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posted by Yakpate at 7:33 AM
31 Comments:
As tears cloud my vision, standing in my living room, with my kid's sleeping soundly...I take pride and have hope in my heart. I cannot believe that for once in my 36 years, someone could stand in front of a crowd of so many Americans and speak the ideals and dreams that I have felt deep inside my heart for so long. And I thank God for this opportunity, bestowed upon the man I chose for President. I cannot wait to help in anyway possible to live up to his dreams of unity, under God, for America. I can't wait to help in anyway I can, to restore to my babies, the lights and angels of my life, the beauty and hope and dream that is my country, now their country.
7:48 AM
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8:52 AM
YP, I can see you're having some kind of computer keyboard problems or some spyware or virus infected your pc.
Congrats to the "winning" politician. Congrats to us for being able to finally pick a non-white (ok, 1/2 white) male!
Let's see if we can congratulate ourselves after a couple of years for electing someone based on the content of his political character & problem-solving.
8:54 AM
It's a big love-in all over the world, today -- and that's a beautiful thing. May President-elect Obama harnass all of this extraordinary good will and admiration of the people -- and use it to do good things. I'm inspired to see the groundswell of motivation in the citizens of this country -- I hope it continues, and I hope it inspires -- and pressures -- the new administration to do right by those who offer such overwhelming support.
I have a lot of problems with Obama's actual policies -- but I am thrilled beyond all belief to live in an age that elected a black man to the highest office. All of the exit polls are proving that there was very LITTLE racism in this election -- that even the people who said they voted with race as one of the most important factors of their decision... voted FOR Obama. That fact alone makes me proud to be an American. I'm just tickled pink that we've come so far -- and that those two darling little girls are going to be running around the White House lawn and inspiring an entire section of our population to dream big and believe in racial equality. This is such a triumph for the African American community, and I can jump for joy at what this means for them -- and for the country as a whole. We've turned a page on an ugly history. (Now, if Obama will just select more women for his cabinet, we can begin to heal another painful aspect of inequality in this country...)
10:00 AM
Like I stated in another blog post today, I was very proud to be an American last night. Not only was the conceding candidate dignified and heartfelt in his concession, but the President elect spoke with strength and forthrightness in his acceptance speech. I was moved to tears during both. We have a hard time ahead but if we can unite with as much hope as we did to put him into office, then there is no telling what can happen. Yes we can... Yes we did!!
10:02 AM
I have never been more proud to be an American than I am today. This election has restored my faith in the political process. A grass roots movement can work, if we have a leader with the ability to articulate the message and the change required, that really resonates with the average American. As Americans of my age group remember the "Ask not what your country can do for you..." and "I have a dream..." our children will always remember, "Yes we can."
11:38 AM
Yes, Congratulations, America. But Shame on California! I, too was weeping with joy for a couple of hours after it became official that Barrrack Obama is our new president. But then it became apparent that nearly 5 million Californians saw fit to strip fundamental rights from me at their whim. My joy vanished into disbelief and despair.
Let this sink in: our constitution has been AMENDED for the first time to strip rights from a group of people on the very night that another group of people triumphantly transcended more than a century of persecution. I awoke this morning to second-class citizenship-limitations on my right to make my own choices in the most personal and private and SPIRITUAL areas of my life now embedded in a document designed to protect and EXPAND the rights of individuals.
And in a grand stroke of irony, exit polls revealed that 70 percent of the robust African American vote proved to be the catalyst that carried this horrible proposition to a narrow victory. What a stunning display of collective amnesia! This, combined with the obsessive efforts of the Mormon Church to distract people from their polygamist, pedophilic past, hypocritical support from the extreme right of the Catholic church and haughty evangelicals, and hateful, devious ads that distracted from the real issue provided enough impetous for hate to rule the day.
More innocent California children learned all about gay marriage during the months leading up to election day from the relentless ads aired by the Yes campaign than would have ever learned it in school. But they never really cared about kids to begin with, as is evidenced by their shameful use of specific children in ads AGAINST THE WILL of their parents!
We are not going away. I am more emboldened than ever. War has been declared and I guarantee you that hatred will not prevail. This ridiculous assertion of the religious beliefs of some over those of others in this country has to stop! I pay taxes and go to church every Sunday, too.
I am proud of the giant step America took last night. But we stumbled back a bit, too, and have a LONG way to go.
12:30 PM
Dear Voice of Raisin: My joy also was tempered by the realization that Pogrom 8 was narrowly defeated. I feel so bad for all of my dear gay friends, because it's just so WRONG that your rights are restricted in this terrible way,
The only comforting thing I can say is that the inherent trend of humanity is toward freedom... And one day soon, those who cling to their sexual prejudices also will be overruled.
