Eight is Enough!

I want to start out by saying that this is not an indictment against those who are in support of gay-marriage. I have my own personal feelings about it, but due to the sensitive nature of the issue, I choose not to address those feelings at this time. Instead I'd like to talk about the reaction to California's passage of Proposition 8.

I'll be perfectly honest, going into Tuesday's election, I was mentally prepared that if Barack Obama lost the election, there may be some civil unrest in the streets. Protest for sure, slight rioting potentially. Thankfully, that scenario was unrealized. However when I turned on the television to watch the 10 o'clock news, reports rolled in from West Hollywood about protests relating to the, then, possible passage of Prop. 8. Instinctually, I knew that this couldn't be good. I mean, every city has their gay section of town: Chicago has Boystown, San Francisco has, well, San Francisco, and Los Angeles has West Hollywood. So there was no shortage of people in this section of town to draw out for the protest.

Let me give you a little background information on Proposition 8. California voted in 2000 to pass Proposition 22, defining marriage as between a man and a woman. In the summer of 2008, the California courts declared that Proposition unconstitutional, clearing the way for 18,000 same sex couples to get married. Another Proposition was put on the November ballot, Proposition 8, which made an ammendment to the California constitution making it to where only marriages between one man and one woman would be recognized by the state.

The protest of election night didn't bother me at all. I mean, I understood. Here were people who poured their hearts and efforts into defeating a Proposition that they felt was a threat to their way of life. The protest was relatively peaceful, only 7 people arrested, so again it didn't bother me at all. The next morning as I awoke to read news about Obama's landslide victory, I stumbled across an article updating Proposition 8. At that point, it was still too close to call. However, with the NO on Prop. 8 side losing, Gay Rights groups were already preparing to challenge in the courts. I can't remember the exact quote, but the person they interviewed said something to this effect: "The people didn't have the legal right to pass the ban without the approval of the California legislature". My exact words were "What the Hell"? I mean, that makes absolutely no sense at all. How come the people don't have the legal right? A proposition was put forth on the ballot. The people came out in droves and voted to pass Prop 8. Which aspect of this process was illegal in this man's mind? The fact that it didn't have the backing of the California legislature was completely irrelevant. As a matter of fact, that proves that Politics is completely out of wack. The people who we vote and our representatives are supposed to do our will, not have their own personal agendas. So in this case, the people spoke for themselves instead of using a middle man/woman.

Since then, there have been many more protests across California. At some of these rallies, there have been signs and chants. One sign that I saw read "Blacks, Hispanics, if someone violates your civil rights, we don't want to hear it". This sign too made me say "What the Hell"? I understand that Gays are upset that 7 out of 10 blacks voted in favor of Prop. 8., and along with Hispanics, were instrumental in the passage of Prop. 8. But this sign exposed another problem that I have with the Gay Rights agenda. Too often, I've heard individuals compare the plight of Gays to that of Blacks. This in my opinion is Bullshit! The theory of are people born gay or make a choice has not been settled. (No matter what some people would have you to believe). I was absolutely born black. There was no choice made on my part. The science has definitely been settled on that on. Also, other than Michael Jackson, I can't think of too many people who were black, and are now something else. On the other hand, there are plenty of people who once lived a homosexual lifestyle, and now no longer do. So to make a correlation between the two is absolutely insulting to me and my ancestors.

I also heard a gentleman say that before, blacks and whites were banned from marrying. While I admit that this is the closest thing to a reasoned arguement that I have heard, I again have to respectfully disagree with them. Indeed, interracial marriage was illegal at one time. However, when those laws were overturned, the actual definition of marriage remained the same. A black man could marry a white woman, and a white man could marry a black woman. The essential components of what would constitute a marriage remained the same. So just as their earlier arguement didn't hold water, neither does this one.


