This healthcare debate has reinforced just how indifferent many liberals are to our equality

[ruggerson]

To put it bluntly, it took THEIR ox getting gored in order to be disillusioned with this President.

I've seen some of the exact same people who angrily and repeatedly attacked us over McClurkin, Warren, the DOMA briefs, the inaction on DADT - some of these same people are now up in arms over the healthchare bill and/or Afghanistan and, all of a sudden, this President has become a turncoat instead of a hero.

Our very lives as human beings, our status in the country of our birth, meant absolutely nothing to them if it flew in the face of their brand of partisan politics.

Many of us, of course, are not surprised by this, but the overwhelming evidence, day after day, the lengthy chest beating screeds, replete with moans of sorrow and despair from previously ardent Obama supporters who have never even addressed our issues - all of it has brought it home quite clearly and quite jarringly:

We are a convenient voting bloc for the Democratic party to gain and retain power. They use us in exactly the same way the Republicans use the religious rightwingers - to get elected. Once in office, they only pay lip service to our demands and, in this administration, don't even do small things to further progress - things like obeying a federal judge's order handed to them on a platter, which would help weaken DOMA.

This entire episode has shown us that many liberals not only hold us in contempt, but our lives mean absolutely nothing to them. We are a sideshow to be tolerated in the quest to gain power. We are not a group of fellow, equal citizens - we are a convenient, needed voting bloc.

CAVEAT: there have been a number of posts "apologizing" to us and acknowledging some of what we were voicing as long as almost two years ago. And of course, there have been all along a large solid, moral, incredibly ystrong group of straight allies, both here at DU and in the progressive community at large.

But, talk about a wake up call.

We knew we didn't matter to many of them.

We just didn't have it in high def at full volume.

[Skittles]

1. K&R

[jonnyblitz]

2. HA. I have been thinking this same thing all week.!

:hi:

[mitchtv]

3. Eloquent

as usual, thanks

[racaulk]

4. Fantastic post!

I wish I could add to this, but there really is no way I can improve upon what you said. You nailed it very succinctly and eloquently.

Thank you. :thumbsup:

K&R

[chill_wind]

5. K & R

[foxfeet]

6. K&R

[enigmatic]

7. K&R

[NMMNG]

8. In the great three dimensional chess game of politics

we are mere pawns.

[ThomCat]

11. I keep wondering when Obama is going to start playing

this mythical game of chess he is supposed to be so good at.

It looks like his opponents keep winning all the matches because he's letting his opponents make his moves for him.

[roughsatori]

9. I agree with your sentiment and factual observation 100% NT

[FreeState]

10. I wouldn't say many - I'd say most

Just one example. Durring Prop 8 this board did not a single official thing to help. There was not a single banner or text plea on the top to ask for help. Not one. It's disgraceful that we can't even count on the community were part of to help fight to save a very basic right - the right to have your family recognized by the government.*

(There are of cource exemptions to this statement - there are many supportive alleys - unfortunately they are not in the majority.)

[ThomCat]

12. Yes. Betraying us didn't register with them.

When he finally betrayed them, now they are starting to notice.

[Bluenorthwest]

13. Oh so well said

But for me this is the root lesson of the Obama Presidency.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

14. I posted about this (less eloquently) in the other du gay rights forum

and i comnpletely agree

[tbyg52]

15. Yep.

:patriot:

[txaslftist]

16. Of course we don't matter.

We don't own the government. The banks and major corporations own the government, and if you aren't a CEO, your voice is pretty much irrelevant.

[Starry Messenger]

17. And then there are the true believers.

If I see one more thread of praise for Andrew Sullivan I'm going to pop a blood vessel. I just someone say they didn't care what a person was like as long as they pulled a lever for the D. It really is all about the numbers, isn't it? Higher numbers = winning = good. Nothing else matters. I sense we're in for some bad times.

[FLAprogressive]

19. luckily they're mostly confined to GD:P and only a few seep over into the other forms.

[jonnyblitz]

20. you could post links to 20 articles in a thread outlining Sullivans

vile past and they STILL continue to SCREECH about Jane Hampsher and blackface while ignoring anything about Sullivan. I was called a HOMOPHOBE for criticizing him today! :crazy: how can so many people be COLLECTIVELY that fucking IGNORANT.

it would be amusing if Bareback Andy started CRITICIZING Obama all of a sudden.

[FLAprogressive]

21. delusion. They're still sold on the hope and change and cling to it like it still means something.

[jonnyblitz]

25. I can't ever imagine being that enamored of ANY politician

to get that far "gone". it baffles me.

[FLAprogressive]

26. trust me, they are. look at any GDP picture thread.

[Starry Messenger]

22. Oh geeze. You were called a homophobe??

This really *is* Bizarro World now. I used to try to avoid the "cult" label but there is no other explanation that fits so well. The cherry-picking of facts and quotes is very disturbing to me. It is an obvious intent to deceive and to reinforce "positive" messages. The strangest thing is how nasty and hostile they are when they're getting what they want.

Just watch, if Andy starts criticizing Obama they will start quoting the article about the defense of The Bell Curve as if they'd never seen it before. I can just see it now.

[jonnyblitz]

24. your last sentence is RIGHT ON. i completely agree.

I can picture exactly that.

yeah, DUer Stopbush implied i was a homophobe.

[FLAprogressive]

18. K&R

[Toasterlad]

23. Indeed, And I'm Plenty Bitter About It

Got to get over it, though. Being able to say, "I told you so." doesn't mean diddly squat when we still don't have our rights. And I'm not convinced these sudden converts to the "Hey, turns out Obama really IS a liar and a fraud!" bandwagon are any more interested in helping us now then they were when they believed Obama was christ on the cross.

[David Zephyr]

27. Thanks for saying it.

Betrayal is something not to be avoided in one's psyche.

We, as a community, have a long history of compartmentalizing betrayal by family, society, straight friends. We have a special place where we exuse it, explain it away, when we should face it, acknowledge it, speak about it and point it out.

Thanks, ruggerson.