It has been a few days and I have been watching the protest and reading the comments posted here. I have been listening to pundants and commedians, and even the mayor of a California city blame african americans for the failure of this proposition #8. "How could a group who fought for so much take rights away from others", I have heard the argument framed.
What this shows me is that the election of Barack Obama has done nothing to change the nature of racial relations, African-Americans are still the first group blamed for any failure of another group. I take serious offense to this and I urge our homosexual brothers and sisters and their supporters to tone down the rhetoric.
African americans have for years had to compete with other groups who try to tie their struggles to the civil right movement. Blacks are not the ones in power or the ones who have been controlling the laws of the land, whites have--they are your oppressor. Also there are african-americans in the gay community. African Americans are not the ones who advocated for proposition 8 to be on the ballot, maybe you should direct your anger at those people.
African americans have for years had to compete with other groups who try to tie their struggles to the civil right movement. Blacks are not the ones in power or the ones who have been controlling the laws of the land, whites have--they are your oppressor. Also there are african-americans in the gay community. African Americans are not the ones who advocated for proposition 8 to be on the ballot, maybe you should direct your anger at those people.
African-americans are not the ones who raised money and advocated for the passage of proposition eight. Also, in case many of you do not know; because you have been taught by the media and white culture that blacks are amoral, uneducated, unambitious, lazy people--but African-Americans are in fact very religious and have been taught through their church that homosexuality is wrong. They have been taught that marriage is between a man and a woman.
Dont blame african-americans because the proposition failed, many more whites voted for it than blacks, also hundreds of thousands of latinos and asians voted for it. By the way I met many gays while campaigning for Obama who were supporters of Hillary even though Bill Clinton signed "dont ask, dont tell", even though Hillary did not support gay marriage--they didnt seem to hold that against her.
It is so easy to blame someone else so we dont have to face the truth about ourselves. America is not ready for gay marriage, and the handling of this issues seems to be a problem for the gays in a similar way the prolife movement has a problem with their message. They want to push their agenda down peoples throats and thats a turn off.
I dont say that stopping anyone from getting married is right, but its not necessarily wrong if you look at it from a religious perspective. You have to educate the public letting them know that even if they dont agree with the lifestyle people should have the choice to love and marry who they like. I am not saying that people are chosing to be gay, but that the argument must be framed in the way of choices, freedoms.
I believe gay marriage is a choice issue(much like abortion) not a civil rights issue this is where you lose the African-american community considering what they went through during slavery and the civil rights era, over four hundred years of oppression.
To my homosexual brothers and sisters I say make a will if you want to ensure your loved one gets your property or custody of your child, have your ceremonies, do the civil unions, continue the struggle and educate the electorate, but dont go blaming "the blacks" because that does not make me sympathetic to your cause, it just makes me think you are a bigot.
It took African-Americans 200 years to end slavery, another 160 to realize the vote, and forty years after that before a black man could get elected president. What makes you think things are going to change overnight for homosexuals. This is still a Christian leaning country and many Christians are against homosexuality. They have to be educated, and the reaction that I am seeing by some in the gay community and their supporter is not helping at all.
I am for everyone having equal rights, but lets face it this is America and things take time. Fight on, march on, organize, educate, I am with you in the battle but I am against bigotry. Let us reset and remember the kind of america we are trying to create. This failed proposition is just a minor set back, stay engaged and you will previal!
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