Slog Comments
One Eastern WA County Isn't Mostly Bigots
1
Nasty urban & educated creeps, totally Unamerican, fighting God and free enterprise.
--Paul Ryan, defeated VP candidate, world-class asshole
--Paul Ryan, defeated VP candidate, world-class asshole
2
Proud, patriotic Americans, standing for Freedom, Justice, and the American multi-cultural adaptive Way of Life.
--everyone else
--everyone else
3
I think a big thanks IS owed, however, to those who live in other Eastern Washington counties who DID vote to approve R74 ...
4
It doesn't matter if you are ghey or straight, just get the fuck out of eWA as fast as you can. I did, and it was the best decision I have ever made.
5
@3) You're right, and I should have said that in the post. We couldn't have done this without 'em.
6
Pretty soon there won't be any reason to promote urban density, as all countries will be gay-friendly.
Why pile up in South Lake Union, when there's a whole state waiting for you?
8
Following up on @3, it would be interested to see how many "minority votes" FOR R74 were cast in E. Washington - I would guess that those votes, taken together, were greater than the statewide difference. So yes, thank you.
9
Or maybe a feature article about they type of people who voted to approve R74 from way out in Ferry or Franklin Counties? I think that would be pretty interesting.
10
Keep in mind, folks, a lot of those yellow counties are around 50k voters. Some don't even have 10k. There should be an altered map that shows the size relative to the population voting. Western WA & King especially would be huge, w/ a bunch of flea-sized areas clinging on.
http://vote.wa.gov/results/current/Refer…
(I love this site)
http://vote.wa.gov/results/current/Refer…
(I love this site)
11
That is a great site @10! I just did a quick count and I was right - the difference in the statewide count was 194,171.
The number of yes votes in counties that, overall, rejected R74 was 569,643.
I'm really curious about the 360 people in Garfield Co. who voted to approve the referendum.
The number of yes votes in counties that, overall, rejected R74 was 569,643.
I'm really curious about the 360 people in Garfield Co. who voted to approve the referendum.
12
One thing to keep in mind is that at a minimum one in three people in ALL eastern WA counties voted for equality. That's huge compared to the past and the measure would not have passed if not for those one in three RURAL voters. So big thank you to all the 33% (0r higher) of you who aren't haters and who did vote for equality.
13
@10 + @11: It is fascinating, isn't it? I mean, you look at a number of those counties with less than 10,000 votes cast - some even with 2-3,000 total. And yet, they take up a vast "space" on the map.
Thank goodness we don't vote by square footage!
Thank goodness we don't vote by square footage!
14
@7 That's overly cynical. The fact that an Eastern WA county voted in favor of marriage equality is a sign of progress. Republicans had to drop segregation as a part of their platform, and they're eventually going to have to drop discrimination against gays as well.
15
What's up with Walla Walla County? I thought that was just college kids and wineries. They should totally be pro-gay.
16
Why doesn't Pierce County belong to the good-guys club? It's kind of mind blowing that Whitman County is a more tolerant place than Pierce County.
17
I'm a Seattle native born n' raised there but for the last few years I've been living/surviving in the Yakima area helping out my elderly parents. Yes it's mostly conservative here but not overwhelmingly so. Last time I checked 31,000 voted in favor of R-74 in Yakima County, Myself being one and yes even my 90yo father & 91yo Mother !!! They taught me to never judge others especially my Dad a WWII vet who saw some horrible sights in the South Pacific & Nagasaki. I can't recall a time of being so proud of the state I live in, not only being the 1st west coast state (with the exeption of the CA injustice) to approve Marrage for ALL but to be one of the 1st states to end the insane (in part) war on drugs, take that Mr. Nixon! It was a good day and the beginning of a long road ahead to bring this country into the 21st century!
21
I'm so damn glad you all proved me wrong and made me look like the utter asshole that I can be!!!!
And yes, without those approve votes in the counties that are rejecting R-74, you would not have passed it. It's fucking heartwarming to know that not everyone in rural Washington is a bigot. Our straight allies are so very important as you've all so eloquently acknowledged.
