Hangover

November 6, 2008 in Manga Minutiae, Potpourri | 7 comments

One thought about the 2008 elections…

As the whole country pats itself on the back for tearing down one social wall once thought unscalable, the media has conspicuously left something out of the inspiring narrative… that another stone wall sprung up in its place.  California’s Proposition 8, which will amend that state’s constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman, and possibly undo 18,000 gay unions already performed, looks like it will win by a 4 point margin.  And the cruel irony is that the measure likely passed because of the huge minority turnout; an overwhelming number of black votes, and a smaller but still significant majority of latinos, went in favor of denying gays a guarantee of equal protection to raise families, secure their property, receive workplace health benefits, and make important medical decisions for their significant others.  (Asians voted 51% in opposition… but that’s still not a big enough margin for my comfort.)  Hailing from a 1st-generation racial minority myself, I understand the importance placed upon “traditional” or religious values… but I can’t help but feel profound disappointment that so many chose to fight the legacy of racism, yet simultaneously condemned another group of American citizens to a life of modern-day Jim Crow.  Yes, I’m pointing a finger at you, minority America… having suffered through the indignation of the separate-but-equal doctrine, you more than anyone should know that it’s a wretched falsehood.

Tis human nature, I suppose… we all have a long way to go.

Alright, no more talk about politics for the rest of the year, I swear.

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Since we use PDFs a lot: there is a critical security flaw in Adobe Reader versions 8 and below, and the same vulnerably also exists in earlier versions of Foxit.  Either patch your versions, or upgrade to Reader 9x.  (8 was even worse than the 6 series, so just ditch it, I’d say.)

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MangaBlog is running a contest for free copies of Vertical’s edition of Black Jack.  It would be embarrassing for me to enter, but if you follow this link and happen to win, I demand co-ownership of your book.

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Anime On DVD forum goers spot clues that Viz may be prepping a second round of Naruto Nation, a 3-month span during which 12 volumes will be released.  Guess that answers the question of how well the first Naruto Nation performed.

7 comments

  2. Jeff Flowers on November 7, 2008 at 5:11 am

    I live in Florida and, against my wishes and my vote, we also suceeded in inserting bigotry into out state constitution. That’s right, Florida protects families by selectively not allowing people to form them.

  3. Simon on November 7, 2008 at 11:34 am

    Yeah, even people who may not be for gay rights, ought to be troubled by how all this was done through California and Florida’s constitutions. Constitutions traditionally have been about expanding and protecting the rights of people and individuals. Even states that didn’t “allow” bi-racial marriages a few decades ago, didn’t have that kind of language in their constitutions.

  4. jmo on November 7, 2008 at 3:08 pm

    I happen to live in California and I’m saddened that Prop 8 passed. Hailing from a racial minority myself I actually voted against Prop 8 because I believe that everyone should have equal rights and protections, no matter what.

  5. Regal on November 8, 2008 at 2:07 am

    Jeez. I agree with you completely on P8. I can’t fathom how selfish people can be once they get things good for themselves. I’ve heard people discussing how it’s a generation gap issue as well. The old timers think it’s tradition and many newbies don’t think it’s a big deal. I’m of the latter obviously, and I don’t see why we have to stay rooted to these things. I discussed this with my dad who is completely opposed and he claims it’s because of the religious tradition of marriage. Ironically my family isn’t the least bit religious so I don’t know where he comes off arguing that point. The second amendment is also something that is out of it’s time as well… but that’s a whole other issue.

    I can’t wait to see if we can overcome the gay rights challenge in a few decades as the younger generation gains more say in the vote.

    I also heard that the 18,000 marriages are likely to stay in tact. They can stop it now, but they can’t go back in time.

    And finally, another ironic thing is that it took racism to tear down this social wall. The huge drove of minorities that contributed to making Obama’s win possible is positive to some and negative to others.

    btw Aqua Bless has lived up to all expectations. TY.

    Nice new banner too.

  6. Anonymous on November 8, 2008 at 2:54 am

    Luckily I live in Massachusetts which, as everyone knows, is better than California.

  7. ZeroOBK on November 8, 2008 at 9:50 am

    If the statistics in the gay marriage link are correct, we can hope that as the younger generation takes over, that this motion will only be temporary. But right now gays need to worry about if they will even be able to adopt.

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