"I guess if we ignore it, it'll probably go away" by like_shipwrecks (Nicole).
This is Nicole. She is one of the many talented photographers whose work I follow on flickr.
The same night that the country voted for a Black president, majorities of voters voted against gay families and the rights of gay people in California, Florida, Arizona and Arkansas.
Nicole is angry and so am I.
We are PEOPLE. We are not an alien race. We are not a cult. We are people, with lives, jobs, families, and feelings. We are constructive members of society and to deny us of rights that all PEOPLE should have is just WRONG.
Voting against us is not going to make us or the issues disappear. We're not giving up. We're fighting back. We aren't going anywhere.
We didn't vote away racism and we didn't vote away other bigotry and inequality, and these votes against GLBT people were one of this Election Day's ugliest demonstrations of what we have not yet overcome.
In California it's been saddening to also see another demonstration of what we have not yet overcome as some protesting the bigotry of Proposition 8 have been directing their anger at Black Californians. The thinking and behavior is racist---and it's wrong-headed to target a particular group as responsible for the fearfulness of a cross-section of the electorate.
My friend Adina pointed out that whether you're talking about the possible inappropriate participation of the Mormon Church in political organizing for Prop 8 or the possible votes of some Black voters for Prop 8, the fight really lies elsewhere.
But let's be real here---there was 49% turnout in San Francisco County and 55% turnout in Alameda which voted overwhelmingly against Prop 8. There was 59% turnout in San Mateo county. If we the supporters of marriage rights for all had done a better job of helping our neighbors and friends to vote, the result would have gone the other way. The result was in many respects a failure of execution. I care much less about yelling at Mormons and much more about turning out allies and persuading people on the fence about justice for all.
This is precisely how Obama won out over the fearfulness that could have prevented many more people from voting for him. We need to help the people who want to support us to follow through and we need to reach out to the people we can influence. That kind of reaching out is infectious and is what will win the day. It will win elections---but more importantly it will win us the community we need to move forward as a society.
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