I'm so so glad I was wrong and you all were right!!!
And yes, without those approve votes in the counties that are rejecting R-74, you would not have passed it. It's fucking heartwarming to know that not everyone in rural Washington is a bigot. Our straight allies are so very important as you've all so eloquently acknowledged.
I'm so so glad I was wrong and you all were right!!!
22
Straight lady from Benton County, here. I phone banked, door belled, and donated money for marriage equality because, duh. And I was involved in getting a school district to change it's LGBT club policy. 37% of people in Benton voted to approve 74. Most east side counties also had about 1/3 of their residents vote against bigotry. We're a minority over here, and 74 wouldn't have passed without us. Don't lump us all together with the bigots.
23
@22 Thank you, thank you, thank you! Eastern WA is Very beautiful! Yes, it took votes from ALL 39 counties to pass R-74! Thank you!
24
@10 vote.wa.gov/ results/current (I love this site)
I'd love it a lot more if it did some sort of color gradient for county results, instead of flipping at 50%+. It's interesting to see which counties went which way, but it would be far better to tell how strongly each county went from the map view (I know about the bar chart, I am complaining about presentation).
I'd love it a lot more if it did some sort of color gradient for county results, instead of flipping at 50%+. It's interesting to see which counties went which way, but it would be far better to tell how strongly each county went from the map view (I know about the bar chart, I am complaining about presentation).
25
@16 - Well, Pierce county was at least close: one percentage point difference between approved/rejected. Blame it on Puyallup.
26
Dominic,
Your approach is contrary to what the bigoted counties both want and need.
People fear whom they do not know. The majority of homophobic bigots do not think they know any gay people. This is why they can sustain such crazy ideas as to what gay people are like, since knowing an actual out gay person that contradicts their mental image of gay would destroy that very impression.
The bigoted (not entirely Eastern, btw-R74 failed in several West of the Cascades counties too) counties want gay people to flee, so telling them that being more bigoted will cause gays to flee will not discourage bigotry. the bigoted counties need to have more, not less, contact with gays if they are to become less bigoted. The way to ensure that R74 is never overturned in WA by popular vote is to bring more gays into the bigoted counties.
The antidote to hate is love. Bigotry is a tumor that grows if you attack it directly. To defeat ken Hutcherson, we must not do the visceral thing. We must instead show his congregants just how wonderful we really are.
Do beautiful acts of gay. Set up soup kitchens and homeless shelters. Befriend the lonely. Take in the stray. Be loving, and hopeful, and generous and kind. In time, others will see that its not an act, its not just some gimmick. And when they do, they will become your fiercest ally. The balm that cures homophobia is soothing, calming, healing. So be those things, and become the cure. And do not hide that cure from the East. Spread it all over this fine state, by moving to Garfield and Mason and Benton and Yakima. Heal this wound that divides us as a state.
Your approach is contrary to what the bigoted counties both want and need.
People fear whom they do not know. The majority of homophobic bigots do not think they know any gay people. This is why they can sustain such crazy ideas as to what gay people are like, since knowing an actual out gay person that contradicts their mental image of gay would destroy that very impression.
The bigoted (not entirely Eastern, btw-R74 failed in several West of the Cascades counties too) counties want gay people to flee, so telling them that being more bigoted will cause gays to flee will not discourage bigotry. the bigoted counties need to have more, not less, contact with gays if they are to become less bigoted. The way to ensure that R74 is never overturned in WA by popular vote is to bring more gays into the bigoted counties.
The antidote to hate is love. Bigotry is a tumor that grows if you attack it directly. To defeat ken Hutcherson, we must not do the visceral thing. We must instead show his congregants just how wonderful we really are.
Do beautiful acts of gay. Set up soup kitchens and homeless shelters. Befriend the lonely. Take in the stray. Be loving, and hopeful, and generous and kind. In time, others will see that its not an act, its not just some gimmick. And when they do, they will become your fiercest ally. The balm that cures homophobia is soothing, calming, healing. So be those things, and become the cure. And do not hide that cure from the East. Spread it all over this fine state, by moving to Garfield and Mason and Benton and Yakima. Heal this wound that divides us as a state.
