Friday, December 19, 2008

Forced to Vote for Obama, I Now Want an Apology..

...from the oh-so-informed gays that looked at me as if I had confessed to pricking people with a syringe loaded with HIV after expressing my reservations about Obama's qualifications for President. Remember the uncomfortable exchanges we've had at dinners and cocktails parties, where I was derided for being everything from a racist to a self-hating gay for "not seeing the light"?

Hmmm....

What say you now, oh enlightened New York liberals, that Obama is giving a prime spot at the Inauguration to Rick Warren, the Evangelical pastor who famously presided over the Saddleback debates, and oh yeah, is a staunch supporter in Proposition 8? Doesn't that sound like something W would do?

Change you can believe in indeed - change your tactics the minute you're in power. Well played, Barry. Shifty, two-faced, you certainly are a product of Chicago's stellar political system. And I thought you were a softie...

So, stupid gays, are you folks still going to send Barack a postcard asking him to consider you in his administration? Or are you going to throw a shoe at him next time he starts talking out of the side of his mouth about equality and bla bla bla?

If gay is the new black, let's revisit the 1961 inauguration of John F. Kennedy whose invocation was given by Cardinal Richard Cushing, archbishop of Boston and member of the NAACP. How would history have judged the President had he chosen some southern segregationist religious figure to pray at his inauguration? The LA Times, which offers this bit of Presidential trivia in an opinion piece that basically says the Warren decision is no big deal, clearly fails to understand the significant blow Obama has dealt the gay community.

The President-elect offers this explanation for his choice:

“That dialogue, I think, is part of what my campaign's been all about: That we're not going to agree on every single issue. But what we have to do is to be able to create an atmosphere when we -- where we can disagree without being disagreeable and then focus on those things that we hold in common as Americans. That's the spirit in which, you know, we have put together what I think will be a terrific inauguration and that's, hopefully, going to be a spirit that carries over into my administration.”

How nice, except for the fact that my rights are not negotiable. And that's the issue with Barack's point of view - like W, like pretty much most of Middle America, Barack thinks gay rights are a nice to-do like, say, curbing your dog. But guess what, Barack, my tax dollars matter just as much as that of avowed Christians, and just like you and Michelle don't belong at the back of the bus neither do James and I.

And to those who are wont to ask "would McCain have done any better by the gays?" my answer is he never promised us anything during the campaign. Here's to a great four years.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gay is *not* the new black. You can walk into a room and no one needs to know your sexual orientation. You are free to reveal your sexual orientation - or not. As a black woman, I walk into a room and it's the first thing everyone sees.

I'm all about gay rights and gay marriage, but gay is not on the new black.

-Danielle

Anonymous said...

Before we get all hysterical on this issue, let's review Obama's record on gay rights:

Barack Obama and Gay Rights in Illinois:

Barack Obama supported gay rights during his Illinois Senate tenure. He sponsored legislation in Illinois that would ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Barack Obama in the United States Senate:

Every two years the Human Rights Campaign, the largest national gay and lesbian organization, issues a scorecard for members of the Senate based on their sponsorship and voting on key issues of importance to gay and lesbian citizens. Barack Obama scored 89 out of 100% in the 2006 scorecard. Here’s how HRC rated Barack Obama:

Barack Obama on Hate Crimes:

Barack Obama co-sponsored legislation to expand federal hate crimes laws to include crimes perpetrated because of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Employment Non-Discrimination:

Barack Obama supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and believes it should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell – Gays in the Military:

Barack Obama believes we need to repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military. His campaign literature says, “The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve.”

Gay & Lesbian Adoption:

Barack Obama believes gays and lesbians should have the same rights to adopt children as heterosexuals.

Barack Obama and Gay Marriage/ Civil Unions:

Although Barack Obama has said that he supports civil unions, he is against gay marriage. In an interview with the Chicago Daily Tribune, Obama said, “I’m a Christian. And so, although I try not to have my religious beliefs dominate or determine my political views on this issue, I do believe that tradition, and my religious beliefs say that marriage is something sanctified between a man and a woman.”

Barack Obama did vote against a Federal Marriage Amendment and opposed the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996.

