I came out of DU retirment...for THIS?

[mondo joe]

I left some months ago because GD: P had gotten so fucking ugly I almost didn't want to vote for anyone.

It was a smart thing to do. I started to feel good about the election, and about our candidate.

Like most here, the election was very bittersweet for me, because of the grievous loss and the amazing win. It was hard to be among so many rejoicing people, at the same time carrying this deep hurt. The way in which Prop 8's loss just didn't occur to my co-workers and friends was understandable, but it intensified the feeling of loss.

I thought DU might be the place where there'd be a strong enough sense of social justice for all that I'd feel affirmed.

Instead what I found was that any discussion about the how and why turned into accusations of racism, statements that we - the people whose rights were lost - were to blame, sophistry about dismantling marriage from people who never did and never will do shit about it, and popcorn-time posts from people who think discussion about the loss of civil rights is entertainment.

There have been other threads that have been great, and I'm glad for them. I don't think for a moment that DU is a homophobic place as a whole. But I do think equality for gays is a pretty low priority here. And I further think sensitivity to our civil rights will always take a far-back seat to sensitivity about race. I wish equal rights for all could be equally weighed for all, bt I really don't see it happening.

I'm just going to also say that it's ridiculous to blame African Americans for our loss on Prop 8. We know that even if every African American who voted in California opposed Prop 8 it would have passed. But the 70% data is disturbing, in and of itself. Even if Prop 8 had been successfully blocked, the 70% would be disturbing. And though I know some don't consider the exit polling reliable, it's not the first set of data that indicates that in the African American population/community there is opposition to equal rights for gays that is statistically higher than the general population.

Let's be clear: that's not typically enough to swing the vote. But as a moral and cultural issue, it is problematic. I wish we could discuss that without judgment, and without conflating it into blame for Prop 8. We certainly discuss voting demographics pretty rationally in other ways - like when we consider gender of voters.

There are problems in the gay electorate also - a ridiculously high percentage of gays vote Republican. And some of that, I'm sure, involves racism, and much self-hate. That demographic ought to be looked at with the same rational eye.

And I don't consider religion to be anything more than an excuse for what happened in California among voters. Religious people are very willing to deviate from their religion when they want to - look at premarital sex, divorce, abortion, etc. Religion doesn't MAKE anyone do anything they don't want to do. It's just an excuse to support the individual's own choices.

Thanks, sincerely, GLBT forum, for keeping up the good fight.