tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post9080621458340761366..comments2023-10-15T10:48:01.870-04:00Comments on Roxie's World: Foggy Friday Gay BloggingRoxie Smith Lindemannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455529922082930949noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-90364065189594229382008-11-15T09:20:00.000-05:002008-11-15T09:20:00.000-05:00I take your points, Eitan, though I would have to ...I take your points, Eitan, though I would have to check to see how prominently Gingrich has been featured in print and TV ads before I gave HRC too much credit on that one. I also admit that I left out a lot of what Solmonese said, but interested readers could follow the link to the whole message. In this highly charged atmosphere, however, comments like this are going to be closely scrutinized for exactly the kinds of problems in tone I was identifying. Not to mention the appropriation of black heroes to chastise the Af-Am community. I don't think gay white men get to do that in this situation. I think we have to let Af-Am leaders make those moves.Roxie Smith Lindemannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06455529922082930949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-35529966986658241402008-11-15T03:05:00.000-05:002008-11-15T03:05:00.000-05:00Also, to be fair to Joe (who probably spends more ...Also, to be fair to Joe (who probably spends more time tanning than lobbying, but that's irrelevant), you did leave out the parts where he chastised the Catholic Church and the Mormon Church, and where he said that the anger at the black community is both misguided and the result of the LGBT community's "failure to communicate" with black folks about this issue. (I agree.)<BR/><BR/>The truth of the matter is, while I'm absolutely opposed to any sort of generalized vilification here, we do have to confront the fact that <I>within</I> their community, black voters voted more in favor of Prop 8 than any single other ethnic or demographic group. If the numbers were flipped, and the black community had voted AGAINST Prop 8 by a 7-3 margin, the bill would have failed. Of course, that's true with many other groups, but the ratio became ridiculously exaggerated in the black community and it's not fair at all to write off those claims as purely racist without first exploring the failure of the LGBT community to sell itself successfully to such an important part of California's population. <BR/><BR/>So, yes, the anger is wrong on nearly every level. But the points that have been raised about queer folk and the intolerant California black community cannot go unanswered. The numbers don't lie; they were the most radically anti-gay voting bloc in California, and true change will not be marked by how many inconvenient truths we sweep under the rug but by how many we confront head on.Eitanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06048819747086690385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-81097112268154381112008-11-15T02:51:00.000-05:002008-11-15T02:51:00.000-05:00Having worked for HRC (and still getting their pay...Having worked for HRC (and still getting their paychecks for consulting work), I'll just pipe up and defend my boss by asking whether you think that <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candace_Gingrich" REL="nofollow">Candace Gingrich</A> is a non-threateningly adorable celebrity spokesperson. I worked with her for four months and she is a lot of things -- loud, fierce, outspoken, brilliant, tough as nails, and a hugely influential role model for genderqueer people everywhere -- but certainly not in any way, shape, or form a "non-threateningly adorable" celebrity.Eitanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06048819747086690385noreply@blogger.com