Post-election blah

Don't get me wrong, I'm still elated at the outcome of the election. Every time I think about it, I pee my pants a little (in excitement, not in fear). But as much as the election brought out the worst in some people, the outcome brought out even more.

Here's a good example. This was on the facebook status of a friend's high school friend:

I NEVER want to hear about African Americans complaining about anything being unfair to them ever again. if that makes me a racist, so be it.

Oh, I'm sorry, is racism extinct? I hadn't heard that. I didn't know that putting a black person in a position of power automatically ended all institutionalized racism in this country. I didn't know that Obama's presidency immediately got blacks equal pay, equal educational opportunities, better neighborhoods, and better treatment from white people. I didn't know that putting Obama in the white house would ensure that cops didn't unnecessarily arrest or shoot innocent black people. Phew. What a fucking relief. Racism and dinosaurs: You don't have to worry about them anymore!

I don't know who that bitch is who wrote that. Coincidentally, Macon D covered this topic today, so I sent the link to my friend, who posted it so that the waste-of-life who wrote that status could see it. Like always, Macon D said it better than I can.

So as much as I am ecstatic with Obama's presidency, I am deeply saddened and troubled by the attitudes and ideals of my own peers. For some reason, I can only see some 80 year old southern grandma saying awful, awful things like that. But to hear it from the mouth of someone young and supposedly educated makes me feel so sick. To think that people like that are representing part of my demographic brings the taste of bile into my mouth.

On a related note, let's not forget about Prop 8. Unbe-fucking-lievable. There are hardly words. When will people see the discrimination? The unconstitutionality? The perverted sense of right and wrong? As an atheist, I don't believe in hell. But if I'm wrong, and there is a hell, I'm POSITIVE that there are spots reserved for people who would actively discriminate against their fellow man in such a manner. And I know that no benevolent god would save a place in heaven for bigots assholes trash shitmotherfuckerdouchedicks. My only consolation in this is that the ACLU and a few other groups are bringing lawsuits in an attempt to claim that the proposition would alter the state constitution and warrants more consideration than a popular vote. So maybe something will come of that. I've said it before and I'll say it again: GAYS ARE PEOPLE AND CITIZENS TOO. THEIR MARRIAGE WILL NEVER HURT YOURS. THEIR MARRIAGES WILL NOT BE "TAUGHT" TO YOUR CHILDREN. YOUR PRIESTS WILL NOT HAVE TO PERFORM THEIR MARRIAGES. GAY MARRIAGE IS NOT BAD FOR CHILDREN. YOU CAN'T "CATCH" GAY. But apparently stupid is genetic, so stop having kids and raising them to post facebook statuses like the one above.

Racism and homophobia will never die. But I wish the pieces of shit who keep trying to make those things legal and commonplace would keel the fuck over right now.

I get my first paycheck in two weeks. The first think I'm doing is writing a check to both the NAACP, GLAAD, and Planned Parenthood. Those links go to the donation pages, and so I encourage you to do the same.

Update: I just read Melissa Etheridge's brilliant fucking plan: California won't give equal rights to gays? Then gays won't pay California taxes. Too bad, could have done a lot with Ellen's tax money.

And it seems so plausible

This douche-hole from Minnesota is claiming that he and Obama did some blow back in '99, and then had hot, steamy homo sex in the back of a limo. He says that he will submit to a polygraph to prove it, and some site is offering a load of cash to record it and to reward him if he passes.

I bet this guy has a backwards "b" on his ass, too *insert eye roll*

Really, no one should be giving this guy any attention. The claims are outlandish, that much should be obvious to anyone. He hasn't got any sort of proof, and even a positive polygraph isn't proof enough, as anyone with good self-control can easily pass them.

But the reason I'm giving him attention is that I think his claims illustrate some very sad things about our country. His "scandalous" accusations involve two things: Drug use and homosexual behavior. What kills me is that these were obviously formulated to be the "worst" things that could be said about a candidate. He didn't come out and claim that Obama raped a child, or that Obama once beat his wife. No. Obama's a GAY. And a DRUG ADDICT. OH MY GOD WHAT IS THE MORAL FIBER OF THIS COUNTRY COMING TO. Now if that Arab gits elected, he surely will spend his time in the Oval Office, smokin' crack and havin' the butt-sex, y'all.

Being gay is not some sort of disease or negative behavior or devastating event. It's just how some people are. Consenting sex between two adults doesn't hurt anyone: not them, not you, not your family or your marriage. And it shouldn't be an insult, let alone a DEAL BREAKER for the presidency.


And drug use? Drugs aren't the best, mmmmkay? But guess what? Lots of people do drugs. And those people are actually okay. They aren't all homeless "welfare queens", or negligent parents, or pregnant teens or irresponsible members of society in general (as the War on Drugs would have you believe). Clinton did drugs. Bush DEFINITELY did drugs. Obama already admitted that he smoked the reefer. Hell, I did a bunch of drugs in college, and I still got into a top PhD program. So they aren't great to do all the time, but sometimes a little dabbling here and there isn't going to hurt. But what gets me is that this guy specifically said that Obama did crack-cocaine (while this guy just had some plain old blow). Allow me to translate that accusation for you: "Oh, look at the black presidential candidate! I associate crack addicts with black men! It only makes sense that this black man would also do crack! You don't want a crack-head in the white house, do you?"

Oh my god, I can see the McCain rallies now. On top of the disgusting racist diarrhea that has been spewing from their mouths (This week I heard: "I think he's gonna put a turban on, and he's gonna go into the White house, and we're all gonna be shot"), now we're going to have gems like "He's a FAG. And a CRACK HEAD. A GAY CRACK-HEAD TERRORIST."

I could turn this into a rant into how this country openly discriminates and harasses gays, or how the War on Drugs is unnecessarily overcrowding our prisons and costing us excessive amounts of taxpayer dollars. But really my main concern here is that these two "insults" were the most devastating accusations that this fellow could conjure. My main concern is that this reflects how backwards much of this country is in terms of moral priorities. These same people will talk all day about how homosexuality is the scourge of the earth, but won't blink an eye when a girl in a short skirt gets raped (she was asking for it, after all). Or when they beat their children (spare the rod, spoil the child, y'all. Gotta learn 'em somehows). Or when impoverished families continue to suffer because our government won't provide them with healthcare, childcare, or a good education (they're poor because they're all lazy drug-addicts, obv).

The people who talk the most about morality and claim to have the highest sense of morality always seem to be the people with the most warped idea of morality. The things that they seem to care about the most seem to be the things that, in reality, matter the least. And it seems that those people are always pushing their warped views into our government. So we get laws that reinforce these subjective notions of morality (anti-sodomy laws, bans to gay marriage, overly-zealous penalties for drug use). And we DON'T get laws made on the things that really matter (proper protections for victims of abuse, quality health-care for everyone, adequate educational funding for all public schools and children).

8 days.

Check this out

After Colin Powell's endorsement of Obama, a lot of people were crying that the endorsement was simply a race issue. These claims didn't sit well with me, but I didn't feel like I could adequately explain why. However, Macon D over at Stuff White People Do saved the day and put into words what I could not. Thanks, Macon D!

If you aren't already, you should be reading SWPD on a regular basis. It's an intelligent and thoughtful blog about what it means to be white in this country, and the ways in which the majority cause suffering among racial minorities (whether they intend to or not). It's a big wake-up call.