Distraction

Sass Back — By Anne Price on September 3, 2009 at 8:16 pm

A very interesting study coming out of the University of Florida states that, in the fight against a constitutional ban of gay marriage, education levels were a deciding factor, not the surge in numbers of black voters who came out for Obama, as was previously thought. According to Daniel Smith, a political science professor at the University of Florida and co-author of this study, many pundits claimed that newly registered black voters, inspired by Obama’s candidacy to flock to the polls, resulted in states narrowly approving amendments that opposed legalizing gay unions. However, Smith’s study found that education levels were about five times as important as race in approving a constitutional ban against gay marriage.

According to Smith, “Our research challenges the assumption that the surge of black voters who turned out in unusually large numbers in support of Obama were also in favor of banning gay marriage,” Smith said. “We found that it really wasn’t race that led to an increased support for a ban on gay marriage but whether or not someone was educated.”

This doesn’t surprise me a bit. I can recognize a distraction when I see one. The belief that blacks do not support gay rights for whatever reason be it social, cultural or something other, serves a wonderful purpose to the opponents of gay marriage and civil rights in general. It creates a division of and diversion to two marginalized populations who, if brought together, could do nothing but strengthen each others fight for equality and recognition. But instead of fostering that relationship, the opponents in this battle simply utilized a very old strategy to weaken their enemies – divide and conquer. If we tell the gay groups that blacks oppose their civil rights it may cause them to give up on persons of color as potential allies, underestimating their influence and support.

This study tells us something else that is very important and that is that education is key. We must not only educate those who oppose us, we must strive for greater education for our world as a whole. This only illustrates that ignorance breeds hate, and tolerance is the result of exposure to new and different ideas and the expansion of the mind. If we began teaching our children tolerance in our homes, because we are educated and understand the widely varied nature of human existence, and then they went into schools where they were taught that we all have equal and inalienable rights, can you imagine the world we would create? I know it sounds utopian, but knowledge breeds such noble thoughts and actions. How can you hate someone when you understand them?

At its worst, this creates a feeling of competition between the two groups and this can easily expand to other populations who are victims of hatred or discrimination. As if there are just so many civil rights to go around and if you don’t get your piece of the pie, well that pie will just get eaten up and your slice will be lost forever. Equal rights are and always should be ever-expanding.

How easily we are led by a reactionary media. How quickly we are to jump to blame when we are hurting, when we are losing our grip. How insidiously does fear drive us to beliefs that not only do not serve us but actually slow our progress. We must all be educated and learn – learn to think with our hearts, for from there does all right thinking and tolerance begin.

Tags: African-American, GLBT, LGBT, LGBT, LGBTQ, voters