Please know that millions of intelligent, caring people respect and support you for exactly who you are, in the fullest sense of your humanity.
1:11 PM
Raisin: narrowly passed, i mean.
1:12 PM
Voice of Raisin: I'm sorry.
I didn't even realize, until just now that it passed. How can we heal one wound only to open up another, in CA no less???? Very disappointing, you can bet us Democrats will be working on that:)
2:06 PM
Voice of Raisin, I kept hoping for the returns to shift this morning and was sickened by the outcome. Yes, many of the very voters who finally celebrate a move away from second class citizenship of one group of AMericans were the ones to pass a law that strips another marginalized group of a basic human right.
This is why moving to the center doesn't work, will not work, and will not better our future. Obama did not become president because liberals moved to the center. He became president because liberals demanded what was THEN, in the civil rights movement and every decade since, a fringe position. He became president because of the audacity of Rosa and Martin and Malcomb and Jesse and all the others who refused to make nice or capitulate.
Now, racism is considered passe but it's perfectly okay to discriminate and strip rights from homosexuals. (It's also okay to ignore the institutionalized misogyny that was part and parcel of Obama's "clean" campaign. But that's another rant for another day.)
We have come very far, but we have so far to go and I for one am on the front lines of battle for those of our people who are still treated as if they don't count. Voice of Raisin, you have a sister in me and the support of my family.
Shame on California. And shame on anyone who just steps aside while our brothers and sisters are cheated of their basic humanity. I'm waiting for the Democratic party to go back to talking about federally recognised gay marriage -- not this civil union nonsense which is separate but equal in a way that President Obama can certainly find ironic. I wrote to both Obama and BIden asking for their support for the No of Prop 8 campaign. Bill, Hillary, even Governor Arnold came out strong in opposition to it but Obama and Biden remained silent.
We have a lot of work to do. After everyone comes down from their post-rave high of last night, we have to really roll up our sleeves and get busy.
3:59 PM
Let's not pick on our state re #8. We were just 1 or 4 other states that voted yes on similar propositions.
I heard from parents who said basically: "fine/ok if homosexuals want to marry each other. We'll stay outta their personal lives.
But, we parents need to insure our school children aren't taught in the govt run schools that gay marriage is ok & progressive -they need to stay outta our personal business as well."
So, I think if that point is cleared up AND put into law, then you'll be winners 1 day. It has to be clear & in the law that your personal/private matters won't cross into the private/personal lives of your fellow citizens who may have a different moral/ethical code.
So, I think while there may have been bad news, there is also a potential good news for the gays in this area.
4:11 PM
The only good news is that the city of San Francisco is contesting this. It must go all the way to the state supreme court. I suggest calling the LA mayor and demanding the our city follow suit. (And the city of South Pas, and Pasadena, and Santa Monica...)
Schools don't teach marriage. This was an absurd argument from the beginning.
California Attorney General Jerry Brown confirms that we now have three classes in California:
opposite sex couples who are allowed to marry, same sex couples who are married, and same sex couples who cannot get married. This is unconstitutional, and the more who get on board to contest this and take it to the highest court -- in our case, the state supreme court, it's not eligible for the SCOTUS -- the better. Write letters, people.
4:30 PM
Oh, and Cafe, I think the reason people are so upset about California is that of all places we didn't expect it HERE.
4:32 PM
Cafe Observer: Prop 8 had NOTHING to do with children or schools. Did you not see any of the ads featuring the Superintendent of Schools stating that? 59 law professors from 15 major California Law schools including three Catholic schools verified that there is NOTHING in the language that would ever require the subject to be taught in schools. The Yes campaign simply knew it would freak out parents if the lied and said that it would and they just stuck to their story until election day. It should be a crime to air lies. What I don't quite get is that every parent I know is well aware that controversial subjects have to be cleared by the parents with an option to remove the child from class. If the Yes campaign did not want children exposed to gay marriage, why did they ensure that they would be by their endless barrage of explicit commercials exploiting children (against the will of the parents of the children used in the ad!)?
The field trip they so deceitfully refer to went down like this: a second grade teacher informed parents that she would be taking 2weeks off to get married. She did not say it was to a woman. A few parents asked her about it in private and she shared that it was, in fact, a woman. These parents thought it would be wonderful for their children to participate in the event knowing FULL WELL that it was a lesbian wedding. They thought it would be great for the kids to share the moment with their teacher. Any parents who did not want their children to participate simply kept them away. It was a VOLUNTARY field trip planned by the PARENTS!!! This is what the yes campaign used to scare you! We are outraged because people made an invasive decision about our personal lives based on vicious lies in a win-at-all-cost campaign. That is not very Christian. In fact, it is bearing false witness.
