mainstream.

I do not hate said people though. Hate the sin, love the person. It is sad that these people had to die to the hands of ISIS, especially on American soil, and my condolences for the families who suffered losses in the attack and for those who died.

Then why do comment then? If you don't want to support the campaign then leave.

[Justin States 3]

This is a wonderful idea. It was truly a tragic event.

[Mallorea and Riva]

Just noting that I am watching this thread, and I will come down like a ton of bricks on any rulebreaking in it. It straddles the line between gameplay and general, so let's not make me regret leaving it open.

[Siniarus XVII]

As a practicing Catholic, I fully support this. I'll be doing my part to spread the word as well.

[Zenny]

TCB will be supporting this cause. Massive props to Cormac for starting it.

[Tano]

You have my support, as small as that may be

[Kaboomlandia]

Not official or anything, but I have been canvassing for it in Euro, and I fully support this campaign.

[New Dukaine]

Agora and NuDu have adopted this

[Christian Democrats]

On June 12, 2016, a radical, homophobic gunman carried out the worst mass shooting in the history of the United States, killing 50 people and injuring 53 others at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. This was the deadliest attack on LGBT+ people in U.S. history.

I don't see why people are trying to politicize this massacre. Not everyone in a gay bar is gay, and this is not a homosexual issue. It's a security issue, an issue of Muslim extremists committing terrorist acts against Western nations over morals. The thrust of this campaign, Cormac, is that so-called "homophobia" is the problem.* This misidentification is ultimately harmful. The real problem, a problem that all people of good will must confront directly, is a homicidal sect within the Sunni denomination. A person doesn't have to be "pro-gay" to recognize the real problem or to sympathize with the families and friends of the victims of yesterday's terrible attack on human life.

* The word "homophobia" literally means "irrational or obsessive fear of homosexuals." I'm not sure I've ever met a person who is irrationally and obsessively afraid of homosexual individuals. It seems to be a strawman -- i.e., if you disapprove of homosexual conduct, then you must be irrational or obsessively fearful.

[Applebania]

I support this campaign.

EDIT: removed vaguely inflammatory statement.

[Belschaft]

On June 12, 2016, a radical, homophobic gunman carried out the worst mass shooting in the history of the United States, killing 50 people and injuring 53 others at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. This was the deadliest attack on LGBT+ people in U.S. history.

I don't see why people are trying to politicize this massacre. Not everyone in a gay bar is gay, and this is not a homosexual issue. It's a security issue, an issue of Muslim extremists committing terrorist acts against Western nations over morals. The thrust of this campaign, Cormac, is that so-called "homophobia" is the problem.* This misidentification is ultimately harmful. The real problem, a problem that all people of good will must confront directly, is a homicidal sect within the Sunni denomination. A person doesn't have to be "pro-gay" to recognize the real problem or to sympathize with the families and friends of the victims of yesterday's terrible attack on human life.

* The word "homophobia" literally means "irrational or obsessive fear of homosexuals." I'm not sure I've ever met a person who is irrationally and obsessively afraid of homosexual individuals. It seems to be a strawman -- i.e., if you disapprove of homosexual conduct, then you must be irrational or obsessively fearful.

When there's an attack on a Synagogue, it's an attack on Jews. When there's an attack on a Church, it's an attack on Christians. When there's an attack on Mosque, it's an attack on Muslims.

When there's an attack on a gay nightclub, it's not an attack on the LGBT community? Nonsense, and a sign of implicit homophobia; the terrorist choose to attack a gay nightclub, rather than a church, or a school, or a supermarket. It was not a coincidence. This was an intentional act of terrorism directed against the LGBT community, the very definition of a hate crime.

The efforts of the political right to deny this are disgusting.