27
I just wanted to say that I'm so proud of our neighbors in Clark county 87,315 (47.33%) voted to approve. They made every donation, phone bank, and canvassing effort worth it.
28
#26 you missed one VITAL point in an otherwise lovely argument. And do you know what that one little factor is? It matters HUGELY. It is Religion. Gay people could save ALL the puppies and kittens. Feed all the left handed red headed bastard children, feed ALL the foodless, house ALL the homeless, Lift up ALL the down fallen and STILL they would be Gay and in the eyes of Rev. Hutch be unworthy of equality. In their mind Good deeds do not wash away being "evil" and "doing evil". One must spend time with these people to really know that no amount of good deeds will undo one little "flaw" of being Gay. That is how they believe. It is not based in reality it is based in faith.
Now come here and let me hug you deeply into my ample bosom.
Now come here and let me hug you deeply into my ample bosom.
30
28,
Its a very human thing to attribute so much of our mental attitude to our conscious minds. We like to think that logical arguments presented to us in philosophy class or sacred texts or the like have an over-riding impact on our psyche, and I suppose on a surface level they do. But there is something much deeper, more primal, than religion or ideology.
Evolutionary biologists tell us that the preforntal cortex was the part of our brains that evolved last. This is the part that governs logic and thought processes, the conscious mind. The limbic system is far more ancient, and it is responsible for our ability to feel emotions, This is why creatures with simpler brains such as our pets can still feel love and fear and jealously and depression and joy and contentment.
And its also why we respond viscerally to things our conscious minds attempt to block out. Why does PTSD exist, when the logical mind can be taken over my ideologues or jingoism? Because on a deep, visceral level, we all know that killing is wrong. You cannot enter a bloodbath without your limbic system informing you that all your anthems and nationalism are so much bullshit.
As part of a more positive cycle, our limbic system also reinforces love, and that love can over-ride ideologies of hate if that live is powerful enough. Ghandi defeated the mightiest nation on Earth without firing one shot. Dr King started an avalanche that buried Jim Crow, an avalanche created by the echo of his voice rather than dynamite. Vaclav Havel and Lech Walensa ended totalitarian regimes even the mighty USA could not defeat in combat, and no atom bomb could frighten out of existence.
If one skinny old man in a loincloth can face down the British Army, then I think we can muster the courage to stand up to the Hutch. And we will win, though we are small in number, because we are creative, loving, kind and beautiful. We will win because we have the courage not to hate those who hate us.
If you have ever suffered, then you have a natural compassion for the suffering. If you have ever been marginalized, you know what it is like to live on the margins. If you have ever gone hungry, you know how sweet it tastes when a stranger gives you food. And if you have ever been abandoned, be it by your family, your society, your religion, or your country, then you know what it is like to be naked, alone, and afraid. Reach out to the alienated, and bring them inside. make room for everyone within this big, beautiful society that is the America we will create, now that we are part of America. Use that empathy that is the unintended blessing that comes along with having been hated. And be wonderful in every way.
More...
Its a very human thing to attribute so much of our mental attitude to our conscious minds. We like to think that logical arguments presented to us in philosophy class or sacred texts or the like have an over-riding impact on our psyche, and I suppose on a surface level they do. But there is something much deeper, more primal, than religion or ideology.
Evolutionary biologists tell us that the preforntal cortex was the part of our brains that evolved last. This is the part that governs logic and thought processes, the conscious mind. The limbic system is far more ancient, and it is responsible for our ability to feel emotions, This is why creatures with simpler brains such as our pets can still feel love and fear and jealously and depression and joy and contentment.
And its also why we respond viscerally to things our conscious minds attempt to block out. Why does PTSD exist, when the logical mind can be taken over my ideologues or jingoism? Because on a deep, visceral level, we all know that killing is wrong. You cannot enter a bloodbath without your limbic system informing you that all your anthems and nationalism are so much bullshit.
