Anderson Cooper tackles the fallout from Proposition 8

Last night's segment on ''Anderson Cooper 360'' was the longest one I've seen on TV, so kudos, too, for a thoughtful roundtable that covered a lot of ground. I've also seen shorter segments on Fox TV's ''O'Reilly Factor'' and ''Hannity & Colmes.'' But what gives with MSNBC? I've seen nothing about Prop. 8's fallout on Keith Olbermann or Chris Matthews. And Rachel Maddow's mentioned a protest in the Castro the other night, but has yet to devote a regular segment to Prop. 8 and its ramifications.

That said, all of this is POST-election. Where was any of this media coverage BEFORE the vote? There's a lot of anger directed at the Mormons who funneled millions into California to defeat Prop. 8, but why was the anti-Prop. 8 campaign apparently so poorly run? I've read that TV ads for anti-Prop. 8 didn't even mention the word ''gay,'' let alone feature gay couples. I'm also disappointed in Barack Obama, who basically chose to sidestep Prop. 8; the irony being that 70% of blacks voted Yes on Prop. 8. While all of us were celebrating the equality that Obama's election signaled, sadly our community was being denied that same equality, often by minorities. Our community needs to get smarter about using the media and getting our message out there if we want to be more than second-class citizens.

We talk about responsibilities a lot - what about those members of the gay community who still think its shameful to be out in public? How much has their silence contributed?

Yes, I'm looking at you, Anderson. Yes, I'm looking at you all you multi-million Dollar pop stars who buy the lie that you records wouldn't sell any more. Yes, I'm looking at you movie stars who have enough money to make it through the rest of your lives and support a small country for years to come but are still full of fear and shame.

Last week, this site opined that John Barrowman is annoying by being too out. Well, here's the thing: Would a proposition like this even be considered in the UK (and I take comfort in the fact that this would be an impossibility anywhere in Europe), the likes of John Barrowman, Sir Ian McKellen and Graham Norton would not stop talking about it. They would use every possibility they have to speak out against this atrocity. TOWLEROAD had to BEG folks like Neil Patrick Harris to FINALLY donate against Prop 8. It took WEEKS and WEEKS to convince our fabulous Ellen to do her part and stand up for her rights. My heart broke when I saw the YouTube clip of people BEGGING Lance Bass to get out of his van to march with them on Wednesday night and he waves at them and drives on.

Also, I get sick to my stomach when I hear and read those vicious attacks against the African-American community. We have to finally stand back and admit that this was SOLELY and ONLY our fault and that the African American members of our community are hurt by this just as much as everyone else. We allowed that horrible, pointless and utter fail that was NO ON 8 to happen. Don't get me wrong - I appreciate all the people who volunteered, who put yard signs up and who stood in the pouring rain until the better end. But here in the Bay Area, for example, NO was mostly visible in San Francisco and Berkeley - that's a Wikipedia entry for 'Preaching to the choir'. I had to drive to Livermore for business and was greeted by a virtual sea of YES signs.

And finally, as a one time supporter of him it saddens me to say this, but if we ever want to prevail, we must unfortunately make sure that when the issue comes up again there's a gag order imposed on Gavin Newsom.

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The Gays Of Daytime

"I'm also disappointed in Barack Obama, who basically chose to sidestep Prop. 8; the irony being that 70% of blacks voted Yes on Prop. 8. While all of us were celebrating the equality that Obama's election signaled, sadly our community was being denied that same equality, often by minorities."

This is a popular meme since Prop 8 passed, and it is also lazy, offensive, and counter-productive. Instead of realizing the shortcomings of the No on 8 movement (i.e. them being COMPLETELY dwarfed in both money and volunteers), the gay community jumps on the "blame the blacks" bandwagon that accomplishes nothing and leaves those of us who are both gay and black in the middle. In my opinion, this was the perfect time for the entire community to mobilize around a cause, and what did we get? A few openly gay celebrities make some donations and half-hearted statements, people with real power like Anderson Cooper and Jodie Foster cower in the closet as usual, and people within the community cannot be bothered to volunteer for something other than a circuit party.

