Hello everyone,
Much has been said about Judge Walkers Prop 8 ruling. The Blogs are STILL full of posts from legal analysts, pundits, and talking heads giving their opinions about the rulling and making forcasts for the future of the case, but none has been as concise as this one from ProfMTH on Youtube. Although I don't see eye to eye with the Prof on everything he posts, I have to hand it to him on this set of videos...they are well put together and easy to understand. Watch them and you will feel like you have become a Perry v. Schwarzenegger expert....enjoy!
I actually subscribe to profMTH, and I find that he's very informative and usually spot on. Although, of course, you may be turned off by his atheism.
ReplyDeleteI have no doubt that any appeal will go in favor of striking down Prop 8. I can, however see a danger... what about the influence the right wingers seem to have over the average citizen?
ReplyDeleteSuppose that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals again rules in favor of striking down Prop 8... does that make it law in all the states that are included in the 9th Circuit? My understanding is that there are 5. I'm trying to imagine what would happen if the religous zealots and bigots happen to get their message heard and public opinion sways in their favor even slightly? (I've seen some of the fundamentalists in the media and they seem pretty psycho about it, and I've personally seen the, "Average Joe," buy into it.) Imagine those particular people waking up one morning to find their laws had changed. How would they react? I think they'd be pretty upset, judging from what I've seen.
I don't live in the US, so I'm possibly waaay off here. I hope so. My whole point could sound stupid, but I'll risk it. I know I sound like an alarmist.
I'm just afraid of seeing a rise of public backlash about this. Then, the situation might become volatile as politicians and others start weighing in on the issue.
...What if it makes it to the Federal Supreme Court and Marriage Equality becomes the law of the land...? I'm imagining all those bible-belt americans having kittens about it, and the islamic fundamentalists having a new reason to hate America and rally more people to their cause... hmmm. I'd just hate to see anyone get it in their head to respond with violence to this and that's kinda what I see coming.
Can someone talk me down here? Maybe you can tell me I'm an idiot, and that I haven't two sweet clues what the average american thinks. I can take it.
@kellis
ReplyDeleteViolence is always a possibility for the gay community. It doesn't take a sudden change in the law for that. The possibility of a RISE in the potential for violence IS a real issue...but not one that should dissuade us or we will never see the day when our desire for equality is met.
ultra right wing religious pundits and talking heads ALWAYS go insane and cry the the sky is falling...even when we make small gains.
Teapartiers and the like have been talking revolution for a while now. Waking up to find that their state may now allow gay marriage would be just one more nail in the coffin that includes health care reform and a whole host of unrelated other issues. We would be only one reason for them to come unglued.
Hell I'm an atheist too but I just subscribed to his channel. Great analysis of the Prop 8 trial.
ReplyDeleteWell Kellis, here's the deal with Americans: most of the time we really don't care. The average American, when left unmolested, only cares about what directly affects them: apathy is stylish in most other respects. Look at the last presidential election in 2004: only 64% of those able to vote did so, even at a time when the outcome of such a vote could directly affect many.
ReplyDeleteWhat I've noticed is that many people initially don't care because they don't think it really affects them. It's only when the marginal politicians start coaching them that things change. The advertisement for Prop. 8 made by NOM is a great example: notice how they stressed the ways in which gay marriage was supposedly interfering with the lives of 'normal' people? It's because NOM was trying to convince them that it would interfere with their own lives, if it had not already.
There might be some backlash, who knows? But in the end, when everything settles down, the American public will go back to their lives and forget the whole thing because in reality, it really doesn't affect them.
Thanks for sharing. With all of the airtight logic surrounding Judge Walker's ruling, how could any sane member of the judiciary vote "no" on striking down Prop. 8 and legalizing gay marriage?
ReplyDelete