Of course, as soon as I posted "Separate Is Not Equal" I came across this post on Pam's House Blend that shows it's not all doom and gloom on the race front:

I wore a t-shirt that read "I'm a Victim of H8" to the car wash. As I was waiting for my car, a young African American man walked up to me, motioned to my t-shirt, and said, "I didn't vote for that."

I was somewhat surprised that this guy felt the need to approach me and let me know that he didn't vote for Prop. 8. Was he concerned about reports in the media about tension between LGBT people and the African American community?

"Thanks," I replied.

"No one I know voted for it either?" he added.

Okay, now I was certain where he wanted to go with the conversation.

"That's great," I said. "You know the majority of voters in Monterey County voted against it. Young voters like you were really against it."

"I just want to say that no one in my family voted for it. Not even the older ones. None of my friends did either. It is just wrong."

"Well, there's going to be a peaceful rally at Colton Hall today at 10:30. You should come if you're not busy. Bring your friends."

"(Laughs) Maybe my friends will come if I can tell them there will be attractive ladies there. You know what I mean?"

"I can promise that there will be lots of young ladies there -- attractive, straight young ladies. Bring a sign that says 'straight but not narrow' and you'll be very popular."

Then, he introduced himself as Shawn. We shook hands and chatted about a few other things as we waited for our cars to get dried off and polished.

I didn't see Shawn at the event later that day. I'm not sure if he was able to make it or not. If he arrived after that crowd got big and we began to march, I would not have been able to spot him.

However, there were quite a few African American folks at the event. Keep in mind that Monterey is very very white. So, it always amazes me that these rallies have such a diverse turnout.

This is exactly opposite of my experience, and it's heartening to know that when we extend a hand, it will be grasped

As I've been looking into how race affected the results of Prop 8, I have been struck by the history of the uneasy and schizophrenic relationship between sexuality and race.

In March of 2007, Keith Boykin wrote the article "Why Are Whites So Homophobic?" In it, he writes:

Every time a Tim Hardaway or an Isaiah Washington or an unknown black preacher makes an anti-gay comment, reporters call me up and ask why are black people so homophobic. But when high-profile white people make homophobic remarks, nobody ever asks why are white people so homophobic. They should, because the answers to the two questions are related. African Americans are homophobic because white Americans are homophobic. We all live in the same homophobic society, and in this case the prejudice starts from the president on down.

And in January of this year, Obama gave one of his most remarkable speeches. On the day before Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, At one of the premier black American churches where King used to preach, long before he was the Democratic nominee and even longer before he was President-elect, Senator Barack Obama told 2000 worshippers:

If we are honest with ourselves, we’ll acknowledge that our own community has not always been true to King’s vision of a beloved community. We have scorned our gay brothers and sisters instead of embracing them.[Politico]

Just this weekend, on 365Gay.com, Wayne Besen wrote:

I can understand why white gay people are angry. I certainly am. But let’s take a step back and look at this dispassionately. I believe our failure with the African American vote (70 percent voted in favor of Prop. has more to do with education levels than race. In general, people with lower levels of education - of any race - do not vote for gay rights. White people are twice as likely to graduate college as black people. This accounts for the difference by race on Prop. 8.

And then on The Daily Voice Earl Ofari Hutchinson writes:

"No surprise that blacks tipped the scale for California's gay marriage ban" - The painful truth is that Proposition 8 would have gone down to flaming defeat if blacks hadn't backed it in droves. Proposition 8 was the ballot initiative that defines marriage as strictly between a man and a woman and embeds that in the California state constitution.

Just one month before the election most polls showed that a majority of Californians rejected the measure. But then something happened. A slew of Yes on 8 signs and stickers popped up overnight on lawns in my neighborhood in the predominantly black Crenshaw area near South Los Angeles. The week before that a well-heeled core of preachers who head fundamentalist leaning, mega and medium sized black churches held a rally and then took to their pulpits and bible thumped their congregations to pass the initiative. It worked. Associated Press exit polls found that seven in 10 blacks voted in favor of the proposition, while Latinos marginally supported it and whites were split.

No one seems to have the complete answer, and everything I try to write to sum all of this up sounds . . . not quite right. We're not going to agree with everyone or even each other, necessarily, but we can, and should, arm ourselves with our shared histories. That's, at least, a place to start.

I was afraid this would happen. This is awful. Rod 2.0 is reporting that during the recent protest in front of the Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Westwood, some white anti-Prop 8 protestors began using the N-word against the people of color also at the protest:

The recent passage of California's Proposition 8 has exposed some of the latent racism of many within the LGBT community . . . Unfortunately the "blame the blacks" meme is being commonly accepted by some so-called "progressive" gay activists. A number of Rod 2.0 and Jasmyne Cannick readers report being subjected to taunts, threats and racist abuse at last night's marriage equality rally in Los Angeles.

