It seems that a lot of people share in the sentiment that gay people being agog at how many African Americans supported Proposition 8 need to accept that they have lost their audience here at DailyKos.
Expressions of shock and dismay that another core group of a generational human rights struggle could disregard another group with such dismissal are now being characterized as "racist." Diarists are actually making hay out of thin air, coming close to - but not actually - producing a single quote that would support their ire. Accusation of gay people using the "N" word. Gays saying they will never support another black candidate.
It's lies. That's what it is. And who am I to judge thousands of people who choose to rec those diaries. It's a free country. And gay people are used to being asked to step aside or "wait a while longer." So this won't be any different.
But here's one talk show host who, rather than make up stories about epithets that were never spoken to protect his own race - he actually takes their bigotry head on and speaks out. He's not afraid to view the hate in the context of a group, or hatred as systemic in a culture.
A marginalized minority -- Latinos -- voting to take away the rights of another marginalized group -- gays and lesbians -- is like the kid who's picked on in the third grade and only makes some headway when a punier kid comes along to take the punches instead.
Throughout this campaign, in an avalanche of Spanish-language commercials, Latinos were exhorted to vote "Yes" on Prop 8. A calm voice -- a voice that could be selling baby wipes or low-fat cookies -- told us that we should check yes "for the good of our families," that we must save everything that is good and decent about America.
Take away the civil rights of gays and lesbians so that we can be safe. But safe from what? The low-fat cookie voice of the radio commercial did not really say.
Latinos were asked not just to look away as these rights would be withdrawn, but to actively vote for the demolition of someone else's family. We were implored to look at "them" as the unredeemable "aliens" that must be expurgated from our society. And we did.
BRAVO! Fernando Espuelas for just speaking the truth, instead of throwing up shields because it doesn't feel good to admit something is in error.
That is what gays who are shocked and harmed by this vote have asked. That is what gays tried to get a discussion going about.
That is the response gays were expecting in return for their dismay.
Not the defensive, reactionary table turning that has been happening here at Kos. It's despicable.
No one here wants anyone from any group to ever suffer the lack of basic human rights. No one wants blacks to be painted as the demons of proposition 8. The core message that I've seen coming from the camp with the hurt feelings is "this is never going to happen until the varying cultures get their houses in order."
Show me markups and graphs of how votes did or did not amount to the final death nell if you must, but just know that it is irrelevent to the conversation, and it appears to me as a deliberate distraction from the real discussion. Gay people are black, white, latino, asian, we're in every culture on the planet. We'd be idiots to single out one group to be demeaned! Ironically, it's precisely what the religious core of the varying cultures have done.
Stop pretending like there isn't a problem. Stop erecting straw men for Kossacks to burn down like crucifixes on the Gay Kos lawn.
Admit that there's a problem in your house. Talk to your children and parents.
And stop accusing me of being racist because I won't stand for it!!