As part of a more positive cycle, our limbic system also reinforces love, and that love can over-ride ideologies of hate if that live is powerful enough. Ghandi defeated the mightiest nation on Earth without firing one shot. Dr King started an avalanche that buried Jim Crow, an avalanche created by the echo of his voice rather than dynamite. Vaclav Havel and Lech Walensa ended totalitarian regimes even the mighty USA could not defeat in combat, and no atom bomb could frighten out of existence.
If one skinny old man in a loincloth can face down the British Army, then I think we can muster the courage to stand up to the Hutch. And we will win, though we are small in number, because we are creative, loving, kind and beautiful. We will win because we have the courage not to hate those who hate us.
If you have ever suffered, then you have a natural compassion for the suffering. If you have ever been marginalized, you know what it is like to live on the margins. If you have ever gone hungry, you know how sweet it tastes when a stranger gives you food. And if you have ever been abandoned, be it by your family, your society, your religion, or your country, then you know what it is like to be naked, alone, and afraid. Reach out to the alienated, and bring them inside. make room for everyone within this big, beautiful society that is the America we will create, now that we are part of America. Use that empathy that is the unintended blessing that comes along with having been hated. And be wonderful in every way.
31
This costs money. For the tax breaks you'd give the new couple the license fees are not a net positive for the state. The economic boom we would see from weddings and shit still wouldn't close the gap. This was a moral question. A really easy moral question that I don't think money should be a driving factor.
32
@26,30 James Loewen noted that many Sundown Towns had their very own "pet" black people, which actually reinforced their bigotry by being the exceptions to the rule.
33
@28 I'm going to play against type and be less cynical. Hutch, other professional dogmatists and SOME of their followers will be immune to reason. OTOH, a sizable chunk of the rank and file will gradually come around if they could see real gay people playing nice. And a majority of their kids already are coming around.
http://rachelheldevans.com/blog/win-cult…
http://rachelheldevans.com/blog/win-cult…
34
@26 - I've been out to my family since I was 21 (now in my mid 40's) and with my partner for 11 years. My family is loving and accepting, for which I am grateful, BUT, I have an older brother that is a diehard republican. And, as he stated to me one day, "you know I love you and want you to be happy, but I will always consider marriage between one man and one woman."
Yes, I do know he loves me. Yes, I do know he wants me to be happy, but NO amount of good deeds can persuade such people to ever change their minds. He's already told me that.
Yes, I do know he loves me. Yes, I do know he wants me to be happy, but NO amount of good deeds can persuade such people to ever change their minds. He's already told me that.
36
Western WA counties where "approved" got at least 40%: all of them except Lewis County.
Eastern WA counties where "approved" got at least 40%: Klickitat, Kittitas (home to CWU), Chelan, Spokane (home to EWU and Gonzaga), Whitman (home to WSU).
Eastern WA counties where "approved" got at least 40%: Klickitat, Kittitas (home to CWU), Chelan, Spokane (home to EWU and Gonzaga), Whitman (home to WSU).
37
I know that it would have some serious negative consequences (chiefly the creation of a new red state), but at times it seems like the sensible thing would just be to rotate the Washington-Oregon border 90 degrees--let one state get Seattle and Portland, oases of sensibility and saneness, and let Western Washington and Western Oregon discover together what happens when their governing philosophies are put into practice.
39
I was also interested to see that more people voted to legalize marijuana than voted in favor of marriage equality. This was also true in Eastern Washington. For example Spokane County handily rejected marriage but approved marijuana. Several other eastern counties approved marijuana as well. I would have thought that people who favor legalization of marijuana would also favor gay marriage. It seems that this issues did track for a large majority of voters, but there were a significant minority who favored marijuana but rejected gay marriage.
I live near Portland, Or, but I spend 4 Saturdays in Clark COunty working for the passage of R-74. I am so thrilled and proud, and honored to be a small part of this victory
I live near Portland, Or, but I spend 4 Saturdays in Clark COunty working for the passage of R-74. I am so thrilled and proud, and honored to be a small part of this victory
40
The worst part of living in Chelan county was having to go to work while my company allowed anti-gay marriage pollsters to set up outside. It was like a kick in the stomach.
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