Geoffrey, a student at UCLA and regular Rod 2.0 reader, joined the massive protest outside the Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Westwood. Geoffrey was called the n-word at least twice. "It was like being at a klan rally except the klansmen were wearing Abercrombie polos and Birkenstocks. YOU NIGGER, one man shouted at men. If your people want to call me a FAGGOT, I will call you a nigger. Someone else said same thing to me on the next block near the temple...me and my friend were walking, he is also gay but Korean, and a young WeHo clone said after last night the niggers better not come to West Hollywood if they knew what was BEST for them."

More after the jump.

Los Angeles resident and Rod 2.0 reader A. Ronald says he and his boyfriend, who are both black, were carrying NO ON PROP 8signs and still subjected to racial abuse. "Three older men accosted my friend and shouted, 'Black people did this, I hope you people are happy!' A young lesbian couple with mohawks and Obama buttons joined the shouting and said there were 'very disappointed with black people' and 'how could we' after the Obama victory. This was stupid for them to single us out because we were carrying those blue NO ON PROP 8 signs! I pointed that out and the one of the older men said it didn't matter because 'most black people hated gays and he was 'wrong' to think we had compassion. That was the most insulting thing I had ever heard. I guess he never thought we were gay.'

. . . There is more than enough blame to go around—the homophobia of the black church, lack of outreach by mainstream LGBT organizations, reluctance by the Obama campaign, many blacks gays and lesbians in the closet, deep pockets of the social conservatives, take your pick . . . . "

Read the entire article over at Rod 2.0. Something needs to be done about this and quick. I'll update this post as new information comes in.

Nathan wins Top Design

The kind of bacteria in your gut may be making you fat. So eat your Activia!

Ryan Kwanten gets nekkid again on "True Blood." (NSFW) The more he gets naked, the more I'm gonna post about it.

3G tethering coming to iPhone

Another kind of Butt Bandit

Jurassic Park author Michael Crichton dies

Seann William Scott talks about squirting during sex. (Video - posssibly NSFW)

More Whoopi: We Have Finally Become Part of the Fabric of the United States of America

Tom Ford to direct movie based on Christopher Isherwood book

"Clash of The Titans" to be remade!

Yesterday was a little rough. The joy of Obama's win battled the loss of our civil rights. How could a nation elect Obama while simultaneously excising our equality? But, I don't want the setbacks to overshadow the successes. President-elect Barack Obama mentioned gays in his acceptance speech. This is not something he did in his speech on race. In fact, in that speech, there was a natural place for us to be mentioned, an organic moment where gays could have been bundled together with other people who have struggled, but this is what he said: " . . . as if this country - a country that has made it possible for one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a coalition of white and black; Latino and Asian, rich and poor, young and old -- is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past."

Right there, right between "black" and "Latino." Or right between "Asian" and "rich." Or "poor" and "young." Or after "old." There. Somewhere. Say "gay and straight."

But, BUT, this is what he said in his acceptance speech:

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dreams of our founders are alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretch around schools and churches, in numbers this nation has never seen. By people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives. Because they believed that this time must be different. That their voices could be that difference.

It is the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled, Americans who send a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states - we are and always will be the United States of America.

One door closes, and another one opens.

The Week has a collection of links to articles from Frank Rich and Andrew Sullivan asking if America is post-racist.

Is America post-racist? No, it's not. No. As a person of Mexican ancestry who looks white in the winter months, I can't tell you how many times I've heard nasty comments from white people (who assume I'm white) about Mexicans. The last time was a few weeks ago when I went to the wedding reception of a friend and his new husband. They had just returned from California, and their families had thrown them something of a surprise celebration.

My friend, who is Filipino, married a wonderful man who happens to be white. When I chatted with my friend's new lawyer sister-in-law, who appeared thrilled that her gay brother had gotten married, she told me she was from San Antonio. I know nothing of San Antonio, except that it's in conservative Texas. She seemed like such a lovely and open-minded person, so I asked her what her city was like, if it was liberal like Austin or conservative like the rest of the state. She rolled her eyes and said, "Well, it could be more liberal, but those Mexicans are overrunning the entire city! You know how they breed."

Continued after the jump.

I looked at her and smiled and said, "Well, I say the browner the better! I'm Mexican, so I think it sounds just perfect!"

She froze in place and then cleared her throat, "Oh, you're, uh, Mexican? Well, um, good for you! Good for you!"

Here was a woman, educated, sophisticated, and, yes, she had been drinking, whose was in Manhattan to celebrate her gay brother's wedding to a Filipino man. And even there, even in the middle of the most liberal experience imaginable, racism slipped in. And then out.

That's the thing with racism these days. Since it's incredibly uncool to be racist, whether you're on the left or the right, the racism beats a retreat into the basement. But it rarely gets thrown out.

A one-off experience? No. This kind of thing has happened to me a dozen times in the past few years. I don't know how much basement racism will factor in to the voting next Tuesday, but it will be a factor.