4 counties in CA had big margins for Prop 8 (against same-sex marriage).

[4lbs]

Examining the CA Secretary of State's breakdown of the voting by county, I discovered that 4 counties in CA were heavily in favor of Prop 8, thus being against same-sex marriage. When I say "heavily in favor" I mean both large percentages for Prop 8 and large voting numbers.

http://vote.sos.ca.gov/Returns/props/map190000000008.htm


San Bernardino County
=====================
YES -- 318,338 (67.1%)
NO --- 156,140 (32.9%)

Difference: ~162,000 more votes for Prop 8



Riverside County
=====================
YES -- 266,159 (64.3%)
NO --- 147,918 (35.7%)

Difference: ~119,000 more votes for Prop 8



Orange County
=====================
YES -- 526,091 (57.5%)
NO --- 389,934 (42.5%)

Difference: ~127,000 more votes for Prop 8



Kern County
=====================
YES -- 145,855 (75.3%)
NO --- 47,898 (24.7%)

Difference: ~98,000 more votes for Prop 8




Prop 8 was passed overall in CA by about 500,000 votes.


Summing up the vote differentials for these 4 counties yields about 506,000 more votes for Prop 8.

So, blame those four counties in CA for defeating same-sex marriage. Also, note that all 4 counties are next to one another.

I would suggest that all protests go to those 4 counties in CA. A large majority of votes in those 4 counties in CA voted for Prop 8, and thus defeated same-sex marriage. Protest in those 4 counties, and boycott those 4 counties.

[xchrom]

1. 1 in 4 san franciscans voted for prop 8. nt

[Critters2]

3. Wow! That's disappointing. Hard to imagine being so unkind to

one's neighbors.

It's all so sad.

[LeftCoast]

6. So in other words we voted in inverse proportion to the most pro Prop 8 county

:shrug:

San Francisco has it's conservatives just like any other place...we just tend to have fewer of them.

[Ken Burch]

2. Is Kern County next to the others? I thought it was Bakersfield and parts north

Buck Owens, Merle Haggard country


Not that I'm blaming them personally.
Buck's dead and Merle was probably too stoned to vote (remember, he once said Muskogee was the only place he DIDN'T smoke it!)



No surprise Kern would go vote "Yes"(and the local livestock were probably worn out by the victory celebrations.)
:sarcasm:

[4lbs]

4. Kern County "touches" San Bernardino County which touches Orange and Riverside.

All 4 counties combined represent 2 million actual votes cast.

Approximately 1.25 million went YES on 8 while about 750,000 were NO on 8.

[Jamastiene]

10. I'd say all four of those counties you mention are touched...

or at least those who voted yes were touched in the head to vote the way they did.

If there is anything I despise, it is a "stronghold" right wing region. We actually have two precincts in my blue county that are rabid right wing areas. They have the nastiest attitude and...guess what, they are the most hateful bunch in the county. You dread even driving through those areas, the hate is so thick.

[melody]

27. Kern County is adjacent to Los Angeles County

They should know better.

Many of them do.

[Kutjara]

5. I live in Orange County, and I can affirm...

...that it seemed like every damned street corner was full of "Yes on 8" shit stains, chanting their message of hate. In my little part of the world, it was homophobia-central for the week running up to the vote. The few "anti-8" groups I saw had to endure jeers and catcalls from passing motorists all day long. I spent a few hours in a crew near my apartment, and the vitriol that came our way was truly awesome. Most of it from the usual baseball-bedecked fuckwits in yellow-ribbon pickup trucks, of course (of which Orange County appears to have more than its fair share).

If you want to see what the New Dark Ages will look like, come on over and I'll show you what greed, stupidity and easy access to plastic surgery can produce. Hieronymus Bosch couldn't produce a more poignant vision of self-absorbed Hell.

[bliss_eternal]

11. Sounds scary...

...It seems a familiar refrain that in areas populated by a majority of caucasians, there were a lot of signs on lawns--and many of the signs were "yes on 8's." :(

A friend that lives in a predominately black and latino area said she saw no signs on any lawns in her neighborhood. But she also said,"...you know people of color aren't trying to advertise their politics, so folks can have reasons to trash their property." Which is frequently true. Middle/working class people in her community work hard for what they have, and are protective of it.

