Subscribe to Breaking NewsWithers: The Prop 8 vote was always complicated
Better Jennifer than me. Writing about the Proposition 8 vote and race is tiring because some people have weak reading comprehension skills. Ever since marriage rights were taken away in California, I’ve “learned” the following about myself: 1) I hate whites, 2) I think all white gays are racist, and 3) I’m an excuse maker when it comes to homophobia in the black community.
None of those truthiness ditties are true, but they have been thrown out here in the 365 neighborhood because I’ve questioned CNN’s exit poll that 70 percent of black California residents voted yes on Prop 8. Others have also pointed to the poll’s flaws, from numbers guru Nate Silver at 538.com to political analyst David Binder (who did polling for President-elect Barack Obama’s campaign). Ahh, but to point to these perspectives is just excuse making. My “brothers and sisters” (who knew Ma was so busy!) screwed gays over. I’m a racist whose character is questionable. Meh.
Yesterday’s released study by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute, written by Patrick J. Egan and Kenneth Sherrill, points out that a yes vote on Proposition 8 was mostly pushed by age, faith, and political perspective. The study mirrored Binder’s unofficial numbers that black support for Prop 8 was between 57-59 percent. This high support however makes sense when religion is factored in.
“…Controlling for frequency of religious attendance helps explain why African Americans supported Proposition 8 at higher levels than the population as a whole. Among Californians who attend worship at least weekly, support for Proposition 8 was nearly uniform across all racial and ethnic groups.”
This new study gives no one a pass. This new study gives no one a pass. Let the choir hear this for the last time from me: this new study gives no one a pass. Homophobia, no matter who espouses it, needs to be exposed for what it is: prejudice. However, we really can’t fight our enemies if we don’t know who they are or how to counteract their rhetoric. And yes Virginia there are going to be people with black faces who are anti-same sex marriage. Get over it and stop being shocked (shocked!) that some blacks sound like those whites back in the day wringing their hands over interracial marriage.
I hate to say this, but I think people do make excuses to “excuse” the black communities homophobia. It infuriates me that people who really should know better based on first hand experiences really do not.
I do not believe that black people are anymore prone to low education or being manipulated by religon than any other ethnic group. So no one gets a pass.
I just think it is extremely odd that black people cannot see the unfairness.
Perhaps, it is regional, rather than racial. Most of the black people I know in New York WERE upset by Prop 8. However, I have no statistical basis for this. Only first hand experience.
Maybe we just have a hard time facing the truth. If it had been race issue, those are minds that can be changed. Changing the minds of religious people is, well, in-fracking-possible.
The only thing that will change the minds of religious zealots is death.
When will people learn that things like race, gender, class, sexuality, and even religion cannot be examined individually. These groups overlap frequently, and it’s this overlapping that better “defines” a person than a single characteristic.
Yes, black people had a larger percentage of voters who were in favor of Prop 8; however, this cannot be explained merely by race. Could it be that most blacks are more religious than most whites? Could it have anything to do with differing concepts of gender/masculinity?
Any time you discuss social issues, you must be aware of the many variables involved in the equation.
“..Get over it and stop being shocked (shocked!) that some blacks sound like those whites back in the day..”
“some” blacks? But the new study you reference, not to mention CNN’s poll numbers show that’s it’s not just “some” it’s the majority of blacks in California that voted to deny thousands of Americans their equality.
The day before the election I gave a Prop 8 presentation to the UCLA’s gay student group at the law school. There was perhaps one African American there among eighty. When we discussed the possible reasons blacks were supporting Prop 8, the more vocal gay students there posited that blacks were naturally prejudiced people because of their long history of oppression. A rather remarkable and poorly-informed opinion, but it seemed to be widely held.
Whenever you talk about a homophobe who happens to be white, call it white homophobia. If you talk about a church that happens have a white congregation, call it a white church.
James - you had me until your last sentence.
We should never ever get over it.
Oh and James -
You got pegged with 1,2&3 when you labeled the entire white gay community racists and made excuses for South Central’s racism and homophobia. You’re perfectly welcomed to clarify or apologize anytime. You will be forgiven (at least by me).
this continued discussion on ‘black homophobia’ continues to annoy me…i’m tired of black people being used as scapegoats in the passing of prop 8…sure, there are a number of black people who voted for prop 8, as well as a number of latinos, as well as a number of whites, as well as a number of different ethnicities who live in california. if i’m not mistaken, wasn’t it the mormon church who sponsored the bill?…and last time i checked, mormons didn’t have a large black population. this whole issue is a prime example of how racism still exists in this country, especially among the white ‘happy go lucky, we are oh so perfect’ gay community.
Eddie,
Nothing to clarify. No need to apologize because those statements are not mine.
Sincerely,
James
Maybe we can’t appeal to the hearts and minds of the religious. But the hearts and minds of others we can.
The vote in California was close. Close enough to start thinking.
What would happen if a proposition abolished all marriage laws in CA. California would not recognize any marriage.
Who would vote for it?
We should.
Liberals.
Divorced men and women paying alimony.
Divorced men and women unable to see their kids.
Bitter people.
I think that fifty percent might go along.
LB - The discussion continues because many rushed to make excuses for it. There is no excuse for homophobia - no matter who it comes from. I think many of us white gay folks (don’t tell me, I already know - I’m a racist), were suprised because we assumed black folks would know better. So even those like myself who have read “Animal Farm” were suprised. But the data showed an overwhelming majority of black people in California supported prop 8 - no matter which numbers you look at. Many of us whites in California have overlooked the racism in South Central for years and have excused it, and it’s continued. It’s time to confront it, ignoring it didn’t work. Ask a Latino who buys a house in South Central if black people are racists. Ask a Korean who tries to open a store in South Central if black people there are racists. And now, you can ask any gay person in this state if black people are homophobic too. The black community is proud of their bias. Why shouldn’t we call them out on it?
James - those statements are yours. Deny them and get nothing, own up and apologize and be forgiven.
LB Said: “this whole issue is a prime example of how racism still exists in this country, especially among the white ‘happy go lucky, we are oh so perfect’ gay community.”
Funny how many of those who cry against racism have no problem making racist comments of their own. Hypocrisy anyone?
In Defense of James:
I have followed the threads written by James quite closely and in his defense I have never seen him make a statement say that he hated white people in general. He has never stated that ALL white gay people are racist and he has made the point several times that black homophobia is unacceptable. The only real problem I have had with James’ articles is the fact the he seemed to gleefully relish the fact he busted a few white gay racists and that the issue of homophobia in the black community was relegated to a few short sentences within much larger articles focusing of white gay racism. This is the journalistic equivalent of being a witness to the 911 tragedy and writing an article on skyscraper architecture, and ignoring the much larger issue (in terms of impact and people represented) but that is his perrogative as the author. He has never excused black homophobia, he just never made much of an issue of it. I say this out of my own personal observations and in keeping to the truth because James never bothers to respond to my postings (2 exceptions, one positive, one quite negative and insulting) nor are we friendly on any level (I did wish him a HNY but as usual my comments went unanswered).