Blame it on lack of organization, fear of being out, fear of making a statement, apathy, and lack of volunteers, but don't blame it on the blacks. I'd like to point you to this little nugget from Daily Kos: white republicans comprised 24% of the voters and came out 82% for and 15% against.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/11/6/194522/168/773/656211

It's time for us to focus on the real enemy, which is conservative republicans who continuously try to strip us of our rights. One would think that 24% of the voters may hold a little more pull than 10%.

No on 8 actually ended up with considerably more money than Yes on 8.

It wasn't a lack of money that doomed No on 8.  It was a lack of qualified and effective leadership.

The African Americans are not to blame for the defeat of Prop 8, it is Religion.

As long as there is Religion there will never be gay rights. Get rid of Religion and Gay Rights will flourish.

Live Long and Prosper

I can understand why Obama did not do enough for prop 8. He does have 4 years to make up for it, though.

I still can't shake the feeling that even mentioning the African American Community and proposition 8 makes one look like a racist. I have read some comments that were out of hand and I am sure that some of my own were perceived that way.

Black voters did not tip the election, but that doesn't negate the irony, which is just a talking point. I agree that for some it has been blown out of proportion. But I belive this debate may have a silver lining if it forces some black religious leaders into thinking differently in the future.

I was surprised to find out that African American voters were softer on the issue of gay adoption. Very surprised. In europe, the deal-braker for gay marriage (over civil union) has been adoption. It suggests to me that much of the fight is a battle of semantics, at least for many of the religious minded.

Gays have yet to win the same support in the African American community as we have in other minority groups. But I expect that to change, too. Truth be told, it seems like the gay community hasn't done enough to convince black religious nuts (as opposed to the merely religious) that ours is a civil rights issue and not a choice.

The supporters of Prop 8, the Mormons, Catholics, Evangelicals, and others, who contributed large sums of money, stooped to the lowest types of fear mongering available to them in their advertisements. This type of propaganda has been successful for centuries in oppressing minorities because it has always been difficult to confront and address in an ad campaign. They lied, played on peoples anxieties and basically did what bigots have been doing for a long, long time. We lost the proposition to ignorance and fear. That is a bitter pill to swallow, but one we have been swallowing since the beginning. It should make us better prepared for the next round.

I'd like to see an amendment proposition to the California constitution that defines: "Civil Union" as a union between two same sex individuals, a legal union which shares all the same rights and privileges as marriage. It would smell just as pretty.

On another note, I saw videos of the protests of the Mormon Temple in L.A., I wish there was more singing rather than chanting. And group prayer (lead by a black minister?). We should be asking God (Goddess) to forgive these ignorant bigots. They say prayer can heal. Maybe if their hearts were healed they wouldn't be so mean.

In case you missed it, a link to youtube: Wanda on Ellen, being Wandaful, as usual.

I think before fingers start being pointed, perhaps a mirror would come in handy.  The simple truth is that the opposition to Prop 8 leadership was ineffective, splintered, lacked organization, and failed to clarify what the issue really was.  Opponents got in the game too late, relied way too heavily on celebrities to urge people to vote no (including gay celebs who have stated they had no intention of marrying anytime in the near future), did not do any kind of outreach into the minority communities (including blacks and Latinos), did not do enough to put everyday people and their families in campaigns to show people what they would be destroying if voting yes on Pop8, relied too heavily on the tag of Cali being a "liberal" state therefore not susceptible to interference from the far-right, assumed people would vote their way, and simply didn't do enough to clarify what people would really be voting on.

We cannot reach out into other communities if our own is broken.  The glass house of gay leadership in Cali (and everywhere else for that matter) needs to be fixed before everyone starts throwing stones.