Prop 8, California's ban on gay marriage, seems to have passed.
CNN breaks down the exit polls--make of them what you will...
Sex:
Men - 51% yes, 49% no
Women - 50% yes, 50% no
Race:
White - 47% yes, 53% no
African American - 70% yes, 30% no
Latino - 51% yes, 49% no
Asian - 47% yes, 53% no
Other - 50% yes, 50% no
Age:
18 to 29 - 37% yes, 63% no
30 to 44 - 53% yes, 47% no
45 to 64 - 53% yes, 47% no
65 and older - 59% yes, 41% no
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
Think I was going to let this slide just like that because you deleted the original posting on this topic?
It's a shame you chose to delete that posting for the petty sake of face instead of discussing it like a grown-up and posting a follow-up if need be. Your self-contradictory ranting was the best example I've ever seen of, as you put it, "race's continuing relevance in America." I hope the nominal savings to your reputation offset the disgrace of maintaining the untrustworthy status quo in our society that results in setbacks like Proposition 8.
For the record and the sake of being academic I'll repost my fundamental point: African Americans in the state of California are underrepresented by half compared to the US as a whole. Approximately 1.6 million African Americans voted for Prop 8 compared to approximately 12.7 million whites alone.
Suggesting that black Americans passed this bill and that Barack Obama could or should have changed that is willful ignorance and the stuff of white supremacy. The success or failure of Prop 8 is not a matter of race and in an era of change we can believe in that is the most backwards accusation a journalist could conceivably make.
The estimated figures in the previous post were calculated in error. To correct myself:
Approximately 430,000 African Americans voted for Prop 8 compared to approximately 2.7 million whites and 1.8 million Latinos.
Rant all you want. I removed the post because it was apparently too easily misunderstood by people such as yourself who are apt to put what others say in the worst possible light.
Homophobia is a huge problem in the African American community--bigger than it is in the country as a whole. That's just a fact. Everyone should work to change that--especially those with the most influence.
And your numbers are just wrong. The percentage of African Americans who voted for Prop 8 is extremely close it its margin of victory. If African Americans had voted the same way as the average Californian, the measure would have failed. Pointing this out is not evidence of racism.
If you continue to smear me as a racist when I am no such thing, I will happily ban you from making further comments on any blog entries.
Yes, the passing margin of the proposition was just over 400,000 votes so for Black America to pass your bill for you, Chris, Barack Obama would have to somehow force black voters to vote against Prop 8 by a wider margin than any group: 45% to 65%.
That pretty much makes swiss cheese of your point here, and if you're still not willing to concede that you're wrong in blaming the black race, then you have to be the most bigoted gay man in this state at the very least.
By comparison, a 9% shift among Whites and Latinos would accomplish the same outcome as your proposal, which amounts to a 25% shift of black votes, two and a half times the proportion. Why is that fair of you to expect? You're expecting 1/4 of the black community to obey your wishes to accomplish your ends. Sound familiar? This is why you invite accusation.
Oh, I also have to throw this out there: It's a "just a fact" that African Americans are more homophobic? Isn't it also "just a fact" that "they" are all shiftless, unintelligent, violent and irresponsible? "They" aren't civilized as you, as tolerant as you.
You've spewed out so many prejudiced and ignorant things this morning, I don't even know where to begin. Your comments are riddled with tacit racism. It makes me sick, especially to think that you make yourself out to be a champion of tolerance. Now that you've gotten comfortable with your stance on gay rights issues, you need to get back to more basic civil rights topics and do some hard thinking about your own preconceptions about race and skin color.
Seriously, give it a rest. You don't know me but you're always happy to accuse me of being a bad person for one reason or another.
As to the African American community having disproportionately bad problems with homophobia, this is something I hear from black gays I know. And the polls show it. This is not a baseless accusation and it is not based on the color of anyone's skin. It's a critique of a cultural problem.
It's just pedantic to call such criticism racist.
If you're really so interested in my inner thoughts and feelings, why don't you e-mail me sometime? We could actually meet and talk. But you'd obviously rather accuse me of things without really knowing what you're talking about.
Post a Comment