Calling in Gay on Wednesday?

Wanta fight H8 with Love?

"Boycotts are fine in theory, but in the changing world of online and cable news media, which requires moving pictures of action, the best way to get your point across is to allow your movement to be creative and different," says Day Without A Gay co-founder Sean Hetherington. "That’s where DWAG comes from. We read about the national boycott of the US economy and the work force, and support it, but wanted to add a service element to it so that efforts were still going back into the non-profit economy. 

"Every time someone holds up a soup ladle at a homeless shelter on December 10, we hope a camera catches it for the news, and we hope that those images help change the hearts and minds of people on the fence about the LGBT community.

"Do I think a gay boycott will be successful?  Perhaps," Hetherington says. "It’s hard to quantify because our straight allies may take part, plus, how do you quantify those still in the closet?  And when do you have the results of the boycott, and how do you present the findings?  The American economy has been through enough damage in the last few months.  When we boycott, it doesn’t just hurt America, it hurts gay America, too.  Not just financially, but spiritually.  We think volunteering is where it’s at, Jack!
 
"We both wanted to not feel angry about prop 8 anymore, and decided to shift the focus of the inevitable boycott from anger to the good feelings of giving service. Neither of us work in activism, as I'm now a personal trainer having lost 100 pounds and working with others trying to be healthy--so we are doing this very grassrootsy, or grassweb if you will.
 
"What if, just for one day, those who could take off work, DID?  And instead of staying home feeling hopeless, they went out and did good things for their own LGBT community and/or the greater world to show America that we are compassionate loving people, even in the face of being outcast as separate but equal. 
 
"We created a web site (http://daywithoutagay.wetpaint.com) based on the Join the Impact site, where people can post volunteer opportunities by state, and then use the day to give back, while still honoring an economic boycott and a day out from work if that is important to them.

"The Day Without A Gay site has had over 100,000 hits since launching  Saturday, Novvember 15, at noon, and we already have postings in many states, which is a good sign.  It just feels like a good thing to do, and in 48 hours we had hit local media in 10 major cities, plus Telemundo and Austria Channel 4 and Australian Radio.  We receive around 100 emails an hour from people looking for volunteer opportunities, so we're interested in more organizations listing, because the volunteers are out there.  We hope celebrities who care about LGBT people will volunteer, as well as out gay prominent figures, or that that they will list foundations they've created that need help.