My post on a Yahoo! news story "Many blacks shrug off Obama's new view on gays" [View all]

[johnlucas]

I made this post on an Associated Press story placed on Yahoo! News detailing my disgust with Black people's opinions on gays marrying.
I'm Black myself & I see it as the ultimate in hypocrisy ESPECIALLY since—as the Trayvon Martin situation proved—we don't fully have a grasp on obtaining equal rights & protections OURSELVES.
(see story about some gun range selling Trayvon Martin-inspired shooting targets with bullseye on hoodie, Skittles & iced tea in pocket. Report: Trayvon Martin gun range targets were sold online)

Many blacks shrug off Obama's new view on gays
http://news.yahoo.com/many-blacks-shrug-off-obamas-view-gays-221003333.html

Excerpts from article

Like many black Americans, Dorsey Jackson does not believe in gay marriage, but he wasn't disillusioned when Barack Obama became the first president to support it. The windows of his suburban Philadelphia barbershop still display an "Obama 2012" placard and another that reads "We've Got His Back."

If Obama needs to endorse same-sex marriage to be re-elected, said Jackson, so be it: "Look, man — by any means necessary."

Black voters and especially black churches have long opposed gay marriage. But the 40-year-old barber and other African-Americans interviewed in politically key states say their support for Obama remains unshaken.

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"Obama is human," said Leon Givens of Charlotte, N.C. "I don't have him on a pedestal."

On Tuesday, Givens voted in favor of banning gay marriage in North Carolina. Many black precincts voted 2-1 for the ballot measure, which passed easily.

But this fall, Givens plans to register Obama voters and drive senior citizens to the polls. A retired human resources manager, he suspects the president's pronouncement was "more a political thing than his true feelings." But he's not dwelling on it.

"We can agree to disagree on gay marriage," Givens said, "and then I leave him alone."

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Mel Brown, a 65-year-old project manager in Philadelphia, says same-sex marriage "is between them and their God. The God I serve does not agree with that."

Does Obama's announcement change Brown's support for the president? "Absolutely not. Because Scripture says we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."

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Tanyeo Wotorson, a film producer and director in New York City, supports Obama's new position and said prohibitions on same-sex marriage "return to that time when whites could send people to the back of the bus and women couldn't vote."

Darian Aaron, a gay black man, acknowledges that there are differences between black issues and gay rights, but "at its core both groups are seeking to gain access to full equality under the law."

Even if Obama had not supported same-sex marriage, Aaron said he still would have voted for him because the president has signaled his support in other ways and Romney strongly opposes gay marriage.

Aaron laments that "many within the black community find it nearly impossible to see gay rights through any lens other than biblical." But he finds hope in the statistics showing black people becoming more accepting and says that may be because they've gotten to know gays and lesbians, which breaks down stereotypes.

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The Rev. Joseph Lowery, a giant of the civil rights movement who delivered the benediction at Obama's inauguration, said he agrees with Obama on gay marriage.

"I believe in equal rights," Lowery said. "You can't believe in equal rights for some. That's an oxymoron."

However: "Do I like it? I'm uncomfortable with it," said Lowery, 90. "We grew up under boy-girl, man-woman, courtship and marriage."

My comment in response to this article

I'm Black (& straight) & I'm disappointed that many of my people don't see the parallels between the disenfranchisement of Gays & the disenfranchisement of Blacks. Oppressors used the Bible to justify our slavery in the 1700s & 1800s. The cursed Hamites who were born to be a servant class was the mentality of the time. It was wrong then & it is wrong now. There is none of the Ten Commandments that says "Thou Shalt Not Gay". You're not supposed to eat shrimp or wear mixed fabrics & women are always supposed to have their heads covered up according to The Bible™.

Well, America ain't no theocracy so screw what The Bible says. It says "Thou Shalt Not Kill" too but this is one of most warring nations on Earth. People use that book to justify their crap & oppress others they don't like. Gays marrying is simply a Civil Rights issue so Blacks should be THE LAST people trying to oppose that inequity. It ain't been but about 40 years since Martin was gunned down & Blacks wanna act brand new about equal rights. Hell, personally I think marriage is antiquated & obsolete. Us straight folks prove it everyday with the high divorce rate & even higher marriage misery rate for those who stay together. But EVERYBODY should have the right to marry if they want to marry. End of discussion. No more Bible-based bigotry. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere."
Blacks don't have the luxury of playing this oppressor role.

John Lucas