Race, Religion, Rights and… Reality

The image above was the first thing I thought of last week, when the awesome results of the Obama win in the U.S. presidential election were tempered by the heartbreaking passing of Proposition 8 — banning same-sex marriage — in California. The cartoon above will no doubt annoy African-American readers by diminishing the unconscionable racism they’ve experienced as much as their annoyance diminishes the unconscionable homophobia we second-class homosexuals experience.

I don’t like playing the “my disenfranchisment is worse than your disenfranchisement” game. Equality is equality, and if you do not believe it is, you need to check your bigotry. If you do believe it is, you need to focus less on blame and more on the goal.

I post the image, above, not to inflame or annoy but, rather, as an entrée to some serious discussion. And serious discussion is required, because exit polls show a shockingly high percentage of African-Americans, especially African-American women, supporting the measure to entrench discrimination. And, indeed, men I respect (Andrew Sullivan) and adore (Dan Savage) responded with righteous anger at the statistics. Facts is facts, but I would argue that pointing a finger at African-Americans shows a remarkably shallow assessment of the data.

Also? Way to play directly into the Republigious right wing’s wildest dreams, people. Stung by the serious rebuke in the elections, they’re getting serious hard-ons at the way Prop 8 in California — and similar measures in 3 other states — is pitting two of their most fervent opponents against each other. This fact alone should give finger-pointers pause.

Another fact that should give finger-pointers pause is that if Af-Am voters in Cali voted in the same proportions as their white counterparts, Prop 8 still would have passed. Now, before y’all jump in and say “yeah, but how about the Hispanics who voted in disproportionately-high numbers, too?” I want to say that I’m not going to quote actual percentages and numbers because, to me, they don’t matter.

They don’t.

It’s not the colour of their skin or the language they feel most comfortable speaking which caused them to vote in favour of such odious legislation. No, the common denominator is — as it usually is — that rotting elephant carcass in the room: religion.

And, yeah, yeah, blahblahblah, I know all about the importance the church has had in giving comfort and strength to the Af-Am community, how without it there would be no MLK or civil rights movement but I also hafta say that the Obama win is a new source of strength and comfort for everyone who’s considered themselves an outsider, divorced from divisive faith and unreality.

Sure, the Obamas are a good, Christian family, but they’re remarkably grounded in reality, as well. And I’m confident hopeful his administration will bring a swift and sweeping rationalism, figurative and real, to the American people. The defeat of the Bush administration and the GOP who backed him is a slap in the face to those who believe the lies and deceptions of that administration, a slap in the face of the McCain/Palin campaign’s lies and deception. And it cracks open the door to some refreshing reality.

A couple of days ago I posted a video of the staggeringly stupid, Christianist, African-American personality, Sherri Shepherd, so it’s only right, I think, to present this inspiring and enlightening discussion between CNBC’s openly-lesbian Rachel Maddow and Princeton’s awesome Melissa Harris-Lacewell:

Melissa’s laid out a template for outreach in minority and religious communities. Protestors and organizers for the next battles in this war should listen up. The enemy is not the person whose skin colour is different from your own, nor is it the person who speaks with a different accent. The enemy is the force of irrational belief. And while declaring a war on religion is, at this stage, as close to insane as one might venture, identifying a target provides us with a toe-hold to chip away the outright lies and unreal fears broadcast from the pulpit.

Watch as the outreach of which Harris-Lacewell speaks takes shape, and not just on this issue of equality, but also the life-or-death issue of higher HIV infection rates among minorities. Watch as endorsers of the Yes on 8 campaign are named, shamed and, in some cases, outed. Watch as greater numbers of lesbian and gay African-Americans come out to their families. Watch as we take to the streets in protest and pursue every legal recourse possible to gain full equality.

It should be interesting. Act up, fight back!

(Thanks to Joe.My.God. for the image and video links.)

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