I'm Mostly Happy, But...

An Obama Victory and the "Sins of the Fathers"

We have come a long way in terms of diversity. We will have our first black president, and before that we had our first retarded president. I am proud we have come so far and are willing to be so diverse.

Nothing can "make up" for centuries of slavery, but I do think this is more than just symbolic. This country has been living under the "sins of the fathers" since it's founding, and it's hard to say what this will mean in the long-term for race relations. I am still taking it all in, and anyone who says they really understand how this will affect the American psyche is probably lying.

CA Bans Gay Marriage, With a BIG Help from the Black CA Population

For gay Americans this is a bittersweet time, Proposition 8 to ban gay marriage in California passed. Interesting how California overwhelmingly voted for Obama but still managed to pull this off too. I have always believed that a minority group gets very little if any help from other minority groups once the group they are seeking help from has risen to acceptance or power in society.

This is aimed squarely and without regret at the African American votes in California. Exit polls revealed 70% of African Americans who voted were FOR the ban, only about half of white voters voted for the ban. I really don't get it, and I have no regret pointing this FACT out.[1]

A Big "Fuck You" To Unity with Far-Right Republicans

On the MSNBC "Morning Joe" show Joe Scarborough went on a rant about how the "liberal elites" are saying that Americans were getting involved for the first time, but in fact, Joe says, there was just as much enthusiasm about Bush in 2004 when the Christian evangelicals came out to re-elect him. And shame on "closed-minded liberals" who dare to criticize the REASONS those Bush voters were energized.

I just can't let such a statement pass. First of all, those voters in 2004 were coming out to vote largely because a gay marriage ban was likely on the ballot in their state. They were voting out of fear about national security, two wars and a government that has taken advantage of a terrorist attack. I see no comparison between the election of Barack Obama and the re-election of George Bush in terms of the issues or the general spirit in which it was done.

Not all enthusiasm is equal, and frankly while America needs "unity;" division along racial, geographical, cultural and class lines has been the destructive Republican strategy for decades. I don't want to be unified with an extreme right-wing, and I don't even think it's possible.

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Footnotes
1. http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hZmLBrL36NObNyMR0ghXN7vB5hYwD9493TBO0