In the wake of
finger-pointing following California's passing of Prop. 8,
television writer and producer Tajamika Paxton suggests the
time has come to build a bridge between the LGBT and
African-American communities -- to engage in
discussion rather than looking for somewhere to place blame.
The passage of
Prop. 8 and the subsequent fallout show that there is now
a renewed urgency to the debate over gay rights. The time
has come for discussions that avoid placing blame on
one group -- discussions that avoid treating a
group in any way that suggests that group is
monolithic. It’s time for discussions that create
harmony, not acrimony. Time for us to understand our
unique connectivity on this issue of human rights and,
in the words of the Dalai Lama, understand our
interdependence.
Clearly,
there’s plenty of emotion flying around. Some of the
white gays who felt threatened by the passage of Prop.
8 succumbed to simmering hatred. Some African-American
gays, in response, raged and pointed fingers and
labeled white gays blaming African-Americans for the passage
of Prop. 8 as racist. The game of hate and blame continues.
As a society we
can look at the election of Barack Obama as a symbol of
racial equality. But the man and the campaign he ran are
about far more than his racial background.
Let’s model his even-tempered, thoughtful
approach -- his civility in the face of cruelty, his
graceful composure in the face of conflict, his
ability to reach toward those who opposed him and
understand how working with them can further common goals.
For within the community of humanity -- in general and
specifically -- that is what this crisis requires
right now.
There’s
always a tendency for people to create little fiefdoms of
belief. I believe x, so this is my camp. You believe
y, so that is your camp. Within the Prop. 8 debate,
such fiefdoms threaten the entire movement. The
bedrock of fiefdoms is made up of hardened prejudices
that create enemies, not allies. "I’m a gay
white male and I think African-American churchgoers
are ignorant and extremely homophobic," or "I’m
a transgender African-American and I think gay white males
are all inherently racist."
Thus everything
said or done is perceived through this filter and
accepted as truth. Us vs. them. It’s dogmatic and
shortsighted to continue to think this way.
There’s no openness, no space for dialogue.
There’s only media-fueled finger-pointing.
It’s like that moment when your parent looks at
you and says, “You know better.”
We know better.
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Paxton is the
former vice-president of development for Forest
Whitaker's production company and served as the cochair
of Outfest's Fusion LGBT People of Color Film
Festival. She is a television writer, producer, and
yoga instructor.