4.10.2009

Oh So This is How We Lost Prop 8

When Obama and Clinton were campaigning for Oval Office, I rode the wave of high spirits on the left coast. It almost didn't matter who won. What mattered was that Americans were being fearless. The status quo was being challenged, and not by a novelty woman and a novelty black guy; the democrat ticket had some quality names. When McCain gave his concession speech, Los Angeles suddenly erupted with the sound of car horns. I stepped out onto my front lawn and was overwhelmed by the roar of the city. It came from as far as the freeways to as close as our block. You couldn't help but get swept up in the feeling.

Then Prop 8 passed. Crickets! The balloon popped. We were puffed up with too much confidence in our fellow citizens. For weeks we stumbled around, scratching our heads, wondering how it was possible. California is filled with artists, the educated, and people who fled the oppression of their hometowns. We became suspicious of everyone.

But perhaps we weren't brought down by farming towns and Orange County. I uncovered THIS! This commercial has been boring into soft skulls all over the country, and went online to California. There's a whole series of them. Fake lightning flashes, stiff actors stand like poles waiting for their lines, which they seem to deliver from teleprompters written in doctor scratch.

Halloween seems a million years ago. It was right before the heated election, and we all knew that Sarah Palin was only up for her 15 minutes, not a vice presidency. We threw together our Sarah Palin Halloween costumes before the world forgot about her. The photo to the right is myself at the Gay Pride Halloween Costume Carnaval. We were all so excited about the country's changes, and had no idea we were about to be blindsided by Prop 8. Gay couples are dealing with a violation of their human rights. Me, I'm just straight and embarrassed. This post is for them.