The last thing that bothers me is how many of these protests are aimed at churches. The Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) were intricately involved in the passage of Prop. 8. The members of the church gave money and time to the cause. They even coordinated with members in Black churches to pass Prop. 8. For that, they have been targeted by Gay Rights groups. To this issue, I say, "What would you expect for churches to do"? I mean, churches follow their respective bibles. I'm no biblical scholar, but the bible is the final word on particular issues for some people. Why would you expect the church to stand for something that they don't believe in? And you can't take that personally. I mean, I lean more Libertarian in my political beliefs. I'm not exactly the staunchest supporter of drug laws we have on the books. If Marijuana legalization was on the ballot, I would probably vote in favor of that proposition. Would I expect the church to come out in favor of it, of course not. I'm realistic. The church is going to follow what it says within it bible, and I don't believe Jesus is in favor of me grabbing a sack of Northern Lights to smoke on the weekends. Yes, if smoking weed is my thing, that's what I'm gonna do. But I would never expect that the church should necessarily sanction my behavior.

In an act that was truly despicable, an extreme Gay Rights group called Bash Back protested a church in Lansing, Michigan. They picketed outside the church chanting slogans such as "Jesus was a Homo". A few of their members blended in with regular churchgoers. During the services, those Bash Back members pulled a fire alarm, and stormed the church stage confronting members of the church and its leadership. Some members put up a banner that read "ITS OK TO BE GAY! BASH BACK!". I hope that, no matter what side of the argument you fall on, this kind of action offends. First off, Jesus was no homo. That's just ridiculous. (And blasphemous might add). Second, when you go into a person's house of worship, you treat it with the utmost respect. Whatever you feel should stay outside those church doors. If you disagree with them, don't bring that into the church. To me, this kind of protest is the most extreme.

I don't write this to "Bash" homosexuals. Honestly, I have members of my family who are gay. I Love them dearly. I even understand why those in the homosexual community want the right to marry. That's not my beef. My beef is that despite their desire for "rights", they still have to go about this in a responsible manner. Marching and protesting is cool. I just wish that some of the rhetoric that is used is less offensive the the members of my community. Just because people are not in favor of gay marriage doesn't mean that those very same individuals hate gays. You can support traditional marriage, and still want gays to be treated fairly. I just hope that we eventually can have an honest, and well reasoned debate on the issue. Everyone's point of view is valid on this issue.


-DrizaDre-

I hope that those who chose to read this were not offended. This was not written as an attack, but rather to address an issue from a mature and rational position.

Black to the Future

It's late afternoon on March 23, 2050.

"Grandaddy. I need some help with my homework". Jesse, a cute little girl of 9 snuggles up to her grandfather.

OK baby, what do you need help with.

"You know that President that just died? Well we need to do a report on him. Our teacher told us to interview someone who was alive when he was President. So I figured I would interview you".
You mean President Obama baby?

"I guess" the little girl shrugs.

OK, well what do you want to know?

"I don't know. Tell me about when you voted for him and stuff like that".

OK. Well, it's actually a very funny story. See, I was in Chicago on that Saturday before the election. I was absolutely determined to get back to Los Angeles to vote. I mean, this was going to be historic, and I didn't want to be sitting on the sidelines for this moment in history. So I left Chicago on Saturday evening. I was supposed to go bowling with my brother Cory and my nephew Cory, but they wouldn't let us. Some snake league was bowling. In hind sight, its probably best that I didn't get the chance. You'll understand why later.

Anyway. I left Chicago that evening, and back in the day I actually drove cars. Not how you guys have flying cars now, I actually had to steer and drive myself. So I drove all the way to Denver, Colorado. I made it there on Sunday evening. From there, I had to drive to Salt Lake City, Utah. I didn't make it to Salt Lake City until Monday afternoon. I would have caught a flight from Salt Lake to Los Angeles, but your grandfather isn't the flying type. So I bought a ticket to ride the bus. Well, the company the ran the buses back then was called Greyhound, and let me tell you that they were the absolute worst. I got on the bus, and the bus was supposed to leave at 6:30 p.m. Well, at 7 p.m., the bus was still sitting in Salt Lake. And as a matter of fact, the driver put me off the bus so that they could put on some other passengers.

