Epic fail.

[hackthis_archive]

I'd planned not to address this whole "black people sold out gay people with the passage of Prop 8" business, because just the premise made my head spin around, but then this fell into my lap this morning, so...

Dear Dan Savage:

I'm not an avid reader of your column. I've never taken more than a passing notice of you except for occasional e-mails from my friends regarding whatever scandelous sex-related advice you've given on any given day. Regardless. I think it takes some serious cojones to state in a blog that black people are to blame for the passage of Prop 8 and then go on The Colbert Report THAT EXACT SAME DAY and say that NO, Black people aren't to blame for the passage of Prop 8.

I noticed in your interview, which I watched before I'd heard the rest of this mess, that you didn't apologize for what you said in the first place, presumably before you did your research and then yanked down your post.

That's perpetuating a lot of hate.

That's a lot of "some black people = all black people". Um, that's not how math works. Some =/= ALL. At no point would I say that "some gay people = ALL gay people", so you saying that is really made of fail. And also kind of idiotic, did you not learn basic math?

And if you can't bear to hear it from this angry black woman, then read it from *this* angry black woman, who broke down the numbers, and the community organization and where the money came from to show that, you know, Prop 8 went through for a lot of reasons, and before you start blaming people, you might want to find out what the fuck they are.

All fail,
X


And if you think this is just hackthis overreacting to that 'race thing' again, then you probably should just defriend me now. Or, if you actually feel like being enlightened more go see bias_cut here and sparkymonster here and ladyjax here.

Newsflash folks: JUST BECAUSE THERE'S A BLACK PRESIDENT ELECT DOESN'T MEAN RACISM IS OVER.

Comments

[lamardeuse.livejournal.com]

Great letter. It'll be interesting to see if he actually apologizes for being an asshat at some point. It'll be too little, too late, of course, either way, but it'll be interesting.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

An apology? HA! It'll be a cold day in Ecuador first. It's much easier to get people riled up about misinformation than it is to calm them down with the truth -- just look at the McCain/Palin ticket!

[lamardeuse.livejournal.com]

True, true. :)

[lamardeuse.livejournal.com]

Fuck, this is even showing up on Mother Jones (http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2008/11/10713_blacks-and-prop-8.html). WHAT? I'm sorry, are all the pinkos watching Fox News for their information and opinions now?

[amberlynne.livejournal.com]

Wait. So all black people are not like that Sherri lady on The View? I am so CONFUSED!

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

That's right! All black women are like Sherri Shepard and all black men are like... Marlo from The Wire.

[amberlynne.livejournal.com]

That explains SO MUCH!

[mbeasi.livejournal.com]

I've been reading a lot about this, and it's pretty sickening.

[mbeasi.livejournal.com]

Also, I saw an article that showed that actually, it was voters over 60 who passed proposition 8. Which I now can't find.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

Yes, I've been hearing that a lot too, but it's so mush easier to spread inflamatory accusations than the truth.

[mbeasi.livejournal.com]

Yes, of course. *sigh*

Here (http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/11/prop-8-myths.html) was the article I saw.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

I was just reading that article and it really does say it best: Certainly, the No on 8 folks might have done a better job of outreach to California's black and Latino communities. But the notion that Prop 8 passed because of the Obama turnout surge is silly.

WORD.

[mbeasi.livejournal.com]

EXACTLY.

[amberlynne.livejournal.com]

NATE SILVER FTMFW! Ima have his statistically awesome babies.

[duckyjane.livejournal.com]

Savage actually made that point last night, after his whole other thing ... he made the comment that conveniently, they were dying.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

The blog was made at [checks] 9:55am. The Colbert Report tapes in the afteroon. So between 10am and say around 3pm, he did some research. I would say he read the article on 538.com, but Nate didn't post that until 2:47 pm.

[rubymiene.livejournal.com]

I think he did read Nate's report before he went on Colbert.
See http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2008/11/11/gay-power-ne-white-power

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

I think he might just want to shut his pie hole for a while, because to me, that's as condescending and messed up as the original post.

[mbeasi.livejournal.com]

I think Nate Silver made that point in the article I just linked to as well, though he at least tried to say it delicately.

[starfishchick]

DAN SAVAGE, WHAT? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

But I love him!

[mardia.livejournal.com]

Dan Savage, WHY so much fail? Seriously, I remember reading his columns and enjoying them, and contemplated picking up one of his books, but now? HELL NO. Not until he apologizes, which he probably won't.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

Of course he won't apologize. Apologize? HA! :/

[tuff-ghost.livejournal.com]

Have people on LJ accused you of "overreacting to that race thing" in the past? Or complained about the volume of race/racism-related content in your journal?

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

Race is one of those things that people don't really like to talk about or think about if they can help it. People of Color don't have much choice but to think about, and it affects how we react to things. I don't think I obssess about race, but I could in epic detail, I just don't see the point in doing it every day. That's draining. If anyone feels that I discuss race too much however, then that's their problem and they are perfectly free to leave and I'm sure they have. Do I keep a tally though? No.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

I found this on my friends-of-friends page, and I just wanted to say, THANK YOU. Thank you for this.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

I feel you. You are very welcome.

[elzed.livejournal.com]

Excellent number crunching analysis and general wisdom from the angry black woman block you linked. This whole caboodle is rather depressing.

JUST BECAUSE THERE'S A BLACK PRESIDENT ELECT DOESN'T MEAN RACISM IS OVER

What? Now you tell me? Damn, we were already celebrating the brave new world over here. Sigh.


*goes back to square one*

Actually, not quite. It's got to be up to square two at least by now, no?

I did like Nate Silver's delicate suggestion that demographics will fix it eventually (except that there seem to be a fair few young bigots about. Still, let us hope).

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

JUST BECAUSE THERE'S A BLACK PRESIDENT ELECT DOESN'T MEAN RACISM IS OVER

What? Now you tell me? Damn, we were already celebrating the brave new world over here. Sigh.

I know it seems like it should go without saying, but you'd be surprised at the number of people who are like, racism has all vanished, to which I tend to think, o rilly?

[rubywisp.livejournal.com]

to this whole post: YES.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

I hear you.

[epj.livejournal.com]

Thank you for this. Dan Savage has been on my list ever since he wrote a column opining that date rape involving alcohol is just morning-after regrets. This is another glaring WTF! for him. Bleh.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

Wow. He is made of fail.

[mardia.livejournal.com]

Okay, I hadn't heard about that. EW. SO MUCH FAIL.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

even while ignoring that a lot more went into the passing of Prop. 8 than any one group of people.

I think you pretty much hit on the head of the nail right there.

[overnighter.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this. I always feel like I come away from your posts not only with a new perspective, but also with solid, useful and factual information. That cannot be underestimated.

I've been surprised not only at the levels of vitriol (which is the sort of lashing out that I guess should not be too surprising given that people with their hearts broken often react in irrational and cruel ways), but at the casual sort of "oh, yes, *of course* that's why this happened" rhetoric from people who seem to think that conventional wisdom is the thing that matters. It's sort of stunning.

[redjacket.livejournal.com]

The fact that people will just seem to accept that bullshit (and by that bullshit I mean what the fuck Dan Savage wrote) robs me of coherency it makes me so mad and frustrated. That it's so horribly racists is enough to do that on it's own, but it makes it worse because when this kind of scapegoating happens the actual problems and reasons behind prop 8 passing are overlooked.

Which is, you know, fantastic. Let's not actually figure out what happened here and spread a little more hate around while we fucking do it.

[blacksquirrel.livejournal.com]

word