Last night, I was on FOX’s O’Reilly Factor to discuss my column on race and Prop. 8. I was on with Jasmyne Cannick who wrote a shameful article in the LA Times.
I felt the lead into the show was unfair. It looked as if gay people were hooligans and troublemakers. In reality, the protests across the nation have been peaceful. The show also said there were only 1,000 protesters in New York. I was there and there were more then 10,000.
What people like O’Reilly and others don’t seem to understand is that we deserve to be angry. After all, a majority actually voted away our marriages – as if our nation’s laws are a product of mob rule, with no rights for minorities. Do they expect us to be all smiles? Do they understand the gravity and gall of what they have done? How would they react if their marriages had been endlessly debated, lied about and then voted away? There would likely be hell to pay and riots in the streets if straight people, or a particular faith, had their loving marriages destroyed by majority vote.
As far as Ms. Cannick? Her appearance speaks for itself, as do her radical ideas, such as white people should not eat soulfood or win awards at all black colleges. If you are for pitting people against each other and dividing people by race – then you probably love her. If you are a person who believes in equality for all and judging people by the content of their character, you probably were not a big fan of Ms. Cannick. Her main problem is that she offers copius criticism, but never offers real solutions.
There is a also a disturbing trend where the right wing groups and media distort what is going on at these protests. It is really vile how these professed Christians so easily lie in the name of the Lord. It’s as if they have no dignity, no shame, no scruples, no morals, and no decency – even as they prattle on about their superior values. They are dreadful “witnesses” for their religon. For every political battle they win, they turn off millions of people. In this sense, the Prop 8 battle was an enormous defeat for anti-gay religious groups.
This is a battle we are going to win if we harness the energy at these rallies into tangible action. I can assure you that truth will win out. I look forward to working with the people I have met across this nation to have an impact and make a difference. Hang in there. Victory is closer than many of us imagine.
