I am an educated, upper-middle-class, white, Christian man who can easily "pass" as straight. For most of my adult life, I have voted against the self-interest of my own socioeconomic class in favor of affirmative action, public school funding, and all sorts of other issues and programs that benefit the African-American and other minority communities. I think that a lot of the anti-black anger that has been expressed in the past week has been, in part, out of a sense of betrayal by communities that gay people have long supported.
I guess. But no one should ever cast a vote as a quid-pro-quo. If you truly believe a policy isn't in your interest, than you really should oppose it. I like Andrew and all, but I don't support gay marriage because I expect him to recant on the Bell Curve. I support it because I think family is a societal good--which benefits me individually. Raise your kid right, and I don't have to worry about him sticking up my kid. Pool your resources, and maybe I don't have to worry about you defaulting on your home. More abstractly, I simply don't enjoy living in a country that discriminates. That's my feeling. That's about what I want, how I want to live. I don't expect a reward for it. I don't expect a cookie.
UPDATE: Responding to Morzer's comment below, I added some hyperlinks. Still, "large swath" is probably too strong a phrase. I hope none of my brown folk are too ticked off.
This article available online at:
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2008/11/gay-marriage-and-coalition-politics/6238/