If people were not willing to research such an important issue thoroughly, they should have left Prop 8 blank. Better yet, a personal matter like marriage should never be voted on in the first place. Did I "get to" vote on your marriage? (not that I would have wanted to). Now our constitution contains discrimination against a protected class of citizens for the first time in history.
I don't live in those other states, but shame on them as well. I speak of California because it is the state that just accosted me.
4:46 PM
In addition to our state's shameful vote to ban gay marriage, Arizona voted to ban gay marriage, Florida voted to ban gay marriage and Arkansas voted to ban gay couples from adopting children.
LIke I said: write letters. Make noise. Don't step aside. These are our fellow citizens and we MUST all take up the fight. It doesn't matter if you are personally unaffected by this. Your children might be gay. I, for one, want my daughter to be free to marry whoever she wants, and build a family in whatever way is appropriate for her.
5:07 PM
Homosexuality should absolutely be included in education when the subject matter is appropriate, like sex ed or civil rights or Bohemian Rhapsody lyrics. There is absolutely ZERO argument for Prop 8 that's not based entirely on discrimination, and just because the bible says discrimination is okay, doesn't make it so. References to discrimination in the bible, to me, are the word of man, not god, because they contradict god's primary quality of love. god is love, not hate, and only men would twist god's beautiful words into something so ugly.
Congratulations to all African Americans. It's been too long coming, that's for sure. That 114-old-lady in the LA Times brought tears to my eyes. Talk about perspective.
5:14 PM
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5:35 PM
A great many people do not believe in a god, and feel that government should stay out of the mythology and personal spirituality business. We're supposed to be a nation of laws based on the inalienable rights of all people. Not a nation of laws based on the themes of an anthropomorphized diety in a countless translation of ancient literature. Sure, worship whatever you want -- I'll fight for your right to burn incense in the name of your toaster or grove of trees or Wiccan character or more familiar god of the big three religions -- but don't use that personal belief to make laws. I can't believe in the year 2008 agnostics have to hide their ideology in order to run for office and "god says it's wrong" actually trumps human rights in a supposedly secular government.
5:35 PM
Oh and Cafe, I do not believe in leaning center on basic human rights, which is what gay marriage is. I would have never advocated moving center to placate people who didn't believe in interracial marriage... just to make them more comfortable. Nope. Some things demand a hard line stance and I think this is one of them. The basic fact is that marriage is not taught in school. By anyone. And all the teacher's unions and those who plan curriculums have said as much.
Though, since heterosexuals have such a miserable success track record on marriage, maybe marriage SHOULD be taught in schools...
5:39 PM
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5:45 PM
Well, I'll repeat: the non-teaching of gay marriage in public schools has to be explicitly spelled out in the law of the next prop. Then, gays can have their marriage (of all things 2 fight for!!)
People, mostly parents in this case, need to be reassured that by extending rights to 1 group doesn't come at the expense of another. Do homosexuals care about the concerns of their fellow citizens also? Or, is it just lip service at best, win at all costs!?
Commercial watching is voluntary - thank god! Receiving instruction/indocrination in schools is not - not that many students pay attention in public schools.
What lawyers, politicians, catholic priests say, well, don't make me laugh. 4get it I'm already howling!! Why don't we just toss in used car salespeople, spinmeisters, et al as well.
L, you're from TX originally but remember this was Reagan/Nixon/Ford country. I'm not too surprised what CA & the other states have done. Only 22% of the Obama voters per abc news identified themselves as liberal.
Both sides need to meet the other in the Laurie's center! Disputes, small & big, bloodless & bloody, have occurred in history because at least 1 side doesn't want to give a little to their neighbor to receive what they want in return.
So, like I said: the winning is there to be had unless extremists don't want to give an inch.
In theory, leaving out personal beliefs sound nice but in practice everyone allows the personal to invade the non-personal 2 sum degree or $price. What exactly is meant by inalienable rights?
I wanna promote civil understanding discourse amongst you people. Like Obama say he wants to do. It's hard sometimes being a dog in a human world.
Hmmm, let's see, Hardball: Pasadena, or Meet de SGV Bloggers, or Face the SGV. And now your impartial, non-partisian moderator...The Big Dog!
