Comments on: Dodging a bullet

By: Patrick

Patrick — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 21:57:11 +0000

Wow, this isn’t good. First, the “polls” from the vote four years ago were mistaken, but that mistake has been propagated through the media ever since. Secondly, this piece reaffirms a hard boundary between communities that have more overlap than is apparent here.

Race isn’t a particularly helpful or predictive factor for understanding how these votes worked. Education, residence and SES are far better predictors. We don’t see any articles about rural, low-income, poorly educated whites voting as blocks against equality, but that is precisely what the number suggestion.

By: Timothy Kincaid

Timothy Kincaid — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:02:51 +0000

Yes I am aware that there are many people who are part of both the gay community and the black community. And there is also a distinct black gay community.

By: Donny D.

Donny D. — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 18:50:06 +0000

Timothy, I meant to add that I strongly support Marcus’s post. Your article did present the black and LGBT communities as fully separate.

By: Henri

Henri — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 12:51:00 +0000

We won in Maryland thanks to the overwhelming support in one county, Montgomery County, just outside of Washington D.C. In all other counties in the state, we got only a minority of the vote, including in Prince Georges County, which is also just outside of DC and predominantly black. While there was earlier support in PG county, it faded under pressure from religious leaders. While I deleware making progress in the minority communities, I still don’t think we can count on their votes.

By: Donny D.

Donny D. — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 03:00:21 +0000

Timothy Kincaid wrote,

When proposition 8 passed in California and exit polls reported 70% support from black voters, a certain amount of racism and resentment resulted.

MY impression is that, especially in Southern California, quite a lot of gay racism came to the surface after the Prop 8 win.

By: Marcus

Marcus — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 23:15:15 +0000

I support your intention in this piece, Timothy, but your phrasing gives the impression that African-Americans and LGBT are separate communities. We now know that African-Americans are more likely to identify as LGBT than whites. I recommend minor edits to the piece to reflect that.

By: Mary Sykes

Mary Sykes — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 23:01:11 +0000

As long as we continue to build coalitions, keep talking to all the people we interact with so they realize we’re human and these are *inalienable* rights we’re asking for, our numbers will get better.