http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/11/16/one-eastern-wa-county-isnt-mostly-bigots Comments On: One Eastern WA County <em>Isn't</em> Mostly Bigots by Dominic Holden en-us Copyright 2013 The Stranger. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, The Stranger readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:01 -0700 Sun, 19 May 2013 05:45:00 -0700 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Posted by Dominic Holden]]> Mon, 19 Nov 2012 11:23:57 -0800 The Stranger Posted by HellboundAlleee]]> Mon, 19 Nov 2012 05:32:24 -0800 The Stranger
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
Posted by susan rosenthal]]> Mon, 19 Nov 2012 00:47:15 -0800 The Stranger Posted by IStillDream]]> Sun, 18 Nov 2012 09:40:53 -0800 The Stranger Posted by IStillDream]]> Sun, 18 Nov 2012 09:37:31 -0800 The Stranger
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).
Posted by Q*bert H. Humphrey]]> Sat, 17 Nov 2012 14:34:54 -0800 The Stranger Posted by MLM]]> Sat, 17 Nov 2012 10:44:55 -0800 The Stranger
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.
Posted by Frau Blucher]]> Sat, 17 Nov 2012 09:57:51 -0800 The Stranger
http://rachelheldevans.com/blog/win-cult…


Posted by ScrawnyKayaker]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 22:04:31 -0800 The Stranger Posted by http://sundown.afro.illinois.edu/]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 22:00:57 -0800 The Stranger Posted by watchout5]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 20:44:11 -0800 The Stranger
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.
Posted by Tacoma Traveler]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 20:42:06 -0800 The Stranger Posted by ian]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 20:26:37 -0800 The Stranger
Now come here and let me hug you deeply into my ample bosom.
Posted by Sargon Bighorn]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 20:15:17 -0800 The Stranger
Posted by kim in portland]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 19:38:19 -0800 The Stranger 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.

Posted by Tacoma Traveler]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 18:08:08 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Free Lunch]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 18:05:10 -0800 The Stranger
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).


Posted by Add Bigot Concentration To The Map View, Sam]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 17:51:56 -0800 The Stranger Posted by pat L]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 17:45:24 -0800 The Stranger Posted by EFB]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 17:33:58 -0800 The Stranger
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!!!
Posted by Mark in Colorado]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 16:39:58 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Will in Seattle]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 16:27:35 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Simone]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 15:38:04 -0800 The Stranger Posted by beatgrl]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 15:37:19 -0800 The Stranger Posted by poptartpunk]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 15:09:15 -0800 The Stranger