I was so upset. It really was beginning to look like I wasn't gonna be able to make it home in time to vote. But I got a bright idea. I called someone from my job, and I figured out that if I took the bus to San Francisco, I could pickup a car and drive myself to Los Angeles. So I went for it. I made it to San Francisco around 2:30 p.m. that Tuesday afternoon. Greyhound was supposed to get me there earlier, but again, they were the absolute worst company back then. Probably the reason they are no longer operating this many years late.

So I left San Francisco at 3 p.m. Well unlike today, we had a such thing as traffic back in my day. And San Francisco was notorious for having some of the worst traffic in the country. I can't deny, I was weaving in and out of the car pool lanes trying to pass up some people. Eventually I made some headway, and I was flying. I mean, going so fast that I could have given these flying cars of today a run for their money. I had to drive 344 miles, and I needed to get to my polling place by 8 p.m. It was hectic for sure. I pulled up to my polling place at 7:58 p.m. (Pacific Time) I ran inside. Out of breath, I asked the lady for a ballot. She said "you barely made it". I told her that after all that I had been through, I was happy that I made it at all. She handed me my ballot, and I went to do my civic duty. I finished voting, got my stub and my "I voted sticker" and I went back out to the car.
As soon as I got back in the car, they made the announcement that Barack Obama would be our 44th President. I was ecstatic. I mean, after traveling all that great distance, I had cast the ballot that sealed the deal for Barack Obama.

"No you didn't Grandaddy. You just voted, that's all"

Hey, I'm telling the story not you. Were you there in 2008?

With a big grin on her face, Jesse shakes her head no.

Alright then. Anyway. The most important thing that I want you to take from this story is this; too often our people, back then, believed that their vote was insignificant. And unfortunately, that's exactly what certain segment of our population wanted them to believe. But President Obama reminded people that it was not only a privilege to vote in this country, but a responsibility. And plenty of our ancestors died for us to have just this very privilege. That's why I tried to move Heaven and Earth to get myself home in time to vote. I mean, I knew one day that you and you brothers and sisters would need to hear this story. And most importantly, you one day would tell your own children and grandchildren. Your Grandaddy voted for the first Black President of the United States. I know that it doesn't seem like much now considering that we've had other Black Presidents, including Barack's daughter Malia, but you need to know that on November 4th, 2008, the world did change. President Obama did make it to where we as black people understood that we were important in this country. And yes, we could make a change.
So when you do your report, you make sure you let your class know that though I never thought I'd ever see a black President, I give glory to God that I was absolutely wrong.

"I will grandaddy, I will!!"


-DrizaDre-

Vote Today!!

I'm sure everyone will be busy watching the polls and voting today. I Just wanted to pass along the message for all to get out and Vote today. I did as you can see. I hope that everyone else did or does too.

--C-Recks--

Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones... But Barack Would Never Hurt Me?

"Hopin my true Mutha**ckas know, this be the realest s**t I ever wrote"
2Pac - Against All Odds


I know that not everyone is going to be feeling me on this one. Honestly, I just want to express the internal struggle that I have going on. I want to officially coin the phrase "Black Guilt". That's what I have going on inside. See the truth about it is that I'm the classic Independent voter. I voted for Al Gore in 2000, and I actually voted for George W. in 2004. (With no hesitation either). Coming into this 2008 election cycle, I really had no particular candidate that I felt a great affinity for. This is where I first experienced the phenomenon of "Black Guilt". See, early on, many people in this nation who looked just like me had made the choice as to who they would be casting their ballot for in this election. As they would say on Seinfeld, not that there's anything thing wrong with that. The difference is that at that time I was approaching 30 years old, and I just felt that I had to make more than a knee-jerk selection as to whom I believed would be best suited to run this country. So I started my due diligence, and began the process of discovering exactly who Barack Obama was.

