Did you call in gay today?

It's "call in gay" day today. Or, no, the real name is "Day Without a Gay." "Call in gay" equates "gay" with "sick," which isn't the intended message. Well, what is the message? What possible good is done for a cause by a protest that comes in the form of shirking your responsibilities?

Same-sex marriage supporters are urging people to skip work by "calling in gay" on Wednesday as part of their campaign to overturn Proposition 8.

The first ever "Day Without a Gay" is being organized to show the nation relies on homosexuals and to raise awareness of the drive to legalize gay and lesbian marriage.

So your co-worker doesn't show up today? What are the chances you will respond by rethinking your position on gay marriage?

"We are all for a boycott if that's what brings about a sense of community for people," said Sean Hetherington, a comedian and personal trainer who came up with the idea with his boyfriend.

Nice publicity for you, Sean. Great idea on that score. It's not really a "boycott" though, is it? People are asked to avoid their jobs, when there is nothing wrong with their jobs. And "a sense of community for people"? How about the community that people at work feel with each other? You call in sick because you actually can't contribute that day, and you feel bad that you've left other people to cover for you. Picture the "community" they are having without someone who "called in gay," knowing that he or she decided not to work because of a political agenda.

Of course, most people -- gay or not -- can see that it would be foolish to stay out of work to try to send a political message. And that's one more reason why the comedian's idea is ridiculous. Very few people will do it, and it's the sort of protest that means something only if it's very widespread.

And I apologize for giving this fool more publicity. I avoided blogging about this topic a few weeks ago. But it got enough publicity that I could see that my little "boycott" was doing just about nothing.