Interesting though, how many other communities will willingly advertise their beliefs (good and bad), though. :shrug:

[Jamastiene]

13. It is kind of like that to some degree where I live all the way over here on the east coast.

In my hometown, you see signs downtown, in the "historical district" located inside the city limits and in the "ritzier" areas. In my hometown, those are the predominantly white areas. In the poor and middle class neighborhoods, you see very few political signs, if any.

[bliss_eternal]

16. Some friends that were against this shared with me...

...that when they spoke with people of color about this proposition, it was usually in hushed tones--and away from others hearing range. Especially if they were at the office, and they were concerned about other co-workers over hearing.

Whispering,"...by the way--may I ask how you are voting on 8....and why?"

That makes me hopeful.
This is indicative of someone that knows they are talking about something sensitive that involves "people."
Maybe if someone had offered appropriate things for them to think about, or been able to defuse the lies placed by the ads--this may have been the kind of person that would have changed their mind, and their vote.

The ones' beyond reach (in my opinion), are the "WOOHOOOO" idiots--the one's that have to march and shout, paint banners on their cars, wave signs, plant them on their lawns and tell you how PROUD they are to strip people of rights. Jack asses like that don't care.

[Kutjara]

15. That's an excellent point.

Right-wing "radicals" are very brave in areas where they're in the majority, much like any other brand of coward. Here in largely-white OC, they feel safe posting their "Yes on 8" signs and their "McCain and Palin" signs, because they know they have safety in numbers. So they can stand outside the upscale Brea Mall (where ten stores have closed in the past two months, by the way) in huge numbers at ten PM, and prance and chant about "preserving marriage" (whatever the holy fuck that means), without fear that any dirty blacks or latinos or (even worse) gays will come and shout at them and make them cry.

It's genuinely nausea-inducing to see what it takes to get comfortable, white, upper middle class people agitated. It isn't war and genocide, it isn't hunger and disease, it isn't even the heat-death of our planet. Nope, what it takes to bring out the tighty-whities in droves is the idea that other people may actually be having sex somewhere.

[bliss_eternal]

17. I know that area.

We have a democratic relative nearby. They are frequently creeped out by the radical freak show in the area. But says the progressive element is growing (thankfully).

In our area there was a mix. But honestly more often than not, if there was a sign on the lawn--it was a "yes." I'm not sure why the "yes" people feel they have to advertise how hateful they are, but I guess that's their right. If nothing else, it makes it easier to know who to glare at as they drive by, (or who to flip off if you can get away fast enough ;)), and what neighborhoods to avoid when home shopping.

I don't know, I guess the this poster said it best a couple of nights ago. I swear I want it on a shirt.

Because being white means never having to explain why you voted the way you did.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=4392856#4396742

[Kutjara]

18. Let your relative know there are a few more of us nearby.

As to why the "yes" brigade feel the need to advertise, honestly I think it's because it's the only way they have to let the world know they've actually had sex. When I looked at most of the mutants in the "Yes on Hate" mobs around here, all I could think was "You'd be much better off if you were bisexual. That way, there'd be twice the chance a blind person would be drunk enough to fuck you."

[bliss_eternal]

19. omg...

:rofl:

I know. They are completely repellant in every way.
You just know these are the same asshats paying somebody in black leather to kick their asses once a month. ;)

[Jamastiene]

7. Good idea. n/t

[JDPriestly]

8. Rednecks.

[Kutjara]

9. Too easy.

While there are certainly some backwoodsmen in those counties, Orange County is one of the richest in the nation. The people who live around me in "the OC" aren't rednecks, just self-absorbed, credulous, bigoted, arrogant assholes. Lots of defense workers around here, too, which naturally gives rise to a "God, bombs, and the Almighty Dollar" mentality.

So, while rednecks are certainly part of the problem, there's a whole menagerie of other kinds of cretin who got behind Prop 8 too. Seems the one thing we still lead the world in is the variety of our stupidity.

