Homophobia
So when I first saw this one, I sort of rolled my eyes. A post on the L.A. Times blog "L.A. Now" about a new website featuring Google maps of Proposition 8 donors.
Now most of you know that I'm a privacy advocate. I'm not thrilled with the fact that it's ridiculously easy to pull someone's personal information -- including their physical address, phone number, date of birth, family members' names, etc. -- from public records whether you have a legitimate need for the information or not. But at the same time, those who contribute to political causes need to be held to a higher standard, because we've got a right to know where the money in our politics comes from.
Is this website going too far? Maybe. Maybe not. That's an issue that should be the subject of public discourse, and preferably away from a hot-button issue like marriage equality. Where do we draw the line between the right to privacy and the right of the public to an open governmental process? Today people have a visceral example to look at as we have that discussion.
However, when I checked back on the blog later in the day, I was struck by the the comments.
It astounded me how many people assume that because the names and addresses of donors have been put on a map, that bad things are going to happen to these donors. Many commenters (some of them opposed to Proposition 8) genuinely feel fear for the safety of yes-on-8 donors. It necessarily follows in their mind that if gays, lesbians, and their supporters can find the bigots, then the bigots are in danger.
In other words, people are afraid of homosexuals.
The technical term for this is "homophobia."
It's real. And it's driving people's decision-making processes in ways that I don't think they're even aware of.
Now most of you know that I'm a privacy advocate. I'm not thrilled with the fact that it's ridiculously easy to pull someone's personal information -- including their physical address, phone number, date of birth, family members' names, etc. -- from public records whether you have a legitimate need for the information or not. But at the same time, those who contribute to political causes need to be held to a higher standard, because we've got a right to know where the money in our politics comes from.
Is this website going too far? Maybe. Maybe not. That's an issue that should be the subject of public discourse, and preferably away from a hot-button issue like marriage equality. Where do we draw the line between the right to privacy and the right of the public to an open governmental process? Today people have a visceral example to look at as we have that discussion.
However, when I checked back on the blog later in the day, I was struck by the the comments.
It astounded me how many people assume that because the names and addresses of donors have been put on a map, that bad things are going to happen to these donors. Many commenters (some of them opposed to Proposition 8) genuinely feel fear for the safety of yes-on-8 donors. It necessarily follows in their mind that if gays, lesbians, and their supporters can find the bigots, then the bigots are in danger.
In other words, people are afraid of homosexuals.
The technical term for this is "homophobia."
It's real. And it's driving people's decision-making processes in ways that I don't think they're even aware of.