Everybody has a right to their own opinon? Apparently not.
So I have officially lost all faith in humanity.
I am completely nonplussed. I cannot even comprehend what is happening in our state.
First of all, let me say that I had decided that I was just simply not going to vote on Prop 8. I was very torn on the issue. Some of my best friends are gay, and I felt like I would be betraying them if I voted yes. But I felt like I would be going against my family and other friends if I voted no. So I just felt it was best to not vote at all. For those of you that don't know what Prop 8 is, first, you need to come back from whatever planet you've been visiting for the last however long, and second, you should know that it simply states "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California." At least that's what it originally said, before state Attorney General, Jerry Brown, changed the wording on the official ballots to say "Eliminates the right of same-sex couples to marry."
That's it. It's just keeping the definition of the word 'marriage' the same as it's been for hundreds of years. Absolutely nothing has changed in the laws since it passed. And nothing has been taken away from gays. They have all the same rights under civil unions. Trust me, I have done a TON of research on this subject since I've been so torn on what to do about it. But the Prop 8 opponents have twisted it around to make it sound like it's this horrible thing that is taking away all their rights and making them second class citizens. WHAT?!?! They still have the right to a Civil Union. They have all the same state rights. It is true, that they don't have all the federal rights, but this Prop is on a state level. It's not going to change anything federally either way. And I hope that one day they will be able to have all the same rights federally. They should have the same rights.
But all that doesn't even matter to me right now....the whole reason I'm blogging about this is because of what has taken place because of this issue.
Let me now say that I finally, at the last minute, decided to vote yes on Prop 8. And I will tell you why.
I cannot stand the fact that the whole campaign slogan for the opponents of Prop 8 was "No on hate, No on 8". And yet, these people seem to be filled with nothing but hate. And yes, I realize that not everybody opposing it feels this way, but it seems to be a large majority. And these people are representing the rest of the opponents of Prop 8. How is it okay for them to claim to be against hate, but be calling people bigots and other hateful words. And the fact that they have chosen to mostly attack Mormons is completely contemptible. And now even though I may not agree with everything having to do with the LDS church, it is full of very good people. Some very important people to me in my life. People that have helped me a lot throughout my life. People that I care about immensely and would do absolutely anything for. And they have not done anything wrong. They have simply stood up for what they believe in. And so has the rest of the state of California. The no on 8 camp has put most of the blame on the Mormons. But the Mormon population of California is less than 5%. How is 5% of the population responsible for over 52% of the state voting yes on 8?? True, the Mormon population did raise a lot of money for Yes on 8. But a lot of non-Mormon people donated also. And there were even some Mormons that donated to No on 8. I don't suppose the opponents of 8 think that they are horrible people.
And then, don't even get me started on this video. Now...not that I'm saying it's ok....but it would be one thing to imply that they are Mormon missionaries. Still not necessarily appropriate, but a little more forgiving. But to actually specifically identify themselves as being Mormon missionaries is absolutely dispicable.
I don't understand how it is okay for my friends and family to be confronted and harrassed in their work and school settings. Called hateful names, yet being accused of being hateful people themselves. Losing friendships because people don't agree with them. Why is the tolerance only required to go one way? It makes me sick. So much for freedom of speech in our country. I thought that was one of the reasons our country is so great.
So now I've had my say. If you don't agree with me, that's fine. Unlike other people, I fully respect everybody's right to have their own opinion. Feel free to share it with me. I'm curious what other people are thinking about all of this.
I am completely nonplussed. I cannot even comprehend what is happening in our state.
First of all, let me say that I had decided that I was just simply not going to vote on Prop 8. I was very torn on the issue. Some of my best friends are gay, and I felt like I would be betraying them if I voted yes. But I felt like I would be going against my family and other friends if I voted no. So I just felt it was best to not vote at all. For those of you that don't know what Prop 8 is, first, you need to come back from whatever planet you've been visiting for the last however long, and second, you should know that it simply states "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California." At least that's what it originally said, before state Attorney General, Jerry Brown, changed the wording on the official ballots to say "Eliminates the right of same-sex couples to marry."
That's it. It's just keeping the definition of the word 'marriage' the same as it's been for hundreds of years. Absolutely nothing has changed in the laws since it passed. And nothing has been taken away from gays. They have all the same rights under civil unions. Trust me, I have done a TON of research on this subject since I've been so torn on what to do about it. But the Prop 8 opponents have twisted it around to make it sound like it's this horrible thing that is taking away all their rights and making them second class citizens. WHAT?!?! They still have the right to a Civil Union. They have all the same state rights. It is true, that they don't have all the federal rights, but this Prop is on a state level. It's not going to change anything federally either way. And I hope that one day they will be able to have all the same rights federally. They should have the same rights.
But all that doesn't even matter to me right now....the whole reason I'm blogging about this is because of what has taken place because of this issue.
Let me now say that I finally, at the last minute, decided to vote yes on Prop 8. And I will tell you why.
