h8 v. hate

here's what i fear. from time magazine:

The Mormon Church is not the only group being singled out for criticism. African-Americans, 70% of whom voted yes on Proposition 8, according to a CNN exit poll, have become a target.

According to eyewitness reports published on the Internet, racial epithets have been used against African-Americans at protests in California, directed even at blacks who are fighting to repeal Proposition 8.

from the associated press:

...Anger over the ban and its backers was evident at the protests. One sign in Chicago read: ''Catholic Fascists Stay Out of Politics.''

In San Francisco, demonstrators took shots at some religious groups that supported the ban, including a sign aimed at the Mormon church and its abandoned practice of polygamy that read: ''You have three wives; I want one husband.''

Chris Norberg, who married his partner in June, also referred to the racial divisions that arose after exit polls found that majorities of blacks and Hispanics supported the constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

''They voted against us,'' Norberg said.

i have plenty of catholic friends, christian friends, mormon friends and african-american friends who support same-sex marriage, fight for same-sex marriage, and probably marched for same-sex marriage on saturday.

knowing how to fight intolerance is crucial, but meeting intolerance with intolerance, hate vs. hate, is not a tactic i'm interested in. we need to be strong and vigilant, yes. but if we achieve a goal at the expense of friends and even enemies, it will be an awfully lonely achievement.

UPDATE 4:40 p.m. – an update from the new york times:

...While some speakers were obviously eager to tap crowds’ current outrage, others took pains to cast the demonstrations as a peaceful, long-term, campaign over an issue that has proved remarkably and consistently divisive.

“We need to be our best selves,” said the Rev. G. Penny Nixon, a gay pastor from San Mateo, Calif., who warned the San Francisco crowd against blaming “certain communities” for the election loss. “This is a movement based on love.”