Racism in the Aftermath of California's Proposition 8

Nov 07, 2008 17:45

I've seen and heard some people saying that the reason Proposition 8 passed in California is because people of color turned out to vote for Barack Obama, and then voted against gay marriage. Some people have some things to say about that. Please go read their entire posts. Some of them include detailed demographic maps, and are important to ( Read more... )

gay marriage, politics, presidential election, racism

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tigrin November 8 2008, 02:35:28 UTC
I am not supportive of a lot of the discriminatory action and press against other minority groups in response to Prop 8 passing ( ... )

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mystickeeper November 8 2008, 06:58:36 UTC
I understand your anger and frustration, but overall, I think we have to be careful how we assign blame. Obviously you're not pro-discrimination, but formulating us-them attitudes is part of what brings us to a place where the posts I linked above need to be written.

While it's true that the LDS Church pumped a lot of money into the Yes campaign, it isn't true that all Mormons blindly accept what their church told them to do. Some of them protested on the No side, too. I know that if someone were to say that all Catholics are bigots because officials in the Catholic Church campaigned for the Yes side (and I'm sure that the Knights of the Columbus did), I would be pretty pissed, as I consider myself a vocal ally who happens to be a devout Catholic. My faith is important to me, and formulates my most basic values: belief in equality among them. I think that the interpretations of recent (and the current) popes on the issue of homosexuality are incorrect. I'll assume that there exist Mormons who feel the same way about their ( ... )

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tigrin November 8 2008, 09:19:09 UTC
Dude, I know, I totally agree with you. Focusing on particular groups with "revenge" tactics is not the way this issue should be approached.

The No on 8 campaign made a lot of mistakes but I don't think it is worth dwelling on them. I think it is extremely important to make up for those mistakes now by reaching out to the groups that were most responsible for Prop 8 passing, not alienating them even more. It is somewhat upsetting that the exit polls are getting so much press, even if they are true. I think it's great that it's raising discussion, but I think it also could cast a lot of negativity and cause a lot of division in a time when we need to be united.

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