PS: & congrats to our local college kid/politician done good, Obama, formerly of private Occidental College 5 min away in Eagle Rock from 79-81 before transfering out to the eastcoast. Pasadena played a part in shaping him to be the man he is now! From Jackie Robinson to Barack Obama - remember this is the best area in the country! I vaguely recall meeting someone like him in these parts back then. Maybe it was BO...
Oxy College And Obama
One day I hope he gives a commencement speech here (written by our wordsmith Laurie of course.)
Look at this! L has become a bad influence on me.
I've wasted so much time on this link & spelling. This is my last bark on this topic. Y'all can have de last word. I was gonna stop by my Paris Cafe on Colorado Blvd but this blog ate my cafe life 2nite. I really feel like taking a couple of bites of peoples legs right now.
5:55 PM
Cafe, here's some background to get you thinking about the idea of inalienable rights. We could get into an entire philosophical discussion going back to natural law vs. positive law and I'd probably start waxing a lotta John Locke and Thomas Paine and we could get into Frances Hutcheson and the whole Reformation principle of conscience and liberty...
Then again, maybe not.
At any rate, I maintain that we can never have one set of rights for one group of human beings and another set for a different group. I believe it is against the basic tenet of our Constitution, which begins with the phrase about the self-evident truth that all men are created equal. (Don't get me started about it only being the word "men" in the Constitution...)
I am all for give and take in an argument but it doesn't mean one side giving away part of a basic right in order to make another side feel better. This is, in my opinion, about equality for all humans according to the law and there is never anything to be bartered away for something this basic. The seperate drinking fountains and white-only restaurants were the same kind of seperate but "equal" nonsense as the idea of marriage for straight people, "civil unions" for gay people. As long as marriage is not just a religious but a CIVIL term, then it must be afforded to all human beings, regardless of gender.
Ballbuster is right, in my view. Include mention of homosexuality and gay marriage in school because it's part of the basic human mosaic. There was a time when schools taught that black people were inferior in brain capacity and ability to reason and that the races shouldn't intermarry -- because that's what a lot of white people felt comfortable with.
If religious people have a problem with the idea of anything that goes against their interpretation of their religious book, then I suggest coopting a term for specific religious use like "Holy Marriage" or "Christian Marriage Under God" or whatever to somehow make THEIR marriage mean whatever their religion specifies instead of insisting that all others adhere to their interpretation. My hubby and I have long said that we'd be happy to give the term "marriage" over to religion and only be recognized by the state as partners in civil union or some other such term if that would make the religious people happy. Everyone would have to have a civil union to get the tax and other benefits of what we now call marriage and whatever church or other entity wanted to perform marriage ceremonies would be purely for the religious/spiritual aspect. That's an okay compromise with me but I know many gay people who are religious and who don't agree.
I agree with Ellen Degeneres when she said today that someday history will cringe at the idea of a measure passing that has the words "Deny same sex couples to marry." This is one of the remaining areas of abject bigotry and I, for one, can't compromise on it.
1:53 AM
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7:27 AM
L, like I said b4- y'all can have the last word. I don't have a human in this fight.
And, like you said, "Then again, maybe not." Wisdom.
I appreciate/respect your views & wish more politicos were like you. But I doubt it since they probably don't know how 2 take de pics.
Now, outta de way b4 I start growlin -I'm getting in sum cafe time 2day no mattter what. (Maybe I'll see Petrea there) Nov 4th came & gone none 2 early 4 me. I don't even get a penny 4 this @?#$*!$$$
9:46 AM
Well said, Laurie: "The seperate drinking fountains and white-only restaurants were the same kind of seperate but "equal" nonsense as the idea of marriage for straight people, "civil unions" for gay people. As long as marriage is not just a religious but a CIVIL term, then it must be afforded to all human beings, regardless of gender."
On a personal note, to this I would like to add: Gay people are not icons, but living, breathing, loving, working, tax-paying human beings. The passage of Prop 8 isn't just wrong on the basis of ethics and fair play... it is wrong because it HURTS people on the level of their humanity. It makes them feel they are hated.
I'm sure that many who oppose same-sex marriage DO hate gays. The Catholic and Mormon churches who supported Prop 8 certainly fueled this hate. How ironic, since the pedophelia scandals which have tarnished BOTH of these churches involved the supression, and ultimately the perversion, of natural sexual impulses.
Those who hate and gear Gays are, in my opinion, expressing denial of their own natural and perfectly normal bisexual feelings.
YES on freedom. NO on fear and hate.
