Is it just me or did Lady Gaga coming to Portland to protest don’t ask don’t tell just seem to appear suddenly out of the ether? I mean, it was like at some point on Sunday afternoon everyone, in Maine, in unison, made a status update on their preferred social networking site that the good lady would be in town. Fine.
Now, love her or hate her, there’s no denying that Lady Gaga is a spectacle worth seeing. During a busy day of classes I could do little more than drive by but spectacle it was. The crowd gathered was diverse, including some suits, some spikes, and some simple jeans and tees. Gaga herself was uncharacteristically moderate in her appearance. She wore a simple suit (Made of cloth. And yes we do need to specify these days.) and giant glasses. With Gaga not competing, the winner for outlandish outfit has to go to the man wearing only construction tape. He wasn’t the kind of overweight creepy guy one would expect to show up to a rally wearing nothing but strips of plastic but rather a well built and moderately attractive man – ya know, for the ladies who are into that kind of thing. I would say guys too but in the interest of national security I’d better not.
As we now know, senators Snowe and Collins both voted against this repeal of don’t ask don’t tell. Thanks, Senators. Maine has once again blocked gay rights. We are so not allowed to sit at the cool table with the rest of the New England States.
–Joshua Lobkowicz