Our focus on Shot Callers around the country continues today with an update from New York's Matt Maggiacomo.

It's happened to you. You’re tinkering away on Facebook, procrastinating, doing anything except your work. You scroll through your newsfeed, there are links to the newest auto-tuned news clips, ‘selfies’ of your friends, and Instagram photos of your cousin’s dinner, but among the nonsense something catches your eye. One of your Facebook friends has posted something unfavorable about Obama and is supporting Mitt Romney!

WHAT TO DO NEXT?

Hide the post? Rebut the post? UNFRIEND?!?!

This has happened to me a few times over the past few months and as the election season comes to a boil it may only get worse. I’ve decided NOT to unfriend or write these folks off, even though I’d like to point out to them that the platform of the party to which they are aligning themselves inherently does not support equality.

As a gay American, I can’t seem to find the common ground with other Americans who vote Republican even though I respect the way in which they exercise their right. I also support freedom of speech. I ask, is it selfishness? Ignorance? Are they misinformed? But no, name-calling never works, though I’m always tempted to ask LGBT folks who vote Republican what it’s like being at a party you were obviously not invited to. I’m reminded of Lacey Chabert’s Gretchen Weiners from Mean Girls as she blurts to Regina George, “You can’t sit with us!” The Mean Girl Republicans want your vote so they can take back the presidency but where will the rights, and all the progress for the LGBT community made under this administration, be if a Republican takes seat?

So what do you do with that disagreeable post on Facebook? Do what I do and post this link on their wall…

https://contribute.barackobama.com/donation/index.html?pa=NQ==&source=qd-take-action

And if they stop popping up on your news feed? Problem solved.

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Matt Maggiacomo

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