There is a school of thought among minorities that goes like this: if they don't know we're here they'll leave us alone to live our lives. The problem with that is you become an isolated group that nobody knows anything about and people are willing to believe any lies told about you because they've never had any dealings with people like you. In medieval Europe, when Jews practised this behaviour, the common lie used to incite hatred against them was that Passover matzoh was made using the blood of virgin gentile girls. As ridiculous as that might sound to us today, it was accepted as the truth back then.
How much different is that from spreading the lie that a child taught by a homosexual will become one, or that gay men are pedophiles? Both are equally as ridiculous as the blood and matzoh story, but they are readily believed today by people who don't have any contact with gays or lesbians.
Ballot Measure 9 is about a plebiscite that took place sixteen years ago in the state of Oregon that tried to strip homosexuals of basic human rights. While the original movie is both shocking and uplifting in places, it's the special features on the DVD that make it important for people to watch now. Reliving past victories is as much an exercise in futility as bemoaning past losses if you don't have the courage to learn from your mistakes.
Nothing was really decided in Oregon in 1992, because there are still those actively trying to strip minorities of their basic human rights. In 2007 Oregon introduced a civil union law which allows gays and lesbians to legally formalize their partnerships. The same group who put forward Ballot Measure 9 are currently working to have a measure included on the upcoming election's ballot revoking that law. If minority groups, especially gays and lesbians, continue to isolate themselves from the community at large they will continue to be vulnerable to attacks like this.
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