Sunday, November 9, 2008

Proposition 8 And African-Americans



Last week on "The Rachel Maddow Show", I saw what I think to be excellent commentary on the reasons for the successful passage of Proposition 8, which bans same sex marriage in California. African-Americans make up only 10% of the population in California, but they turned out in large numbers to vote for Obama, while, at the same time, they voted for the ban on gay marriage. According to exit polls, around 70% voted in favor of the ban.

Melissa Harris-Lacewell, Associate Professor of Politics and African American Studies at Princeton University, explains why she believes this happened. The video is five minutes long, but it's worth watching.

By the way, Rachel Maddow is off to a great start with her new show. I watch her often. The pace of her show is slower than some of the other news shows. She gives her guest commentators more time to talk. She's smart, witty, and an all-around attractive personality.
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16 comments:

  1. Mike in TexasNovember 9, 2008 at 12:44 PM

    Luv Rachel.

    And I really love it that she's been getting higher ratings than Falafel Bill O'Lufah after such a very short time on the air.

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  2. AnonymousNovember 9, 2008 at 12:57 PM

    She's right in many ways. OUr side owns some of the error.

    Hope that someone is telling Overseas Bishops something about the ones doing the squawking.

    IT

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  3. June ButlerNovember 9, 2008 at 3:03 PM

    IT, Harris-Lacewell said that the "yes" voters were bigoted, and she's right.

    What she said that I thought was truly important is that civil partnerships and marriages are not the same thing, and that this difference moves the law into the territory of separate but equal, which we know never turns out to be true and which is, in fact, probably unconstitutional.

    I'll send you an email.

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  4. CanyNovember 9, 2008 at 5:02 PM

    It's a revealing talk, and one I agree with.

    Clearly, we need to bridge some gaps.

    I hope that the courts will reject prop 8 for the many reasons it is being litigated, but that does not change the bigotry.

    It is heartbreaking to see, actually.

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  5. FranNovember 9, 2008 at 6:11 PM

    This was great - I saw it live the other night. Loving Rachel!

    I had a long talk with my friend who worked very hard on the No on 8 matter in LA and will post about some of their group's (www.lovehonorcherish.org) reflections on what went wrong.

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  6. Paul (A.)November 9, 2008 at 7:29 PM

    Check out another voice here.

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  7. AnonymousNovember 9, 2008 at 10:02 PM

    Rachel is a real gift. I'm grateful that she has appeared when she has appeared.

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  8. June ButlerNovember 9, 2008 at 10:33 PM

    I'm reporting in that I wrote my letter. I thought it came out not too bad. Anyway, I did my best for the old boy.

    Rachel is surely in the right place at the right time. I generally like Ms Harris-Lacewell's commentary, too. Rachel has her on frequently.

    Paul, I'm going to your link now, love.

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  9. AnonymousNovember 10, 2008 at 1:57 AM

    What, no hat-tip? (j/k---I know you saw Rachel live, too. I did have a bit of a time cutting and pasting the link to the above over on Maddie's, though)

    And speaking of which---I better go see how he's holding up...

    [Really liked your link, Paul(A)!]

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  10. pjNovember 10, 2008 at 11:07 AM

    This was good to see. I love Rachel.

    I'm exhausted from all of this. MP really pissed me off in the last few days, if it's not disloyal to say so. It's not that he's wrong, it's that he keeps changing the argument to suit the arguee of the moment. Frustrating as all hell. I love him, but I'm glad I don't live with him.

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  11. June ButlerNovember 10, 2008 at 11:18 AM

    PJ Hussein, have I told you that I am happy to have an African-American president? Very happy. I did not think I'd see it in my lifetime.

    I was profoundly unhappy about Prop 8 and the votes in the other states, but I am thrilled about Obama. Think of the alternative! Had McCain won, I would probably not be able to get out of bed.

    Last week I did not celebrate the victory over the forces of evil as I would have liked, but this week I am celebrating.

    Regarding gay marriage, we don't give up. We fight on. This was a temporary victory for frightened people who know that they will lose in the end.

    The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice. MLK

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  12. June ButlerNovember 10, 2008 at 11:28 AM

    Paul (A.), thanks for that excellent link. I'll get back to it.

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  13. pjNovember 10, 2008 at 4:49 PM

    MLK quote = gooooood.

    Sorry. I'm burned out from reading bad poetry submissions today. I've been reduced to writing comments like "miserable subject matter ≠ good poem."

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  14. June ButlerNovember 10, 2008 at 4:53 PM

    I wish we could see a couple of poems, PJ, but that wouldn't be ethical.

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  15. johniebNovember 10, 2008 at 10:41 PM

    I discovered Rachel's show several weeks ago; I think I've not missed a show since. She's got me watching news again, and I haven't screamed at the antics of the thugs even once. She deserves every bit of success she's getting, and more.

    Modern media miracles!

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  16. AnonymousNovember 11, 2008 at 12:41 AM

    You know the word that I think best describes Rachel (aka "Our Rachel"!)?

    Charming.

    The woman is just charming. Heck, even Pat Buchanan can't help loving her (just a little bit).

    [Yeah, yeah: And righteous. And freakin' brilliant. (Rhodes Scholar, Oxford PhD) But those are just gimmees! ;-D]

    ReplyDelete

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