This video is of a speech made by a 19-year-old University of Iowa student, Zach Wahls, during a public forum on House Joint Resolution 6 in the Iowa House of Representatives. This resolution in favor of “Amending the Iowa Consitution to Define Marriage as Between One Man, One Woman” would also end civil unions and domestic partnerships in the state. Votes have so far been along partisan lines. Young Zach takes the high ground as he describes his two mothers and their family life.
Watch this video. Heck, spring it on homophobic family members, because they won’t be able to take their eyes off this spellbinding, beautiful, eloquent young man.
Is the Zach Wahls video the first video in the history of the internet to go viral twice?
The video was posted back in February 2011. It went viral, scoring something like 1.5 million views on Youtube on the YT page of the Iowa Democrats. The viral wave then ended and from March to late November, the video seemed to fade into history.
Then, just a couple of days ago, it gets reposted at Moveon.org and Reddit, and has now gotten over 8 million views on a different YT channel, and is likely to top 10 million views by tomorrow. The second viral wave is clearly distinct from the first, and much greater in scope.
I can’t think of any other video to go viral in this way. Am I wrong?
@David I noticed that, too. I was expecting a different video, maybe featuring the same guy, but it was the exact same thing.
Here’s our interview with Zach about how his life has changed after this speech thrust him into the public eye, what it was like growing up with two mothers, what led him to decide to go and speak before the House of Representatives, and what other young people can do to fight for equality and speak out against intolerance.
http://patv.tv/blog/2011/04/06/talking-with-yale-cohn-with-zach-wahls/