06
Back in February of 2008, Michelle Obama, the new first lady of the United States of America, made a comment that she hadn’t been proud to be an American for some 26 years. She was vilified in the press for that comment and many people questioned whether America should elect someone whose wife is ashamed of the country he wants to lead. What many white people failed to realize it that the sentiment that Michelle stated spoke for millions of African Americans in this country. And for 25 years of my adult life, that included me!
Any African American of “Generation X” is old enough to know what happened in the 40′s, 50′s, and 60′s, and young enough to know that while some things have changed, many have just been hidden under the rug. When I heard the comment and the ensuing brouhaha, my first reaction was “yeah and.” The real problem is that many white people, even those who say they have “Black friends” have never sat down and had a REAL CONVERSATION, about each other’s true feelings about race in this country. A conversation that doesn’t point fingers, that doesn’t accuse, but just lays it/racism as we see it. If and when that conversation ever occurs, race relations will take another giant leap forward.
The thought that a Black man would be elected to be president in my lifetime was unfathomable. Yet on November 4, 2008, history was made. Barack Obama was elected president. And his message of inclusion obviously struck a cord that transcended race, age, occupation, sex, and sexual preference. While Obama’s “message of inclusion” created history, not only for America, but for the world, his message was certainly lost for 52 percent of californians.
For all of my life, I have been an “out and proud” californian. Anytime I heard people talk about New York, Washington DC, or any other state for that matter, I would IMMEDIATELY let them know about “Cali.” Cali in the house for real! But on the same day that I became proud to me an American, I became ashamed and embarrassed to be a californian.
For fifty-two percent of californians to legislate hate and discrimination has been extremely hurtful and disappointing to me. I thought californians were a better class of people. That our melting pot state was built on inclusion and not exclusion. But on November 4, 2008, I found out that was a myth. And I like many other Lesbians and gay people, are taking this very personal. That a majority of voters would rather vote to amend the state constitution to take away my rights to get married than include me in the process isn’t appreciated and won’t be forgotten. If you think by voting “yes”, you have silenced the debate, YOU ARE SADLY AND THOROUGHLY MISTAKEN. All you have done is re-awakened a sleeping bear. We aren’t going anywhere nor are we going to let you legislate HATE!
Lastly california, you might want to get your heads out of your asses because not all gay people look like Liberace or Rupaul. We are the person in the grocery store who mentioned a delicious recipe for the ground round that you had a coupon for. We are the teacher who inspired you to do your best in school and beyond. We are the policemen and women who came to your rescue when your purse was snatched or your house was broken into. And we are the doctors and nurses who saved your child’s life when he was hit by the car. And if reports are correct that Blacks and Latinos voted for this amendmant, you should be ashamed of yourselves. You face discrimination on a weekly if not daily basis. So to vote to do the same thing is atrocious. Is it any wonder that the “dominate culture” laughs at you and doesn’t take you seriously? That you would discriminate against someone else when you face discrimination also is unbelievable. If that isn’t the definition of a “colonized mind“, I don’t know what is! You are a bunch of MISERABLE COWARDS and POOR EXCUSES FOR HUMAN BEINGS!!
Go back through my previous posts and you can see that I purposely spelled “America” as “america.” It had nothing to do with my education. I spelled america that way for a reason. Because I was ashamed to be an american and all it stood for, both here and abroad. But now the situation has changed. I will now proudly spell America with a capital “A” and will purposely spell california with a lower cased “c” because for the first time in my 43 years of being on this planet, I am ashamed and embarrassed to be a californian!
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