5:50 AM
Thanks for taking the time to discuss this topic which is so important to me, everyone. I have been out marching each night. Last night Gore Vidal was wheeled out to the crowd and gave us encouragement. Some people yell out their car windows at us that we need to "get over it" or that we are "sore losers". I saw someone on tv condemning our court challenges because of how much it will cost tax payers. They seem to want to take our right to fight away, too. We are NOT going away. I am struck by how many in the gay community feel the same devastaion I do. It's a collective wound and it runs deep. For me it brings up all the feelings I had in Junior High School when kids picked on me out of their perception that I was gay, even though I was fighting what until then had been secret feelings with everything I had. My personhood has been attacked. I will not take that lying down, so we march on. We're a little unorganized at the moment, but there is a march in Long Beach tonight and one in Silverlake tomorrow night. There's strength in numbers and there are a LOT of pissed off people. What has been so heartening is the number of straight people who have joined us. My brother and sister-in-law are marching tonight. With so many important things that need attention in the world right now, it is sad that we need to deal with this, but this is OUR Rosa Parks moment and we must respond to the grave injustice enacted upon us.
9:03 AM
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9:30 AM
P.S. I got a new gmail account and now my posts are just showing up as "John" but I am Voice of Raisin.
9:32 AM
John, this is important to a lot of us. My husband and I want to do everything we can to see to see to it that this basic civil rights issue is FIXED. And soon. Keep us all posted of anything we can do to help you in this fight.
10:49 AM
I just returned from my fourth staight day of protesting Prop. 8. I cannot begin to tell you how cathartic and healing it is to speak out and take action next to people of every age, race, size AND sexual orientation! Feelings of despair and grief have turned to hope, even as detractors call us sore losers and toublemakers. I guess they not only want us to lie down, but they also want us to shut up.
Whenever gay people converge, I always marvel at the brilliant display of creativity that moves and inspires me. The signs and t-shirts sported by my fellow protestors run the gamut from poignant to irreverant to hysterically funny. If you can't laugh, what's the point? I thought I would share some of my favorites with you because they also shed some light on what we are all feeling.
"I have a dream, too."
"How can you have family values if you don't value my family?"
"Even the devil can quote scripture for his own purpose."
"Ask Mommy and Daddy about hate."
"Thanks to your ads, there's nothing left to teach."
"California: Oh no you din't!"
On prop 2 passing along with Prop 8:
"I want what the chickens got!"
"Scorecard: Chickens 1, Gays 0"
"I assume the gay chickens will remain caged?"
A man in a full-bodied chicken suit: "Chickens agree-gays deserve equal rights."
"Hey Humane Society! Can you help US now?"
"Britanny ruined marriage, not me!"
Sign held by a drag queen in a tacky dress: "Tired of being a bride's maid."
2 4 6 8 Churches shouldn't legislate
"Why?"
"Pardon the way I walk, I just got screwed by 5 million voters."
"Now that you've 'saved marriage', I assume none of you will ever divorce."
"Thanks, California for making me a second-class citizen!"
"Five million hate crimes in one day! So much hate, so little time!"
"No more Mr. Nice Gay"
"Separation of Church and Hate"
"When can I vote on your marriage?"
"Separate is not equal"
"Read the 14th Ammendment, then we'll talk!"
"Can even you believe we have to do this?"
"I know, let's stop doing their hair and nails!"
"There's no way you prayed about this!"
"CA you owe us a tax refund on 36,000 wedding rings and 18,000 weddings"
"Shall we divert our gaze from your superior eyes?"
"Civil rights have always come through the courts. Here we come!"
"You can't keep us down"
We made sure we thanked all the police officers as we passed them. They've been great about blocking off the streets and keeping us sfe.
On Saturday night there were 10,000 of us in Silverlake. It was awesome. We passed by Children's hospital and several parents had their kids look out the window. Our protest chants of "What do we want? Equal Rights! When do we want it? Now!" changed to a unanimous "Get well soon! Get well soon!" The crowd was really moved by the friendly waves.
After reading the California Constitution, I am very encouraged! You can't actually amend it the way they just tried to do! It's unfortunate that $87 million got spent on an invalid process, but it's pretty clear. We have several things going for us:
1. The invalid process
2. We are a protected class and the constitution cannot discriminate against a protected class.
3. The constitution cannot be amended to take rights away.
Our democracy has been one of ever-increasing rights for the citizens of this great land. Those who crafted it understood the tyranny of the majority. it is thrilling to see it in action. I look forward to taking my turn as a beneficiary of its wisdom.
Thanks for all the support expressed here. Please continue to talk to those who did not vote our way.
11:46 PM
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