November 5, 2008
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Bittersweet
President-Elect Obama (ooo, that sounds good!) has overcome the tide of American history and become the first black man to win a presidential election.
Damn, that's nice.
The fact that I think he's a smart guy and takes up positions that I agree with makes it all the better. And better still is that his race was beside the point as to why he was elected.
But, damn it, bigotry won in other races, and one of which probably has more immediate impact on me. Prop 8, the initiative to write discriminiation into the California constitution, has passed.
In practice, my world is merely set back to May 14th, 2008, the day before the California Supreme Court ruled in favor of allowing gay marriage. Civil unions are still there. I live in a county and city that voted 77% against it. But there are a couple of differences. A little bit of hope died, which I suppose was long overdue. See, before May 14th, there was always the possibility that things could work out in our favor. And then when did the next day, well, it was a nice honeymoon. Some of my friends are now married as well, which is also awesome, even if their status is now in doubt.
But for a slim majority to actually go as far as they did, prodded by the lies and fears of a out-of-state-religiously-funded group, and, as Z-Man put it, to actually wake up with fewer rights than I did the night before, is beyond disheartening to me right now.
But, as others have pointed out, time is on the side of progress and tolerance. The younger generation is strongly in favor of equal rights. The small people with small fears are a dying breed. What was once a "never in my lifetime" thing has come to pass and is gaining ground. It really does help when you think of it more as a long struggle than just a single skirmish. Because the trajectory of the whole thing is pretty clear.
If I sound like I'm trying to talk myself up, I am. Because it still kinda hurts right now. But even before I started writing this, I felt the first stirrings of sweet, sweet sublimation working its slow alchemy, turning my despair into anger and the will . . . to fight.
Comments (2)
Don't be disheartened...it didn't pass in Alachua County either. Having said that I feel one of these days real people will win over the bigots of the world and stand up, as they did in this election, for what is right, not what is "politically" correct. One can only hope.
My own thoughts were bittersweet this morning when I thought of you and Z-Man.
Last night's election was one of the most profound moments I have ever witnessed, one of those events like when we watched the Soviet Union's empire crumble. You could feel history happening before you, and it gave a sense of hope that maybe, just maybe we might be able to make our world a better place than the one we came into.
But then the reminder that not everyone is yet equal in this country hit home this morning, as I saw Arizona, Florida, and California all banning same-sex marriage. I had expected it. But it isn't any easier to bear. I'm sorry.
I do believe that despite these losses, the progress of humanity's sense of justice will be on your side. That our children's children will look back upon these events with the kind of disbelief and disgust that most decent people view our country's racist past with.
I would suggest that you did win last night though. In the sense that the question was even asked that you should have equal rights. That people even debated and voted upon the subject.
I remember growing up in the 70's and 80's in the rural Midwest. If you were gay you simply did not ever tell anyone. To do so would have subjected you to endless taunts, fights, and exclusion. Not just by other children, but by their parents as well. One of the most worst insults you could call another boy was a faggot, the kind of insult that would require you to instantly fight or be branded an utter coward. I'm ashamed to say I used that insult as well. I was 19 and in college before I ever even met another person who was gay or lesbian and was willing to admit it to me.
I think we've come an amazing distance in our lifetime, slowly overcoming literally centuries of prejudice and hatred. We're not there yet. But we must keep fighting, and keep hoping. I believe in people. Eventually we will win.
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