The first aspects of what I discovered about him were simply rooted in the fact that Barack began his foray into politics in my own backyard, the south side of Chicago. I first heard of Barack back during his 2004 senatorial run. The first picture I actually saw of him was as I was driving north on the Bishop Ford freeway. As I was crossing the bridge just north of Dalton Avenue, I looked to my right and saw the name Obama. Now it got my attention because, of course, it looked way too similar to the name Osama. (Especially at 70 miles per hour).

What also caught my attention is that this man Obama is pictured with the Reverend James Meeks. Reverend Meeks had recently made his foray into politics at that time, and I found it interesting that Obama was pictured with him as a means for endorsement. However that wasn't the only billboard in the hood. I began seeing other billboards for Obama, one of which had him pictured with Jesse Jackson Jr., another rising star in south side politics. Immediately, I was more intrigued by Mr. Obama.

Then I saw him speak at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, Ma. I can't front, I was blown away, especially considering that I was pretty down on Democrats at that point and time. The way that he spoke, and inspired people, I figured that we would be seeing him again four years later running for President. I didn't believe that he would actually secure the nomination, but I thought that he'd be a great Vice-President. Probably for Hillary Clinton. Due to that, I didn't think that I'd be voting for that ticket. By far I am no fan of Ms. Clinton.

Fast forward to late January 2008. As the Democratic primary election approached in California, my then state of residence, I had a decision to make. I am a registered independent, and due to that, I can select which party's primary I want to vote in. I didn't really have anyone to support, so I decided to vote for Barack over Hillary on February 5th, 2008. When I cast that ballot, I actually felt pretty good. It was nice to cast a ballot for someone who looked like me. Due to it being just a primary, the actual issues were not as relevant for me.

That all changed on the actual candidates were the 2008 Presidential General Election were set. Now I had to actually study what these candidates believed in. Let me say this as gently as I can. I did not like what I saw in Barack Obama at all. Yes, the concept of having a black President was great. I also liked the concept of what having a black President could mean to the young black children of America. I mean, Lord knows that with so many negative influences within music and movies, the kids could use a positive influence in their lives.

Here's where the black guilt kicks in. Despite Barack's policies, am I strong enough to withstand the tidal wave of sentiment for Barack, and be one of the few black people in America to not vote for him? When I'm 65, what do I say to my grandchildren when they ask "So how did it feel to vote for the first black President of the country"? The story is not going to be very exciting when I tell them that I couldn't vote for him due to his radical stance on abortion, or his wanting to immediately get us out of Iraq, or his (somewhat) socialistic views on taxation. I mean, I know how I would feel if when I talk to my Grandfather about the Civil Rights days, and he were to tell me "You know, I wasn't really down with Dr. King like that. Too radical in my opinion". I'd be appalled!

So despite not agreeing with Barack philosophically, I'm taking a stand. I will officially announce that I am voting for Barack Obama for President. However I do so with this caveat, other than celebrating the fact that I helped to elect the first black President, I will derive no pleasure from this task. I will pray, probably each and every day, that this man operates in wisdom, and has the testicular fortitude to withstand the many trials that he is sure to face. More than anything, I hope that we as black people wake up. Yes, we're about to have a President who better understands the circumstances that we face on a daily basis. But please people, don't look at this as an opportunity to shove aside personal responsibility, and start looking for the "Brotha Man Hookup" left and right. And to Barack, don't pander to our community by being a constant source of handouts.

I spent some time with my nephew this weekend, and it amazes me that, even at only 4 years old, he is aware of who Barack Obama is. I couldn't help but smile. And probably more than any other person, even Barack himself, my nephew convinced me that Barack is exactly who I need to vote for. So if he ever says to me "Favorite Uncle, I want to be the President", I truly can respond to him "Yes you can"!


-DrizaDre-

Say It Loud!!

I've never really considered myself to be that political (I'll explain more later), but just like everyone else I've got politics on my mind this week. So this is my official political blog (don't expect to see them too often, holla at my brother for that) Lol.

