Blacks and the Gay Marriage Controversy

                                                           By Theressa G. Wesley

Gay Marriage Controversy

Imagine this—In the USA, there are actually Black people who say they are not going to vote for President Obama, because he supports gay marriage rights.   And...guess what!  Mitt Romney only recently began supporting interracial marriages.   What does this reveal about Romney’s perceptions regarding blacks? 
(Continued below...)  Check out the following news release:

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Romney Finally Embraces Interracial Marriages...

Not long after President Obama declared his support of same-sex marriage in an interview with ABC’s Robin Roberts, Mitt Romney held a private interview with Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren to declare his decision to fully embrace interracial marriage.

“This has been a decision that has been a long time coming. My views on interracial relationships have changed over the years. I now see them as two individuals just seeking the same rights and benefits as everyone else. They want the chance to be happy, and it is with my full support that I now whole-heartedly embrace interracial marriage.”

Confused, Greta Van Susteren asked Romney why it took him so long to embrace something that has been legal for quite some time now. To which he replied, “I wasn’t sure if all of my supporters were on board, and many still are not, but I need to go with my gut on this because equality should be for everyone… well, except for homosexuals.”

Romney’s evolving viewpoint comes at a critical time in his campaign, and only time will tell if this “bold move” was a wise decision.
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Theressa G. Wesley, cont’d

 Gay Marriage Controversy

The choice of voting for President Obama instead of Mr. Romney is a no-brainer if I’ve ever heard one!   Let me point out three good reasons why  the recently generated  gay marriage controversy is just another of the conservative politicians’ low down dirty tricks to divide the black vote:

            1.      Consider the Alternative

2.     Consider the concept of conservativism

3.     Consider their Political games...

Consider the alternative –-Mitt  Romney--A rich white man who has a history of aversion to black issues.

·        Who dogmatically practices a religion (Mormonism) which considers blacks as inferior, incompetent beings; 

·        Who advocates the dismantling of all Civil Rights reforms of the last 50 years;

·        Who, for the last 25 years, has actively been involved in sending American jobs overseas; 

·        Who has aligned himself with an overtly racist political group (conservative republicans); 

·        Who claims that a return to conservative values is the ideal path for America.

·        Who blatantly supports the wealthy one percent at the expense of the poor and struggling 99 percent.

       

CONSERVATIVE  Values...

First, consider the root meaning of  the word, “conservative.”   To conserve  means to reverently hold on to past ideas...

 to conserve... to keep, to accept, respect, admire, adore, emulate; to hold on       to; to be guided by; to teach one’s children according to; to  fashion one’s values, principles, morals, customs, beliefs, standards... by the identical beliefs and value system of one’s (whites’) American ancestors.

Now, what were the beliefs and values of our white American ancestors?  Was it the tradition of SLAVERY and the despicable RACISM that emanated from this outrageously vicious demonstration of  man’s inhumanity to humankind?  And... Who were the SLAVES?  Who were the SLAVE OWNERS?  Have we forgotten the predicament of slaves in the United States? 

I’d be willing to bet that conservative Republicans have  not forgotten.  They were taught to CONSERVE these traditions.  They were taught every principle and concept of their ancestors’ way of life.  They were meticulously drilled on every detail.  They understand what to say, how to say it, how far to go in their deliberations, and if all else fails, they know how to “...stand their ground.”

Political Ramifications...

Conservative politicians especially know how to intermingle politics with religion, and thus create political chaos in our midst.  Although most whites are generally not deeply religious people, they know how to throw a Biblical juggernaut into the equation when attempting to divide and conquer the black vote.  This technique, learned from their ancestors, works well  with “one-issue people.”  Therefore, blacks are going to have to learn to think politically, to avoid the demonic schemes and games that politicians play.

Conservatives understand that blacks are basically honest, decent, truthful, forthright people...and that blacks usually take their theology seriously.  Most blacks respect and honor every word of the Bible and believe that politicians stand on those biblical principles too—no matter what!  most blacks don’t realize that whites are accustomed to playing political games, especially with blacks; and since politicians generally have no biblical principles, they merely say what is expedient for black people’s biblically focused minds.

Then, while blacks are engaged in theological discussions about which person has the best position on one single  issue—usually an issue that doesn’t even impact our lives or our people’s well being—these conservative white politicians are trying to figure out how they can defeat blacks’ best political advocate (President Obama).  Conservative Republicans have boldly stated that their major objective is to defeat President Obama and to destroy fifty years of Civil Rights legislation.

Blacks can’t afford to allow this to happen to us regarding the gay marriage issue.  We don’t have time to play little mouse and cat games with deceptive politicians.

This is not the time for blacks to prove what  strong, principled, moral, upright, conscientious biblical scholar they are—not this time!  We can do that at our segregated conventions, etc.  When we become engaged in an important political forum—such as this Presidential election, we’re going to have to speak the language of master politicians.

The first thing we must understand is that most white conservative politicians don’t care anything about gays and gay marriage.  President Obama doesn’t care; Mitt Romney doesn’t care; other politicians don’t care.  Only a few theologically- challenged people who are trying to prove their convictions  are sincerely concerned about this  really insignificant issue.

The challenge for people who sincerely care about liberty, justice, and opportunity for all is to elect President Obama.  We need to put our theological bickering aside and speak the political language of our opponents.  Otherwise, we are going to find ourselves stuck with a conservative President who favors only the wealthy one percent.  Then, what???