Seriously, WTF is WRONG with people?!

[velessa]

While the country takes a giant step forward, California takes an even bigger step back by allowing Prop 8 to pass. WHAT. THE. HELL. Clearly, equality under the law means nothing to a majority of people here in this supposedly "progressive" state.

How can in the same stroke people decide that the color of someone's skin is not a concern, but who they choose to love IS?! Do they not see discrimination is discrimination, no matter what the particular target is?? Saying gays can't marry is the SAME THING as saying whites and blacks can't marry! No progress has been made in civil rights! What's really being said is that gays are less than human, and that's sick.

Anyone who voted for Prop 8 has no right to consider themselves to have any human decency remaining. Gay marriage DOES NOT and WOULD NOT affect you WHATSOEVER. Did your life suddenly become a living hell because somewhere, some gay couples attained the same legal rights as you? Was your church suddenly forced to marry gay people in droves? Did they make you to go to their weddings and watch them kiss and be blissfully happy? Happy people, what a horrible thing! We can't allow that now can we?? We must keep marriage all to ourselves, only people just like us can be happy together! Does stripping others of their rights make you feel superior to them? Are you somehow better off knowing that gay couple down the street can't have the same legal protections you do? Do you really think that not letting them marry will make them any less of a couple or in love with each other?? Preventing gay marriage does nothing to prevent people living their (gay) lives! Homosexuality has been a fact of life all throughout nature and all throughout human history, and not giving people a piece of paper isn't going to change that. You'd best wake up to reality.

All you homophobes are in all likelihood in contact with or are a neighbor to or know and love a gay person and don't even realize it. And now you've told them that they don't deserve to have the same governmental rights as you because they were born different from you. Wow. Way to be compassionate. Hmm, isn't being compassionate toward your fellow man a main teaching in Christian religions? I guess not, since they're the ones promoting the hate toward gay people and anyone else who doesn't believe the same things they do.

I'm so mad right now I can't even articulate it. I was so happy last night when I still had hope left, and even had it strengthened with the election of Barack Obama. But NOW...today was supposed to be a joyous occasion, and now it's just fucked up. Thanks so much, my fellow Californians. I hope someday something you really care about it thrown under a bus. Sorry this got so long, but I need to rant. People suck. I sincerely hope this can be reversed somehow.

Comments

[ex-aria-sta.livejournal.com]

I strongly suspect the prop confused people. Polls were states as: Should gays have the right to marry? A yes-vote meant yes, "Yes, they should be allowed to marry." But on the ballot, it was the opposite. It would be, "No, they should be allowed to marry." Instead Yes was to BAN. And the slogans used, "Protect marriage", and "Protect families", sound like the slogans that should be used to protect gay marriage. Protection isn't supposed to be discrimination. I really believe that the way it was on the ballot confused people, and I hope it is challenged.

There is NO reason to deny people the right to marry. For those idiots who say marriage is about children, well, why not ban infertile people from marrying or dissolve marriages that don't result in children after two years? Heh, we'd better prove I can have a baby before getting married and you and Josh had better get cracking and hope for a baby in eight months! That's how stupid this ban is. There is NO reason for it.

Gay marriage over the last several months hasn't caused the world to collapse. No one's been hurt. Hell, gay marriages actually increase tax revenue because the tax exemption for married couples is 1.5x the single rate, not 2x, so more is taxable. So there is even a financial benefit to gay marriage. But what's hurt? Gay people can live together and love each other and hold hands and kiss on the street, but marriage suddenly means teh evilz??

A man can have a sex-change operation and can suddenly marry his/her boyfriend, but as a man, no right. This proves it's all on the outside.

This ban will eventually get shot down, and watch Gavin Newsom ignore the government and still allow gay marriage to happen in San Francisco. SF's got a ling history of going against the bigger government to allow people rights and protections. I'm pretty sure there is a law in place that can be called up to protect the minority from discrimination by the majority. There is no legal basis for this ban, only pure discrimination.

[velessa.livejournal.com]

I strongly suspect the prop confused people.

I'm afraid of that as well. Silly of me to think that people would actually READ the thing before answering, but at this point I'm ready to believe people really are that stupid/lazy/mean/whatever. =/

[ex-aria-sta.livejournal.com]

I suspect there was an intentional attempt to cause confusion. People are used to hearing "Yes on gay rights!" that it's easy enough to come to think of that as "Yes on Prop 8!" because Prop 8 has become almost synonymous with gay rights.

Regardless, I hope it's taken to court and shot down. It's discrimination, and the sole basis of it really is Christians trying to push their beliefs onto everyone else. As my aunt said, the attorney, "They all need to go back to grade school since they clearly didn't learn the Constitution, particularly the separation of church and state, very well."

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

From out this way California always seemed kind of cool and open minded until now.

[velessa.livejournal.com]

Heh, that's one reason why this galls so badly. Pretty much all the people I know ARE cool and open-minded; I don't know where all these bigots came from. Abroad I used to at least feel confident in telling people I was from California (since we're like our own cool little country), but now I'm not sure I would. >=(

[seoinage.livejournal.com]

There are some that I know who let their religion dictate what other people's lives should be like unfortunately. :(

As for where they (the bigots) came from, it may be a bit surprising, but one has to look at the "minority" vote, which tends to be overlooked in instances like this. Though some would think minorities would "get" what discrimination is, that is so very not true, as testified by their "yes's". (Exit polls were conducted.) :(

And I really do believe that the inner Bay Area is, for the vast part, a very protected microcosm. Even though relatively close, just crossing to Marin, Fairfield, or Gilroy will yield you those who are intolerant. It's very sad, and very scary.

[bayareajenn.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean.

But someone else I know wrote that Obama won the vote because people on both sides (Dems and Reps) were voting for a change from Bush's policies, and not necessarily because Reps were switching and supporting Dems. The fact that Obama didn't win in a landslide by the popular vote is a testament to that, as is Prop 8 passing, and that proposition in Arkansas banning unwed couples from adopting, and while Dems won some seats in congress, they didn't win enough to prevent filibuster. So, the country, alas, is still primarily Republican, but now at least it's overwhelmingly anti-Bush (finally).