Monday, December 22, 2008

Obamanation, Part 2

The slow and steady decline of DCCised is taking place. I feel like Rome. I feel like the British monarchy. I feel like the United Colors of Benetton. Or perhaps the United States of America. You know, the downward-spiraling country that can only be saved by our beloved President, Barack Obama.

No other American president-elect has been received with so much gusto and entrusted with so much faith before. It's exciting that you can buy Barack Obama wine, Barack Obama chapstick, and my personal favorite, Barack Obama novelty cash. You can join the growing crowd of people rallying to get his face carved into Mt. Rushmore. You can tattoo his name on your ass. And by exciting, I mean ridiculous. Question: Why is everyone singing his praises already, before he's actually done anything.

More importantly, Question: Why are gays so supportive of him when he is basically the lesser of two evils. Many gay people I've talked to (and Melissa Etheridge) have had the same response, "It was SO great that Obama was elected but it was SO disappointing that Proposition 8 passed." Has it ever occurred to anybody that the two occurrences may have been related. In fact, I did some research and found that the minority votes that Barack Obama attracted in California ended up being detrimental for gays because the minorities mostly voted for Proposition 8. Isn't that ironic.

Obama kept quiet when it came to Proposition 8 because he didn't want to lose votes. And the gays let that slide because they thought that having him in office was the main goal and he would make things better once he was in. But it seems like we shouldn't have let that slide because now that Obama is in and he doesn't need gay support anymore, he has impassively thrown us under the Eminem tour bus.

In my opinion, Obama put getting himself into office before the gay agenda. Which doesn't surprise me, nor does it make me mad. But it is frustrating to see how foolish some gay people are in thinking that Obama is unequivocally on our side. He is not, as evidenced by the selection of Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at his inauguration. Good luck writing letters asking Obama to take Rick Warren off inaugural extravaganza; it's not going to happen.


So maybe we should stop supporting Barack until he starts supporting us. Because if Obama can put himself first, perhaps gays should do the same.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Don't forget that Obama wants to be re-elected and that means that the next four years also is a campaign for him! Not being an american I didn't pay much attention to Obamas stand on gay rights, but no matter how supportive he is on a personal level he still is a politian.

I really liked this post on the matter;
http://standstraightandstepforward.blogspot.com/2008/12/scratching-my-head-again.html

Random Thinker said...

I'm not sure why gay people are all that surprised by Obama. I mean, he's never said he would be focused on gay people's agendas.

Even in the debate, he was crystal clear - he does not support marriage of same-sex couples, but he does support civil unions.

So, his percieved lack of a position on Prop 8 was not the case. He favored the YES vote. So is it any wonder he asked Rick Warren to the Inauguration in such a prominent role?

The reason there is so much of an outcry from the gay community is because they let themselves be lulled into a false sense that Obama would have the political courage to stand up for equal rights for all.

And while I am a huge supporter of Obama, and have contributed to his campaign, and to the transition, I realize I will never have a president who agrees with 100% of my positions.

So, advice to those offended by Obama's pick of Rick Warren, by those who want their voices heard, go to Obama's website (www.barackobama.com) or to the transition site (www.change.gov) and leave a message.

Remember, your power is in your participation - letting your voices be heard, one at a time, and your power is in your vote.

Anonymous said...

I got a set of the Obama commemorative plates. At all dinner parties all guest will eat off his face. Obama rocks!!

Less Confused said...

I agree 100%, I mean the man hasn't done a thing yet and he's already hailed as king. I think everyone will be in for an eye opening experience when he gets elected and is not able to change things over night.

These are the people that will stand up and start asking why things aren't different on Jan. 22, these are the people that want instant gratification.

The gay population will also realize their blunder in his support because as you said, he doesn't need us anymore.

I also just saw you were reading Ching's book on form, space and order. I love that book, I love pretty much anything Ching puts out, he's very direct and to the point. I couldn't bring myself to sell any of his books after my classes were over in college. I still reference those books.

I'm rambling now.

Aek said...

I'm always wary of politics. While I voted for Obama, that was simply because he demonstrated the greatest promise to improve various areas, such as science, the environment, and energy. But it goes without saying that there's no such thing as a "perfect" presidential candidate.

Now I'm just patiently waiting to see if he can deliver. If he can deliver swiftly with immediate positive results, then he'll rightfully be hailed as a great change from Bush. But, if "progress" slows or stymies, then I can see a backlash of people wishing they hadn't voted for him.

I don't envy Obama as he enters into presidency after Bush. Nor would I envy any president going into office after Bush.

D. said...

first of all, i saw the first couple episodes of pushing daisies, and i must say, that's a fucking amazing show :)

imo people treat obama as if he's already done wonders in office because of the last 8 years.

it's sad reality with politicians.

clinton did something similar (throwing gays under the bus) when he signed the DOMA. in this case, i hope history won't repeat itself.