11/17/08

Proposition 8 - No Opinions Just Thoughts

It's Monday and I have so many things on my mind this morning. I've been going since about 5:30am and I pondered what I'd write about today on my blog. I went back and forth between ideas of household pet peeves, the Santa Barbara fires, the terrible threes that I continue to live through, prop. 8, holiday shoppers, the fact that my neighbor has Christmas lights and a tree up already...I could rant on and on...but I'll save some material for another day.

I think what is most on my mind today is thinking about yesterday and the many protests for Proposition 8 that I've seen going on both in my town and across California.

I am not entirely comfortable with sharing how I feel about Prop. 8 with the entire world at this time but I do have my beliefs on the subject and I know which way I voted. However, I do think that fighting for what you want and "punking" people into how they should vote and contribute are two totally different things. As an African American woman my ancestors and those freedom fighters before us fought for basic human rights and protests and marchs were very important. I do draw the line in 2008 when companys, individuals, and organizations are targeted because "someone" chose to publish how they voted or contributed funds.

Over the last few weeks on the news I've watched these people forced out of business or had their businesses become the site of protests because of this. Is this the "American Way". Had I been a single, poor, black McCainic who voted and donated $20,000 to his campaign I feel it would be my right to choose to share that information. Why else are the ballots secret?

This morning on the news I saw that Leverby's Ice Cream was a protest site this weekend because it was published that they donated thousands of dollars to the Proposition 8 campaign? And What??? If you are going to protest Leverby's ICE CREAM then you might as well find out how contributions were made from every restaurant you eat in, every stitch of clothing you buy, any business you patronize and how each neighbor on all sides of you voted. If gay activists leaders are not in agreeance with this.

So you say, I can read into this and tell how you voted...no not really. I just believe that once the vote is done it's done. I would hope that McCain supporters would not now boycott the nation because Obama won. Just rumors alone would stop me over the years from buying many "anti-black" labels...Tommy Hilfiger, Sweet Tea, Troop, Timberland.

To each his own and I guess the protestors are doing what they feel is right but had my six year old wanted some Leatherby's Ice Cream yesterday there is no way I would have told him no as I explained to him what they were fighting for. I'm not ready for that talk yet.

3 comments:

  1. I feel where you're coming from, with the black-lists and all. I think that we are now in a time where people are really serious about ending inequality, and sometimes some "civil disobedience" is a must.

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  2. I'm heterosexual........and if all the men want to marry men what the hell am I supposed to do?
    (I donn't knit,play bridge and I don't like cats) lol

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  3. *sigh* I want to comment badly, but not sure I can without sounding like I'm debating you lol. Interesting read.

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