[Jamastiene]

12. We actually have different brand names for types of hate here in America.

It's a freaking industry all its own.

[Kutjara]

14. Well, the one thing we do really well...

...is marketing. I mean, "bigoted prick" is really bad branding, while "social conservative" sounds almost cuddly.

[bliss_eternal]

21. LMAO!

:spray::rofl:

I might be inclined to speed date the social conservative (if forced, and I wouldn't like him...at...all!)
But the bigoted prick's only going to get cussed out, and my foot in his ass.

[Jamastiene]

22. That is the absolute truth, imo. n/t

[bliss_eternal]

20. Yeah--Orange County is a very different breed.

Lots of self-entitlement, definite arrogance, "my toys are better than your toys," types.
Total wankers.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

42. American Chopper - Discovery Channel

American Chopper comes to mind whenever I hear Orange Country.

[sojourner]

23. the "red" belt of california.......

conservative, bigoted areas (huge generalization, but those areas tend to be real "law 'n order" types who prefer people locked up to being treated for drug crimes and who were giant bush supporters).

[ellius101]

24. Orange County resident too

The Yes on 8 signs were nauseating, plus a couple weeks before the election saw tons of Yes on 8's on street corners, holding signs. Nauseating.
On the positive, there was a vigil in Laguna last night, over 1000 people marched. There was a lot of support. Laguna voted 2 to 1 No on 8, so I'm not sure a blanket boycott is the answer. Heck, I already feel like a victim! Target the businesses that donated to Yes on 8. And please sign that petition to remove tax exemption from Mormon church and email to everyone you know!

[bluedawg12]

26. We all feel like victims, you're not alone- that's their point

and that's why this isn't dying down anytime soon.

It isn't prop8 alone, it is the tsunami ofhate that precedes it.

It makes us all feel stressed, targeted, isolated. Except for the inter net, imagine how isolated gays would have felt ten years ago!

.......

Am J Community Psychol. 2003 Jun;31(3-4):313-28.
Stressor and resilience factors for lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals confronting antigay politics. Russell GM, Richards JA.

Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies, Amherst, Massachusetts 01004-2603,
When lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people encounter antigay campaigns and elections, they face explicit and implicit homophobic attacks. In order to understand the points of stress and the bases for resilience in the face of these attacks, we developed a 130-item quantitative survey on the basis of results of an earlier qualitative study. Three hundred, sixteen Colorado LGB people endorsed items representing sources of stress and sources of resilience associated with the campaign for and passage of an antigay referendum. Factor analyses of the results suggested 5 sources of stressors and 5 sources of resilience for LGB persons and their communities.

These types of messages undermine the basic value and humanity of LGB people.

It is reasonable to expect that exposure to such materials and to discussions about LGB rights can constitute a stressor for at least some LGB people, even when specific election outcomes favor LGB rights.

When election outcomes do not support equal rights for LGB people, an additional set of stressors may come into play.

An antigay electoral decision suggests to LGB people that they are not full members of the community; it may increase legal concerns in matters of employment and housing; it raises concerns that antigay votes will unleash broader forms of harassment and violence (Booth, 1992; Spring, 1992; Stepanek, 1992).

In addition, some LGB people, especially those who tend to deny the pervasiveness of homonegativity, may find their denial compromised (Russell, 2000).

[Tektonik]

25. Kern County really is hell on earth

:puke:

[ronnykmarshall]

34. My mom wishes they could move out ..

"of this fucking redneck town".

[Tektonik]

40. Bakersfield?

Or worse? Delano, Tehachapi, Mojave, California City? :scared:

I've been all over Kern County and the only thing worth half a shit is Edwards AFB and the BEAUTIFUL desert terrain, but jesus, the people... :scared:

[ronnykmarshall]

43. Bako.

She's so sick of the bigots.

[Tektonik]

44. You know the nickname, please tell me you did not have to grow up there

:scared:

I almost had to grow up in Palmdale/Lancaster, but my parents had the sense to move back to LA when I was in middle school.

[ronnykmarshall]

45. Yup I grew up there.

Growing up there as a kid was great. But as I got older I knew I had to get the hell out of there. I moved to San Francisco in 1986 when I was 25.

