I have to say that the triumph of Proposition 8 is absolutely devastating. I am not gay, but I am a strong believer in civil rights. During our wedding two years ago my wife and I made sure the officiant said that while we were happy we would not be happy until all our wonderful gay and lesbian freinds (many of whom were there) could enjoy the same happiness we did.
What I am particuloarly upset about is not that people I care for and love are being denied their civil rights (of course that is extremely upsetting). What bothers me more is how cavalier and untroubled so many who voted Yes for this are. Especially those who, I feel, should know better.
As an example, it is noted on CNN exit polling that 7 out of 10 African Americns voted in favor of Proposition 8.
The mind boggles.
On such an historic night, when thhe struggles of African American society is dramatically turned into triumph, I can't help but have some anger at the joy expressed.
Fully half of this state, especially large blocks of minorities voted to DENY rights to others. It is NOT RIGHT. It is tragic.
It is tragic because no group should be more aware of the fact that Separate but Equal is anything but. How can somebody of color so casually not take these things into consideration?
For some this may seem like a politically incorrect thing to be angry about, but I am. It is so incredibly short sighted, made up of such incredibly shallow thinking that I cannot help my anger.
And I blame Barack Obama, in part. He should have been more in front on this issue. He should have made it absolutely clear that this struggle was the struggle others like him have had to endure. But he wasn't there. Yes, he said he was aginast Proposition 8, but he wasn't prominent. Some suggest that he needed to consider the larger picture, and I get that, but in the end I still think he didn't do enough and that is a tragedy. And it matters because it was close and it matters because he is the de facto leader of the Democratic Party. I am esctatic about our new President and hope for great things to come, but he failed here.
And so did so many others.
UPDATE: I wish to apologize if people feel this is inappropriate, and I am not attempting to put the blame on the African American community by any stretch. My anger at the Mormon Chruch is beyond meassure. I am just very angry about this and I have a hard time understanding how a group that knows better than anyone the evil of discrimination can be so casual about infliciting it on others. It truly does boggle my mind and just heightens the feelings of betrayal.