Hey! Hey! What do you say?

Let’s Call in “gay” to work today!

Whoa! Wait! I need the pay,

Let’s Go To Work Anyway!

Politics is the art of the possible. The idea Wednesday was to get gay people to boycott their workplace – “a day without a gay” – to show the power and numbers of the gay workforce and protest the passage of Prop 8. That seemed to be a rational and potent next step in the same sex marriage debate, not to mention a flex of muscle in a relatively non-confrontational way at a time when anti-8ers are still feeling low and eager to do more.

The call for a gay-out was national; in California there’s a vivid history of these kinds of things (see Cesar Chavez and grapes.)

But you knew things were going to be a little floppy when former SF Supervisor and State Senator Mark Leno said a day off was OK… for other people. “A deeply personal” choice, he called it. Meaning people could opt out, which he certainly did because “the state budget crisis demands my full attention this week.” Like other people’s jobs only require half their attention? We’re all for fixing California’s fiscal calamity but does Mr. Leno have to rub it in that his job is more important than yours?

One concise commenter on sfist said about the Leno remark: “Pffft.”

It wasn’t just Mark Leno, to be fair. Early reports Wednesday, including from the Chronicle’s own Matthai Kuruvila, found things fizzling in SF’s Castro district. “Several gay and lesbian people said they couldn’t afford to take the day off,” Matthai wrote, particularly when the economy is tanking. Some store owners were downright pissed that gay businesses might be affected, like the community was holding a gun to its own head and threatening to pull the trigger if homophobes didn’t get straight with the program. Why was that a good idea?

“The whole purpose should be to support your own,” said business owner Rich Boutell, “not to boycott.” I wonder what Harvey Milk, the Castro camera store operator, would have had to say.

“I was scheduled off thank goodness as I am ambivalent on this one,” commenter michael posted to the blog Queerty. kid A had a “group presentation (and) I can’t bail on that.” Matt wondered if “porn stars and escorts took the day off?” And Joan figured she could count the day as a “gay day for me: my wife had dental surgery and I had to take her to the dentist’s office then stay home to keep an eye on her.”

“Both my lover and I are self-employed so it would be redundant to call in gay,” wrote mark. Gregoire “came to work but left the gay part at home. I just flirted inappropriately with a bunch of women in my office and turn(ed) up my Dave Matthews Band greatest hits.” austin asked, “Is this the prequel to Gay Without Pay?” and poster leland frances pointedly said, “This is to gay activism what Paris Hilton is to acting.” But we all know commenters can be a little snippy.

My personal favorite was comedienne Wanda Sykes (who came out at the last big round of Prop 8 protests) on Jay Leno last night. Her contribution to “calling in gay” day? She delayed her entrance for 12 seconds. “Us show folks, we show up, ” she told Leno. Well, not always in my experience.

Gymnastics coach David Lang told AP the protest was a good idea, badly organized, a slam that has been put on the No On 8 campaign itself.

The hesitation to participate in a call not to participate was certainly much more understandable in Utah, where just telling your employer you’re gay can get you fired, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. Don’t tell and don’t even think about asking in that state.

There were much more accessible protests and marches after work in several cities around the country. More than 10 and less than a million people showed up in SF. (I’m not getting near the crowd count bomb.)

And you can always rely on media coverage to overheat on potential social upheaval stories. Queerty called the Wednesday morning press coverage of Day/Gay “massive,” citing a New York Times story that saw yet another deep cultural trend. Do they have to offer a retraction to trend stories if the underlying fact flutters away?

And then there was this indecipherable, or maybe racy, headline from an AFP wire story: “Gays down tools in protests against same-sex wedding ban.” I’ll just leave that right there. Feel free to write your own translation.

At the end of the day, with or without gays, the stock market closed up almost 100 points and the Prop 8 fallout continues.

For more, read Bronstein at Large.