history was made last night. obama won this election handily after the key battleground states stained blue.
in DC - my current home, obama won by his largest margin - 93% to 7%. i stood in line to vote at a Ukranian Catholic Shrine for an hour and a half. I was moved by the elderly voters slowly struggling to get to their booths. It was surreal - participating in the most significant event in American history at the onset of my adult life. This was my first voting experience - for many of my elders it will be their last. I saw that in some of their eyes (and bodies) as they shuffled out the door. it made me wonder - when i am at the end of my life - what will i be voting for?
in California - where I spent 17 years of my life, Obama also won. But Proposition 8 passed. Proposition 8, or H8TE is an initiative which redefines marriage as existing between one man and one woman, thus repealing the right for gays to marry as granted four years ago in another proposition. To say that I am disgusted and distressed would put it lightly. California. Riddle me this. How can you vote for Barack Hussein Obama. and NOT having to notify parents when a minor seeks an abortion. Yet vote FOR a measure rooted solely in hate and misunderstanding. It is one thing to leave those bubbles blank - to be indifferent or undecided. But for 5.1 MILLION of you to fill in YES...is something different altogether. I still cannot understand how a majority heterosexual and majority IGNORANT society is granted the privelage of determining what is considered acceptable and LEGAL for minorities to do - Does this sound familiar? No? It's just me extrapolating huh...oh ok, just making sure). You just denied your neighbor, your friend, your family member the RIGHT to do what comes naturally to them. You just denied an orphaned child two loving and supportive parents - they'd be better off in an overcrowded group home, right? Or maybe you fell prey to one of the many commercials because you lack the ability to think and reason for yourself:
youtube isn't letting me embed the video so click here!
God forbid your child learn and discuss culture and society as it ACTUALLY exists and functions around them. And yes - there is always next time. But the mere principle of flip flopping peoples lives every four years depending on what kind of propaganda sways a bulk of dim-witted voters deeply, deeply disturbs me. All 5.1 million of you Californians that supported this measure disturb me. This isn't about tax or education reform or spending government dollars - this is about human rights. The basic right everyone should have - to be loved and to belong to a family unit if they so choose. And the best part is that MOST of you wont even show your face. MOST of you aren't celebrating the outcome measure - because you know deep down what you did was wrong.
I would love to get married one day if it's in the cards for me. But how could I look into two of my best friends' eyes when I'm skipping down the aisle with glee, knowing that they could never know the happiness of that day for themselves. How could I participate in such an archaic tradition that is influenced/shaped by hateful people? I think a part of me would die little by little if I let myself do that. REALLY looking forward to reform policies all across the board. sigh.
on a happier note (lol) :
"Do you know why its freezing cold today? Because people said it'd be a cold day in hell before a black man became president! Bundle up muthef*ckassss!"
9 comments:
I was really surprised that the proposition passed in California. The issue is like a volleyball, I swear. I hope reform is coming; it hurts to know that people are being denied access to their loved ones in the hospital and can't legally adopt (though many find ways around it....I watch Baby Story on Discovery Health or TLC).
After last night, I feel a lot more hope and a lot less skepticism about policies. You could see it on Obama's face, the magnitude of everything. He is taking this seriously.
I'm extremely surprised and quite disappointed that Prop 8 was passed. According to MSN, the percentage difference was 52% yes to 48% no (and people say their vote doesn't matter...it does!). From what I've heard, the outcome of this prop was bound to be appealed whether it passed or not. There's no reason or excuse to encourage discrimination...I'm waiting for that appeal.
O got that happier note text a milion times yesterday... so many people are going to be over their mobile bills next month... Im glad I have unlimited texting...lol
I sit on the fence with this.
I believe a marriage is a sacred bond between a man and a woman. I also believe when someone is given a right, it shouldn't be taken away. If California didn't want homosexuals to have that right, then it shouldn't have been given to them in the first place.
I was stunned that it got over in California like that. I wonder if the large turn out for Obama may have unintentionally sabatoged the vote?
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-11-06/you-can-forget-my-taxes/
also, to the many people claiming that marriage is a "sacred bond between a man and a woman," it's time we look at the truth. firstly, PLEASE look at the separation between church and state. perhaps the bible does define marriage as a union between man and woman, and those adhering to it wish to keep the institution as such.
however, i don't think ANYone can make the argument that every man and woman choosing to marry in 2008 is doing so in the name of some sacred script. a pair of drunken idiots in vegas that happen to sport a vagina and penis deserve the right to marry more than do a same-sex couple? no. marriage is NOT considered sacred by every male/female couple, so that argument is null and void.
in my opinion, if the church wants to hold onto the "sacred" institution of marriage so badly, it can HAVE it. maybe the rest of us, homo-hetero-whatever-sexual should ALL be getting civil unions. i am disgusted beyond belief
also, to the many people claiming that marriage is a "sacred bond between a man and a woman," it's time we look at the truth. firstly, PLEASE look at the separation between church and state. perhaps the bible does define marriage as a union between man and woman, and those adhering to it wish to keep the institution as such.
however, i don't think ANYone can make the argument that every man and woman choosing to marry in 2008 is doing so in the name of some sacred script. a pair of drunken idiots in vegas that happen to sport a vagina and penis deserve the right to marry more than do a same-sex couple? no. marriage is NOT considered sacred by every male/female couple, so that argument is null and void.
in my opinion, if the church wants to hold onto the "sacred" institution of marriage so badly, it can HAVE it. maybe the rest of us, homo-hetero-whatever-sexual should ALL be getting civil unions. i am disgusted beyond belief
I wrote three posts on the general injustice of it. But for all the people that are in the business of freedom, justice and equality we know to keep on!
Jaycee
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