He said he would support civil unions between gay and lesbian couples, as well as letting individual states determine if marriage between gay and lesbian couples should be legalized.

“Giving them a set of basic rights would allow them to experience their relationship and live their lives in a way that doesn’t cause discrimination,” Obama said. “I think it is the right balance to strike in this society.”

Obama's record on these issues has been pretty steady on these issues over the years. So he's giving a small nod to the evangelical right. And the invocation is gonna be, what, a minute long. I can't seem to get all worked up about this. You may be right, GCL, but I'll reserve my judgement until Obama gets into office. How were you forced into voting for Obama?

Hydrino

David said...

No need to get worked up, Danielle. It's a catch phrase, and no one with half a brain would claim the struggles of blacks and gays are equivalent. They are, however, both struggles, and I very much resent the implication that as a gay man I can successfully avoid discrimination by pretending to be something I'm not by not "revealing" myself. That's exactly the ignorant mindset that keeps our struggle for equality stagnant. "Keep it quiet" and you can avoid problems. Sorry, no thanks.

And Hydrino, that's a great summary. Unlike you, however, I have gotten extremely worked up because I don't see this as an issue of rights, I see this as an issue of respect. Obama's stance on gay and lesbian politics may skew in our favor based on how you view his legislative record, but by putting Rick Warren, whether he is speaking for 1 minute, for 10 seconds, or not at all, on the stage on a day when the entire country should be united in joy for our new President, Obama and whoever among his team made this decision are showing our community a complete lack of respect. Then to claim that it is simply a matter of disagreement spoke volumes on how he views us as people. It is what it is, and it is an inauguration day that really has no bearing on how he will act as a President. But I have zero tolerance for men like Rick Warren whose views on homosexuality are a product of bigotry and ignorance, and it outrages me that our President has respect enough for him to claim these are just a matter of disagreement.

Anonymous said...

I just want to say, I told you so

Besides those noted by GCL, just another example proving our new President-elect didn't escape Illinois politics unscathed - the recent exchange of a cabinet seat for a donor list.

Here here to another four years of the same thing. Lies.

Anonymous said...

Obama could have chosen someone a little more to the right and made the same point about inclusion - which is a good one in principle. Choosing Rick Warren was unnecessary and offensive to those of us who would like to have the right to marry. This is a slap in the face and I think this message needs to be made loud and clear to the Obama adminstration. This is not OK.

Anonymous said...

As a gay man, I understand why some are upset about the Warren pick, but some gays are acting like they've completely written Obama off. GCL, for instance. Considering Obama's record on gay issues, I think that's premature. I think Obama is still out best chance for something new, and I'm not ready to throw that away yet. On a positive note, the Rev. Joseph E. Lowry, a civil rights movement stalwart, open advocate for gay marriage, and co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, will deliver the benediction. I thinks that's what we should focus on. Personally, as an non-religious person, we should do away with all this invocation and benediction business. All this stuff just unhinges people.

Anonymous said...

This is hydrino. I wrote the last post but forget to sign my name to it. I wanted to also share this. It made me laugh out loud:

I’m hoping that the Revererend Wright parachutes on stage just as Rick “Pus-Driven Life” Warren is about to give the invocation, and then he says “THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MINE, BITCHES” and starts spraying machine gun fire. Then he and Hopey make up over Warrens bullet-riddled corpse and they start handing out guns to the crowd from big ass crates marked USSR and “Fidel Forever.” The end.

Hydrino

earlcapps said...

Well, now y'all know how the not-so-good Reverend Wright feels - used while it helped, but tossed aside when push came to shove.

But never fear - just because he's using that guy for the inauguration doesn't mean hes not just using him. He'll toss him overboard when the time is right - that's what he does.

When someone who spent most of his Senate tenure running for President takes office, there's going to be a learning curve - both for the new President, as well as those who put him in that office.

But democracy is based upon the premise that people deserve to get what they voted for. Cheers!

Anonymous said...

"The abnormal use of my sexuality continued until I came to realize that I was broken and that homosexuality was not God's intention... for my masculinity."
Donnie McClurkin. Remember him? Obama took him along on the campaign trail. Why is anyone surprised by Rick Warren. Barack Obama was always a choice between two evils.

Lionel