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11/05/2008

For shame

by Jeremy Hooper

They've officially declared it:

California voters approve Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriages [LA Times]

**UPDATE: But a small glimmer does remain: Proposition 8 foes refuse to concede [Sac Bee]

**MORE: A message from Kendell & Kors about the need to wait for all the results:

Results Status

Roughly 400,000 votes separate yes from no on Prop 8 – out of 10 million votes tallied.

Based on turnout estimates reported yesterday, we expect that there are more than 3 million and possibly as many as 4 million absentee and provisional ballots yet to be counted.

Given that fundamental rights are at stake, we must wait to hear from the Secretary of State tomorrow how many votes are yet to be counted as well as where they are from.

It is clearly a very close election and we monitored the results all evening and this morning.

As of this point, the election is too close to call.

Because Prop 8 involves the sensitive matter of individual rights, we believe it is important to wait until we receive further information about the outcome.

Geoff Kors
Executive Committee NO on Prop 8

Kate KendellExecutive Committee
NO on Prop 8

                         

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Your thoughts

Proposition 8 - Change the Bigots Can Believe In.

Posted by: EvilPoet | Nov 5, 2008 1:09:40 PM

Dear bigoted assholes:

DIE IN A FIRE, ALL OF YOU.

I swear to fuck, you assholes don't realize just what you bastards have done. You, and your religiously motivated stupidity are putting your country back into the dark ages.

Posted by: AAAAA | Nov 5, 2008 1:16:41 PM

So sorry, Jeremy. I still wish you and your significant other the best, and that hopefully one day this will be a cause for laughter. The world's a strange place, isn't it? :(

Posted by: chris | Nov 5, 2008 1:34:55 PM

The battle for equality is far from over and now that we have President Obama hopefully it will make future battles for equality just a bit easier to fight.

Posted by: Alonzo | Nov 5, 2008 2:03:03 PM

I feel sick about this. I'm so sorry.

Posted by: Willie Hewes | Nov 5, 2008 2:14:40 PM

For what it's worth, I blame the blacks. I'm African-American so I'm allowed to do that. Plus, after so many years of dealing with certain members of my family, I know all too well that this is a group that will eagerly vote for a liberal black president with one hand and vote against gay marriage with the other. Common sense, logic and human rights have nothing to do with it. It's partly about religion and partly about culture. If gay civil rights champions ever want to see legislative change in areas with large black populations, they better start a dialogue with black community leaders soon.

Posted by: Derek in DC | Nov 5, 2008 3:12:58 PM

Derek - as a gay person of color myself I agree 100% with you it's heartbreaking that the very same people who have suffered so much discrimination yet were lucky enough to see this day can think that it's still okay discriminate against another group of people it is very disappointing and sad.

That being said the GLBT people who have the power & the money NEEDS to starts working with the straight black community as they have with the straight white community otherwise we will never achieve the equality we all deserve!

http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=8013

Posted by: Alonzo | Nov 5, 2008 3:57:29 PM

I'm so sorry. To those in Florida, Arizona and especially California - you have my sincere condolences, particularly if you had already taken advantage of your right to marry or were planning to soon.

I can't imagine how much it must suck to be - in essence - forcibly divorced from your spouse by mob rule. :(

Posted by: WillB | Nov 5, 2008 4:05:36 PM

The rhythm of the drum stomp marching, echoes of queer nation reverbing in my head, but perhaps that's nothing more than the collective sigh of another generation with a return to the pubs and clubs to dance again.

I suppose this space likely isn't the right form to make a rant with a question of what are *you/us/me* going to do next. So consider this the heavily edited short version.

Given the history and politics of the United States, of various groups, people, cultures and despite it's a topic most people don't want to think of, of our shared history that gets rewritten with each turn of new events and acceptability... of the political correct ethic in which large groups of people suddenly forget the politics they held five minutes ago as quickly as the history they had for the last 50 years. Particularly when the majority or mainstream of social politics, world-wide and localized catches up with the newfound, support and protection or the better defined fads of direction and misdirection of the pseudo moral compass...

The question, though often viewed as racist, though I believe would have applied to more than one group and have held a long and painful history and present, in the US as well as the world, in a concept that extends between colour-lines, economic, social, racial experiences...

what would have been the likely reality in the streets, had Obama not won?

Though as it relates to Prop 8

it then becomes the question,

then why haven't we and likely won't see the same reaction for this issue?

What will be the final straw? What issue will be important enough to draw our extended communities out into the streets, our community, queer which I often use to embrace those beyond the practices and identities of LGB people, as our community and culture extend far beyond being a minority group, and our rights purely as relative to relationships, casual sex or admitted attraction to those with the same gender identification and biological sex.

Maybe the other side is right in denouncing the entire experience as a social experiment. And one which has failed time and time again. As we rely on other people to bail us out or to point fingers and whine saying 'they' prevented us from getting our rights... but that's a rather tired mantra and as used up as labeling the other side as the perpetual them, as bigots and homophobes, even as I'm inclined to believe many are.

But there are more concepts than slander, fear and hate that we can learn and adopt from the other side.

Though perhaps as we struggle to find the path, particulary with a weakened pocketbook... it's time to let the flames cool to ambers before stoking the fires so soon.

Perhaps it would be better for me to relay the inspiration I gather from other sources in my periods of reflection ... some with ties in our wide-branching community, culture and history; from homicidal lesbian terrorists to ancient philosophers arguing class distinctions in eros of the first courts in roots of democracy and queer politics.

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/pwh/index-old.html

As well as many others that may not directly apply...

http://oll.libertyfund.org/

http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/

to name a small few.

Though I suppose for many it would be easier to refer to Bob the Builder, asking "Can we Fix it?, as he'll likely leave us with "Yes, We Can".

But perhaps (as a collective) we are not ready for equality, to be recognized as equals and treated as independent representatives of our country, individual citizens ... than as just fags and dykes somehow separate and excluded from the recognition of citizenship, from faith, from society, from the recognition to that evenin our own relationships or family, as people in general; as without the struggle we would be left with the question of who we are, beyond the us vs them.

With a glimmer of hope and heavy doubt, perhaps it is time ... but perhaps those who would have been the voice, the reason, is busy trying to keep their lover from being deported, their children from being taken away, so on, so on.

Perhaps just the future fight from being put in the DSM for believing their relationship has enough credibility to be called a marriage. When obviously it's recognized as a fraud, a fantasy, a delusion; when even civil unions are still not afforded the same rights and still greatly misunderstood - little more than public acknowledgement of shacking up.

But oh yay, C.U.'s means we get to save on our taxes, because we don't have to file jointly. I suppose we should be gosh darn happy about that one...

So perhaps it's time I should surrender to the philosophy of skipping the protest and attending the after-party instead.

Somebody wake me once the party gets started.

Posted by: =P | Nov 5, 2008 4:09:46 PM

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