I cannot stand the fact that the whole campaign slogan for the opponents of Prop 8 was "No on hate, No on 8". And yet, these people seem to be filled with nothing but hate. And yes, I realize that not everybody opposing it feels this way, but it seems to be a large majority. And these people are representing the rest of the opponents of Prop 8. How is it okay for them to claim to be against hate, but be calling people bigots and other hateful words. And the fact that they have chosen to mostly attack Mormons is completely contemptible. And now even though I may not agree with everything having to do with the LDS church, it is full of very good people. Some very important people to me in my life. People that have helped me a lot throughout my life. People that I care about immensely and would do absolutely anything for. And they have not done anything wrong. They have simply stood up for what they believe in. And so has the rest of the state of California. The no on 8 camp has put most of the blame on the Mormons. But the Mormon population of California is less than 5%. How is 5% of the population responsible for over 52% of the state voting yes on 8?? True, the Mormon population did raise a lot of money for Yes on 8. But a lot of non-Mormon people donated also. And there were even some Mormons that donated to No on 8. I don't suppose the opponents of 8 think that they are horrible people.
And then, don't even get me started on this video. Now...not that I'm saying it's ok....but it would be one thing to imply that they are Mormon missionaries. Still not necessarily appropriate, but a little more forgiving. But to actually specifically identify themselves as being Mormon missionaries is absolutely dispicable.
I don't understand how it is okay for my friends and family to be confronted and harrassed in their work and school settings. Called hateful names, yet being accused of being hateful people themselves. Losing friendships because people don't agree with them. Why is the tolerance only required to go one way? It makes me sick. So much for freedom of speech in our country. I thought that was one of the reasons our country is so great.
So now I've had my say. If you don't agree with me, that's fine. Unlike other people, I fully respect everybody's right to have their own opinion. Feel free to share it with me. I'm curious what other people are thinking about all of this.
posted by RaLelle at
10:47 AM
9 Comments:
LaRelle, I can imagine how tough that was for you. That's a terrible ad they did. I know L2 has bee going through crap too, it's a shame for you girls to have to put up with this. I'm sure it's tough to ignore the idiots, but we're all going through that right now. Hang in there kiddo.
By
Terry, at 12:17 PM
LaRelle, in my heart I knew that the people who voted yes on this proposition would be tagged as haters, etc. It always happens.
In the beginning regarding 8, I was very against it, I felt it was taking away rights. But learning more about it, I changed my view.
I did choose not to vote either way.
By
Traci, at 12:18 PM
Most opponents of this proposition point to the civil rights movement, and most of the supporters speak about drawing a moral line. Both of these perspectives relate to how they feel homosexuality “happens” (the whole nature vs nurture argument). Race = Born that way, Morality = Choice. This debate is not going to be a solved any time soon! Even amongst gay people we know that argument is debated! My stance is that its probably a mix of nature and nurture and multiple shades of grey depending on the individual.
I don’t really know why I bring that up, and I DEFINITELY don’t know what the solution to this problem is - but I wish people would respect the true complexity of the issue instead of acting like “WTF? Didn’t we already cover this with civil rights you bigots??!” Or “If you choose to sin and be gay you forfeit your right to be married.” Both of those perspectives are pretty ignorant.
And this is why I hate politics. No good answers – only polarized opinions that piss people off.
By
acanaday, at 2:01 PM
sigh
By
Lyric, at 4:50 PM
LaRelle - You did such a great job putting this whole experience into words! I think that there were very many of us that were torn somewhat by this experience, I know we were as we have family that could be directly affected by it. And, I think the tragedy is the hate the came out of it, and the hypocrisy that your title references. Very sad indeed.
-K. Hawkins Haren
By
The Haren Family, at 4:53 PM
Okay, that sounded like I might disagree with you ... not the case. This whole thing makes me crazy. I'm sad for my kids who have to grow up in this world ... scary.
By
Lyric, at 4:53 PM
LaRelle,
I totally see your point.
We are constantly bombarded by the 'left' to accept their liberal 'progressive' agenda, or we are being narrow minded, racist, homophobic, etc.
When it comes to 'Tolerance' First I think the left needs to know what that means. Simply 'to put up with' not necessarily to accept or like or join in.
I can tolerate a lot of stuff I don't agree with (and I'm talking about a lot of issues here). I am not going to necessarily accept it as 'the way things should be.'
But I'm still going to love my friends for the good people they are, even if they've made life choices which I don't agree with or wouldn't do for myself.
yet I watch TV and I see that because I make certain choices or feel some things are wrong they don't agree with, that there is NO tolerance for my opinions. I'm just wrong, evil, etc etc etc - you get the picture.
As I told Larilyn, Tolerance is indeed a one way street. I find that very sad.
I commend you though for standing up for what you believe in and voicing your thoughts, and voting the way you feel was best.
Love you!
By
Kerri, at 6:02 PM
This post has been removed by the author.
By
Joanne, at 10:28 AM
LaRelle, what is going on is just awful. People need to be more tolerant. And I know you're not implying what I'm about to say but I feel like there are people who are. Just because someone voted NO on 8, or has a liberal point of view, that doesn't make them an idiot. Just because someone's view is not the same as your own doesn't make them uneducated or ignorant. It means his or her opinions are different. And that is what this country is all about. I'd like to see the attitudes dropped on all sides and maybe to see that we all really don't know the answers for sure and are just acting on what we think is right. (...those who take the time to see both sides.) As much as you've witnessed the hate from the "left", I've seen it from the "right". Tolerance is not a one way street. Tolerance comes from people with open minds and by that I'm not implying liberal minds. Tolerance comes when people who have totally different beliefs, fight for what they think is right but in the end show respect for someone who has taken the time to think about the issues and acts from his or her heart!
By
Joanne, at 10:32 AM
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