Bill Clinton spoke about us, as did Maya Angelou in her inaugural poem for President Clinton, and I was electrified to hear it again in Barack Obama’s inaugural speech. The lyrics of the classic Nina Simone song, “Feeling Good” sprung into my head while I sipped champagne on the cusp of the election being called for President-Elect Barack Obama.
What I’m upset about tonight here in California is with the undue out-of-state influence from religious zealotry from such incongruous groups such as the Mormons, Baptists, business owners, 70% of black Democratic voters, and Republican fat cats in office - Prop 8 won. Angry doesn’t begin to even cut it when I think of how I was raised in a not-so-liberal household and to experience the world around me, grow up and learn to celebrate diversity in all people, it cuts me to the core. Tonight, my civil rights are less important then they were just days ago.
How would people of color like it if I started an initiative that placed a proposition on the next ballot that they could no longer practice their faith, or worse, repeal their right to vote? And what of the Mormons who caused this constitutional crisis, how would they react if we just ban them outright branding them as a cult and wanting to teach our children to be howling polygamists, right?
Wrong.
I wouldn’t do this, because I’m better than that and I wouldn’t DARE take away rights granted to anyone. It’s Un-American and it’s a slippery slope when you remove rights from one group of people granted lawfully opening the door to take away the rights sanctioning discrimination to select groups. Where does it end?
Now what happens to all the people who *did* get married since the CA Supreme Court gave the right to gay and lesbian couples? Will their marriage certificates be nullified? Will they remain married while others will never get the right? What happens to their rights as ‘married’ individuals? Do home mortgages get redrawn? How do you explain that to their children that Mommy and Mommy or Daddy and Daddy are no longer a legal married couple? What an embarrassing nightmare on the world stage, where on one hand we’ve elected our first African-American President and one the other we denied the happiness of committed homosexual couples in California, Arizona, and Florida bringing the total to 35 states.
In this day and age where people are wondering how to institute fixing the economy, in what sort of twisted logic going on upstairs in people’s heads, did they think this was the right thing to do for this failing economy? I suggest reading this wikipedia article on the economic impact this will have.
So shame on religious zealots for sticking their fingers in where they don’t belong! I challenge people of faith who voted for the ban to take a long, hard look at themselves and their faith, realizing what a foolish thing they’ve done here. The constitutional amendment to the California Constitution should be made annul and churches who supported this ban should lose their tax exempt status for violating the separation of church and state.
This makes me sick to my back teeth to think about the implications and the lack of forethought of the electorate.
You see them all over the place and in a wide variety of personal styles. The UK gave us skinheads and the more enduring image of what a punk is and Southern California answered back with their own subculture - guys on skateboards. Sporty, sweaty, sinewy daredevils on planks of wood and tacked on trucks and wheels. Scourge of public sidewalks and police everywhere, rulers of the abandoned drained, below-ground pool, and seemingly closet sneaker fetishists! My heart skips a beat when I hear the oncoming CLACK CLACK CLACK of ball bearings and board on the cracks of the sidewalk.
Again, click on the image for full a larger view size.
