November 4, 2015 8:20 AM

Houston: The city that hates...it's finally out in the open and there's no denying it.

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ (38) This is the first and greatest commandment. (39) And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (40) All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

  • Matthew 22:37-40 [New International Version (NIV)]

If yesterday’s election should teach us anything, it’s the power of Republicans using the system to their advantage. Opponents of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO)) got a Conservative judge to allow a vote against HERO in an off-year election, which from a purely tactical standpoint was a master stroke of political manipulation in pursuit of a narrow, hatred-based Far Right-wing agenda. HERO’s opponents know that motivating Democrats to vote in off-years is at best challenging and at worst equivalent to herding cats…and the Republicans who vote in off-year elections are far more Conservative (and committed to the cause). The anti-HERO campaign manipulated the system to their advantage…and for that they deserve full credit. Democrats and those in the pro-HERO campaign had it within their power to fight hate and win. That they failed spectacularly is disturbing (and yet unsurprising) on many levels.

Last night, HERO went down to defeat by a wide margin (62%-38%). Having lived in Houston for 10+ years prior to escaping back to Portland, this result tells me a few things that only serve to reaffirm the wisdom of leaving the Bayou City:

  1. Houston can (and should) now be known as The City That Hates ©. The 62-38 margin by which HERO was defeated put the lie to the contention that Houston’s diversity makes it a welcoming and tolerant place for those from all walks of life. The toxic admixture of cafeteria-style, cherry-picked Christianity, hatred, homophobia, and a commitment to winning at whatever cost defeated an ordinance that’s barely raised an eyebrow in something like 200 municipalities from coast to coast. Human rights shouldn’t be subjected to a popular vote…and yet that exactly what happened in Houston.

  2. If you live in Houston and are LGBT, you are now a second-class citizen. According to the law, you are now considered “less than.” You can- and will- be fired for simply being who you are. Despite the anti-HERO campaign framing the issue as being about public restrooms, that was merely the hook. HERO did nothing of what opponents claimed…but as is often true with the Far Right, it’s not about abject truth. In the final analysis, truth is what you can propagandize sheeple into believing.

  3. Propaganda, lies, and fear-mongering can indeed be powerful forces. The anti-HERO campaign won by focusing with laser-like intensity on the “public safety threat” created by “allowing men in women’s bathrooms.” That nothing of the sort was evenly remotely close to the truth only serves to underline the Far Right’s commitment to imposing their agenda by whatever means may be necessary. Lies, disinformation, and a total absence of integrity are problems only for losers and Liberals.

  4. The so-called “Christians” who voted against HERO are followers of the teachings of Jesus Christ in the same way Timothy McVeigh was about peaceful, nonviolent conflict resolution. Jesus preached love, tolerance, acceptance, and inclusion- not ignorance, hatred, homophobia, and exclusion. It’s not about Christian charity. It’s not even about Jesus’ command that His followers should “Love your neighbor as yourself.” It’s about a cafeteria- style, cherry-picked Christianity that’s far more about confirming prejudices than living a Christ-like life. When your faith and commitment to its teachings are dependent on what you accept as convenient, you have no faith.

In the end, Houston will lose. The willingness of Houstonians to deny a basic human right- equal treatment under the law- to a minority class of people belies a collective hardness of heart and lack of respect for the basic humanity of ALL humans. The message unmistakably sent by Houston voters was that if you live and/or love in a manner running counter to what the majority consider “moral” and “appropriate” you’re “less than” and unworthy of equal treatment and equal opportunity.

By scaring and propagandizing people into believing that HERO would allow sex deviants (men, of course) into women’s restrooms, thereby creating a public safety problem. That the 200 or so other municipalities with equal rights ordinances on their books have experienced no such “public safety” issues only points up how the anti-HERO campaign was able to lie, prevaricate, and dissemble their way to victory.

My intent is not to tar all Houstonians with the same brush. I can say without reservation that the vast majority of people I know in Houston were good, decent, and accepting. They generally accepted “live and let live” without question or reservation as a basic tenant of interpersonal relations. That said, when equality is defeated 62%-38%, there can be no question but that Houston should be known as The City That Hates ©.

HERO’s defeat is but one set back in what’s become a historical tsunami advancing the cause of equality. It’s disappointing, to be certain, but this is not the last word. All one need do is examine the demographics of the issue (younger generations overwhelming support LGBT equality) to understand that the haters will even be beaten back. It’s too soon to know what will happen next, but the trend is both inexorable and undeniable. Love WILL win. Equality WILL become settled law…but it’s not going to happen overnight.

Hate won this battle. They will NOT win the war.

WE DESERVE BETTER.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on November 4, 2015 8:20 AM.

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