Blooming Dogwoods

Folks in Fayetteville are going to wake up the morning of Dec. 10, and some will be happy and some will be mad. Because by then, they’ll know if the repeal of the civil rights ordinance passed or failed.

Those who oppose the repeal say Fayetteville needs the ordinance to protect members of the LGBT community in housing and the workplace. Those who support the repeal say the law is bad for business and have also renounced it as an assault on religious freedoms.

Take it from Whispers: We understand the issue is a personal one and that it’s about identity. With that said, Whispers noticed that arguments on both sides were filled with hyperbole, fear mongering, and a toxic dose of melodrama. Kind of like the stuff they air on CNN and Fox News.

Lost in the whole Fayetteville conversation were voices of centrism and moderation — you know, that whole thing about agreeing to disagree. And what a shame. For a town that likes to describe itself as unique and funky, the voices coming from down off “the hill” were predictably vitriolic. 

With all that said, Whispers is going to take a guess at what might take place in the future: If the ordinance is upheld, Fayetteville will not be overrun with perverts and pedophiles; likewise, if the ordinance is repealed, Fayetteville will not be bombed back into the Dark Ages.