OMG. Google 'Tucker Carlson' And 'Gay Marriage.'
"History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people." ~Martin Luther King Jr.The Huffington Post identified the 10 Democratic senators who have yet to publicly support gay marriage. What are they waiting for? A majority of Americans support it; yes, even Tucker Carlson supports it.Our efforts are paying off. Only 3 remain! Please take a second to TWEET, EMAIL or CALL a few of these senators and ask them to publicly support marriage equality. Yes, you can even thank Tucker!
UPDATE: Supports same-sex marriage as of 4/1/13!
Sen. Casey said the letters & stories he received impacted his decision.
Tweet a "thanks" to Sen. Casey!
Email Sen. Casey
Call his D.C. office: (202) 224-6324
2. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.)
Opposes same-sex marriage and backs DOMA.
Oh boy. Baby steps, folks. Organizing 101: Share Your Story -- tell Joe what gay marriage would mean to you.
Call his D.C. office: (202) 224-3954
3. Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.)
UPDATE: Supports same-sex marriage as of 3/27/13!
She has a tough re-election in '14. You can email, call, or Tweet her to say "thanks," and let her know we'll have her back.
Email Sen. Hagan
Call her D.C. office: (202) 224-6342
4. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.)
UPDATE: Supports same-sex marriage as of 4/4/13!
Way to go, Bill! Tweet Sen. Nelson to say "thanks!"
Email Sen. Nelson
Call his D.C. office: (202) 224-5274
5. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.)
UPDATE: Supports same-sex marriage as of 4/5/13!
Give Heidi a big "HOO-AH!" and tweet her a "thanks!"
Email Sen. Heitkamp
Call her D.C. office: (202) 224-2043
6. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.)
"People should be allowed to love who they love."
Tough state -- it has a constitutional ban against same-sex marriage, AND she's up for re-election in '14. So, be gentle but firm. We need Mary to lead from her great big heart.
Email Sen. Landrieu
Call her D.C. office: (202) 224-5824
7. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.)
UPDATE: Supports same-sex marriage as of 4/2/13!
Right on, Tom! Tweet a big "thanks" to Sen. Carper!
Email Sen. Carper
Call his D.C. office: (202) 224-2441
8. Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.)
UPDATE: Supports same-sex marriage as of 4/8/13!
Make sure you tweet a "thanks" to Sen. Johnson!
Email Sen. Johnson
Call his D.C. office: (202) 224-5842
9. Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.)
UPDATE: Supports same-sex marriage as of 4/5/13!
Right on, Joe! Courage of conviction, man. Tweet Sen. Donnelly a "thanks!"
Email Sen. Donnelly
Call his D.C. office: (202) 224-4814
10. Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.)
Does not support same-sex marriage.
Look, it's Arkansas, people; I can't do anything about that. We gotta start somewhere. Be nice: Share your personal story about what equality marriage means to you. Kill 'em with kindness.
Email Sen. Pryor
Call his D.C. office: (202) 224-2353
BONUS: Tucker Carlson ("libertarian")
Supports gay marriage.
So, we agree with Tucker Carlson! There's a first time for everything. Swallow your pride. Reward tolerance. Tweet Tucker a quick thanks:
On July 24, 2007, Carlson said on his show, "I'm just for marriage generally. I'm for people making a lifelong commitment. Do you know what I mean? I'm not against gay marriage, actually, and I'm the most right-wing person I know." Carlson later went on to say, "I think, marriage has been a great thing for me, and I think it's a really civilizing force, and I think it would be a civilizing force for gay people, too."
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.