We're all chosen people

Sometimes bigotry is simply bigotry

Posted by on May 26, 2009 in News, Rants | 2 comments

With all this talk of the California Supreme Court upholding Prop 8, I hear a lot of how it all comes down to one word: Religion. And rightly so, but certainly not 100%.

And I speak from experience. My grandmother (who would never read this blog*), is vehemently opposed to same-sex anything. Being a Jew, you’d think she’d see the hypocrisy, but according to anyone in the right wing, sexuality is a choice. (I find it sad that, with this assertion, not a single homophobic person has yet to tell me when s/he chose to be straight.)

She came down on my hubby and I after she saw my Prop 8 photoset on Flickr, I can only assume. Why she is so angrily opposed to anything gay, bi, or trans, I will never fully understand. Simply put, I cannot comprehend why someone would care so much to be against any group. There’s usually an underlying issue. But I digress.

Which brings me back to religion. And why its not always religion, but sometimes it’s old fashioned bigotry. My family isn’t very religious. They consider themselves Jews and believer in varying versions of higher powers, but they are and have always been rather reform. My parents are pro gay marriage; however they’re not going to be fighting in the streets for it. Nonetheless, they don’t see this manufactured threat (and they lean Republican but consider themselves Independent). My grandma is also a staunch never-gonna-change-me Republican who will defend every right wing nutbag, even when brimming full of anti-Semitic discourse… go figure! I don’t know where this anti-gay stance stems from; I have no clue but I gather she felt this way before Fox News. I always used to think she was very understanding one, as we often do with grandmothers, but that’s not always the case.

There may be an influence from the religious right’s agenda, but there’s also plain ol’ bigotry. The über-religious clan have their anti-same-sex marriage reasons wedged in (obviously) religion. In many cases, it simply bigotry in disguise, using religion as a deflector. Sometimes understanding, caring individuals have been so warped by religion that it can cause bigotry. And some people just don’t care about equal rights….until, of course, it effects them.

And here I was thinking there was a separation of church and state… Sigh…

Being that this must be overturned (and will be in due time) for a bevy of reasons, I’ll be protesting this evening. Will you be?

*I do have links from other sites (that my grandmother is aware of), so it wouldn’t be difficult for her to find this. But she has seemed to not want to know about my atheism or progressive nature, so she avoids those parts of me. :( In any case, if she does see this Grandma, I love you, but I do not feel I have misrepresented your views. And you already know how I feel.

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  • http://quarkscrew.wordpress.com BT Murtagh

    I think a lot of bigotry has its roots, unacknowledged, in religion, but then religion itself is often a reflection of culture.

    You grandma is probably reflecting a cultural bias tied to her religion, but if there’s no *explicit* tie between her religion and the bias then there’s hope you can change her mind without having to change her religion (probably impossible).

    Even if you can’t change her mind, she’s still your grandma; you can love her without agreeing with her. You can, you should, and from what I know of you, you will.

  • http://jewmanist.com Rose

    I know I do, it just gets frustrating sometimes… thanks BT.