Hey White Queers: Don't Get All Sarah Palin, Now

Shannon LC Cate — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:30:00 GMT

Talk around the media is that the passing of anti-gay ballot measures last Tuesday in California, Arizona, Florida and Arkansas can be blamed on/attributed to high minority turnout due to Barack Obama heading the ballot.

Wait just a minute.

Proposition 8 passed by the skin of its teeth last week, while a similar measure passed with more than a 60% margin in the last election--you know, the one without the record-breaking minority turnout. Even if 70% of Black voters voted for Proposition 8, that's a slim number, given the fact that minorities are a minority--in California, Blacks make up 6% of the population. But after Bush's re-election brought about a bushel of "ban gay marriage" results in several states, no one blamed the white people.

But the media loves to play this race-baiting game as much as Sarah Palin,--if in more measured tones. They are looking for a gimicky way to talk about Obama's election in terms of race and "oh the irony! civil rights denied by Black people at the apex of their own triumph over oppression!" is a catchy and clever-sounding headline, as long as you don't think about it too deeply.

But we can't be neatly divided into The Blacks versus The Gays, however much easier that makes it on a harried copywriter with an election analysis deadline. One big reason? Psst, come closer, closer...there are black gays!

And their churches don't all hate them anymore than white churches all hate white gays. In fact, as with predominately white Christian denominations, predominately Black ones have a range of opinions on the question of sexuality and a good number of theologians, ethicists and biblical scholars who fully support glbt people and their full inclusion in society and the Church. A cursory mental survey of my own friends brought none to mind who are A) Black, Latino, Asian or another racial minority and B) opposed to same-sex marriage. And yes, that's more than one person, yo.

Here's another dirty little fact. A minority of white voters voted for Barack Obama. Don't believe me because every white person you know is an Obamanic? Look at CNN's exit polls. Read it and weep: 43% of whites voted for Obama. And if you remove the 18-29 demographic, it's about 41%. Does this mean white voters are racist? Of course not. It means that we need to start looking for a new way to think about race and its meaning in the United States. We need to stop stereotyping and knee-jerking and get to know each other.

In the first few months of an Obama presidency, we are going to see nuts creep out of the woodwork in record numbers. There is a good chance that some will use this presidency to harden, and even recruit for, their racist agenda. Those of us whose visions of change and hope and expanded notions of citizenship won the day last week need to pull together. If you are feeling let down by the anti-gay ballot measures and looking for someone to blame, blame racism. A lack of interest in the concerns of queers of color has long been a problem in large queer organizations in the United States. A complimentary lack of knowledge about the struggles of all racial minorities, gay or straight, has handicapped those organizations. Let this defeat be a lesson to those who want to expand the freedom of this country to work together, learn about each other and start breaking down walls built of everything from fear to mere convenience. If Barack Obama can shatter a glass ceiling like the presidency, it's the least we can do to help him bring the rest of the building down.

Strollerderby : racism in glbt community

Hey White Queers: Don't Get All Sarah Palin, Now