As BumblebeeGarden put it on Twitter, "Let the un-follows begin!"
For me there is a dark cloud hanging over this amazing and historical election: Proposition 8.
For those of you who don't know, Proposition 8 was on the ballot here in California and it's passage "Changes the California Constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California."
Let me repeat: AND IT PASSED.
For hatred and bigotry like this to be codified in this day and age makes me ill. But the words I write are never as good as other blogs I come across, so on this issue I'll defer to them. (Plus what I have to say would come across angry and use the word fuck a lot.)
Paige Green: Somewhere Between a Handshake and Two Kisses
Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom
Dooce.com
Daily Kos
Lez Get Real
The Official Google Blog
Factory Joe
Fitness for the Occasion
California National Organization of Women
Oh yes, and the picture at the top? You're looking at my new bumper sticker which shall arrive shortly.
Nov 6, 2008
In this day and age...really?
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10 comments:
Yep, you are so right. I'm glad you posted about this, because it's my sense that a lot of people are in the dark about this.
Underneath the unbelievably kickass Obama victory from Tuesday were way too many nasty, bigoted measures all over the country to eliminate gay rights. Really sickening. I just hope that some of the lawsuits that are being put together, against H8 and others, are able to undo some of the damage.
God, California is so weird, and I say that as someone who lived there for 17 years. I lived in Palo Alto and San Francisco, where I never met a single conservative person. But then the statewide elections would produce all this hateful initiative crap and awful governors. I kind of had a feeling that Prop 8 would win, I kept following it through Wednesday until I got the bad news. I know gay couples who married there and whose status is now in question. WTF? So sad.
And this is why I tend to hate people.
TEACHER! Katie said Fuck.
It really surprised me that it passed, being California and all, but that state always seems to throw me a curve ball just when I think I have it figured out.
Prejudice is alive and well in California :( What really annoys the crap out of me is the fact that most that probably voted yes we misinformed due to the insane scare tactics used by the yes on prop 8 group.
We've been particularly upset over this. Our friends got married in October, now that is in jeopardy just because of their sexuality.
I'm stunned, scared, and angry at the outcome. Also I find myself thinking less of the neighbors who I know voted yes.
Sad sad time
We don't have to accept any validity in their P.O.V. but we cannot ignore the honesty with which they believe it.
I refuse defend or apologize for the standpoint one might take which allows them declare someone's deepest feelings an abomination. But...
I don't think the most successful approach will be to marginalize the entire opposition as uniformly H8'rs.
For many it truly is fear of homosexuals which can manifest in truly despicable ways. These are the folks who would at best mock and at worst assault someone for being who they are, voting yes was indeed a hateful act of spite. But for some it is a small piece of the idea that a war on the identity of america is being waged. For these people, voting on prop 8 was a defensive measure. It is not gay people they fear, but a change in the fabric of american society, and it is these people who can eventually be moved should the right lever be found.
I think the democratic party has found the right lever when it comes to Roe V. Wade, including in the party platform for the first time a direct connection between improving the quality of sex ed, contraceptives, healthcare, education, and living wages, with a desire to reduce the number of abortions. Reduce the reasons, and you will reduce the occurrences. To my eyes, that truly finds the true middle that has gone unspoken for so long. Clinton wanted abortion to be safe and rare, but now that it is on the party platform, the dots are being connected in a way that will bring in some allies they thought they could never reach.
The question is, how do we reach that constituency on the gay marriage issue.
It was such a crushing contrast with the elation I felt about national election results. How can we move forward and backwards at the same time?
Katie -
Florida passed a similar ammendment. I hope my little girl will get to grow up and marry any concenting adult she chooses. (I don't care, as long as she brings me the babies.) There is just too little love in the world for anyone to deny it to someone else. BTW -Love the bumper sticker.
Meg - I feel like I had to address it. The posts I provided and the comments here are way better than I could ever write. Thanks!
karen - Isn't it though? Just when you think you live in a diverse state that is moderate, we up and vote to take people's rights away.
chris - Yep, pretty much.
eric - Ha! I'm rated R now, I'm sure. Just trying to be authentic as that is what I would say in real life about this mess...
dj - Knowing some folks that voted yes, they are good people who think they are doing the right thing but it still makes me sick. We can only hope to educate and empower those that are fearful of "the other" and make them realize that what they are doing is hateful.
spelled with a k - Thank you for taking the time to write a really excellent comment here. Your eloquence is exactly the reason I chose not to post too much about the situation, because I am angry and motivated to be part of the solution now.
Natalie - Good question. I don't know.
Wicked - There are some great bumper stickers out there about this issue, I just hope that someday they are a non-issue.
I was shocked too. Most of all when I saw in a NY Times article that religious conservatives feel that it is more urgent to stamp out gay marriage than abortion. I'm pro-choice for both sexuality and reproductive issues so I'm out of touch with the religious right, but when did abortion drop down to their #2 issue?
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