So this weekend my brother (my only brother and co-author of this blog) was in town. Me, him, my son and my mom were all sitting around and watching TV. My brother was viewing some images on his lap top and my son was next to him looking at the images. So an image of a man came up on the screen. My brother then asked my son if he knew who the man on the screen was. My son shrugged his shoulders and said he didn't know. My brother then says it's the President. Almost shocked my son looks again and asks "That's Barack Obama?" We all laughed and explained to him that Barack is running for president but the current President is George Bush. He replied "Oh I thought Barack Obama was the President."

Well I must admit that this was one of those moments made me put on the "proud dad" smile. I was proud to know that even at age 4 (almost 5) my son now had something to look forward to as he grows up. We probably all remember being in kindergarten and first grade and having the teacher ask what everyone wanted to be when they grew up. Although I can't recall what my response was back then, I'm sure at least one kid said they wanted to be President. Well for me that was almost probably 23 years ago. But I'm so proud to know that if my son or any other black child wants to become President, they now have a clear example that it is possible. It is no longer a dream deferred. However, it is a clear and possible reality for every young black man and or woman in our Country.

Throughout this entire election process I can say that there are many things that have made me proud. Although I make sure I vote, I admit that I have never been the most political person. The same old politics just never appealed to me. It just seemed to be the same thing every time and every politician approached it the same way to me. However, this time I was motivated to make more of an effort to take steps in making an informed decision. Where as before I usually voted democrat regardless of the candidate. So I made an attempt to find out what each candidate stood for and how it applies to me and mines. Now I know it doesn't seem like much to others, but I made sure to watch both Democratic and Republican Conventions, every debate, and more CNN than I have probably ever watched in my life. I'm proud to know that there were probably millions of others across the country that were just as motivated to do the same and probably more.

As for the potential next President of the United States Barack Obama, I'm just proud of the way he's handled this election. We can probably only scratch the surface as to what he has had to face during this campaign. We know that publicly he has had his name and character tested and dragged through the political mud. Also, we know that authorities have thwarted a couple of plots to kill him. But keep in mind these are just the things that have been made public. I am sure that on the daily he's being threatened and defamed with hopes that he will drop out of the race. But this man has endured and stayed resilient and tomorrow he has the chance to achieve something that I thought would never happen in my lifetime. Our relatives and ancestors marched, fought and some sacrificed their lives just for us to to have the right to vote. I'm sure even they never thought that we would be at this point so soon. If that doesn't make you proud I don't know what will.

What I found the most appealing about Barack Obama's personal character is the amount of class and poise he's shown himself to have. He's been able withstand some things I doubt most people could have endured. Let alone most black people. To have someone sit right next to you and basically call you a terrorist to your face in front of millions of people. Well let's just say he had more restraint than I would have had. My campaign would have officially ended at that moment. Or what about when he was called "That one over there" by John McCain? Well I would have personally shown him in front of the cameras that "I aint the one."

However, recognizing that this is greater than him he was able to maintain and demonstrate a quality that few people have. Throughout this race, Barack Obama has truly shown himself to be a class act. We all know his story and that it's one that many young black men in our country share. Growing up poor with no father on the scene. But he's defied the odds that were placed against him and didn't let them become an excuse for him to not become all he's destined to be. Now those are the type of personal qualities that I want for my presidential candidate.

So once all the ballots are casted and all the votes are counted, regardless of the outcome I am proud. Proud to be American. Proud to be African American. Proud to be a citizen of this great Democratic nation where we have a choice in how we want our country ran and who we want to run it. I'm proud that I had an opportunity to participate in the political process and make an informed decision. I'm proud to be living during this time to witness history in the making. I'm proud to cast my ballot tomorrow with hope of electing the first ever black President of the United States of America.

Now just like any other proud feeling, you want to maintain it. Therefore, I say we as a people should continue to exercise our political rights. Let's take this feeling to our homes and communities and start to make a real change. This election is only the tip of the iceberg as to what we need to do to change. Let's teach our children that they can be anything they want to be in life and that nothing can stop them if they truly work hard to achieve it.

So if you are at all feeling like I am then in unison you can Say It Loud!! "I'm Black and I'm Proud!!!"

--C-Recks--