[cboy4]

28. I live in the reddest county in California, per capita (PLACER),

so I'm stunned we're not on the list.

Must be a lot teh gays here, hiding in the closet.

[4lbs]

35. Percentage-wise, Placer County was heavily YES on 8, but actual differential, it was kind of low.

http://vote.sos.ca.gov/Returns/props/map190000000008.htm


Placer County
=============
YES -- 87,906 (59.9%)
NO --- 58,869 (40.1%)

Difference: ~29,000 votes

So, while Placer went YES on 8 by 19 points, the actual vote differential was "only" 29,000 votes. That is less than the 4 counties I mentioned, which were high-double digits in percentage, and high actual differentials, with 98,000+ votes more for 8 in each.

Calaveras County went 63% YES on 8, to 37% NO on 8. It looks bad, until you discover that only about 20,000 total votes were cast in that county, and the differential was just about 5,000 votes.

[cboy4]

41. I don't know how we can have so many right wingers here

in Placer, yet the 8 vote was closer than it should have been theoretically.

I'm just hoping this is an indication that the people moving into the Sacramento suburbs are coming from the Bay Area and are more socially tolerant than the idiots in the rural areas.

Frankly, I don't know why Placer is so red.

I mean Lake Tahoe, I think, is pretty liberal.

I'd like to see the breakdown.

[EFerrari]

29. Imho, we lost this thing in LA County. We never win anything without that county.

[4lbs]

36. LA county was almost evenly split. 50.5% went YES, 49.5% went NO.

n/t

[EFerrari]

39. I know. We should have won there.

[sui generis]

30. in other news, many white people voted to keep interracial marriage

illegal in their states.

Isn't that odd. The parallel. And the irony, that many of those voters are minorities who were or are oppressed in some way themselves.

[EFerrari]

31. I was wrong about the number of Yes black voters.

I'd thought that black voters are 10% of our vote here and had been basing all my estimates on that number.

Wrong. They're now only 7% altogether.

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06/06075.html

[sui generis]

32. it's not black people, whatever that is, but the irony of it.

of course we do want to generalize, or to focus on just one factor or another as "the reason".

There is no reason - it is irrational to tell someone else what they can and can't do with their own lives, period. To use the weight of constitution to do it makes the phrase "American freedoms" a bit sour.

Oh, no sfexpat, I promise we need to get started on the pro prop 8 signatures, FIRST. They're like a public record attendance list at a lynching, except now we know where they live.

And quite frankly I think we need to start with the ones who are registered democrats and on that list FIRST. We'll sweep our own doorstep before we clean up the nasty neighbors.

[EFerrari]

33. Yes. I know. And, I agree.

I checked the protectfamilies site and the effing cowards have taken down their endorsers list.

It's all right. We can find out who they were. They can't hide.

[Maat]

37. I'm in Riverside County.

Interestingly enough, that's the exact ratio of Rethuglicans to Dems in our county (we are always outnumbered).

We ran two exceptional candidates this time, one for state assembly, the other for U.S. Congress. We worked our butts off for the NO-ON-8 campaign, and for the local candidates. In the end - guess what? People basically voted along party lines. It's discouraging, but we keep on trying. We're in 'the Bible Belt' of Southern California.

I would organize here, but many of my GLBT friends do not want to organize marches. See my post on this thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4426163 .

So, we are going to the marches in other counties.

P.S. I grew up splitting my time between Laguna Beach and San Clemente. Some of us have always been very progressively-minded. Laguna Beach has always had a huge GLBT community; it's an artists' colony there. My sis is still in Orange County, and she says that things are slowly changing there. They are here in R.C. too; we registered 10 Dems for every Rethug before this last election - hundreds of new registrations. We keep up the good fight! Boycotting us wouldn't do any good; but looking up the Yes-On-8 donors would work well - http://www.sfgate.com/webdb/prop8/?Search+Again= - I will be boycotting the businesses of the contributors (you can be sure).

[Phredicles]

38. So we're talking about the butt-crack of the state here;

I can see where living in those places would foster a sour view of the world. Not that it's an excuse.