Monday, November 3, 2008

Prop 8 Yeah or Nay?

Support for and opposition of Proposition 8 is neck and neck per the polls but I'd like it to fail just on principle. When Mormons from Utah fund legislation that affects voters in California I have a problem with that. Should Californians draft legislation that dictates how they live, particularly their so-called break away sects where 16 y.o. girls are forced to marry 80 y.o. men? The hyprocrisy knows no bounds, however I'm not sure the opponents made their case to the citizens of California.

Celebrity endorsements and comparing it to Civil Rights does not have universal appeal. Every person who supports it is not a raging homophobe. They did not leave every stone unturned in my opinion and if it squeaks by those who support "No On 8" should count themselves very lucky indeed. I hope this was not just a single issue for wealthier voters and they are equally supportive by deed and donation to assisting working class LGBT people whose immediate needs extend beyond marriage to housing, jobs, medical assistance and fighting police brutality.

It annoys me to no end that people carp about marriage being between a man and a woman as if it was always set up as an ideal and as a positive and beneficial thing. Women and children were and still are thought of as property. It was a business transaction and when did women typically have a choice?

In Western society how seriously do people take marriage nowadays? Is it simply a civil union or a religious ritual? Is there a spiritual component and alignment with a higher power? When people think they can find 'love' on a reality show do you think they're using sound judgement? When people focus on appearance and are driven by lust do they have the stamina to stick it out past that first bloom once it wears off? People take things for granted when it is a right given to them without merit. When you have to work towards something because it is being denied to you there is greater appreciation for it.

I am certain same gender loving people will eventually be allowed to marry, but the journey to get there may take a little while longer.

2 comments:

Liz Dwyer said...

Such good points in this, particularly around supporting working class LGBT folks and other needs/concerns that are perhaps just as if not more pressing. And in the commercial comparing Prop 8 to Japanese internment camps and interracial marriage, there are no visible POC LGBT couples. That's a definite faux pas.

I guess we'll know tomorrow night what happens.

I wonder if

Faith at Acts of Faith Blog said...

Liz you got cut off. I'm wondering what will happen if Yes on 8 passes. The only people I've seen campaigning for No on 8 have been white. I think it indicates the financial disparity as well as the ethnic component of this state. I didn't know those that identify as Black, Non Hispanic only make up 7% of the state.