World War II Vet For Marriage Equality Is New Internet Sensation; More Than 500,000 Views
The video testimony of a World War II veteran and VFW Chaplin from Biddeford, Maine, who spoke to an overflow crowd at the Maine legislative hearing this Spring in support of marriage equality, has become the newest internet sensation. In just five days, the video of the 86-year-old vet has topped the half-million view mark on YouTube, becoming the third all-time top-rated clip in the News & Politics category on that video sharing site.
What began as a blog posting on a few popular sites midweek like Huffington Post and Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish turned into an internet explosion. The big spike in viewings occurred when BoingBoing.net, a pop culture blog, posted it at 10:17 PM on October 20.
Headlines in blog postings included these: "Greatest Generation, Philip Spooner speaks out for gay marriage"; "What Do You Think I Fought for At Omaha Beach?"; "World War II Vet and Life-Long Republican Gives Impassioned Testimony in Support of Gay Marriage"; "World War II Vet Speaks in Support of Gay Marriage…Who's Ready To Cry?"
Spooner, a life-long Mainer and widower, raised four sons, one of whom was gay and predeceased him. In his testimony, Spooner told legislators: "This is what we fought for in World War II. The idea that we can be different and still be equal. My wife and I did not raise four sons with the idea that three of them would have a certain set of rights, but our gay child would be left out. We raised them all to be hardworking, proud and loyal Americans. They all did good."
Talking about why the Spooner video took off online, Adam Bink, a blogger from OpenLeft.com, said:
"Philip's video testimony has gone viral because he represents someone who would otherwise be drowned out in the debate. We rarely see someone of Philip's background literally stand up and say that marriage equality is a freedom he fought to defend. Even though the war is over, Phillip is still fighting for fairness and respect, and seeing that tugs at the patriotic values of those who are passing the video along to their family, friends and colleagues."
Gerald Weinand from DirigoBlue.com, Maine’s preeminent progressive political blog, echoed Bink, saying:
“In much the same way word of mouth recommendations promote a great restaurant, the internet allows people to tell others about things that have touched them personally. That the video of Philip Spooner has "gone viral" is another example of how the new media is a two-way street, where average citizens determine what news is important. The video is newsworthy because Mr. Spooner, in his way, has spoken for so many.”
Relevant links:
YouTube video: “Philip Spooner - www.EqualityMaine.org”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrEbJBFWIPk
Huffington Post: “Philip Spooner VIDEO: WWII Veteran Makes Case For Gay Marriage”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/21/philip-spooner-video-wwii_n_329446.html
Boing Boing: “86-year-old WWII vet on gay marriage: "What do you think I fought for in Omaha Beach?"
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/10/20/86-year-old-wwii-vet.html
Andrew Sullivan’s The Daily Dish: “A Father's Son”
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/10/a-fathers-son.html
Technorati: Top 100 blogs
http://technorati.com/blogs/top100
