Nov 15th is National Day of Protest Against CA Prop 8

Comments

1. david says

   November 10, 2008 at 8:39 pm

   I found this LA Times piece by self-described black lesbian political activist Jasmyne Cannick to be quite thought-provoking.  I heard her on NPR this afternoon — her basic thesis is that the “No on 8” campaign was poorly run in general, and in particular for its failure to reach out effectively to the black community, which unfortunately led to a lot of black voters coming out to support Obama for President but also voting Yes on 8.

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   p>Yes, Obama could and should have done more.  I agree with that.  But I found the criticism of the campaign itself to be interesting, and perhaps it has lessons for next time (and there will no doubt be a next time).

   • laurel says

     November 10, 2008 at 9:03 pm

     Her criticisms of the campaign may or may not be on target, but she doesn’t “believe in” same-sex marriage, so I wouldn’t expect her to say anything positive.

     I am a perfect example of why the fight against Proposition 8, which amends the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriage, failed to win black support.

     I am black. I am a political activist who cares deeply about social justice issues. I am a lesbian. This year, I canvassed the streets of South Los Angeles and Compton, knocking on doors, talking politics to passers-by and working as I never had before to ensure a large voter turnout among African Americans. But even I wasn’t inspired to encourage black people to vote against the proposition.

     Why? Because I don’t see why the right to marry should be a priority for me or other black people. Gay marriage? Please. At a time when blacks are still more likely than whites to be pulled over for no reason, more likely to be unemployed than whites, more likely to live at or below the poverty line, I was too busy trying to get black people registered to vote, period; I wasn’t about to focus my attention on what couldn’t help but feel like a secondary issue…

     From my point of view, her logic also fall flat since marriage was already available when she was canvassing.  So it wasn’t like anyone was asking her to divert resources to get it.  If she can’t see that putting the civil rights of a minority to the vote is wrong, she’s got a screw loose.  I guess she doesn’t realize that she just lost a slice of her own citizenship.  Very strange, in my opinion.

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     p>So David, when faced with people who are homophobic because of illogical religious beliefs, what is the best way to reach out?  Is it even possible?

     • david says

       November 10, 2008 at 9:16 pm

       you might listen to her NPR appearance, in which she had a lot more time to expand on her point.  I don’t think it’s that she doesn’t “believe in” same-sex marriage in the sense that she agreed with Prop 8 — to the contrary, she said that she was quite disappointed in Prop 8’s passage, and in the black support for it in particular.  What she’s talking about is the campaign’s failure to find a way to communicate effectively with the black community, which may have other priorities, and its failure to come to grips with the reality that the black church and the civil rights movement remain closely intertwined.  Fairly or not, she sees the marriage issue as driven by white gays who, even when they were in the closet 50 years ago, could still check into any hotel and sit at any lunch counter they felt like.  Her words, not mine — I’m just the messenger.  But it’s impossible to ignore the No on 8 campaign’s failure to reach the black community, and it’s hard to see how they can succeed without solving that problem.

       • laurel says

         November 10, 2008 at 9:23 pm

         the failure is reaching out to conservative christians.  blacks didn’t vote for that thing because they’re black any more than the whites and latinos did because they’re white or latino.  conservative religion is what a majority of the voters have in common (it just appears that a larger proportion of blacks might be conservative christian, thus making it look like “black” people voted yes, not conservative religionists).  so, this brings me back to my question: how does one effectively reach out to people who think they know “the truth”?  logical arguments DO NOT work with this crowd.  what will?  

         • centralmassdad says

           November 12, 2008 at 1:10 pm

           As I didn’t expect him to do all that well with the religious right.

   • tudor586 says

     November 11, 2008 at 9:31 am

     As commentators like Dan Savage were raising uncomfortable questions about the extent of homophobia in the African-American community, Cannick and others fought back saying that LGBT people should blame ourselves for the homophobia of California’s voters. I have seen the tendency to tear ourselves down at work in the LGBT civil rights movement in my 25+ years of participation, and it goes all the way back to Stonewall, 40 years ago next June.

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     p>Stories persist to this day that Hoover’s FBI tried to disrupt the nascent movement by sending in gay-identified critics to argue that we should do nothing until we have reached a state of perfection in our standing, consciousness, and widely-accepted credibility as leftists. Although it would be unfair to compare Cannick to someone like Jim Fouratt, who was rumoured to be an FBI plant and was instrumental in the downfall of the Gay Liberation Front, her rhetoric is just as poisonous.

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     p>It should come as no surprise to someone as enlightened as you, David, that the homophobia LGBT folks grew up with has left disfiguring scars on many. I see self-loathing when I read the views of self-appointed lesbian/gay “spokespeople” against equal rights (most commonly the gay Republicans, but also some leftists like Cannick.) What strikes you as “interesting” is for me deeply and personally painful. Those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to relive them, and folks like Cannick are breathtakingly ahistorical.

2. tudor586 says

   November 11, 2008 at 10:27 am

   Join the Impact – Nationwide Protest of Proposition 8 (Boston)

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   p>Join the Impact is a group that is organizing a nationwide protest against Proposition 8, the measure which banned gay marriage in California last Tuesday.

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   p>People will be gathering in cities across the country this Saturday, November 15th at 1:30 (EST) to protest the passage of this discriminatory proposition.

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   p>Join us for a protest in Boston at City Hall/Government Plaza* to show your opposition to Prop 8. This is not just a California issue! This is an issue of equality for all Americans!

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   p>*We are almost sure that we’ll be at City Hall, but check back later this week for final location.

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   p>For more information about Prop 8 protests, or for other protest locations, visit the website http://www.jointheimpact.com

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   p>—–
   If you are interested in helping with this event, here are some things you can do:

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   p>* GET THE WORD OUT- Tell all your friends about this event & convince them to come. Share this event with local clubs or organizations that you are part of, too.

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   p>* PASS OUT FLYERS – We are posting a link to our event flyer soon. You will be able to print out flyers and pass them out at school, work or to friends

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   p>* MAKE PROTEST SIGNS – There are some great ideas for signs to create on Join The Impact’s website: http://jointheimpact.wetpaint….
   http://www.against8.blogspot.com/

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   p>—–
   Contact Information:

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   p>Kate Leslie
   kathryncleslie@yahoo.com

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   p>Ryan MacNeely
   ryan.macneely@gmail.com
   617-650-3415

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   p>Paul Sousa
   sousa.plm@gmail.com
   617-840-5145

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   p>NEW BOSTON PROP 8 BLOG
   http://prop8ma.blogspot.com

   • cambridge_paul says

     November 11, 2008 at 10:38 am

     Please join our facebook event and invite all of your friends.  Let’s keep this momentum going.