on prop 8 and demo
So Proposition 8 passed in California, a state Obama won. Polls have found that African-American and Latino voters were one of the factors on why an issued that was against the Democratic schema was a odds with the presidential victor. I have heard some people argue this point and I have to agree with it, but there are some limitations to the argument as well. For example there is only 10% population of African American in California. They really are a minority population in that state. Although Latino populations are rising and are almost equivalent to Caucasians. It should be noted that this was only one factor with the dissonance between those who voted for our president elect and also voted for this horribly limiting proposition. Other factors were involved and other issues need to be looked at instead of this easy finger pointing.
That being said, there were a large percentage of Latino and black populations that voted for the bill. There is no arguing this fact. Acceptance of divergent sexual orientations and identities is lower in these populations so this shouldn’t be a surprise. Many runaways or homeless youth are within these populations. Also many, not all times, individuals seem to have to choose between their racial/ethnic identity and their sexual orientation. When your family and social structure don’t support you it can strike a cord.
I do NOT want to villianize these populations though. Latino and African Americans are far more active in their religious activities. So its voting with your faith. And don’t tell me that is not important. Both faith and politics are about morals and values. If their church teaches one thing and it goes along with a proposal then it just makes sense, less cognitive dissonance. Also many people don’t come out very opening within the communities. Added to the fact about the Down Low culture it can be harder for these populations to meet and be immersed with LGBT individuals and hear their side of the story.
So here is where my argument it trying to get to. I’m not trying to be racist, but these are real ordeals. We aren’t going to see change unless we work on our weaknesses, and one of them is the continual ignoring of the Latino and African-American cultures. We should be working more visually WITH them. There are very few coalitions of black and gay facilities working to end AIDS. Unless they’re working with gay African-Americans, these companies will work by themselves and in their own niches. We need to work together more and reach common grounds and share our stories. We need to win over the Latino and African-American populations and not just assume they are going to vote in our favor.
But it’s not just the voting. More exposure means more acceptance when their family members come out. I could go on about assumptions, but I want to see these communities working together and getting great things done!
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Currently Reading: Murder in Mesopotamia
Author: Agatha Christie